Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks

by Annie Spence

Reading has shaped me, guided me, reflected me, and helped me understand and connect with, and this is not hyperbole, HUMANITY.

Then last month, I saw someone looking at your first of four—Big Stone Gap. She was crouched on a stool next to your shelf. She had obviously been browsing and been so taken with you she couldn’t stop reading. I knew because she had The Look on her face: the look people get when their brains are so engrossed that they don’t care about their outward appearance. Because they’re not out in public anymore, they’re in whatever world they’re reading about. It’s beautiful.