In short Charles Dickens David Copperfield is probably the best novel I have ever read. (And yes I have read Lord of the Rings, A Tale of Two Cities, the Redwall series and books by numerous other authors)

It is a large novel, and in some parts can be a little slow, but every slow is worth reading as you anticipate how the characters will grow, what challenges they will face, how they will react, and as you meet characters who you can so easily compare with people you know. Recognising the flaws and shining qualities of characters, and seeing people in your own life with these.
You get an idea of priorities in life, as you follow he main character, David through his. Seeing his choices makes you wonder about yours, seeing his neglect of certain relationships, and realisations he comes to.
As he takes in the words of others, you also as the reader take them in, and ponder them like him.
The ending of the book is filled with such vivid quality, and for those last few chapters, you would probably read twice as many pages if you had too just to get there.
It is a book, that will entertain you, frustrate you, and I think its best quality, it will make you think. And as you apply what you learn from this novel I think it will affect the way you live.
You learn a lot from David's relationships, those who abuse him, take advantage of him, those who care for him, who give him advice. Particularly though, I think you learn from his relationships with three women the most. Emily, Dora and Agnus.
I don't want to give it away... but you see in those relationships a lot, and through them you will see qualities both good and bad, and what you really should be looking for in a woman, and for those who are women, what you should strive for.
You will come to admire certain characters in the book, no more than David Copperfield himself. A character of integrity, naivity, and a sometimes confusing person.
If you are a person that tends to cry in movies, then I think this book will make you at least feel very emotional at some points, not least through the flow of Dicken's writing in this book.

I recommend this book as a personal favourite. A book that will make you think, that you will enjoy, and that through reading it quite possibly affect the way you think.

If you don't believe a word I said, just talk to my sister Jess who is currently about halfway through the book.

a Quote...
"There can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose" Annie Strong (Ch 45)