Dear Fahrenheit 451

If you love to read, and presumably you do since you’ve picked up this book (!), you know that some books affect you so profoundly they forever change the way you think about the world. Some books, on the other hand, disappoint you so much you want to throw them against the wall. Either way, it’s clear that a book can be your new soul mate or the bad relationship you need to end.

In Dear Fahrenheit 451, librarian Annie Spence has crafted love letters and breakup notes to the iconic and eclectic books she has encountered over the years. From breaking up with The Giving Tree (a dysfunctional relationship book if ever there was one), to her love letter to The Time Traveler’s Wife (a novel less about time travel and more about the life of a marriage, with all of its ups and downs), Spence will make you think of old favorites in a new way. Filled with suggested reading lists, Spence’s take on classic and contemporary books is very much like the best of literature—sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, sometimes surprisingly poignant, and filled with universal truths.

A celebration of reading, Dear Fahrenheit 451 is for anyone who loves nothing more than curling up with a good book…and another, and another, and another!

I was at my local library for the first time since they had moved into a new building.  By the time I visited though, the building was no longer new.  I think the library had been in the building for about a year. (Don't judge me.)  My wife and daughter were going to be at an appointment for nearly an hour, and I had no desire to stay in a waiting room.  Library for an hour wins by a mile.

The library's front display had this book.  I rank Fahrenheit 451 as one of the greatest works of fiction of all time.  It should be required reading at all schools.  Fahrenheit 451 had such an impact on me that it continues to influence my thoughts on entertainment and censorship today over 35 years later.  When I read this book's title, I picked it up to check out with no concept about its subject.

Ms. Spence had me read her first book in short order.  I laughed at many of her letters and her relationships with books.  I understood entirely and enjoyed her personal reflections on these relationships.  Her relationship with JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit troubled me.  I wanted to argue with her and explain how she was wrong.  How could a man who gets TWO letters for his middle name not write great fiction?

I do have to admit to having developed somewhat of a crush on Ms. Spence in reading this book.  She likes books.  She's funny. She's cute.  Then I realized I didn't have a crush on Ms. Spence; I was projecting my feelings for my wife onto someone like her.  Sorry, Ms. Spence.  I have a beautiful wife.  I'm a dog person.  I like The Hobbit.  I don't think it would have worked out anyway. :)