Dickens from the Lake District!

"Although I am not disposed to maintain that being born in a workhouse, is in itself the most fortunate and enviable circumstances that can possibly befall a human being.  I do meant to say that in this particular instance, it was the best thing for Oliver Twist that could possibly have occurred.  The fact is, that there was considerable difficulty in inducing Oliver to take upon himself the office of respiration, - a troublesome practice, but one which custom has rendered necessary to our easy existence; and for some time he lay gasping on a little flock mattress, rather unequally posed between this world and the next; the balance being decidedly in favour of the latter.  Now, if during this brief period, Oliver had been surrounded by careful grandmothers, anxious aunts, experienced nurses, and doctors of profound wisdom, he would most inevitably and indubitably have been killed in no time.  There being nobody by, however, but a pauper old woman, who was rendered rather misty by an unwonted allowance of beer; and a parish surgeon who did such matters by contract; Oliver and Nature fought out the point between them.  The result was, that, after a few struggles, Oliver breathed, sneezed and proceeded to advertise to the inmates of the workhouse the fact of a new burden having been imposed upon the parish, by setting up as loud a cry as could reasonably have been expected from a male infant who had not been possessed of that very useful appendage, a voice, for a much longer space of time than three minutes and a quarter."
I have always loved the film/musical of Oliver Twist - laughing and singing along and being terrified at parts.  However, I had never read it - what an admission!  So, when City Read London announced that Oliver Twist would be the book chosen for the whole of London to read, I settled down with the aim to read it "no matter how long-drawn out and over-embellished it is". 
The quote above is roughly a page into the book (depending on the version you are reading) and really changed my approach to Dickens as a whole.  I had already - secretly - promised myself that I could skip all the long passages of description (yes, we have all feared Dickens because of those dreaded over-descriptive passages .....hmmmm, think I might have to post this anonymously after that last comment), so was surprised to find such a dry, humourous passage so soon into the book and immediately relaxed. 
As I write this first blog post on the book, I have just realised that I got distracted and never DID finish the book - arrghhhh!  Luckily, I am on holiday this week, in the beautiful Lake District, so now have my bedtime reading rescheduled!  Pop back tomorrow to find my next fave passage - yep, I have already read it!