Book 1 of 100: Lessons from Charlotte's Web

      Before I had a job that consumed me, I considered myself an avid reader. Some of my fondest memories include my mother taking my brother and me to Barnes and Noble. She would go to the adult fiction section to escape from single parenthood for a few hours and I would take Peter to the children's sections and we would sit in one spot and just read. I owe my passion for learning and reading to my family-- it's these moments that I had growing up that have shaped me into a life-long learner and reader. I am indebted to my mother and brother for that.
     One of my goals for my life to always keep my love of reading alive, no matter what the circumstance. So I have decided to read all of the books on The Observer's List of 100 Greatest Novels of All Time. I decided to not go in their order, but start with the books that I wanted to read first. (full list here: 100 Greatest Novels of All Time) 
      Some of the books I have read before, but most of them I had not read. I made the decision to re-read the ones that I had read before, for the sake of a different perspective.  Reading a book that you read when you were 8, 12, 16, or even 18 is very different from reading it at age 23. As you learn more about the world, you can read these books and take away different themes and lessons. For this reason, I decided to tackle the children's books first. My first read was Charlotte's Web-- a book I had not picked up since I was about 10 years old. At age 10, I did not understand how amazing this book was. I liked it because it was about a pig and spider and it was engaging enough. It took me about 2 hours to read it (give or take my twitter/facebook breaks) and when I was done with it I found tears in my eyes.  It's a beautiful book that I did not fully understand until I read it at age 23.
           This book is about unconditional love and friendship. Wilbur and Charlotte have a friendship that most humans spend their whole lives looking for. Charlotte's loyalty and devotion to Wilbur gets me emotional. After putting this book down, I understood that in order to truly love someone unconditionally, you have to accept their flaws and still be there for them no matter what.  Through the hardships and unbearable moments in life, your true friends (the "Charlottes" in your life) will always be there for you. I vow to be this person for my friends--- I vow to work everyday to be a Charlotte. Charlotte's unconditional support and devotion is truly an amazing sight to see. Everyone in the world should work to be a "Charlotte" for their loved ones.
             I am so excited to return this book to the library. I hope that the next person who reads it gets the same lessons out of it that I did whether they are 8 or 98.  I am so happy I picked this book first to read because it has inspired to keep going on my reading quest. 1 down, 99 more to go!