The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, Pts. I & II

Over the past year I've completed reading this classic of world literature. My first foray into this work was the 2003 Edith Grossman translation. This is the first classic I've read but it already is my favorite work of fiction.

This is so much more than a "funny book." I know most of us were probably introduced to "el quijote" in middle school with short snippets of the adventures.
This has perhaps tainted the seriousness of much of the subject matter discussed throughout the novel.

Have any of you baws read this work? What did you think of it?