Never has a single book impacted my to-be-read list like Dear Fahrenheit 451. As a result of reading Annie Spence's letters to books and commentary about books, my TBR has been packed and slashed.
After reading just the first two letters (if that), I was recommending this book to my teacher colleagues.
I frequently found myself nodding and chuckling in agreement with Spence's letters to different books, series, and even whole genres. Her letters to certain texts are exactly my thoughts about those same books. I kept thinking that there would be a deviation at some point, but on a whole, I totally agree with Spence's book opinions. The books that she recommends or speaks highly of have been moved to the very top of my TBR. They will be read soon!
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy of Dear Fahrenheit 451. I love it!

I simply loved this book! As a librarian, I felt Annie and I are kindred spirits. I especially enjoyed the letters written to the books. She has greatly increased the number of books on my personal To Be Read list. Will Annie be the next Nancy Pearl?

I wished for this book and my wish was granted. I was so excited to start reading and then the disappointment set in. I don’t usually have a contrarian nature but after reading several reviews I seem to be the odd man out.

While Ms. Spence is certainly “outrageous in the most relatable way” and had a very clever idea, the proof is in the execution and that is where it fell apart for me. Her constant use of unseemly and inappropriate language was humorous in the first instance but became too familiar and altogether unnecessary. I am all for sex and nudity when it enhances a scene, line, story, but used gratuitously it becomes boring, irritating and shows a lack of depth.

So, “after surviving all that shit” (author’s words) I closed the book with no new book recommendations.

Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books for an ARC.

This is a book for book lovers and I really enjoyed every second. As a bookish person, I completely understand how books take on a life of their own and have the power to transform your life or be there for you when you need an escape, advice or a new perspective. It made me want to take better notes on the books I read, it also gave me tons of new books to add to my TBR list. The writing is funny and I wish there was more. The letters to each book were great but I also loved the lists at the end. A book for anyone who loves to read or is looking to start a reading habit.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Half way through reading it, I was already pre-ordering copies for the book lovers in my life. This is a book you want to share. I liked the letters of first half of the book more than the essays of the second but there is something in this book for every reader. There was lot of laughing, nodding, and writing down titles for my TBR list.

Thanks, first of all, to Netgalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Annie Spence sounds like a fun person to grab coffee (or tea) with and wander around a library or bookstore giving commentary on everything (basically an average Saturday for me--when I can't convince friends to come I just talk to strangers or myself out loud). I loved how by turns the letters in this book were hilarious, poignant, beautiful, and occasionally a high PG-13. Her letter to kidlit writers and librarians was particularly appreciated, as I'm the former, and I copied it down to look at on dreary days.

This book reads like a collection of blog entries, in the best ways. It's easy to flip through, find something you like, and then browse for more. I'd recommend it to avid readers, writers, and people who have ever had to interact with the public and books (professors, librarians (obv), booksellers...).

This is a sweet book about reading books. As readers we have such varied and personal reaction to each book that we read and it is always fun to compare notes. If you love books, you're certain to find something you like in this.

I am not a librarian nor a book seller, but I really enjoyed this book. A book about books...sounds boring, but I decided I'd give it a shot. I am glad I did. The books Annie Spence chose to write letters to are diverse in topic. Some she loved, some she did not. At first, I found myself wanting to skim to her letters written to books that I was familiar with. Don't do it. Some of the funniest things she says are to books I have no knowledge of. The language could be offensive to some, sarcasm abounds, and some sexual references are made.

Annie Spence is my new librarian girl crush! She has written a funny, touching book of letters to books. Some of them are her favorites, some are books that she's weeding from the library shelves and some are books that she has never read. One of my favorite books of the year!

This was a very cute book - I wished for it and was lucky enough to have my wish granted. It really IS a love letter to books - quite literally. Annie Spence's letters to the books she's read, not read, seen on shelves, been baffled by and had her life changed by are fun to read, sweet and quirky in equal measure. I've read many of those she writes about, and my feelings about those books were revived while I laughed, smiled, and shook my head over her words. There were letters to a few I have not read; those were harder to read and I occasionally skimmed (or skipped) them, because without any context, it is difficult to find a connection to what she is describing. This is a great, cute, very entertaining novelty book for avid readers; I'm not sure how resonant it would be for someone who wasn't widely read though...

This book was actually very well done for what it was: a fluffy little book about books, mostly aimed at librarians. In that small sub genre of books, the rating would be 5/5; I just can't give it that high a rating against all the books ever. Anyway, I enjoyed it, but I'm pretty much exactly the target audience.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32768516-dear-fahrenheit-451

A fun read that is dangerous for your TBR! Dear Fahrenheit 451 by Annie Spence is a fun book geared towards readers. Annie is a librarian, and the majority of the book is her writing letters towards various books. Some books that she has loved (The Virgin Suicides), others ones that she dislikes (Fifty Shades of Grey), and others that are just plain different (Principles of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis). The letters are fun and lighthearted, and for the most part don’t give away too many spoilers for the contents of books indicated. Most of the books that Annie writes to are titles that I haven’t read, but I was still able to enjoy this book.
Since the book is told in letter format, the tone is conversational, and Annie’s voice is humorous and chock-full of literary and pop culture references. At some points it felt like the author was trying to impress with all of the titles she was dropping, but other times it felt authentic and real.
One of the highlights for me was the letter to The Time Traveler’s Wife, as it talked about reading books at different points in ones life, and also the letter to The Virgin Suicides. I haven’t yet read The Virgin Suicides, but now I definitely will at some point as Annie writes so passionately about the book, it really draws you in. Besides letters to specific books, she also has a few letters addressed to bookshelves. Letter to a Fancy Bookshelf, the fancy bookshelf being one she sees while at a fancy party, was hilarious. There’s also a letter to the Public Library’s Children’s Section that is powerful as it briefly touches on future readers and writers.
One particularly funny letter was written to a book called Color Me Beautiful, which is a manual about colors (think clothing and makeup) and even though I haven’t read this book, I recall my mom talking about colors, and discussions on whether I was a Summer, Spring, Winter, or Fall. So this letter was nostalgic and fun to read. I can’t remember which season I am, but I do know that I shouldn’t wear orange!
Another fun letter was the one written to the Easy Rawlins Mystery Series, which is set in Los Angeles during the 40s through 60s. I haven’t read this series, but the letter was very cute as it discusses how Annie would alter her behavior to be more mysterious when reading these books. Those who read mysteries, particularly noir mysteries, will enjoy this particular letter as we’ve all done that while immersed in our mysteries.
Towards the end of the book the letters stop and the book shifts gears and turns into lists of book recommendations (ie, books with librarians as characters, books that take you away, books to recommend to your lover, etc). These sections felt like I was reading a Top Ten Tuesday post, or similar post, on a book blog. But a post without pictures of the book covers or links to Amazon and Goodreads. It was strange to be reading someone’s list of Good Books with Bad Covers and not have an actual picture of the bad cover be visible. I get that the author was a librarian and knows a lot of books, but I couldn’t picture any of these book covers in my head while reading this section, and I wonder how many people will be able to picture these covers. This section in particular I did gloss over. I did read an eARC of the book, so perhaps this is just a formatting issue that is fixed in the final version. I don’t really know, but this whole list section felt like an afterthought and I didn’t think the lists were necessary. I would’ve much rather just had the letters. And more of them!
One thing I do need to add is there is quite a bit of swearing and sexual references in the book. So if that’s not your thing, be warned! Also, the book isn’t all that long, Goodreads has it listed at 288 pages, and the way Annie Spence writes is very easy to read and moves along at a brisk pace. I would’ve read this book in one sitting if I could!
So while readers who love reading about books and reading will enjoy this, and I do think there is something here for every reader, the book felt uneven and slightly pretentious as it discussed books. There are so many books listed here, and I did add several to my TBR. I didn’t add more because I didn’t want to stop reading and head over to Amazon where my TBR list is. I would’ve been constantly stopping and looking books up online. So, this book could be very dangerous to one’s already toppling TBR list!

Bottom Line: An uneven, quick, fun read for those who love books and reading.

As the author gives her honest opinion of the books she has read, so must I give my honest opinion of her book. I love the concept of this book and eagerly looked forward to reading it. What could be better than a book about, or should I say, TO books from a librarian's perspective? However, I did not feel that the book delivered what it promised, as I found the descriptions of the books she read were lacking in detail and depth, sharing little to make me want to go out and read them myself. This is what I thought the intent of the book was, to enlighten me and whet my appetite for future reading. Even books that I had previously read were not made plain or appealing to me and the verbal descriptions of covers that I can't see, on books that I never heard of, did nothing for me. At the end of the book she references her readers making lists of the books that she wrote letters to for future reading. Sadly to say, not a book that she covered jumped off the page to say, "Read me, read me." The frequent use of off-color language and sexual references certainly did nothing to paint this book in a favorable light, though they alone would not prevent me from giving a positive review, if I felt it was warranted. Needless to say, I was disappointed in this book that I was very eager to read and enjoy.

Okay, this book was pretty adorable. It was super witty and as someone who works in a library I found it extremely relatable. As someone who loves to read, I found it inspiring and I felt like I had been invited to a great get together of like minded book lovers and surprisingly I wanted to be there! So yeah, I liked this (except for the brief positive mention of declawing cats. That is definitely not a pleasant thing to do to cats. Look into it, please).

A reader's delight! This book is a series of letters and musings by a librarian. The letters are addressed to the books themselves and speak to both the content of the books and how they touched her as well as how culture evolves, observations about library patrons and the reading life. I adored this volume, in great part, I suppose, because I am on the same page as Annie Spence about many of the books she discusses Spoiler alert: they are not all love letters ;-) It's a lovely book to carry with you for short moments to read or to pick up here and there like a book of poems or essays. Highly recommended for the bookworm, and aren't we all?

Annie Spence has spent her life as a librarian writing letters in her head to books. Dear Fahrenheit 451 is a collection of those letters, as well as delightful book lists to fulfill any reading desire. The writing is witty, and I found myself laughing out loud (and getting funny looks from my husband). If you are a book lover, I highly recommend this book!

It's official, I love this book.
Dear Fahrenheit 451: A Librarian's Love Letters and Break-Up Notes to the Books in Her Life is such a cute idea and Annie Spence definitely delivered!! This book consists of letters Annie has written to books, whether they be happy or sad letters, each book she picks up is getting one. Some of them are life long favorites but have to retire because their spine is obliterated. Some of them hadn't been checked out, or even picked up, in over five years. Some of them may help improve your life. Some books are instant hits and some are total flops. But one thing is certain, Annie knows what she's talking about.

I loved that she has spent so much time around books and she understands working with books is HARD. Many people are only looking for the book because the movie trailer just came out, um newsflash THE BOOK IS ALWAYS BETTER.

But honestly, I found myself laughing throughout this entire book.
Some of the funniest parts to me:
-One in three men will say their favorite book is Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
-Going to a party and making The Great Gatsby references to the bookshelf you're talking to
-Running to the kids section when life gets too real

Utmost respect from me to you Annie, you wrote a great great book and I will highly recommend this to everyone I know! Big shout out to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for granting my wish and providing me with this wonderful read!

Mark your calendars, Dear Fahrenheit 451 hits shelves September 26!

Loved it! Annie Spence is hilarious. It was great to read such a witty librarian's take on some of my favorite books, with her love for them so infectious. I'm walking away with several recommendations on what to read next.

Hmmm, a librarian reviewing a book by a librarian about being a librarian. Take that as you will. (Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy.)

In the book's first half, Spence writes to dozens of books directly, as if they were actual people. Her snarky, sometimes crass, always passionate personality is evident in these letters, which address beloved and not-so-beloved books she has encountered throughout her life. I found myself skimming the ones to books I haven't read, but there will be something for everyone.

The second half consists of bookish listicles like "I'd Rather Be Reading: Excuses to Tell Your Friends So You Can Stay Home With Your Books" and "He's Just Not That into Literacy: Turning Your Lover into a Reader". Another interesting one was "Books That Lead to More Books", wherein Spence charts how one could start with Eugenides's The Virgin Suicides and end up at Nina LaCour's The Disenchantments by way of Gold Fame Citrus.

This is more a collection of bloggy essays than a cohesive book, but it's a fun and fast one. Librarians ordering the 020s won't be able to resist ordering this for their library's collection, but even despite that bias it's worth a read for all book lovers.

Thank you Net Galley for the free ARC.

Dear Annie, what were you thinking? I already had way too many books I could not break up with in my life and you caused me to add a gabazillion more. Lucky for you, my librarian loves me and finds the books I want, even if I cause the library budget to explode! I am ready for a follow up any time!