Synopsis:
A Gen-X librarian’s snarky, laugh-out-loud funny, deeply moving collection of love letters and break-up notes to the books in her life.

Librarians spend their lives weeding–not weeds but books! Books that have reached the end of their shelf life, both literally and figuratively. They remove the books that patrons no longer check out. And they put back the books they treasure. Annie Spence, who has a decade of experience as a Midwestern librarian, does this not only at her Michigan library but also at home, for her neighbors, at cocktail parties—everywhere. In Dear Fahrenheit 451, she addresses those books directly. We read her love letters to The Goldfinch and Matilda, as well as her snarky break-ups with Fifty Shades of Grey and Dear John. Her notes to The Virgin Suicides and The Time Traveler’s Wife feel like classics, sure to strike a powerful chord with readers. Through the lens of the books in her life, Annie comments on everything from women’s psychology to gay culture to health to poverty to childhood aspirations. Hilarious, compassionate, and wise, Dear Fahrenheit 451 is the consummate book-lover’s birthday present, stocking stuffer, holiday gift, and all-purpose humor book.

Review:
As an avid reader I really enjoyed this book. It was short, quick, and very witty. It also gave me a ton of books to add to my TBR list. This is a perfect gift for any book lover in your life. I would love Spence to write a follow up!

Favorite Quotes:
“Reading has shaped me, guided me, reflected me and helped me understand and connect with, and this is not hyperbole, HUMANITY.”

“If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve experienced bouts of antisocial behavior and “read rage” outbursts toward friends and family. Because, although you participate in society as much as necessary to convince your mom and the shrink your mom hired that you’re not a shut-in, truth is, you’d rather be reading than doing just about anything. Did you think it was just you? It’s not. You’ve just never met any of the others because we don’t want to talk to you either.”

“Even though she could never be an actual librarian because her love for books is only matched by her disdain for the general public.”

Synopsis:
CATH IS A SIMON SNOW FAN. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan… But for Cath, being a fan is her life–and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fanfiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath that she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend; a fiction-writing professor who thinks fanfiction is the end of the civilized world; a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words…and she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Review:
I have been behind on my reviews and I read this a month ago so I am going to try to remember my thoughts on the book. I know I enjoyed the book but I wasn’t blown away by it. I absolutely LOVED Eleanor & Park so this book had a lot to live up to. The parts of this book I enjoyed was the fan fiction aspect and also the examinations of the different relationships. Unfortunately I did not fall in love with either Cath or Wren, I found them both to be a bit irritating, for very different reasons. I didn’t like how Wren completely ditched her sister knowing how badly she was coping and I didn’t like how Cath was so unwilling to try anything new. Overall it was an enjoyable read.

Favorite Quotes:
“I don’t trust anybody. Not anybody. And the more that I care about someone, the more sure I am they’re going to get tired of me and take off.”

“To really be a nerd, she’d decided, you had to prefer fictional worlds to the real one.”

“Just… isn’t giving up allowed sometimes? Isn’t it okay to say, ‘This really hurts, so I’m going to stop trying’?”
“It sets a dangerous precedent.”
“For avoiding pain?”
“For avoiding life.”

“Happily ever after, or even just together ever after, is not cheesy,” Wren said. “It’s the noblest, like, the most courageous thing two people can shoot for.”

“That moment,” she told Cath, “when you realize that a guy’s looking at you differently—that you’re taking up more space in his field of vision. That moment when you know he can’t see past you anymore.”

The books I read this month were just so so. Nothing really stood out as a must read, unfortunately.

Here are my stats for March:

• Read 4 books
•  1,325 pages read
• 1 Fiction; 2 Mystery/Thriller/Suspense; 1 Young Adult
• Challenge Themes Completed:
  A book set on a college or university campus
  A book with a question in the title
  A book featuring an amateur detective
  A debut novel
• Favorite book I read this month: The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager
  

Below are the books I read this month, click on the book cover to be directed to my review 🙂