I lent out one of my prized possessions today. I don't often share possessions of such a degree of emotional magnitude and I am a bit nervous. Not on the return - my personal library has no due dates.

And it is not that it is an All Time Favorite. I hand those out for free. Haven't read Emma? I might have three copies under my bed. You can keep one and then judge me accordingly. You might not agree with my literary biography, but you might enjoy the read.

No, this is a book that defined me as a reader, that changed me as a writer. Not only do I know the season/ month/ day I read this book, I know which room I was in when I read certain lines. I still think about this book on a weekly, if not daily bases. I know this is not saying much from the girl who reads Jane Eyre on a monthly bases. I obviously think about melodrama on a weekly, if not daily bases, too.

But this is a book that touched something - in my heart, in my thoughts, in my soul. I am not sure how and I am not sure why. I don't want you just to like the book. To appreciate the author's prose. To lose yourself in the character's life story. I want you to feel and breathe the book. To capture it, to take away some unspeakable understanding.

This book did not define me, did not identify who I am. It made me consider alternative versions of me. Versions that I could be, that I may be, that I will be.

I shared this book not because I want you to enjoy it, but because I want you to experience a revolutionary moment. Our friendship doesn't depend on it; we always have Emma.