Neil Patrick Harris's Reading List

The author of "Choose Your Own Autobiography" loved "Gone Girl": "I devoured the acknowledgments, the book cover flaps, the ISBN, you name it. If it had been like a DVD, I could have read the 'making of' the writing of the book. I was that into it."

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By the Book: Neil Patrick Harris (2014)

NYT By the Book column (2014-10-16).

Source: www.nytimes.com

Gone Girl

Gillian Flynn · Buy on Amazon

"Mystery, comedy, thriller, romance (-ish), switching brilliantly between two voices, two brains: just brilliant. I was so into it that I read literally every word."

The Westing Game

Ellen Raskin · Buy on Amazon

"I have, for years, been a bit obsessed with "The Westing Game," by Ellen Raskin. It's a young adult murder mystery, about a group of residents in an apartment building, the death of a millionaire in a mansion nearby and their trying to solve clues."

A Confederacy of Dunces

John Kennedy Toole · Buy on Amazon

"A blisteringly funny masterpiece with larger-than-life characters who yearn for something more, all set in the backdrop of the French Quarter in New Orleans."

Bossypants

Tina Fey · Buy on Amazon

""Bossypants." That Tina Fey just may be on to something in the funny department."

The Alchemist

Paulo Coelho · 1988 · Buy on Amazon

"It's a brilliant, magical, life-changing book that continues to blow my mind with its lessons. I've never, ever encountered a book that would so consistently have me read a passage and be so moved and changed that I would just set the book down and think about what I just learned."

Favorite books (2019)

Favorite books recommended by Neil Patrick Harris, as compiled by radicalreads.com. Source article: https://radicalreads.com/neil-patrick-harris-favorite-books/.

Source: radicalreads.com

The Alchemist

Paulo Coelho · Buy on Amazon

"This book is magical. It is so densely packed with the most astute, illuminating, and thought-provoking prose, but so beautifully woven together that you have no choice but to savor each message."

A Confederacy of Dunces

John Kennedy Toole (also rec’d by David Bowie , Florence Welch , Neil Patrick Harris & Rose McGowan ) · Buy on Amazon

"This book is hysterical. Toole fleshes out his characters with such exquisite detail that you completely know them (whether or not you want to)."

Bridge to Terabithia

Katherine Patterson · Buy on Amazon

"This was one of my favorites growing up. It’s such a wonderfully written, bittersweet story, and perhaps the first time I was fully transported into another world by reading."

Gone Girl

Gillian Flynn · Buy on Amazon

"I’m not over this book. It’s so twisty and turny and exciting and scary and creepy and addicting. I’m a fan of interesting or unusual structure; this book, with its dual (and often conflicting) narrators, makes such excellent use of our own expectations of standard structure to keep the reader on their toes. Gillian Flynn is brilliant."

The Westing Game

Ellen Raskin · Buy on Amazon

"Oh, what a fun whodunit! A classic."

JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst · Buy on Amazon

"I hesitate to even call this a book — it’s almost more accurate to call it a book-themed puzzle. I just love the game of it, and the presentation. JJ Abrams, building a world within a world within a world."

Danny, Champion of the World

Roald Dahl · Buy on Amazon

"Truly, anything Roald Dahl. We read them all the time growing up. Just the right mix of absurdity and sweetness. Right now, as a father I’m feeling Danny, Champion of the World as it is a lovely insight into the father/son relationship."

Dragons Love Tacos

Adam Rubin · Buy on Amazon

"And my kids and I love this book. It’s not easy for an illustrated picture book to hit that sweet spot, where it is fun for the both the kids and the parents to read, but this this one does it. Charming and silly, this ridiculous book is a joy."

To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee (also rec’d by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar , Neil Patrick Harris , Nicholas Sparks & Shonda Rhimes ) · Buy on Amazon

"I love this book. I love it for the experience of reading it and for what it stands for. The skill in which Harper Lee so lovingly blended a wonderful story with real issues that needed attention has made this one of the best books of all time."

Hiding the Elephant: How Magicians Invented the Impossible and Learned to Disappear

Jim Steinmeyer · Buy on Amazon

"Jim Steinmeyer is the ultimate authority on the history of magic. In this book he offers a peak behind the curtain of one of the most beloved acts of magic, all while maintaining a respect for the magician’s code. A fascinating and entertaining read, especially if you are interested in magic."

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