As with many staples of classic literature, I wasn't entirely sure what to make of Don Quixote before I read the first page. I braced myself for flowery, poetic, and consistently obtuse prose. I braced myself for needless pontificating.

And sure, there is some of that. However, what I was surprised by was how funny this book is -- even now, more than 400 years since its original publication. It's also remarkably accessible. Some of that, I'm sure, is due to Edith Grossman's translation for this edition, but the story itself doesn't fall down unnecessary rabbit holes, as I often find classic literature does. That's not to say there aren't moments of, dare I say, plodding repetition. Despite my enjoyment of the meta nature of their inclusion, I found the discussions about literature to be, well, repetitive.

But as a whole, it's easy to see why Don Quixote is heralded as one of the most impressive books to be published. It's an adventure at its core, with a ton of unique and odd characters (led, of course, by the strangest of them all, that titular knight errant).