The midnight library

At first this was sad, but by the end of the first chapter, it hooked me when after she tries to kill herself she discovers, "There's another place to go, and it's not some mythical after life." What if a lot of books, endless books of us, existed on our just making one different choice and it changed everything. What if we crossed a street at a certain time and met the love of your life, but what if you ignored him that day. It's all in here... What if we followed through on our childhood dream but realized it was only to get a parents approval, and you found out, it didn't make a difference anyway because other people aren't controlled by us and their lives and issues would have existed anyway... What if we followed any of the dreams we had of becoming, when we grew up, as a child, if we knew ahead of time what the outcome would be, would we choose another ending, or would we hold on to the life we have because every day we can decide to change just one thing and have a totally different life outcome than the one we have now. This was inspiring, and life changing in how it really made me rethink what I thought I knew.. What if we had made one simple change in our current life and we began to see we matter. Every person we touch, every word we say, every kind thing we do for others all does matter, and may have changed their lives, or saved them. Every day is precious and matters because we're here. In the end, as long as you have any time left, you can still make dreams come true and make it the life you want, or change someone else's life. Life affirming, and deep, this book will make you think, and see your existence matters more than you imagined, because of the lives you touched and may still touch yet. A great read, and a deep dive into our own "what if"..then read it again. I promise you'll think about this book for a very long time after you read it. BTW, it has a great unexpected ending.

"The Midnight Library" is one of those books that really "hit home" the older I get and the more regrets I have. What if there was a way to undo your regrets? What would your life look like? This story follows a MFC named Nora who gets the opportunity to see how her life could be if she had made different choices. Matt Haig is a talented author that brings out deep emotions in his readers. If you have ever read any of his other books, "The Midnight Library" has the same kind of emotional depth as his other works. I ordered the hardcover and it was delivered in perfect condition. No bent or dented edges, which seems to be rare from amazon book deliveries in my personal experience. It is a fairly quick read being only 288 pages. For a book that is not my genre of choice, I found it to be a pretty nice read.

This book was one of those rare reads that feels deeply personal while still being universally relatable. The concept of exploring alternate versions of one’s life could have felt heavy, but it’s handled with warmth, compassion, and hope. The writing is easy to follow yet emotionally layered, making it a great choice even for readers who don’t normally gravitate toward philosophical fiction. What I appreciated most was how the story encourages reflection without being preachy. It made me think about regrets, choices, and the idea that even imperfect lives have value. This is the kind of book that stays with you long after the last page, and I found myself recommending it to friends almost immediately.

“Eqidistance. That’s how she felt most of her life. Caught in the middle. Struggling, flailing, trying to survive while not knowing which way to go. Which path to commit to without regret.”~ Matt Haig Nora Seeds is depressed, unhappy with life, and frozen with regrets over her poor choices and wrong decisions. She's convinced taking her own life is the only way out of a life she has gotten so wrong. When Nora wakes up, she finds herself in the Midnight Library, a place between life and death where every book is an alternate story of Nora's life. Each story is a life Nora would have had if she had made a different choice, at a crucial time, for her path in life. Nora has a chance at another life and it's hers for the choosing. Will she make the right choice and find a life where she can finally experience happiness and a life worth living? This is the second of the two April '22 selections for the community book club I belong to and I was excited to dig into a book with such a creative premise that was already on my TBR. I enjoyed being a silent passenger along for the ride in Nora’s journey, where the pages turn quickly and the ending attempts to make sense. Although the five-month gap between reading and reviewing this book wasn't intentional, I've had plenty of time to digest how I felt about the way this story played out. Originally I just struggled connecting with both Nora and the offered ending, but eventually more issues surfaced. This author knows depression and suicide and, in fact, uses both as catalysts in this book, yet they have a superficial part in the story. The author's writing begins to feel preachy, from my viewpoint, about the choices Nora should make in her life. If she chooses this life with this decision she won't have depression and she'll live her best life? All Nora has to do now is make the right choice and she'll feel better about her life. That sounds a bit wonky to me when mental health is at the heart of the Nora's issues. Please don't get me wrong, although I don't love it, I do like this story, the Magical Realism and the Time Travel, but I do have mixed feelings about it. This story is mostly sad, Nora is horribly confused, and how is this okay? Some things don't feel right about this story and I can't love it based on how it makes my heart feel. I apologize if I'm offending those readers who love this book, which is not my intent. The same book, different readers, result in differing opinions, it's a fact. There are literally hundreds of thousands of reviews of this book to source and read. Mine is just one of very few outlier reviews.

Great read to start off the new year! Gives perspective about life choices, possible regrets, and living in the contentment of the here and now.

Livro extraordinário e de uma imaginação incrível! Um excelente presente para de Natal ou de aniversário para alguém inteligente Recomendo!

I find myself lately reading what I think are very good books. From the pleasant to the thought provoking to the fun to the serious and enlightening to the masterful to the beautiful to the despairing and tragic. This I tell you is a read that yet again I cannot properly articulate into language on the fundamental essence of its themes and context. To put simply, it is quite something that I totally did not expect in many ways, although I expected in some. But as I read and discovered, it is truly remarkable. So here is what I will write with my utmost ability in describing something so accessibly written and simply said, yet so profound and significant. What comes to mind when I recall back as I turned from page to page is a question - “What Does It Mean To Be Human?”. It is apparent to me that I am yet again, reminded that what seems to be the things we want aren’t necessarily so and the things we truly need or want have been many a times right in front of us I suppose. When I look up at the stars at night, I am acutely aware how insignificant and meaningless we all are individually. How abysmal most of our efforts are in trying to live up to Human made concepts of what is considered to be an appropriate life and how one should behave. What I have learned from this is that there is no appropriate way, there is of course being a decent human being and how we can treat each other better. But there is NO absolute way of living. There is just living and figuring it out as we go along. The Midnight Library would definitely be one of my cherished books for this time around, as it solicits perspectives, drives hard the extremes of what is possible, and forces one to contemplate infinity and the singularity of all things. For some reason, I feel hope because I feel I have a better understanding of what being present in your current situation entails. This perhaps is cliche and cringy to say, but it’s the truth. I believe we all know this, but we tend to need reminders every now and then. After all, our perfection as individuals and on the whole; Humanity, is that our perfection lies within the imperfections, the Chaos of Life. I conclude my personal review with this; with another idea or perhaps a stipulation: everyone has their own direction of life and their own codes of philosophy to live by, yet the as we slowly step towards the vast and endless unknown, it is the potential of the indeterminate future that allows us to discover new things, try different things, and grow and break and grow and break again. I believe that is what we call progress. If you cannot tell from my bias, this book is definitely worth the time to read and consider and contemplate. I am in a situation right now where I am hesitant on certain moves and of future prospects, but this has provided some much needed clarity. Not bad Haig. You indeed did your job.

Eu simplesmente amei o livro!!! O inglês é bem fácil de ser compreendido e a história é bem fluída. Eu gostei da personagem principal e também em vários momentos me vi no lugar dela. Chorei em algumas partes porquê o autor consegue transmitir os medos dela de maneira que chega a doer, o que tornou a experiência de leitura muito única. Foi meu primeiro livro deste autor e espero ler outros.

This book can be life changing if you read it with depth. Talks about meaning of life and a very interesting way.

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