Book List: 3 Books You Wish Had a Sequel

Tuesday, June 22, 2010


This week's meme, from Lost in Books, asks "Where's a sequel when you need one?" What are 3 books that you wish had a sequel. This was a harder question than I thought it would be. There are lots of books I loved, but I think they wouldn't benefit from trying to delve deeper into the character's lives. Like, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," I love that book, but one of the best parts is Francie's innocent voice. Hearing her story as an adult would have a completely different feel and you would no longer have the freedom to imagine her life however you want. Anyway, here's what I came up with...

1) Motherless Brooklyn: I would love to read more stories featuring Lionel Essrog, the private eye with Tourette's syndrome. He was a hilarious narrator and provided a fresh voice to the classic detective story.


2) Neverwhere: Adventures in a world beneath London, I love it! Richard Mayhew is a regular guy who ends up in a dangerous sideways world. I think the possibilities are endless.



3) The Red Tent: I don't want a sequel exactly, but a series of similar books. This one retells a biblical tale from the woman's point of view. It was so good and I think there are lots of other stories in the Bible that would be fascinating from the woman's perspective, Jezebel perhaps, or maybe Bathsheba. Francine Rivers has done something similar, but her Lineage of Grace series lacks the depth of The Red Tent.

9 comments:

Jenners said...

This is a good question ... and I love your choice of The Red Tent. I think you are right ... it would be great to get other perspectives on Biblical stories from a woman's view. Good choice. I'm still thinking of my own answer.

nomadreader said...

All three of those books have been on my TBR for far too long. I need to read them all before I obsess about sequels!

LindyLouMac said...

I loved The Red Tent and would agree with you about similar novels.
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/4386307/

Jessica said...

Thats a differcult one really - I would say Jamaica Inn though, I would love to know how Mary and Jem got on at the end.

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

nomadreader - They're all good, but I'd highly recommend The Red Tent.

Jessica - I need to read Jamaica Inn. I love Daphne du Maurier, but I haven't gotten to that one yet.

Cecelia said...

Neverwhere was one of my picks, too! I think all Gaiman books have that open-endedness to a certain extent, but this one has a lot of potential. Nice list!

If you want to check out mine, it's here.

Carl V. Anderson said...

I keep hoping for a Neverwhere sequel as well. He has long said that he will not do one and that if he was to return to that world it would be to tell the story of the Seven Sisters. Which would be fine by me, write it Neil!!!

But I still hold out hope that one day Richard and Door's adventures will continue.

Yvonne said...

After your blog post I read Motherless Brooklyn over the 4th of July. It was so enjoyable, I have already told several others about it. The Red Tent is another selection that was so hard to put down once you begin it. Thanks for the great reccommendations!

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

Yvonne - I'm so glad! I love it when people enjoy a recommendation.