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The Midnight Library by Matt Haig


Reasons for Reading This Book

I read The Midnight Library by Matt Haig for two reasons. The first is that I am a member of The ReadHeads podcast book club and it was the book of the month for November 2021. The second reason is that in between reading books for the book club I am also working my way through my best friends book list. This book just happened to also be on her list. I have seen this title floating around on social media and was excited to read it and see if it lived up to the high ratings that it was given. 

Content of the Book

Beyond the edge of the universe is a library that contains books for each life that you could live. For every action or decision you make there is a different possible life that follows. We all wonder how our lives could be different, but what if we had the chance to step into those different lives. Nora Seed finds herself in her Midnight Library where is faced with the decision of choosing if one of her other lives is better than the one she is in. The experiences what life would be like if she fell in love with a different person, had a different career, became a rock star, and even an Olympic swimmer. Read to find out what it is like for Nora to travel between her different lives and decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes life worth living. 

Themes

Never judge a book by its cover. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Think before you act. Learn to be grateful for the life you have. The grass is always greener on the other side. 

What I Liked About This Book

I liked how descriptive the author was about each new life that Nora would enter. Even though the reader was given limited details on the physical description of Nora in each life, the reader was truly able to understand Nora’s mental state in each life she entered. Overall I really enjoyed the concept of the Midnight Library. The author clearly spelled out how it worked. The author did an amazing job writing about each significant character in each life. The reader learned just enough about each of them to understand their importance in Nora’s life. I loved that this book had a mix or all things that I enjoy reading about; romance, overcoming obstacles, sports, music, fame, drama, and much more. Because Nora was switching between lives throughout the book there was always something interesting to read about that kept you invested. As someone who is working on their personal growth, I found the quotes and sections on regrets to be informative and helpful reminders of how I want to live my life. Some of the things said and done in this book caused me to self-reflect and take a step back to look at my life and what I want out of my life in the future. I liked that as I read I didn’t know how the book would end. Throughout reading I had ideas of what would happen but kept switching because the author would make me doubt my guess. I ultimately was a fan of the ending of the book and liked how the conclusion left me with space to imagine what is to come in the future. As someone who read this book in participation with a book club, this book invoked great book club discussions and questions. The last thing I want to mention about what I liked about the book is that the main character has concerns for the environment. It is not often that I read a book where this is a part of the character's story as I do not read new books that might focus on this. I not only found it refreshing, but very relatable as I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies and am very passionate about the environment and sustainability. 

What I Disliked About This Book

I was not a fan of the short choppy chapters. The way that I like to read was not conducive with the way this book was sectioned into chapters. Even though I was not a fan, I was able to put this to the side and enjoy the book.

Would I Recommend This Book?

Without a doubt I would recommend this book. It is thought provoking and makes you reflect on how you live your life, what you want out of life, and how your actions affect not only your life but those around you. This book has a little bit of everything; romance, overcoming obstacles, sports, music, fame, drama, and much more. I say get yourself a copy and give it a read!


Check out my book reviews for 2021!!

Check out my book reviews for 2020!!

Check out my book reviews for 2019!!


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