This week's Book List Meme topic, Three Books You Wish Had a Sequel, is a really tough one for me. One reason is that I tend to forget books very soon after I read them so it's hard to go back in my mind and remember which ones I thought should continue. Also, I read a lot of series for just this reason -- I love stories to go on and on forever -- which means that I could pretty much list most books that I read! But here's my stab at it.
First, I'll choose Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. I know that she's already supposed to be working on a sequel but, lordy, it's been six years already! I'm definitely going to have to go back and re-read the original to be re-immersed in the world. But I remember thinking about it for weeks afterward. It was a really well-crafted novel.
Second, it'll have to be Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. I know that there are two "sequels" to this one already but they are really just stories set in the same world and where characters from this first novel intersect with the main characters of the other novels. I want a true sequel that continues on with the stories of Sophie and Howl!
Third, I will choose I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. This family wasn't going to get more sane at the end of the book. It would have been interesting to continue on with Cassandra and the unusual Mortmain family.
Wow! This was incredibly hard. I never realized how many books I read that have rather definitive endings. So, what do you think of my choices? What book do you wish had a sequel?
Exhausted after imagining a hundred other worlds,
K
You're doing better than me, because I can't think of any! There are plenty of authors I wish had written more books - Jane Austen goes to the top of that list, but not too many I want to read sequels to - most books have a definite ending, some of those endings I hate, but it's not a sequel that's needed in that case, it's a rewrite! Having said that, I'm very glad Margaret Atwood wrote The Year of the Flood - it's not a sequel, really, it's a companion book, it's in parallel to Oryx and Crake, but it's far more hopeful and positive. The first book leaves you feeling really depressed, this one, finally, dispels that feeling.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I'm with you on the first two, but I can't imagine anything good would come of a sequel to ICtC. I love those characters like crazy, but the book feels so complete in itself.
ReplyDelete...Now that I am thinking about it, I would really love to spend more time with those characters.
But no! I officially don't wish to have a sequel. Maybe.
I could fill an entire library with sequels that were never written but I feel should be. If only authors wouldn't die. :(
ReplyDeleteNice list! I too wish for more Sophie and Howl...and I know I should have read the other two books, but somehow I've overlooked them for years... In any case, let me say it again: nice list!
ReplyDeleteIf you want to check out mine, it's here.
Jonathan Strange is one of those books that have stayed on my shelf too long unread.
ReplyDeleteI love this question but I'm still stymied.
ReplyDeleteTracy - I made it even harder on myself by trying to choose only more modern books. I didn't want to mess with the classics!
ReplyDeleteJenny - I seriously could not come up with a third and then followed the same thought process as you did with ICtC! I decided to add it because I really had nothing else but I also would love to spend more time with the characters.
Paige - A totally different list would be authors I wish could have kept writing forever.
Cecelia - Thanks! House of Many Ways is a great one for having more of Sophie and Howl but in a different way. I want the Sophie and Howl of the first book!
Diane - It's daunting but well worth reading when you have time to really immerse yourself in it.
Jenners - It was probably the hardest one to answer so far. I could think of reasons why most books should not have sequels though!