Times have undeniably changed since the golden age of literature, but sometimes we’re left to wonder if it’s for better or for worse. Novelists of the past mostly stuck to “one and done,” either writing a solo story or maybe just one book over their entire career. Today, its much more common to get swept into a great series or even just a great sequel. With J.K. Rowling recently releasing a new “installment” in her modern-day classic “Harry Potter,” it’s time to get in the spirit of sequels and wonder what it would be like if some of our favorite authors wrote follow-ups to their famous works.

1. "Catch-44" by Joseph Heller

Even though I was regretfully informed prior to submitting this

article that Joseph Heller actually did write a sequel to his famous World War II-era novel Catch-22, he dropped the ball on the title and it’s now my duty to completely reimagine it. Closing Time doesn’t have the same satire and nod to the original that comes along with Catch-44, a sequel equally as confusing, violent, and witty as the original. Catch up with your old favorites – Yossarian, Milo Minderbinder, and Major Major Major—and throw yourself back into the wild world of army hospitals and airplanes.

2. "Romeo and Juliet and Zombies" by William Shakespeare

Everyone we know and (don’t) love from the original Shakespeare play are back; how, you ask? Apparently the Friar’s skillset not only includes making people appear dead, but also making them appear very much alive. Can Romeo and Juliet’s zombies resist the temptation of love? Or will they succumb to the temptation of eating each other’s brains?

3. "Huge Expectations" by Charles Dickens

Pip is back, and the expectations are greater than ever—huge, even. After the disastrous debt, ruined romances, and escaped convicts you slogged your way through in the first book, be prepared for another 600 pages of the same old uninteresting escapades as before. Pip’s still longing for Estella, Joe’s still just minding his own business, and, thankfully, Miss Havisham is still dead. (Unlike Romeo and Juliet.)

4. "Pride and Prejudice 2" by Jane Austen

We all know the feeling—your two favorite characters finally get together at the end of the novel, but your excitement ebbs when you find out they’ve managed to split up between the first and second books. Even though you know the author is only trying to keep the thrill of the chase alive, you wish she’d just cut them some slack. Pride and Prejudice 2 is no exception—read along, biting your nails, as Elizabeth and Darcy navigate the perils of married life, coming dangerously close to parting ways but having true devotion triumph in the end. Somewhere, in the midst of finances, household chores, and arguments about who was supposed to pick Elizabeth Jr. up from harpsichord practice, their love lives on.

5. "Two Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Even though the characters you know and love from the original are long dead, there’s no need to worry; there’s, like, 70 other characters named Aureliano that you still can’t keep straight. Return to the sometimes magical, sometimes not

town of Macondo and catch up with the world’s most confusing family tree. You know what they say—double the solitude, double the fun.

6. "2 Kill 2 Mockingbirds" by Harper Lee

Even though they recently published a “sequel” to Harper Lee’s famous novel, Go Set a Watchman, the book has since become more widely accepted as an unofficial first draft. Therefore, we’re free to imagine what the real follow-up to To Kill A Mockingbird would be like—probably great. Just because Scout and Jem already learned the life lessons surrounding what it means to kill one mockingbird doesn’t mean they know what goes down when you have the audacity to kill two. The Atticus Finch we all know and love is back with more morals than ever before.

7. "Animal Farm 2" by George Orwell

The first novel ends with (spoiler alert) the animals of the Manor Farm becoming

unable to distinguish between their pig overlords and the humans they helped overthrow. The riveting sequel picks up where the last one left off, and pretty much turns into the same exact plot we’ve read (and lived through) before. The animals are now discontent with their rulers, overthrow them, only to see their natural-born leaders turn into the very thing they fear most. I guess it’s just part of human—and animal—nature.

8. "The Sound and the Fury 2: The Louder and More Furious" by William Faulkner

Even though we still can’t exactly pinpoint what was loud or furious about the first novel, this jam-packed second installment has more noise and fury than ever before. Find out what all your favorite characters have been up to since we’ve seen them last—is Jason still the worst? Is Benjy’s narrative still confusing yet important? Is everyone still obsessed with Caddy? You betcha. Take the muted and sometimes incoherent plot points of the first book and turn up the volume from, like, a three to a full ten.

9. "The Greater Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Everyone’s second favorite stereotypical white male protagonist is back, and, this time, he’s out for blood—blue blood. He’s pissed that the same people who took advantage of Gatsby’s wealth and hospitality didn’t even stop to mourn his death, and now he’s out for vengeance. The upper echelon better sleep with one eye open, because East Egg’s newest vigilante “Old Sport” is coming for them in the action packed sequel to the 1925 classic.