David Copperfield
by Charles Dickens
Published in 1850 (I finished it on December 10, 2003)
While I only read the book for a 19th Century British literature class, it was a good read. I could relate to the characters and the joys and pains they went through. "DC" is over 800 pages long. It's no quick read, but anyone making the journey should end up growing some by the time the journey ends-- if for no other reason than that it takes months to read.

So many books … (you know the rest)