What if a person were able to go back, as they are dying, to a different life? Imagine a Choose Your Own Adventure option before one finally expires. Nora Seed’s life has been on a steady downward spiral. All her options have led to despair and now she just wants to end it all. But just as she tries to put herself out of her misery, she finds herself in a library surrounded by books that will open the door to alternate realities. So if Nora has regrets over choices she has made, she can open a book to a world where she chose to act differently and see how that made a difference in her life.

This book is inventive and creative; a captivating premise. As Nora tries on different lives for herself, she is sometimes disappointed and sometimes awed. But it feels false to jump in on a life she hasn’t earned. It’s ultimately up to her to pick a road for her future to continue on or to simply finish what she started, and end it all.

One can’t help but wonder “what if?” as we all make daily decisions in our lives. In this novel, Nora gets an insight into just how varied her life might have been had she made a different life choice – whether big or small. Readers will be swept away by this magical journey of discovery and the possibility of how our own lives might have diverged, had we taken a different path.

I wanted to like this book but it comes across as a Richard Bach knockoff. Let’s travel to alternate realities and see what might have been. Sadly, it is not a very original story. I was disappointed. If you have never read a book where you travel to alternate worlds in which you exist it might be ok.

This was a wonderful imagining of life after... if you had taken a different road through your life, how would you have changed it... Highly rated this book and I recommended it to my friends for their book club (Since I"m a librarian, they always come to me first)

I have been eagerly awaiting this book since the days of Matt Haig tweeting vague plot concepts and asking follower opinions on cover options, so needless to say: I was deeply invested. Let me assure you, this book does not disappoint.
Nora Seed is a thirty-five year old woman who feels that her life has surpassed its "best by" date, and that she has no feasible choice but to close the book on her existence forever. Shockingly, she awakes inside an arcane library filled with an infinite number of unmarked books in various shades of green. Each of these books contains one of Nora's potential lives, the countless existences she could have been living had she made even one decision differently. Each book she picks up allows her to enter into the life contained in its pages, to see how that life tickles her fancy, if it feels better than her root life--and if she likes that life well enough to stay inside of it forever. Heartfelt and philosophical, this is Matt Haig shining brightly in his element.

What a perfect book to read during a pandemic. I feel like we have all have been given the time to review our lives and choices during this unprecedented time. What would it look like in an engaging novel? This is it,

We all need someone like Mrs. Elm in our lives, librarian and:or life saver! The Midnight Library was magical and had me traveling along with Nora Seed. Like her name, her seeds were planted in several places, but they never took root. The novel answers the question of what is considered a life well-lived through engaging storytelling that keeps us rooting for Nora to find some happiness.

A book lover's book! This magical and imaginative story is a perfect read for people who love to read!

This is extremely belated, but I’m sad to say that I was not impressed by this title. It was hyped and hyped by coworkers and friends alike, but when I actually read it, it simply fell flat. There’s not enough depth to it for the random tidbits of “this is why you’re feeling this way and this is how to stop” type narrative that pops up here and there as you read. Not my bag, and I can’t say I will be recommending it to anyone. Didn’t DNF but almost did.

Very interesting concept of exploring the roads not taken in life, and the possibilities of what life might have been like if a different road had been taken.

Have you ever wondered what life could be if you'd made a different choice, chosen a different path? On the brink of death, Nora discovers a library full of possible lives could offer her a second chance if she can discover what will make her happy. Becoming a glaciologist, having kids, pursuing music? But no life turns out exactly as expected. A really intriguing and thoughtfully written book.

I was worried the inciting incident of a suicidal woman would be an issue for me, both personally and in terms of taking issue with how such a difficult topic was handled-- but surprisingly, I found myself won over by the story. I'm not sure that will be the case for everyone, and certainly take care going into it, but I really did enjoy the book and appreciated the underlying philosophy that no life or choice is perfect and that we have to make the most of where we are and what we have, even when that seems impossible.

TW for depression, overdose, and attempted suicide

I had heard a lot of mixed reviews about this novel, but the premise was intriguing enough for me to check it out and form my own opinion. And it is definitely a favorable one, given the amount of stars I think it deserves!

This was definitely my kind of book. I love surreal stories, especially ones with time travel involved. It made me think of Being Erica, which is a show I recently watched and loved. However, the regrets Nora has are a lot different from the ones Erica has. I enjoyed seeing the different lives Nora experienced as a result of entering the library. I felt bad for her in the beginning, feeling like she had nothing to live for. There was an It's a Wonderful Life feel to the story, as well.

Overall, it was an interesting story with a clever concept and bite sized chapters (for the most part). I recommend it for a little something different!

Movie casting ideas:
Nora: Carey Mulligan
Dan: Allen Leech
Ash: Harry Treadaway
Joe: Aidan Turner
Hugo: Michael Dorman
Mrs. Elm: Celia Imrie

Just wow. This book was so enthralling, I was continually intrigued on where the story was going to go. What was going to happen? The reader is so fully drawn in and invested in the character's development it was a joy to read. It gave such hope about life and I found myself tearing up at moments. This was a beautifully written book with a beautiful message and just simply an excellent read. Like drinking tea under a cozy blanket during a winter storm of a book, lovely.

This book had a very strong (and depressing) start. Nora, the main character, loses everything that makes her feel like she has a reason to live. So- she decides to die. Upon attempting suicide, she finds herself in a liminal space that represents itself to her as a library. In this library she is helped by a Librarian, first to find her Book of Regrets. After reading through this horrible book, composed entirely of things that she wished that she had done differently, she is offered the chance to fall into whichever of the infinite number of books on the shelves that she pleases. Subscribing to a basic version of the multiverse theory, reading each book will show her what her life would have been like if she had made a different choice somewhere along the line. If she finds a life that suits her, she may then live that life.

What I liked about this book is that it gave Nora a lot of very interesting alternate lives. Nora's interests had included music (she was almost in a band), glaciology, swimming. She had thought about getting married but decided not to, had been asked to move with her best friend to Australia but didn't go. In her alternate lives, Nora owns a cute little pub, is a lifeguard in Australia, an Olympic caliber swimmer who's now an inspirational speaker, fends off a polar bear, and plays a concert to a stadium full of her fans in Brazil. Some of the people she loves and who have died come back to life, some people she loves now are dead in an alternate reality. I liked being a "life tourist" with Nora.

There are a couple of cheats, I'd say. Nora, although she never accomplished anything she was proud of in life, was immensely successful in most of her other lives. Most people who want music in their life don't become internationally famous musicians. Most high school swimmers don't make the Olympics. What about if she just was playing in a garage band for fun, or was a teacher who swam to keep in shape? But the point the author was trying to make was that even if dreams come true, they still have a cost.

The book ended more weakly than it began. Here's spoilers if you don't want them:

In the end, Nora went back to her old life (of course). She had just needed to realize that even though she didn't think anything she did mattered, she had in fact made a difference to some people in her life. The problem is, if you're truly depressed, it's almost impossible to believe such a thing no matter what evidence you have. Depression is about more than regrets and feeling disconnected. It has mental, emotional, physical and spiritual components and it's a very difficult thing to fight.

Everyone wants a happy ending, of course. Did anyone want to read a book in which Nora decides that no, she really does want to die? And you don't have to. The beginning of the book felt like a pretty realistic depressive cycle (takes one to know one). The end felt like a Very Special Movie. I preferred the beginning for its evocation of a mental illness that's literally a killer and the middle for its imaginative exploration of what-if.

Nora Seed is unhappy with her life and tries to end it. But, between life and death is the Midnight library. With unlimited shelves of books, Nora can pick the life she desires to lead. As she travels through many lives that she thinks will bring her happiness, she realizes that she wants to live and her life really isn’t that bad. The decisions she made and regrets lead her to discover what really is meaningful in life and who matters. Don’t miss reading this book.

The first few chapters follow a count down to the specific time at which Nora Seed will decide to die. She is 35, has worked at a music store called String Theory for the last few years, is estranged from her only relative, recently split from her fiancee, and is now presented with the body of her dead cat. She feels as though she is a black hole — “a dying star, collapsing in on itself”. On the brink of death, she finds herself in the Midnight Library — where the infinitude of books are all instances of her own life, hinging on some decision large or small.

The book is nicely executed — plenty of philosophy, psychology, and scientific tidbits (many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, Dunbar’s number, and environmental asides). I did find it a bit disappointing — it has received such rave reviews but I feel like it has been done before and most of the “insights” were of the self-help variety. Entertaining but (for me) not terribly inspiring.

So I normally really like Matt Haig's work; he's had a number of novels that I've really enjoyed. And honestly, it's not that I didn't enjoy this -- I just expected a lot more from it than what I felt it delivered. The premise is interesting; I just think the handling of the main character's depression is troublesome for me.

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams...Live the life you've imagined."

What if you had the chance for a life do-over? Or the opportunity to make different choices or decisions that would alter the trajectory of the years. The ability to change those regrets we all have into things to do or not do. When Nora Seed attempts suicide, she goes to her own "between life and death" place -- a library -- where the books on the shelves offer that very thing. As Nora experiences the different paths not taken, she learns a most important lesson. NO SPOILERS.

This was definitely a book that I might never have read if it hadn't been chosen for my book group. I'm not really into existentialism or prone to long philosophical debates about the meaning of life or parallel universes. Much of the book felt like an extended TED talk full of inspirational quotes with the ultimate goal of helping the reader learn to be content and satisfied with themselves. Although the different "experiences" that Nora tried in order to undo her listless and boring existence and make something more of it were interesting, the conclusion was predictable. It was a sentimental and somewhat depressing story with a very self-absorbed Nora held up as an example of discontent who could be fixed with a change in perspective. I'm sure the narrative will provide much for discussion by a book club keen on introspection and self-examination.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Viking for this e-book ARC to read and review.

I enjoyed this book and I liked to see the growth of our main character, Nora. You could see the ending coming from a mile away, so that took some of the enjoyment of the book for me.

While I enjoyed it, I would be very careful who I recommended this book to. Tons of triggers in this one. Suicide, death, depression, anxiety, loss of a pet..

From the book blurb: “Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. 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?' Nora has a particularly bad series of days/weeks/months, so she attempts suicide and instead of dying, she ends up in the Midnight Library. She is given an opportunity to change her past, and she finds herself living the lives she regrets.

I enjoyed listening to this - it was a quick listen and I couldn’t wait to hear what would happen next. BUT I just don’t think I liked the ending of this? There was just something about it that I didn’t care for. (Also, it really annoys me that this is literary fiction instead of women’s fiction. The only thing I can figure is that it is written by a man? Its 100% women’s fiction - it wasn’t deep enough to be literary fiction.)

This one is a bestseller/award-winner for a reason. I will recommend this to patrons who enjoy magic, sci-fi, and books with heart.