First off, you really can't go wrong no matter which edition of Pepys you start with. If you've read the abridged version, don't think that only the boring stuff was left out. Actually, what you missed are the little details that bring Pepys, his life, and seventeenth-century London to life even more vividly.
If you think history is dull and that people's lives were so different from ours that we can't relate to them, Pepys will show you a great time. It's all there: marital spats, office politics, home improvement projects, keeping up with the Joneses, even road rage! Focused through Pepys's lens, we can see that human nature and human foibles are timeless, and that our lives are a continuation of, not a divergence from, those of the past. For this insight alone, the book is valuable. And for the price, it's a steal. Well done, and highly recommended--you will be purchasing volume 2 before you know it!