Why Oliver Twist?

Well, frankly, because it happened to be sitting about two feet in front of my face when I first read the list of novel choices. After choking through Great Expectations in high school and being inflicted with yearly repetitions of A Christmas Carol throughout my life, I'd written my relationship with Dickens off as a lost cause. Still, I didn't even have to lean forward significantly to grab Oliver Twist off the shelf, whereas my family's copies of Middlemarch and Jane Eyre both would've required me to walk across the room. Alas, my cat was snoring on my lap, and, not wanting to dislodge her, I opted to give Dickens another shot. Turns out that was a good call.