Dear Fahrenheit 451: A Book about Books (could it get any better?)

    I have really been enjoying audiobooks lately. However, I'm super picky about what I listen to. It can't be anything too long or too complex--I will get distracted. And obviously, the narrator has to be bearable. I absolutely will stop listening to an audiobook if I can't handle the voice reading it. I also refuse to pay for audiobooks. My library has 3 really good services from which I can checkout and download free ebooks and audiobooks so that's what I stick to. It's been interesting because most of what's on my TBR is either not available in the digital collection as an audiobook, popular enough that I'd have to be put on a long waiting list, or too long that I'd rather read it than listen to it. This means I've been listening to things that aren't always high on my TBR list. It's fun to dive into some things that I haven't been anticipating like I often am for the print books I read.

    Annie Spence is a public librarian and Dear Fahrenheit 451 is her collection of letters to the various books she's crossed paths with during her life. Some of them are love letters to the books that have meant the most to her and some are break up notes to the old, offensive books she's weeding from her library's collection, plus, everything in between.

    I think my favorite part of this book though, are Spence's notes and commentary about working with the public. I laughed out loud because her stories as a librarian were so relatable.  Even if you don't work in a library, I think you'll find some humor here!

    There were lots of books Spence talked about that I either haven't read or haven't either heard about (...should I feel guilty about that..?) so I would kind of zone out sometimes. But it was really enjoyable to hear her thoughts on those book I have read or ones I haven't but have always meant to. It gave me some great ideas for doing reader's advisory at work! The last third or so of the book was mostly recommendations which probably would have been more useful had I stopped folding laundry and wrote them down, but we all know I don't really need more books on my TBR. I think if I had been reading the print version of the book, I probably would have skimmed through that last part and found the lists that looked most interesting ("Readin' Nerdy: Books about Librarians", heck ya!).

    Overall, a fun, quick listen. But stay away if you don't like to read books about books. However, if you don't like reading books about books, I don't know why you're reading a blog about a book about books ;) Happy Reading!

3/5 Stars