The New York Times bestselling WORLDWIDE phenomenon Winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction | A Good Morning America Book Club Pick | Independent (London) Ten Best Books of the Year “A feel-good book guaranteed to lift your spirits.”—The Washington Post The dazzling reader-favorite about the choices that go into a life well lived, from the acclaimed author of How To Stop Time and The … into a life well lived, from the acclaimed author of How To Stop Time and The Comfort Book.
Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?
In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig’s enchanting blockbuster novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.
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What a wonderful book! Nora Seed is has decided to end it all, but on the cusp between life and death she finds herself in the Midnight Library with the chance to find out what her life might have been if she had made different choices. The book is tender, thoughtful, funny and promotes kindness – particularly to ourselves. This one will stay with me.
Makes you take a philosophical look at your own life.
An interesting take on the concept of learning what our lives might be like if we had chosen a different path and the endless number of possibilities are out there if we could erase our regrets.
A woman attempts suicide because her life is a mess and she sees no future beyond more pain. In that moment between life and death she winds up in a mystical library where every life she could have had are in the books on the shelves there. She learns about herself as she tries out the infinite number of possible “other lives” she could have had.
Clever and fast-paced, the end is predictably warm and fulfilling.
Holy crap! THIS BOOK! So, maybe this is me approaching mid-life talking, but I’ve thought a lot about how the decisions we make change not just the course of our lives and others. From big decisions – which college to attend, or to move to another city – to little, maybe walking a different path. Matt Haig covers all that with a beautifully written, deeply profound book. I’d say that’s a must read!
Be careful what you wish for. I enjoyed this book. I was prompted to read it as inspiration for a book I am writing covering a similar subject. Matt Haig’s storyline convinces us that multiple lives might be possible but that they will not necessarily turn out the way we might imagine. I loved the concept of “the book of regrets” getting smaller each time Nora realised, by experiencing another life, that her real life wasn’t so bad after all. Great read. I did feel that some of the concepts could have been explored more deeply.
We all have regrets in life. Opportunities and choices we could have taken, but didn’t. What if you had the chance to see how your life would have turned out had you acted on those moments? Such is the premise of this fun, magical, emotional & life affirming story.
Such an original and thought-provoking novel.
What if you had the chance to see the lives you might have lived, had you made other choices? Nora Seed has had enough of her current life, and considers ending it. Before she can follow through, she ends up at ‘the midnight library’ with books surrounding her of lives she might have lived and a dear librarian to guide her way.
A clever premise!
I listened to this one after seeing a hullabaloo about Matt Haig books. It is part self help book, part sci-fi, and an all around good novel. It certainly makes you think, to tap into your philosophical side.
Nora Seed is having a day. Her choices lead her down a path that makes for good, interesting, thought-provoking reading. It did get wordy at times, though, which is why I went with four stars. It really should be 4.5.
I debated getting this book to read since we’ve experience suicide in our family. But I’m really glad I purchased the book. I really liked it. I hope that my family member is enjoying their version of a library full of lives to explore. I recommend this read.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig is not a book I would probably have picked up on my own but we read it for book club and I was pleasantly surprised. The book is very thought provoking and addresses many issues that can arise in life through the unfolding of Nora Seed’s life. It starts with her being so miserable with her current life, her choices, both made and not, and a long sting of regrets. She attempts suicide and finds herself in the midnight library with her old mentor Mrs. Elm, her elementary school librarian. There are endless rows of books with different stories of Nora’s life and she can pick whichever one she chooses. As she “tries on” different life choices she gains wisdom and a new view of life. Nora’s character is well developed and the people who interact with her various parallel life’s add to the lessons that she learns along the way. A enjoyable and thought provoking book! I recommend this novel.
I’ve been left with a terrible book hangover after finishing listening to The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig. What a beautiful, soul-searching, uplifting, life-enhancing , heartfelt piece of writing. I’ll be listening to it again, and I’ll be buying the book so I can read it, too, because The Midnight Library is so wonderful that one visit to it isn’t enough. I know I’ve found a new comfort book to turn to repeatedly (I’m a re-reader; I have favourite books I’ve read countless times). What’s it about? Well, when Nora tries to end her life she finds herself in the Midnight Library, a place between life and death, where each book is a different version of how her life could have turned out if she had made different choices. There are an infinite number of books and she can go into each life there, but there are risks involved…
½, rounded up because I finished the book smiling
I started this book and was like “No, no, no! Nora is the weakest, most tedious character I’ve encountered in a long time.” I was ready to throw in the towel at only 10% in.
Then I checked out my friends’ reviews and realized change was coming. Better was coming. And thank all the gods, heartwarming was coming.
So I stuck it out.
I’m so glad I did. Was this as dazzling as A Gift of Time or Life After Life? No, not even close. Those had me fugly crying. This was a polite and more careful version of the “If I Could Turn Back Time” genre, but still quite effective. Entirely predictable, but effective nonetheless.
I do enjoy Matt Haig’s books, and How to Stop Time still ranks as my personal favorite of what I’ve read thus far. I’d put The Midnight Library as a not so close second.
I wanted to love this book. What a wonderful premise! In the end, I think it was just ok.
It started out very dark and depressing (trigger warning might have been good for this one). As I read, I understood why that was necessary but I just wasn’t expecting to be depressed as soon as I started reading. It was also hard to follow at times. I found myself rereading pages to understand – a little less talk of quantum physics and chess metaphors might have helped with that.
Overall, it wasn’t bad. I didn’t hate it, I just didn’t love it like I was expecting to.
4.75
If there were some lines that tell what the book is about, none show better than these
“So you see? Sometimes regrets aren’t based on facts at all. Sometimes regrets are just… a load of bullshit.”
“The only way to learn is to live.”
“We don’t have to do everything in order to be everything, because we are already infinite. While we are alive we always contain a future of multifarious possibility.”
What if you got a chance to undo every regret you’ve ever had in your life?
Would you do it?
Would you be satisfied with that life or want more?
The Midnight Library is unlike any book I’ve read recently. Honestly it was an unexpected but much needed read, a book that hit too close to home.
The midnight library is place to be found in between life and death. Each book in the library is an alternate version of Nora’s life, where she made a different decision or didn’t have a regret that she did in her root life.
The library is a stage where Nora can play and explore all her alternate lives one by one, to figure out which one has everything she has ever wished. It offers her a chance to see how would her life turned out if she had made a different decision. Albeit every life had it own problems to face, it was no easy task to slip into new life as with each new one she has no knowledge of what exactly she is in that life.
Each life is a lesson learned. She soon realize that every decision has it consequences both good and bad and the life she explored contained their own blend of regrets and melancholy.
At last she discovers that regrets are nothing but – to quote the author- a load of bullshit.
Matt Haig weaves a profound narrative of empathy, acceptance, compassion and healing.
This book will be with me for a long time and I had to just give myself a minute to settle my thoughts after finishing it.
If you have not read it you definitely should.
This is Christmastime for me so I can’t help making comparisons to Dicken’s Christmas Carol. This book is basically about finding contentment in your life. It’s not super deep although there are philosophical quotes in it. It’s not scientific although there’s a tiny bit of physics in it. It’s basically about learning from your mistakes and not letting them fester as regrets. These aren’t original ideas, just an updated way of telling the story.
I enjoyed this book. First third, I’m thinking about my own regrets, and that was a little depressing. Middle third was all the examples of Nora’s multiverse realities—could have been a little shorter but it still worked. Last third was where it really took off and I began to feel all the emotion that Nora’s previous experiences were lacking. I rooted for her happy ending in whatever form it took.
Don’t expect anything fancy or life altering in this story. It’s a quick sweet little read perfect for this time of year. And if it does spark a little self-reflection all the better. I was gonna give it three stars but the ending bumped it up to four.
Very original and philosophical, a “what if you have do-overs” in your life theme.
This story was a unique and reflective story. Nora faces “books” with alternatives to her life based on making other decisions. As she tries to find the perfect life, she reflects on her relationships with others and memories that she has. I found the book to be a little inconsistent in pace but I still wanted to keep reading and find out what Nora would choose for her life.
Great premise I’ve seen before but this is the best version I’ve read!
This book really spoke to me, and that completely surprised me as I have not connected with the author’s writing style in previous books. I can’t stop thinking about how much I enjoyed this book. The Midnight Library is like a more philosophical version of the movies Sliding Door or It’s A Wonderful Life. I would further say that in additional to being more philosophical, it is also meatier than the movies–to which it is being compared– with quotes by famous philosophers and the mentions of multiverse.
I especially loved the frequent reference to Nora’s tattooed favorite Thoreau quote, “all good things are wild and free”. From findanyanswer.com, to be wild and free means to live from a place of your inherent worth and value. It means owning your imperfections as much as your strengths as worthy and valuable parts of yourself. This interpretation fits Nora perfectly.
Nora Seed finds herself in the space between life and death, and in that space one finds The Midnight Library where there are infinite possibilities for your life. These possibilities are created by your choices, paths not taken, and your regrets. Nora’s childhood librarian, Mrs. Elm, is again there for her in the Midnight Library. She cryptically guides Nora as she tries out life after life, looking for the version of her that would make life worth living.
It becomes clear that many of Nora’s choices have been a result of trying to please someone close to her. Each of Nora’s books presents a version of what her life might have been had she chosen differently. Some books lead to exciting adventures, some lead to dismal struggles, and some lead to seeming perfection. Nora is told she can choose to stay in her perfect-for-her life, so she continues to look for it. After trying out thousands of different versions, Nora not only sees the ripple effect of each of her possibilities, but she also finds that she is strong, resilient, and something for which to live.
Mr. Haig’s compassion and empathy are obvious in his exploration of might make life worth living. I was touched by Nora’s journey to finding what really matters in life and her discovery that the grass really wouldn’t have been any greener had she taken a different path. I felt that Nora experienced a rebirth of sorts that gave her the opportunity to make the best of her life, which might be her best life.