Book: The Sequel: First lines from the classics of the future by Inventive Imposters

by Clive Priddle (Editor), Geoffrey Nunberg (Introduction)

After the last page is turned and the cover closed on a great book, is it really over? Ever wonder what happens to Harry Potter after, say, twenty years of marriage and a steady government gig? Or what Karl Marx would say about today's financial crisis? What did Scarlett O'Hara really think about tomorrow? What comes after "ever after?" The Sequel dares to answer these burning questions with imagined first sentences from would-be follow-ups to classics from The Bible to Lord of the Rings , and from Green Eggs to Hamlet . A delicious and unexpected return engagement from favorite characters like Jane Eyre, Ebenezer Scrooge, Jay Gatsby, Holden Caulfield, Wilbur the Pig, and Captain Ahab, The Sequel is a perfect gift for book lovers everywhere, or anyone to whom "The End" is simply the starting point for their imagination.

Genres: Humor, Books About Books

144 pages, Paperback

First published June 23, 2009

Reviews

[Kristin Renfro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, not stellar. But there are some great ones mixed in

[Kara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Squee! I'm going to have a line in here!

>>>Update many years later<<<

So, funny story, I had forgotten 100% all about submitting to this, and more than 10 years later, picked this book up at the library because the title looked interesting, and didn't realize I had one of the lines in here until I clicked on the title here in Goodreads and saw I had left the above note.

I'll be brutally honest, I'm disappointed in Younger Me - the Harry Potter joke is pretty stale, even by 2009 standards. All of the jokes in here are just OK, and all depend on knowing the details of the specific book being referenced. I was surprised the introduction didn't mention 'fanfiction' when it was citing books like Wide Sargasso Sea and The Wind Done Gone, nor the issue of Public Domain.

Overall, mildly amusing, but rapidly gets repetitive, especially given the amount of Moby Dick jokes.

[Alyssa (The Shady Glade) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This sounded like such a great idea for a book. Unfortunately, this is one of those books where most of the funniest examples are on the back page. There are some very good ones, and I particularly enjoyed the chapter devoted to kids books and the one on Pride and Prejudice. But most of them are just too dependent on having read the book to enjoy the humor, and there are a few modern and more obscure works represented here. It was a great idea, but it could have been so much better done. It was worth picking up for a quick read, but this is definitively a book I will not be passing on.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Certainly entertaining at times, some more inventive than others. Was a little bummed at all the repeats, especially regarding "Call me Ishmael." I would say it should have been edited more, but I am aware of the circumstances of its production. Also, first "full" book I've read on NetGalley, and the experience was okay. Don't know how I'd fare on a real narrative, but we'll see.

[Jenni · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first heard about this book I thought it was a great and amusing idea. I submitted a quickly thought out contribution which got published on page 42.

Harry Potter, known as the boy who lived and lived again, sat peering out the Burrow window at his absurdly named children.
- from Harry Potter and the Anticlimactic Life

[KristenR · Rating 1 out of 5]

not funny...didn't like the narration either.