Musing Mondays (a day late)

Today I'm going to try the Musing Mondays meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Each week, MizB posts a question for you to answer. I meant to check the site and read the question yesterday, but I forgot, so I hope it isn't cheating too much if I answer on a Tuesday.

This week's musing asks...

Have you ever found a book out of the blue, read it, and then had it be surprisingly good - one that stuck with you for years? If so, what book was it?

Many, many years ago, I happened to grab a book from the "Take one, Leave one" rack at the public library. According to the blurb on the back, this was the sequel to another book that had presumably been a best seller. Since I like to read books in order, I put off reading this one for awhile, but finally decided to go ahead and give it a try.

It. was. amazing.

It was written by William Goldman, who I already loved from The Princess Bride. It was suspenseful and action-packed, grabbing my attention right from the beginning and never letting go while I held on and tried to keep up, all the while wondering how all of the different plot lines would weave together.

Years later, I reread it and it was just as good the second time through. I told people about it and they would be confused, wondering how there could possibly be a sequel to the first book, which I still hadn't read. Eventually, I found a copy of the first book, read it, and understood the confusion. It certainly seems like a stand-alone novel by story's end.

However, I knew the story did continue, so I picked up the sequel to read it in the proper sequence this time. Sadly, I only made it a few pages in before putting the book down, and I haven't picked it up again since. The reason for this is that I read the opening scene and could remember the end of the book. Enough time had passed between my first and second readings that I remembered the book as being amazing and a fantastic read, but I couldn't really remember any of the crucial particulars. This time, I read the opening scene and a mental map immediately opened, showing me an illuminated path all the way to the end of the book, and that took the fun of rereading it away.

Since I can still see that path, I haven't allowed myself to read it again even though it is one of my all-time favorite books: the sequel to Marathon Man ... yes, there really is one ... Brothers by William Goldman.