my pa read david copperfield out loud to me before i ever reached puberty. we delighted together in the simple truths of mr. dick, we snickered at dickens’s cleverness at naming characters like uriah heep, we put the book down to fly kites. i know my love for david copperfield is mixed up in my love for my father. but that’s okay. it means every few years i pick master davey back up and fall in love with emily and dora and agnes and those evenings reading with my dad all over again. i’ve read other dickens, but if you ask me, this is it. if you’re only going to read one, you should read this one. and you should share it with someone you love.