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Slice Harvester: A Memoir in Pizza
Over the course of two years, a twenty-something punk rocker eats a cheese slice from every pizzeria in New York City, gets sober, falls in love, and starts a blog that captures headlines around the world—he is the Slice Harvester, and this is his story.
Since its arrival on US shores in 1905, pizza has risen from an obscure ethnic food to an iconic symbol of American culture. It has visited us in our dorm rooms and apartments, sometimes before we’d even unpacked or painted. It has nourished us during our jobs, consoled us during break-ups, and celebrated our triumphs right alongside us.
In August 2009, Colin Hagendorf set out to review every regular slice of pizza in Manhattan, and his blog, Slice Harvester, was born. Two years and nearly 400 slices later, he’d been featured in TheWall Street Journal, the Daily News (New York), and on radio shows all over the country. Suddenly, this self-proclaimed punk who was barely making a living doing burrito delivery and selling handmade zines had a following. But at the same time Colin was stepping up his game for the masses (grabbing slices with Phoebe Cates and her teenage daughter, reviewing kosher pizza so you don’t have to), his personal life was falling apart.
A problem drinker and chronic bad boyfriend, he started out using the blog as a way to escape—the hangovers, the midnight arguments, the hangovers again—until finally realizing that by taking steps to reach a goal day by day, he’d actually put himself in a place to finally take control of his life for good. - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Sli...
Since its arrival on US shores in 1905, pizza has risen from an obscure ethnic food to an iconic symbol of American culture. It has visited us in our dorm rooms and apartments, sometimes before we’d even unpacked or painted. It has nourished us during our jobs, consoled us during break-ups, and celebrated our triumphs right alongside us.
In August 2009, Colin Hagendorf set out to review every regular slice of pizza in Manhattan, and his blog, Slice Harvester, was born. Two years and nearly 400 slices later, he’d been featured in TheWall Street Journal, the Daily News (New York), and on radio shows all over the country. Suddenly, this self-proclaimed punk who was barely making a living doing burrito delivery and selling handmade zines had a following. But at the same time Colin was stepping up his game for the masses (grabbing slices with Phoebe Cates and her teenage daughter, reviewing kosher pizza so you don’t have to), his personal life was falling apart.
A problem drinker and chronic bad boyfriend, he started out using the blog as a way to escape—the hangovers, the midnight arguments, the hangovers again—until finally realizing that by taking steps to reach a goal day by day, he’d actually put himself in a place to finally take control of his life for good. - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Sli...
205 pages, Hardcover
First published August 11, 2015
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1920 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 158 reviews
October 1, 2018
this is one of those books that feels like you are hanging out with its author engaged in one of those meandering first-date conversations where you're having a good time, and excited about having a good time and sharing every fun anecdote you have in your arsenal and enjoying the company of a like-minded individual. the author is completely unaware of my side of the conversation we had while i was reading his book, and that's fine, but it was indeed a conversation. because we mourn the loss of the same things: st. marks pizza, coney island high, st marks in general. and we both enjoy food-projects - while not pizza-specific, i have my weekly "adventures in food and fun" where i drag greg all over new york to eat food, so i appreciate reading about someone else's commitment to new york eats, especially a project as daunting as this: to eat a slice from every pizzeria in new york city.
because there is A LOT of pizza in new york. in fact, the 435 slices he had, while staggering, actually seems low. you can walk down a block and pass three pizza places and think nothing of it. it's the visual equivalent of white noise. pizza is easy to make, it's inexpensive, and it's the fantastic drunk 4 am food when you know you should eat something but you don't have time to slow down. (i mean, from what i remember. old people don't do 4 am drunks) but and here's the thing - for a city that is generally known for its pizza (pipe down, chicago!) and for the omnipresence of the pizzeria, a lot of it is just … shitty. it's nonfood - something you eat just to fill you up a little - the 5 dollar handjob of food that you instantly forget having eaten. so i commend him on his quest because he learned this lesson the hard way.
but this book is not a tell-all of his experiences. it's not a collection of pizza reviews and it's not quite a memoir - there's no real shape to his stories. but it's entertaining and filled with his tales of drunkenness and the punk scene and people he knows* and ether he's huffed, how he got his couch, and making soup for his sick girlfriend garnished with a few wayward cat hairs, like most meals in my house. same here, man. it's a hodgepodge of his stories of innocence and experience loosely structured by his slice harvesting mission. worth noting is his first teenaged foray into trash and vaudeville which is this totally cheesy fashionpunk store on st. marks - it's kind of like what hot topic used to be for suburban kids and it is one of the very few things on that block that is still there somehow. but his wide-eyed adoration of it: As we left, I made a mental note to get my whole wardrobe from this place as soon as I was a grown-up is utterly charming.
i do wish there had been more about the pizza. i mean, there's plenty, but i could have done with some addresses and more of his hilarious assessments of what he encountered inside, my favorite of which is:
The pockmarked texture of the burnt cheese reminded me of James Woods's grimacing visage as he masturbated his new belly-vagina with a pistol in Videodrome.
i mean, a-plus for the reference. and he later references the stuff, which is one of my all-time faves, and when he gets the opportunity to eat pizza with phoebe cates and her daughter, his touchpoint is drop dead fred, which is absolutely the correct answer to "best phoebe cates movie ever."
some of his other critiques:
--It's not that the cheese didn't have a taste so much as it had an antitaste. It tasted of lack of absence.
--I'm glad we ate it, because if we hadn't, we'd be left to wonder how bad a slice of pizza could truly be.
overall, it's a sweet story about a punk kid with an appreciation for kris kristofferson and slick rick growing up and finding love and getting sober, growing out of zines and into the blogosphere, looking back on his life's journey which, like the pizzerias of new york, contains some shitty slices but also some shining stars that make the shit worth it.
i'm going to include this medium-long excerpt, because it is perfect and very DFW-ish in its cadence and his passion for pizza is powerful, contagious stuff:
warning - this book will make you really crave pizza. have some nearby.
* including aaron cometbus who does indeed have stupid long arms that i am still mad at because one sometimes you are at the housing works open air book fair or something and these loooong octopus arms will just snaffle up all the books you are trying to grab with your regular-sized person arms and you NEVER GET OVER IT.
********************************************************
okay, review to come and all, but i just wanted to say THANK YOU, mr. hagendorf, for letting me know that pizza suprema is the closest thing i will ever get to my much-beloved, much-missed st. marks pizza. the day after i finished this book, i ran right out to test pizza suprema's eggplant slice, which was my every-day treat back when i lived/worked near st. marks pizza. and it was damn good.
proper review to come, but i just wanted to celebrate being led to excellent pizza in a city of mediocre pizzas.
********************************************************
Congrats - you are a First Reads winner!
happy bastille day, me! let us eat pizza!!
come to my blog!
because there is A LOT of pizza in new york. in fact, the 435 slices he had, while staggering, actually seems low. you can walk down a block and pass three pizza places and think nothing of it. it's the visual equivalent of white noise. pizza is easy to make, it's inexpensive, and it's the fantastic drunk 4 am food when you know you should eat something but you don't have time to slow down. (i mean, from what i remember. old people don't do 4 am drunks) but and here's the thing - for a city that is generally known for its pizza (pipe down, chicago!) and for the omnipresence of the pizzeria, a lot of it is just … shitty. it's nonfood - something you eat just to fill you up a little - the 5 dollar handjob of food that you instantly forget having eaten. so i commend him on his quest because he learned this lesson the hard way.
but this book is not a tell-all of his experiences. it's not a collection of pizza reviews and it's not quite a memoir - there's no real shape to his stories. but it's entertaining and filled with his tales of drunkenness and the punk scene and people he knows* and ether he's huffed, how he got his couch, and making soup for his sick girlfriend garnished with a few wayward cat hairs, like most meals in my house. same here, man. it's a hodgepodge of his stories of innocence and experience loosely structured by his slice harvesting mission. worth noting is his first teenaged foray into trash and vaudeville which is this totally cheesy fashionpunk store on st. marks - it's kind of like what hot topic used to be for suburban kids and it is one of the very few things on that block that is still there somehow. but his wide-eyed adoration of it: As we left, I made a mental note to get my whole wardrobe from this place as soon as I was a grown-up is utterly charming.
i do wish there had been more about the pizza. i mean, there's plenty, but i could have done with some addresses and more of his hilarious assessments of what he encountered inside, my favorite of which is:
The pockmarked texture of the burnt cheese reminded me of James Woods's grimacing visage as he masturbated his new belly-vagina with a pistol in Videodrome.
i mean, a-plus for the reference. and he later references the stuff, which is one of my all-time faves, and when he gets the opportunity to eat pizza with phoebe cates and her daughter, his touchpoint is drop dead fred, which is absolutely the correct answer to "best phoebe cates movie ever."
some of his other critiques:
--It's not that the cheese didn't have a taste so much as it had an antitaste. It tasted of lack of absence.
--I'm glad we ate it, because if we hadn't, we'd be left to wonder how bad a slice of pizza could truly be.
overall, it's a sweet story about a punk kid with an appreciation for kris kristofferson and slick rick growing up and finding love and getting sober, growing out of zines and into the blogosphere, looking back on his life's journey which, like the pizzerias of new york, contains some shitty slices but also some shining stars that make the shit worth it.
i'm going to include this medium-long excerpt, because it is perfect and very DFW-ish in its cadence and his passion for pizza is powerful, contagious stuff:
Feelings that are similar to eating magic pizza: when music perfectly matches the weather or your mood (Billie Holiday on a trembly tape deck when it's rainy; Cam'ron out a car window at the beginning of summer, drinking a beer on a stoop with your pals with Three Headcoatees on the jambox, Lee Moses on spring evenings, etc.); the sense of relief and/or exultation felt when you've been having an ambiguous "not a date but not not a date" hangout with someone you've been crushing on and tension has been mounting all day, and then you finally hold hands or have some other affirmation that The Feeling Is Mutual; finding a rare record or book or stamp or baseball card or shirt or coin or whatever the fuck you collect in a thrift store or at a garage sale or whatever; when you look so sharp right after a haircut and you got on your new black jeans that fit just right and you know you're going to be the flyest person in whatever space you'll be in for at least the next couple of hours, if not the next few days. What these disparate moments share is the feeling of everything falling into place, the feeling that regardless of all the external bummers of day-to-day living, things are at least momentarily going your way; the fates are smiling down on you. Maybe your feelings aren't the same as mine; maybe for you eating a perfect slice feels like stealing home in your softball league, your kid getting straight As, or slam-dunking the Henderson account. You get the point, though. The right slice makes it all feel okay.
warning - this book will make you really crave pizza. have some nearby.
* including aaron cometbus who does indeed have stupid long arms that i am still mad at because one sometimes you are at the housing works open air book fair or something and these loooong octopus arms will just snaffle up all the books you are trying to grab with your regular-sized person arms and you NEVER GET OVER IT.
********************************************************
okay, review to come and all, but i just wanted to say THANK YOU, mr. hagendorf, for letting me know that pizza suprema is the closest thing i will ever get to my much-beloved, much-missed st. marks pizza. the day after i finished this book, i ran right out to test pizza suprema's eggplant slice, which was my every-day treat back when i lived/worked near st. marks pizza. and it was damn good.
proper review to come, but i just wanted to celebrate being led to excellent pizza in a city of mediocre pizzas.
********************************************************
Congrats - you are a First Reads winner!
happy bastille day, me! let us eat pizza!!
come to my blog!
June 28, 2016
I was so looking forward to this one. It combined my childhood dream (to grow up in NYC and wander the streets as a teenager) and my adulthood dream (eat my way around NYC's pizza joints). I picked it up after seeing it on a 'best of' list on NPR.
The book is about the author who sets out on a task of eating a slice of pizza from the hundreds of NYC pizza joints and discussing/documenting and rating that pizza. The author doesn't hold back. You hear all about his drinking, doing drugs, being a punk, having no money, being hungover a lot, his girlfriend, and eating a few slices of pizza along the way. Frankly, I would have liked more about the pizza eating part and not so much of his drunken escapades. I dunno, perhaps this might be better for a younger audience than me. I just wanted the pizza details. I give props to the author for a unique idea and sticking with it.
The book is about the author who sets out on a task of eating a slice of pizza from the hundreds of NYC pizza joints and discussing/documenting and rating that pizza. The author doesn't hold back. You hear all about his drinking, doing drugs, being a punk, having no money, being hungover a lot, his girlfriend, and eating a few slices of pizza along the way. Frankly, I would have liked more about the pizza eating part and not so much of his drunken escapades. I dunno, perhaps this might be better for a younger audience than me. I just wanted the pizza details. I give props to the author for a unique idea and sticking with it.
June 13, 2015
I wrote this
July 15, 2015
www.melissa413readsalot.blogspot.com
This book did one thing for me, and that was crave pizza. All I have done is crave pizza! I had to get a cheese pizza the other day because of this book. I'm getting one tonight because of this book, but I digress!
Colin decided he wanted to write a blog about eating all of the pizza in New York. He started out on a Tues, Aug. 11, 2009, at Grandpa's Brick Oven Pizza. It was good pizza.
Through most of the book you get to hear about Colin's life as a punk rocker, his alcoholism, eating pizza with friends, eating pizza alone, and his girlfriend.
It was a little interesting at times reading about his life. I enjoyed going to some of the pizza places and talking about the pizza. What I would give to try that out some day!
When your reading a memoir you take the good with the bad. I thought this was just going to be little tid bits of his life revolving around pizza but it's a lot about his drinking and drugs, and throwing up every morning, which I skipped over because I'm trying to enjoy pizza here!
Colin just says what's on his mind and a lot of people will find him rude. It's just who he is and looked over that and kept going.
I can only recommend this book to people that want to sit, crave and eat pizza for however long it takes you to finish this book.
There is a good ending to the book when he decides to stop drinking and is getting along better with his girlfriend. And I'm sure, still eating plenty of pizza!
*THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND THE PUBLISHER FOR GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO READ THIS BOOK FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.**
This book did one thing for me, and that was crave pizza. All I have done is crave pizza! I had to get a cheese pizza the other day because of this book. I'm getting one tonight because of this book, but I digress!
Colin decided he wanted to write a blog about eating all of the pizza in New York. He started out on a Tues, Aug. 11, 2009, at Grandpa's Brick Oven Pizza. It was good pizza.
Through most of the book you get to hear about Colin's life as a punk rocker, his alcoholism, eating pizza with friends, eating pizza alone, and his girlfriend.
It was a little interesting at times reading about his life. I enjoyed going to some of the pizza places and talking about the pizza. What I would give to try that out some day!
When your reading a memoir you take the good with the bad. I thought this was just going to be little tid bits of his life revolving around pizza but it's a lot about his drinking and drugs, and throwing up every morning, which I skipped over because I'm trying to enjoy pizza here!
Colin just says what's on his mind and a lot of people will find him rude. It's just who he is and looked over that and kept going.
I can only recommend this book to people that want to sit, crave and eat pizza for however long it takes you to finish this book.
There is a good ending to the book when he decides to stop drinking and is getting along better with his girlfriend. And I'm sure, still eating plenty of pizza!
*THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND THE PUBLISHER FOR GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO READ THIS BOOK FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.**
February 21, 2017
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway. Thanks much!
This was mostly about his life. The pizza was the backstory. I was disappointed.
This was mostly about his life. The pizza was the backstory. I was disappointed.
November 28, 2015
Three stars is a bit generous, but two would be unfair - think of this one as "OK, but not worth going out of one's way for" and you'll be on the right track. Target audience would be folks interested in the life story (I really can't deal with "memoir" or "autobiography" for folks much under 40, sorry) of an articulate, alcoholic punk rocker ... which just wasn't me. I wanted to get into this book as I liked the author, and wish him well, but I just couldn't without a lot of skimming. The pizza angle served as a very loose framework, and aside from the strong beginning where the Inwood neighborhood came through as a setting, the city itself stayed in the background. Most of time, you'll be reading about his friends, his love life, and his drinking.
June 21, 2015
I liked the pizza part. The drunken punk part got old.
March 20, 2020
Being a Punk Rocker and a pizza lover I really enjoyed this book.
August 16, 2015
I'm really glad the editor of this book didn't turn around and say, "Colin, you can't write a book that sounds like this, what are you even saying," (or maybe they did, and then changed their mind, I don't know the intricacies of how this book came to fruit.) Slice Harvester is an unlikely Good Book, written in a run on, vocal fry, crust punk vernacular. The adjective that comes to mind about this book is "relatable," which is subjective, but if you (like me, and the author) grew up in the suburbs just outside of NYC, took the commuter train to St. Marks and oggled at stupid expensive punk clothing while eating the block's cheap fare, you'll likely relate to this.
The book is about pizza, of course, but more than that, it's about Hagendorf's life at the time his zine of the same name was being collated. We meet his friends, lover, pizza guys, celebrities, and most prevalent, a lot of bad slices. He's got a way with dissecting the elements of a slice and relating it to punk ("it had what makes a Ramones song timeless and a Screeching Weasel song boring.") A lot of these references might be lost on the average not-punk, but you are in good hands to take his word for it (Screeching Weasel are very boring.) The book also spoils us by telling the long history of an Italian immigrant family who, by way of a few generations, came to NYC to bring us what Hagendorf deems "the perfect slice." (if you're a not-punk reading this, that might be what you're really after.)
All in all, a supremely enjoyable read that nearly persuaded me, a vegan of 10 years, to just eat a damn regular slice. One star off because I didn't do it.
The book is about pizza, of course, but more than that, it's about Hagendorf's life at the time his zine of the same name was being collated. We meet his friends, lover, pizza guys, celebrities, and most prevalent, a lot of bad slices. He's got a way with dissecting the elements of a slice and relating it to punk ("it had what makes a Ramones song timeless and a Screeching Weasel song boring.") A lot of these references might be lost on the average not-punk, but you are in good hands to take his word for it (Screeching Weasel are very boring.) The book also spoils us by telling the long history of an Italian immigrant family who, by way of a few generations, came to NYC to bring us what Hagendorf deems "the perfect slice." (if you're a not-punk reading this, that might be what you're really after.)
All in all, a supremely enjoyable read that nearly persuaded me, a vegan of 10 years, to just eat a damn regular slice. One star off because I didn't do it.
October 21, 2015
Slice Harvester started as a drunken idea, something that probably would have just fizzled out if it weren’t for some good friends and a lot of determination. Colin Atrophy Hagendorf decided to eat a ‘regular slice’ at every pizzeria in New York City a feat which took him about 2 years to accomplish, even when Pizza Missions generally involved visiting quite a few locations in an afternoon.
Although the book does include some awesome reviews of divine or terrifying places to get pizza in NYC, it also includes a lot of Hagendorf’s nostalgia for his teenaged haunts, details about his process and his life beyond eating 435 slices of pizza and of course, many punk asides and stories. This isn’t a memoir for everyone, Hagendorf is a punk first and foremost, so his story is peppered with grossout details, unapologetic swearing and occasional flights of the just plain weird.
I was impressed by Hagendorf’s dedication to his project. Even when he was going through tough times he continued to eat, photograph and review slices. It’s inspiring, reminded me of something my gym teacher said during our track unit back in HS, “Even if you slow down, never stop, stopping means death.” I may have made up that last bit, but that was the general sense.
There was one aspect of this book that I think would not only appeal to everyone, whether or not one is a punk, a New Yorker or a Foodie. It made me extremely hungry for pizza. I was lucky to be near a place that had really great pizza as I was reading this book, so I took the time to savor my slice (folded in NY style) and think about the cheese to sauce ratio and the quality of the bake on the dough I was crunching. It’s great to be conscious of how lucky one is when enjoying something homemade and delicious and really take note of it, rather than just consume alone.
Although the book does include some awesome reviews of divine or terrifying places to get pizza in NYC, it also includes a lot of Hagendorf’s nostalgia for his teenaged haunts, details about his process and his life beyond eating 435 slices of pizza and of course, many punk asides and stories. This isn’t a memoir for everyone, Hagendorf is a punk first and foremost, so his story is peppered with grossout details, unapologetic swearing and occasional flights of the just plain weird.
I was impressed by Hagendorf’s dedication to his project. Even when he was going through tough times he continued to eat, photograph and review slices. It’s inspiring, reminded me of something my gym teacher said during our track unit back in HS, “Even if you slow down, never stop, stopping means death.” I may have made up that last bit, but that was the general sense.
There was one aspect of this book that I think would not only appeal to everyone, whether or not one is a punk, a New Yorker or a Foodie. It made me extremely hungry for pizza. I was lucky to be near a place that had really great pizza as I was reading this book, so I took the time to savor my slice (folded in NY style) and think about the cheese to sauce ratio and the quality of the bake on the dough I was crunching. It’s great to be conscious of how lucky one is when enjoying something homemade and delicious and really take note of it, rather than just consume alone.
October 14, 2018
I picked this book up in the "sale" section of Green Apple primarily because there was pizza on the cover. I thought "I like pizza." I have also been reading a lot of personal essays/memoirs lately so it seemed to fit into my current reading picks.
By about 5 pages in I had a crush on the author (I know I sound 15 saying that but whatever). A tattooed punk rocker that loves pizza and rides his bike around for little to no money and drinks way too much? Sounds about right for me.
But my girlish tendencies aside I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the author's ability to tell stories involving memorable slices that were connected to life experiences. I didn't expect a book of pizza reviews so I was pretty happy with what I found. Some reviewers seem to beef with the fact that it's not just a book of pizza reviews. I feel like the blurb on the back paints a pretty clear picture of the book-- his personal life experience intertwined with his great pizza eating endeavor.
His writing is easy to read, funny, and honest. I like his ability to admit his own assholey behavior and have had more than a few of the hangovers he describes throughout the book (and don't miss the days of those and hope those days are behind me).
So if you're looking for a memoir by a punk rocker with a true love for pizza, pick this book up. If you're just looking for pizza reviews, google it or something.
By about 5 pages in I had a crush on the author (I know I sound 15 saying that but whatever). A tattooed punk rocker that loves pizza and rides his bike around for little to no money and drinks way too much? Sounds about right for me.
But my girlish tendencies aside I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the author's ability to tell stories involving memorable slices that were connected to life experiences. I didn't expect a book of pizza reviews so I was pretty happy with what I found. Some reviewers seem to beef with the fact that it's not just a book of pizza reviews. I feel like the blurb on the back paints a pretty clear picture of the book-- his personal life experience intertwined with his great pizza eating endeavor.
His writing is easy to read, funny, and honest. I like his ability to admit his own assholey behavior and have had more than a few of the hangovers he describes throughout the book (and don't miss the days of those and hope those days are behind me).
So if you're looking for a memoir by a punk rocker with a true love for pizza, pick this book up. If you're just looking for pizza reviews, google it or something.
August 7, 2019
I was hoping for more pizza and less punk memoir. Growing up in NY and being an aficionado of pizza gave me great joy in anticipating the read. I was disapointed. This is much more about the maturing and coming of adulthood for a self styled punker who did drugs, drank, left schooling on the table and eeked out an existence in NY. Oh, and as an after thought wove his tale around visiting pizza joints. He shows remorse for how he treated people including his parents but I did not find him as someone I would have liked to know. More pizza reviews, more pizza location reviews and less author would have been good.
December 20, 2022
I probably wouldn't have finished this book if it weren't for the BookRiot challenge - I stuck with it because it counts toward the "food memoir" category and there's not another book I particularly want to read right now in that genre. So I pushed through, making myself read it while I worked so I could read more enjoyable things at night. I liked the idea (I love weird quixotic quests) but found the author incredibly irritating. It's one thing to have an unlikable narrator in fiction, but in a memoir in which the entire story arc involves a dude eating a lot of pizza? It's deadly.
August 23, 2018
“Hey guys, I’m really cool. I live in NYC and do drugs and go to punk shows in leather jackets and I’m really fucking punk.”
Jesus fucking Christ. You’re cool and hip and live in a huge city as a delivery boy. You’re punk and you haven’t given up the ghost. 200 pages of this. Unnecessary.
Jesus fucking Christ. You’re cool and hip and live in a huge city as a delivery boy. You’re punk and you haven’t given up the ghost. 200 pages of this. Unnecessary.
January 15, 2017
I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway. I struggled getting through the whole book since it was boring. I usually like first-person narrations, but this one was not compelling.
March 31, 2022
Made me want a slice post haste after reading. Very inspiring.
August 30, 2015
I'm not usually a fan of memoirs. The details of some poor sap's life aren't any of my business. And yet, I liked this book more than the average memoir that I've read.
The best thing about this book is the dive into the mind of someone from a completely different culture from my own. Punk rock culture and the intricacies of living in a big city are completely foreign to me. I enjoyed the opportunity to gain certain glimpses into the thinking of someone so different from myself. Hagendorf at one point states that he loves the city because of the opportunity to rub elbows with people of so many different backgrounds and persuasions; he manages to bring a small sampling of that to me, by allowing me to virtually accompany him on his pizza eating ventures, and his musings on various subjects. I'm grateful for that.
My biggest frustration about the book, as with most memoirs I've read, are about some of the personal details of the author's life. I won't go into those here, since they are the essence of the book. Suffice to say I was glad to see the progress he has made in making himself a better person, and simultaneously frustrated by certain poor choices he makes. But this is not a Hollywood script, it's a real person's life, and so my comment is not intended as a criticism. I am merely making an observation on my own feelings as I read. I have no doubt that someone reading about my life would be similarly frustrated by my own poor choices and weaknesses. We all work out our own lives and choices, with the information we have, and the opportunities we've been given.
As for the pizza, this is a wonderful overview of the New York pizza scene. I only wish I could have read this book before my last trip to the city -- I might have made some very different culinary choices.
@sliceharvester @simonbooks
Full disclosure: I received this book free in a Goodreads Giveaway. I haven't received any other compensation for this review, and the provider of the book did not attempt to influence the content of this review in any way.
The best thing about this book is the dive into the mind of someone from a completely different culture from my own. Punk rock culture and the intricacies of living in a big city are completely foreign to me. I enjoyed the opportunity to gain certain glimpses into the thinking of someone so different from myself. Hagendorf at one point states that he loves the city because of the opportunity to rub elbows with people of so many different backgrounds and persuasions; he manages to bring a small sampling of that to me, by allowing me to virtually accompany him on his pizza eating ventures, and his musings on various subjects. I'm grateful for that.
My biggest frustration about the book, as with most memoirs I've read, are about some of the personal details of the author's life. I won't go into those here, since they are the essence of the book. Suffice to say I was glad to see the progress he has made in making himself a better person, and simultaneously frustrated by certain poor choices he makes. But this is not a Hollywood script, it's a real person's life, and so my comment is not intended as a criticism. I am merely making an observation on my own feelings as I read. I have no doubt that someone reading about my life would be similarly frustrated by my own poor choices and weaknesses. We all work out our own lives and choices, with the information we have, and the opportunities we've been given.
As for the pizza, this is a wonderful overview of the New York pizza scene. I only wish I could have read this book before my last trip to the city -- I might have made some very different culinary choices.
@sliceharvester @simonbooks
Full disclosure: I received this book free in a Goodreads Giveaway. I haven't received any other compensation for this review, and the provider of the book did not attempt to influence the content of this review in any way.
February 14, 2016
I received the book for free through Goodreads Giveaways. I requested this book originally because I love a book with a gimmick, especially when it’s Non-fiction. I like reading about people deciding to challenge themselves with some sort of goal, it inspires me to want to challenge myself. The author, Colin Atrophy Hagendorf (very cool name by the way!) decides to eat a plain slice of pizza from every pizzeria in New York City. In the two years it takes him to meet his goal so much more happens than just eating pizza. A blog, first and foremost the author gives you samples of his reviews of some of the pizzerias.
He made this goal, which was an undertaking by itself, the fact that he took the time to photograph his pizza slices and write creative reviews for each one was impressive to me. He was honest and creative throughout the book without being cruel. You could tell how much he cares about New York and it feels like he’s giving you an insider’s tour to a New York of the past. Although I am not a part of his scene or way of life I really enjoyed reading what he had to say. There is a section in the book where Colin writes a part about the reason he got into punk, made zines, and played music was an attempt to assert him as one of those cool weirdos that we see throughout history. I firmly believe he has succeeded in becoming one of these cool weirdos.
He made this goal, which was an undertaking by itself, the fact that he took the time to photograph his pizza slices and write creative reviews for each one was impressive to me. He was honest and creative throughout the book without being cruel. You could tell how much he cares about New York and it feels like he’s giving you an insider’s tour to a New York of the past. Although I am not a part of his scene or way of life I really enjoyed reading what he had to say. There is a section in the book where Colin writes a part about the reason he got into punk, made zines, and played music was an attempt to assert him as one of those cool weirdos that we see throughout history. I firmly believe he has succeeded in becoming one of these cool weirdos.
October 12, 2015
This was such a bizarrely enjoyable reading experience. On one hand, pizza. On the other hand, Hagendorf struggled to pull his blog into a full-length book. The transitions from his recycled blog content to new, personal stories are uneven–sometimes awkward, sometimes smooth. Don’t get me wrong: this guy is a creative writer. There are only so many ways to describe pizza, or so I thought, but some of his analogies are truly inspired. (For example: “…the pockmarked texture of the burnt cheese reminded me of James Woods’ grimacing visage, masturbating his new belly-vagina with a pistol in Videodrome.”) The book content gets darker as Hagendorf struggles with alcoholism, but his honest writing style and earnest desire to be more conversational with the reader pays off here. It’s a hard jump to make from Manhattan pizza reviewer to serious memoirist (and back), and it’s not always executed perfectly, but to borrow a bit from his blog: “I am not in the best mood right now, so this review may be a little lackluster, but don’t blame the pizza, the pizza is fine. Not great, but good.” Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this copy in exchange for a review.
August 30, 2015
Received this book from Goodreads for an honest review!
This has to be one of the weirdest memoirs I have ever read and I loved every page of it.
Most times, when a "punk rock" person writes a memoir, it's about their so called punk lifestyle, even though they are hipster sellouts who live life by other peoples rules. When I found out Colin was a punk, I rolled my eyes and wasn't expecting anything. But you don't get that from him. Hes true to himself and the Punk community. Oy! Oy! Oy! He's a badass mofo.... shut yo mouth.
With every slice came a stellar review and it delved more into the background of his life. Describing every slice, made me eat pizza every day when I started reading this.
If you are looking for something different in the memoir department, please pick this up. You won't regret it.
I also feel like if I met him on the street, he would join me for a regular slice or two.
This has to be one of the weirdest memoirs I have ever read and I loved every page of it.
Most times, when a "punk rock" person writes a memoir, it's about their so called punk lifestyle, even though they are hipster sellouts who live life by other peoples rules. When I found out Colin was a punk, I rolled my eyes and wasn't expecting anything. But you don't get that from him. Hes true to himself and the Punk community. Oy! Oy! Oy! He's a badass mofo.... shut yo mouth.
With every slice came a stellar review and it delved more into the background of his life. Describing every slice, made me eat pizza every day when I started reading this.
If you are looking for something different in the memoir department, please pick this up. You won't regret it.
I also feel like if I met him on the street, he would join me for a regular slice or two.
February 7, 2017
Generally, this was a pretty good book. This cat, a self proclaimed punk rocker, endeavors to eat and rate pizza at every pizza establishment in Manhattan. All the while, he deals with alcoholism and personal issues. Overall, the book was a cool way to tour Manhattan and learn about the underground punk scene in NYC (of which I know almost nothing about. I thought punk died in the 80s). Further, the author's social commentary was surprisingly insightful. The book kind of goes off the rails two thirds of the way in when it goes into the history of the pizza establishment the author declared the best pizza in New York (no spoilers). This section felt like reading an encyclopedia entry, while the rest of the book was more conversational. Overall, I think this book is unique enough to recommend.
December 29, 2015
I haven't met many people who view pizza on a metaphysical level, but Colin Atrophy Hagendorf is definitely one of pizza's chosen. Not only has he provided snappy reviews for every pizza joint in Manhattan via his blog and fan-zine, but his quest actually helped him reevaluate his own life and get it together.
While I didn't love the author's tangents regarding the New York punk scene, homeboy definitely sticks to his convictions and I can respect that. All the same, Slice Harvester is a great book for fans of travelogues, self-revelation and the cheesy round sunshine of pizza.
Sidenote--I got this book from my wife Sheree as a Christmas present. Thus far, she's three for three in getting me awesome books for Christmas.
While I didn't love the author's tangents regarding the New York punk scene, homeboy definitely sticks to his convictions and I can respect that. All the same, Slice Harvester is a great book for fans of travelogues, self-revelation and the cheesy round sunshine of pizza.
Sidenote--I got this book from my wife Sheree as a Christmas present. Thus far, she's three for three in getting me awesome books for Christmas.
August 13, 2015
What a nice book about New York City, politics, family, and pizza!!!
November 28, 2015
I loved it SO MUCH. I actually laughed and cried and the whole thing filled me up so much.
February 28, 2024
An ok read on the life of a vagabond wanting more then doing drugs, eating pizza.
July 22, 2022
Riding a bike in New York City can be one of those mystical experiences in which you suddenly find yourself in tune with the universe- like losing yourself in the music of an amazing bad, kissing your sweetheart, or eating the perfect slice.
August 28, 2021
A trust funder’s guide to pizza and the greatest city in the world. A fable of someone who survived the guilt of being awful to her partners by using her parent’s money to blog about pizza with no toppings. NY pizza? Ever heard of it?! What a concept. Blessed are the colonizers who discover these traditional local dishes.
July 24, 2023
Disappointingly skimmed to DNF. By midway through the book I didn’t care for the author’s arrogant drunken personality which caused me to also realize I truly don’t care about her opinions on pizza either.
March 12, 2023
Easy to read. Interesting look at pizza, alcoholism, and aughts New York. Despite never being a punk I’ve always admired Fuck You ethos and struggled my fair share with substance abuse. Corporate Death Burger Ronald McDonald. As I read Slice Harvester much of it resonated with my own experiences. Despite feeling like an alien the one time Ive been to New York I still love the ideas and descriptions of the city by its inhabitants, and this book is very New York.
This is a memoir first pizza story second. Personally i wish there was some more reprints of the actual Slice Harvester reviews, but maybe it would have detracted from the narrative.
This is a memoir first pizza story second. Personally i wish there was some more reprints of the actual Slice Harvester reviews, but maybe it would have detracted from the narrative.
April 18, 2017
I was surprised by how much I liked this book. I'm not usually a fan of memoirs, much less of "novelty" memoirs--ie. "I'm going to do this weird thing and then write about it, using it to make big points about the meaning of life, etc." I only picked it up because... I mean, pizza, amiright?
Anyway, I was almost as thrilled by how much I liked this book as I was by the book itself, you know? It reads like outsider art, as Hagendorf never reverts from an authorial voice that is conversational, casual, and authentic in the way that it is surely exactly the way he speaks in real life (I hope it is!).
The punks are going to be upset with me, but much of what I loved about Slice Harvester is how charmed I was by Hagendorf's descriptions of the punk movement. Combat boots? Adorable. Local bands? Awesome! A tight-knit social scene? That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard. I dogeared a few pages in which Hagendorf name drops, and I'm listening to The Fugs right now at his recommendation.
I find myself not mentioning the pizza, because although that's the premise of the book, it's really not its point. Instead, I much prefer thinking about the moments when I was surprised to have Hagendorf's words touch me. His continual avoidance of thinking about "Life," and all of the avoidance strategies that he has to employ to make that work, ring true to me in a way that's familiar and much more sad when I notice it in him than when I find it in myself. And then he quotes Screamin' Jesus, and the simple truth in what he says stops me in my tracks. Damnit it, Hagendorf! You made me feel feelings!
Anyway, I was almost as thrilled by how much I liked this book as I was by the book itself, you know? It reads like outsider art, as Hagendorf never reverts from an authorial voice that is conversational, casual, and authentic in the way that it is surely exactly the way he speaks in real life (I hope it is!).
The punks are going to be upset with me, but much of what I loved about Slice Harvester is how charmed I was by Hagendorf's descriptions of the punk movement. Combat boots? Adorable. Local bands? Awesome! A tight-knit social scene? That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard. I dogeared a few pages in which Hagendorf name drops, and I'm listening to The Fugs right now at his recommendation.
I find myself not mentioning the pizza, because although that's the premise of the book, it's really not its point. Instead, I much prefer thinking about the moments when I was surprised to have Hagendorf's words touch me. His continual avoidance of thinking about "Life," and all of the avoidance strategies that he has to employ to make that work, ring true to me in a way that's familiar and much more sad when I notice it in him than when I find it in myself. And then he quotes Screamin' Jesus, and the simple truth in what he says stops me in my tracks. Damnit it, Hagendorf! You made me feel feelings!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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