• Paddle Your Own Canoe

  • One Man's Fundamentals for Delicious Living
  • By: Nick Offerman
  • Narrated by: Nick Offerman
  • Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (13,087 ratings)

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Paddle Your Own Canoe  By  cover art

Paddle Your Own Canoe

By: Nick Offerman
Narrated by: Nick Offerman
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Publisher's summary

Parks and Recreation actor Nick Offerman shares his humorous fulminations on life, manliness, meat, and much more in his first book.

Growing a perfect moustache, grilling red meat, wooing a woman - who better to deliver this tutelage than the always charming, always manly Nick Offerman, best known as Parks and Recreation's Ron Swanson? Combining his trademark comic voice and very real expertise in woodworking - he runs his own woodshop - Paddle Your Own Canoe features tales from Offerman's childhood in small-town Minooka, Illinois - "I grew up literally in the middle of a cornfield" - to his theater days in Chicago, beginnings as a carpenter/actor and the hilarious and magnificent seduction of his now-wife Megan Mullally. It also offers hard-bitten battle strategies in the arenas of manliness, love, style, religion, woodworking, and outdoor recreation, among many other savory entrees.

A mix of amusing anecdotes, opinionated lessons and rants, sprinkled with offbeat gaiety, Paddle Your Own Canoe will not only tickle readers pink but may also rouse them to put down their smart phones, study a few sycamore leaves, and maybe even handcraft (and paddle) their own canoes.

©2013 Nick Offerman (P)2013 Penguin

Critic reviews

“[Offerman] not only explores his Paul Bunyan-like image with tongue-in-cheek lessons on manliness, complete with illustrations and advice, but also offers poignant memories of his childhood growing up in Illinois and hilarious anecdotes from his career.” (Entertainment Weekly)

“Offerman touches on everything from his days as a break-dancing, football-playing farm boy in Minooka (about 50 miles southwest of the Loop) to his freewheeling, hedonistic 20s in Chicago to the inevitable Hollywood struggles that followed. But he doesn’t gloss over embarrassing moments, including his two trips to jail during college at the University of Illinois - one for shoplifting Ronnie Milsap cassettes from Kmart as a joke; the other, he says, a convoluted case of mistaken identity. Between anecdotes, he delivers impassioned pleas and rants…” (Chicago magazine)

“Thought-provoking, profane, and frequently hilarious…getting to know Offerman through his stumbling courtship with Megan Mullally and Kabuki theater training is well worth the price of admission.” (Publishers Weekly)

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What listeners say about Paddle Your Own Canoe

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Wonderfully inspiring

Not that I would strictly call this a "self help book", but of all the things I've read in that genre, none of it compares to how inspirational and thought provoking this book is. Masterfully written and beautifully voiced, a must listen for anyone wanting to get the most out of this life!

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Thanks

great book. Lots to wade through in the Kiddie Pool.
Nick Offerman has more to offer and he put a lot of it in here.

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Very inspiring

Very good book. I like The concept of not spending too much time wasting time

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As amazing as Becon

The man, the myth, the legend.
Been meaning to listen to this for a long time after watching his stand up. it is every bit as great. Everything Nick Offerman touches is pure gold.

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better than any app or meme

I was amazed by this, my 1st audiobook. Nick Offerman is a treasure to be shared by all. Now knowing more about him, I have a bit more comfort living and enjoying the simple things in life. (The things you can't buy online or any store.) Salute!

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One of my favorite brains.

Witty, engaging, leaves you wanting to hear and see so much more from the author.

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Just... just listen to this now.

Read by the man himself; this book is like listening to your buddy drinking scotch and telling a great story about stuff. I loved it.

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Expectantly unexpected.

This work, short of pure genius in no way, was everything I had anticipated and more. The mind of genuine morality and intelligence with a dash of whimsy and a helping of humble, I recommend this to anyone and everyone. Americans- listen to this man. And then find a way to collectively follow his teachings. Let others go first. Freakin brilliant.

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everything you need to hear.

Hilarious, educational and profoundly wise.
A great book about life and how to enjoy it.

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great book

this is my 3rd time with this one. Nick keeps getting better each time I hear it.

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