Too cute. Not the book for me. I thought it would be a little more analytical, but it's just what it's billed as: love letters to books.

I love the library and I love librarians and I love books about libraries and librarians. Probably because I’m a librarian, but whatever. I don’t often quote books in my reviews, but there are three passages I need to quote here, which illustrate why I love this book. The first is: “Dear Pulitzer Prize-winning books, is it PULL-itzer or PEW-litzer? I never know. I hope it’s not the latter. It’s hard not to sound like a dick when you say it like that.” This quote sums up exactly how I feel about that word, which is also how I feel about the word “culinary.” The next thing I have to quote is: “Most of the books I truly love aren’t even on my shelves, because I loan them out to other people or get them from the library and have to return them.” This is totally me too! Especially fiction. I was at the annual book sale for my local public library recently and I didn’t even bother looking at the fiction even though I’ve mostly been reading fiction lately (present company excluded) because I pretty much always get fiction from the library. It takes a pretty special novel (or, usually, novel series) to make me buy it. And the last thing I’ll quote is: “Reading can get you more hot and bothered than a Tinder date, without the cost of drinks and with a lower frequency of unwanted dick pics.” I finished online dating well before Tinder was invented, but I have had my share of dick pics. This quote is from the section of the book that shares suggestions for what to tell people when you don’t want to go out and do stuff with them, but would rather stay home and read. Also relatable (as the kids today would say). And yes, I realize that two of my quotes have the word “dick” in them. Don’t read too much into it (heh). Anyway, all this by way of saying that Annie Spence is a very smart and witty librarian writer and I loved this jaunt through her personal literary history. It was a thrill when her reading tastes intersected with mine—which wasn’t often, but that’s okay. Although her many book lists became a little hard to read all at once, her suggestions are intriguing and make sense, so I will definitely keep this one around for when my holds list becomes depleted and the bottom drawer of my bedside table is empty, and I need something new to read. ( )

A very sweet book, really. I can very much relate to the process of getting rid of books through weeding and also loving books so much you want to write a letter to them. Also, I love that I have so many book recommendations now!!! Annie and I would get on very well. ( )

Only read this for a challenge but ended up enjoying it a lot. ( )

Dear Spence: You are hilarious and I had so much fun reading your letters to books you've loved and hated. With your passion for reading, finding the perfect book for others, and your snarky sense of humor, I think we would be friends if we met. The letters were perfect to read in small bites, a few at a time. You made me snort out loud with laughter while grocery shopping. Thanks for the giggles. ( )