“A tradition unlike any other …” The MASTER of liveblogging (me) will be liveblogging the Olympics tonight starting at 8:00 PM EST!
Olympics Spirit — catch it if you can!!!
Uncategorized
Reviews!
If you’re a writer, your self-worth is determined by how people you’ve never met respond to your work. This is good because it makes your ego a model of stability!
Anyway, enough of my high-falutin’ psychobabble. Here are two reviews of HOW TO SHARPEN PENCILS:
From the EDMONTON JOURNAL:
By the time Rees is actually supplying meticulous instructions for the use of various sharpening devices, the reader will feel psyched, not only from reading such vividly conveyed preparations but also via Rees’s intoxicating use of terminology, e.g., “planer orifice,†terms that function as entry points into another world.
From the NEW YORK TIMES:
David Rees credits a 1940 shipfitters’ manual as inspiration for “How to Sharpen Pencils,†his stupefyingly exhaustive guide to the art, science and artisanal pleasures of manually shaping a thin graphite column encased in a 6.75-inch-long wooden tube to a satisfactorily sharp point for writing, drawing, doodling or inserting up a nostril. Shipfitters must have a high boredom threshold.
Uncategorized
It Seems Like I Only Use This Blog To Inform You When Another Recap Has Been Published; Forgive Me
Here it is.
Uncategorized
Around The World In 80 Plates Of Grey
Guess what? Here’s another recap of everyone’s* favorite show!
Curtis Stone announces that Nookie and John have won $10,000. They shout and smile, and I cannot help but feel happy for them. Curtis Stone is the perfect host, generous with his wealth. His eyes twinkle handsomely, and I feel an electric charge zapping beneath my skin. Wow. He really is a fine specimen of a man, and before I know it I’m licking the TV screen, enjoying my very own Curtis-Stone flavored popsicle, as my inner goddess does cartwheels through an abandoned bubblegum factory.
(*maybe not)
Uncategorized
Around The Plate In 80 Worlds
My latest recap of the most mixed-up reality cooking show of all time is here.
Uncategorized
Around The World In 800,000 Plates Recap
Here’s another recap of the crazy cooking show everyone is not really talking about!
Dos Cielas is run by twins named Sergio and Javier Torres. They are close personal friends with José Andrés, a chef so famous and talented my chef friend said, “Whoa†with an intonation suggesting “Why is that guy appearing on this dumb show?â€
Uncategorized
Review Of How To Sharpen Pencils
Here’s a nice review of HOW TO SHARPEN PENCILS that was published on the New Yorker’s blog:
The tension between the desire for perfection and the need to live in a world in which perfection is impossible is a covert theme in the book, and Rees’s frequent allusions to the analogous relationship between an imperfect pencil tip and an imperfect life seem both goofily ironic and utterly sincere.
Many thanks to reviewer Mark O’Connell for his thoughtful response to my work!
Uncategorized
End Of Tour Pencil-Pointing Party
Greetings from North Carolina! My pencil-sharpening tour is just about done. Thanks to everyone who came to the events in Durham and Asheville — they were really fun!
This Friday I’m doing a final event for the HOW TO SHARPEN PENCILS tour. Joining me will be John Hodgman and Jonathan Coulton.
You can buy tickets for the event here.
I’m tired! I’m gonna take another nap!
Uncategorized
Around The World In 80 Plates
Hello, blog readers from the internet! I’ve been so busy on my pencil tour that I forgot to let you know that I’m recapping a new reality food show on Bravo called “AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 PLATES.”
The first recap is here:
Over at the Drapers Arms, Red Team announces they have temporarily changed the name of the pub to British Love, American Pride (!?!). The British patrons, to their credit, are openly furious.
I guess that’s it for today’s installment of my blog.
Uncategorized
Each One, Teach One
Yesterday morning I had the pleasure of speaking to a class of second graders about my pencil-sharpening business. These kids GOT IT. They UNDERSTAND what I am DOING.
I showed them photos of antique pencil sharpeners in my book:
We reviewed the parts of a pencil:
I even let them look at some of the sharpeners in my toolkit!
Overall it was a very nice visit. The only thing that made me mad was when one of the kids asked how much I charge per pencil; I said, “How much do you think I charge?†and one kid yelled, “Five dollars†and I made a pained noise. Then another kid said “One dollar?†and then some wiseacre said “twenty-five cents?†I raised my voice over the din and said, “FIFTEEN DOLLARS PER PENCIL!â€
I sharpened a pencil for the class and bagged the shavings and told them to charge other classes a quarter to look at it and to send me the money every Friday.