I loved this book so much, even though I wasn’t so sure when I started out. This book follows Nora Seed, who is having a rough go of it. In the span of a few days, she finds out her brother was in town and didn’t come see her, her cat does, she loses her job, and she feels abandoned by her once best friend. It all seems like too much, and she decides she wants to die. She takes a bunch of her antidepressants, and when she opens her eyes next, she is in front of what looks like a library. She enters, and is told by someone that looks like her elementary school librarian that she must choose a book, and find another life to live. As she goes through her many “could be” lives, she begins to realize many things about herself, and about the people she loves. She will have to make a choice, but what will she choose?

This book is amazing. I loved the writing style. It was so beautiful and lyrical, almost. Watching Nora live life after life, wondering when she would find the one for her was both nerve wracking and entertaining. Every time she entered a new life, and had no memory of it, I was so nervous! But it always worked out, or didn’t. I have never read a Matt Haig book before, but I will be changing that asap!

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

What if you could see how your life might have turned out if you'd made different choices, gone left instead of right at that intersection? That's what Nora gets to do at the midnight library.
This has a very "it's a wonderful life " feel to me and I loved it!

I admit, you give me "magical, infinite library" in a blurb and I'm there for it. I wasn't expecting the very dark darkness at the beginning, but I persevered and was rewarded with something more life-affirming by the end.

Plotwise, I was strongly reminded of <i>Reincarnation Blues</i> by Michael Poore. In a book like this, it can be tricky to balance the necessary repetition with the plot's forward motion, and some of the lives Nora tries out are more compelling than others. The ending doesn't present any surprises, but is satisfying nonetheless. The book of regrets is an idea that has immediate weight and resonance for anyone past the age of ten.

Received a free copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A story about life and coming to terms with the choices and decisions that we make. A good read but I would have liked a little more depth to Nora's trips to alternate versions of her life.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.

What if we could start over? Try on a new life? Go in a completely different direction, would it make you happier?

That's exactly what Nora gets to discover after ending her life, completely unfulfilled. Now she's in The Midnight Library, a library full of books that hold infinite different possibilities for her life. Perhaps she became a famous concert pianist, or an Olympic swimmer. Perhaps she found her soulmate, or just thrived on her own. Whatever it is, Nora searches desperately for the perfect life in order to restart.

Holy cow, I LOVED this book. I can't imagine that no one has wanted to experience this very thing. Redo, erase, start over, go down a different road. And what would that even look like? I especially found the ending even more empowering and refreshing than I thought I would. This book is written beautifully, with subtle humor and a lot of heart. I highly recommend.

Enjoyable in the It's a Wonderful Life/Quantum Leap genre, I enjoyed Nora Seed's journey through various alternate lives. I think it's always dangerous to begin a novel with the protagonist at her lowest point, and I almost didn't continue reading since it began with a depressed person planning to die by suicide. We are all a little emotionally fragile this year. However, it gets better. Nora has blown off many opportunities at happiness: she left her fiancee at the altar, walked away from her brother's band on the brink of success, and she quit at the height of a budding Olympic swimming career. When her cat dies, she is in despair and tries to kill herself. She ends up in a place between life and death, the Midnight Library, in which an infinite number of books, all green, are on an infinite number of shelves. Her old middle school librarian is there to guide her through examining some of the roads not taken.

As she explores the various paths her life could have taken, she learns and grows. She leaps into these alternate lives, each time needing a minute to catch up. In some of the lives, she is married and in bed with, to her, a stranger. In others, she is just walking on stage in front of thousands. She even meets others who are jumping around like herself. If you liked Quantum Leap, you will love this. And if you love libraries, you will appreciate the notion that the in-between place is an infinite library full of possibilities. 3-1/2 stars.

A thought-provoking, Sliding Doors-esque read about what your life would look like if you had made different choices. Nora has the chance to find out in The Midnight Library, which holds all of the books that tell different stories of her life has she done one thing differently. As someone with anxiety who grapples with this thought all the time, especially during the pandemic, this was a fascinating reminder that the grass isn’t always greener and no life is perfect even though it’s so easy to imagine had you done things differently it might be. I loved the ending of this book, but found it to be slow and redundant at points throughout. Also cw for suicide and depression.

What if you didn’t die, but went to the Midnight Library, where you can check out your book of regrets, and try a different chapter of your story?
Nora Seed has just that opportunity. She can try out her life as a swimmer, a musician, a glaciologist, a pub owner, and so on. But what is it that makes life worth living?

I am fascinated with alternative histories books, especially those dealing with more personal histories rather than world events. I have been fascinated with them since my parents got me those “choose-your-own-adventure” books as a kid. I never just read one storyline and kept it pushing. I always had to read the alternative option to figure out which was the best one, which decision was the right one.

The first line of the book begins, “nineteen years before she decided to die, Nora Seed…” Nora is in, as Haig describes it, a “free fall”. Her mother has recently died. Her sole housemate, a tabby cat named Volts, has been run over by a car. She then loses her inconsequential job at a guitar store. She has a nonexistent relationship with her brother due to his disappointment in her not staying in his band, 15 odd years ago. Her best friend lives halfway around the world and is unavailable in Nora’s hour of distress. So, Nora decides to end it all by swallowing a large number of pills.

But before she is fully gone, she enters the Midnight Library, the place between life and death, that is filled with books. In these books are Nora’s alternative lives based upon the different choices at certain parts of her life. What would have happened if she had stayed in the band with her brother? What would have happened if she had moved to Australia with her best friend? Throughout the novel, Nora gets to experience her alternative lives.

I identified with Nora very much. I enjoyed the journey Haig took me, and, consequently the things that he taught me along the way. This book put me in mind of two other books: (1) Replay by Ken Grimwood, which was a bit darker in my opinion and (2) The Life Intended by Kristin Harmel, one of my absolute favorites.

Matt Haig is a compelling storyteller. His novel The Midnight Library is an intriguing fable. I loved the philosophical quotes and ideas.
“Between life and death there is a library,’ she said. ‘And within that library, the shelves go on for ever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?”
― Matt Haig, The Midnight Library A chance to undo your regrets - interesting concept - thought provoking. What if you consider a different way to look at your life? Would you see that some of your regrets are only regrets in another prospective - that in other perspectives of your life the regrets you are holding on to are not regrets at all - but can be positives in others views - in those other perspectives - you can take another broader look at your life - and dispel your regrets - “As Thoreau wrote, ‘It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” This novel inspires you to find possibilities in your life - that facing your demons is not so hard when you see them in a different perspective. Also, that you should never underestimate the power of the small things in your life - and that your choices, big and small, make an impact on others around you not just to your own life.
The novel delves into heavy subjects but surprisingly in a fun, breezy way. Enjoyed the read and this is one I will read again.

Endearing story of stories about what might have happened if... This book will stay with me as I sift through the scenarios and consider the possibilities within my own life. And that is what makes a good book. I should know. I’m a librarian 😉 If only we could sort ourselves like the Dewey Decimal System.

This isn't the kind of book I normally read, but I thought the premise had merit and I was not disappointed. This is philosophical, poignant, and hopeful. I'm glad I gave it a chance.

Matt Haig's Midnight Library is positively brilliant.

Nora Seed's life doesn't look like the life she (or her father) planned. Working in a music store, the girl who had Olympic swimming potential and was once engaged, is now single and quite lonely.

But what if that could all change? What if her life could take a different path; one that is only possible through the volumes of her life's choices housed in the midnight library.

Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you had chosen another life ? Nora Seed the main character has wondered this many times as she is in utter despair with her current life . No job , and no prospect she decides to,end her life but ends up at the midnight library where she gets to choose which life she wants to live . However the choices are many and some things may not be as they seem. Thrilling and inspiring put this book at the top of your must read list

I liked this book. It was a very interesting concept and I liked how it forced Nora to think about what she actually wanted. I thought the ending was a little abrupt and tied everything up a bit to nicely, but overall I liked it.

A library that contains infinite books, infinite possibilities to try another life you could have lived.
In midnight Library Nora Seed a 35-year-old woman tries to find meaning and purpose in her life, finding no reason to exist, she decides to commit suicide. In doing so, she finds herself in a library full of books containing different versions of her life. Nora finds that opportunity to see how things could have been if she had made different decisions in her life.
Nora is transported to lives where she is a glaciologist, a philosophy teacher, a bar owner, a famous musician, a wife, and many others trying to find the right one for her.
I love how Matt Haig makes you reflect on how many times we live thinking about if we take the right decisions, that we cannot live with regrets because life continues to pass and remains between us if we live mourning the lives that we are not living or we live appreciating this existence.
A must-read
5+++++++ stars
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Viking for this amazing arc in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Having suffered from depression, the characters were very relatable. The story had a very Christmas Carol vibe which I loved.

This was the first book I read by Matt Haig and it will definitely not be my last. This book is about a woman named Nora who has a really bad day- she lost her job, was mugged, her cat was hit by a car and she's really depressed. This is not the first day like this for Nora and she attempts suicide. She wakes up to find herself in a place between life and death. At this point Nora finds herself in a library with her school librarian who is full of wisdom. We follow Nora through the various choices she makes and the different worlds/lives she explores. This book is about choices, embracing life, regrets and second chances. I really loved Nora and watching her grow throughout the book. I didn't want the book to end! Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Viking for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I approached this novel with only a general knowledge of the premise. I found Matt Haig's writing kept the promise of the premise. What if there was somewhere you could go to explore the "What if's?" in your life. What an opportunity, would you want a go over or a do over? The main character took a little getting used to for me, however I did sense there was some growth in the character throughout her adventures. That growth made me accept the character more readily. The story moves slowly at times, and can seem repetitive - but how many times do YOU have to experience something to learn a lesson?
I think The Midnight Library would be a strong book discussion selection. 3.5
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

Nora has had a hard life and has many regrets. Then there comes that one awful day. The day she decides, the only way out is to die.

Instead, she ends up in the Midnight Library. Here are endless possibilities of different life outcomes, based on different decisions.

Matt Haig has written a beautiful book about mental health struggles, isolation, and regret. The fantasy setting allows exploration of challenging topics in an accessible way that left me feeling joyful and hopeful. This book is It's a Wonderful Life written for a modern generation. I highly recommend it.