Book: How to Sharpen Pencils by David Rees
Reviewed by: Steven
David Rees’s artistic journey defies categorization. Best known as the cynical mastermind responsible for Get Your War On, the clip-art diatribe against the culture of fear and hostility cultivated by the previous presidential administration, the erstwhile cartoonist has strayed from the limelight to pursue a career that is “designed to be a conversation stopper”. Having jettisoned Get Your War On the day that president Bush left office (all royalties from the sales of GYWO books benefit the clearing of minefields in Afghanistan) and briefly dabbling in office drama (My New Filing Technique Is Unstoppable) and karate drama (My New Fighting Technique Is Unstoppable), the logical next step for an unapologetically sincere literary humorist was to embrace the humble pleasure of of a very specific form of handiwork – the artisanal sharpening of pencils.
In his new book, How To Sharpen Pencils, David Rees shares the joy of pure craftsmanship with the reader, effectively demonstrating the proper way to sharpen a pencil while emphasizing the necessity of a physical and mental connection between artists and their tools. David Rees inspires pencil users to become pencil celebrators. How To Sharpen Pencils is admittedly hilarious. Throughout the course of its reading, I had to abandon my bus on more than one occasion to avoid being viewed by my fellow passengers as “that cackling maniac”. The author is well aware of the triviality of the privileged information contained therein, and the dispassionate delivery of the text only serves to escalate the humor to a fever pitch. However, Mr. Rees is indeed a devoted woodworker, and his thorough knowledge of the subject betrays his devotion to his craft. How To Sharpen Pencils is epistemically enticing, genuinely informative, and bizarrely whimsical. Additionally, it actually instructs the reader on how best to sharpen a pencil.
David Rees will appear at BookPeople on Tuesday April 17 at 7:00 p.m. on the second floor, where he will speak, answer questions, sharpen pencils, and sign books. Be sure to purchase your copy of How To Sharpen Pencils from BookPeople if you want to have it signed, and LEAVE YOUR MECHANICAL PENCILS AT HOME.
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