By Stuart Green

The Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood is getting set for an update. Well, technically, the library isn›t getting set because libraries are just buildings and don›t get themselves set for anything. They just sit around and wait for someone to open the door, look around, grab a book, look around again, take out a card, look around some more, and try very hard not to talk or, in the extreme, whisper - you know, like you›re in a library.

When renovations begin, the long arm of the lore will reach back into the stacks, Jack, and may discover some lesser known sequels, prequels and NyQuils of the classics, many just gathering dust and others just dusting gatherings. For those readers out there, and I know you’re out here if you’ve gotten this far without demanding a refund, a small sampling:

Romeo and Harriet: Shakespeare›s first draft of the star-crossed lunchmates suffered from a subtle weakness as the main premise in the plot - the two weren›t in love. In fact, they didn›t even like each other very much, what with Harriet›s nagging and Romeo›s ill-fitting tights. The Barn built up to the dramatic cellar scene (he’d change that location in the subsequent version), with Harriet saying, “Romeo, Romeo, where are you already, Romeo?”

A Tale of Two Suburbs: After Dickens› classic, he naturally wanted to follow it up with a smaller town version. He substituted the French Revolution with the infamous Cupcake Crusade, with look-alike bakers bravely giving their all for each other, and eventually making the supreme sacrifice while denying to reveal the secret ingredient of the friend›s butterscotch-topped glazed cupcake.

Harry Potter and the Rock: J.K. Rowling initially came up with the idea of following a young lad who had incredible adventures looking at a rock. The thriller was 487 pages of the boy staring at the rock, thinking about the rock, dreaming about the rock - with no other characters, no dialogue, no plot and, ultimately, no readers. She made a slight twist in her second book - giving the boy supernatural powers and ditching the rock.

The Catcher with Some Rye: JD Salinger was onto something when he first wrote about a young man questioning society’s norms and values. Presenting him as a baseball player, searching for the ultimate curveball and bread slice, took the author a bit off the tracks until his second try.

The Good Gatsby: In an effort to balance his `Great› novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote of a guy who wasn›t all that great, but was, y’know, OK. The result was a muted read, following a businessman taking the train daily to the city, where he had an unnamed job with an average salary, and middle-class wife. The story plods along to climax when discovering his background - which he had none.

Stuart Green is a freelance columnist. He can be reached at sagreen115@aolcom.