The Midnight Library

I would just like to point out that Longyearbyen is not the northernmost town in neither Norway nor the world. It is in fact more of a village or a settlement and is by Norwegian law not a town 🙂 It annoyed me so much when she called it a town several times because it's really not a hard thing to fact check and get right 

I liked this book, although I wanted to love it. I feel like I couldn't have read it at a better time in my life than right now, as I'm in the process of healing and feeling very sad and stressed about all the missed opportunities I lost out on in the past because of my trauma. However there's just something about this book as a whole that felt a bit... preachy? Everyone can get depressed, but the road to healing isn't as easy as “catching” the ✨depression✨ is.  Some might have family and friends that care and check up on them, a good job and a great income, they might've had a good childhood with decent parents and might be so lucky that they haven't experienced any big traumatic events; others have none of that.

I wish someone would write a book about depression that doesn't necessarily strive to find deeper meanings to everything, telling you how great your life could be if you just thought positive about stuff, or a book that didn't try so hard to be poetic and inspiring. Not everything needs to have an happy ending and honestly I was kinda hoping right up until the end that this book wouldn't be one of those “okay, I've changed my mind, I'm ready to live! Everything is fixed because I'm thinking so positively about life now!!” endings because that would've felt more realistic and would've been a new take on depression that media seldom explore, but the main character just woke up and everything was magically perfect because she made a goodchoice 🫶🤭💕 when she changed her mind and wanted  to live instead of unalive herself 😐

Profoundly meh

Edit: after realizing I've only given three books one star this year, I am demoting this piece of trash to where it belongs.


This book isn't a one star because it did make me think about things and ponder life a bit. But most of what I pondered was how much I disagreed with this book, so...

Yeah I would have had to actually cared about this boring, on the nose, bad messaging book in order to have a well thought out process as to why I find it borderline offensive. The idea that people with depression and suicidal thoughts should just think about how good their lives actually are should probably merit it a one star on its own. It's like Haig read a one sentence summary of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and went, “oh, you can cure depression WITH THOUGHTS? Got it”. That's just not how it works, and it comes delicately close to victim blaming. It passively upsets me that this book is so popular, because that's means the masses are eating this idea up, and while that's not Haig's fault, it does depress me. Maybe I should just think about good my life actually is and get over it, though.

5/5

This is the best book I've read for quite some time. Such an incredible concept and I really liked the writing. Kept me hooked the entire time and I finished it the evening I bought it. Won't stop recommending it.

This was a fun read and really drew me in. Intentional or not, I loved the obvious nods to the 90's TV show Sliders. One of the best books I've read this year.

This was such a shallow, predictable and pretentious read. I almost threw up a little on some pages.

The book is about somebody who wants to commit suicide and gets a chance to get av view in her parallel lives.

The women in question, is very smart and loves philosophy. She has a quote for everything and knows practically every obscure fact ever scientifically proven. Furthermore she is a musical genius and she has (despite being an absolute amazing person) no friends except for one person at the other side of the world. Im thinking I heard all the clichés at this point.

Instead of actually going into some of the core issues that lead to the suicide and the real angst, the book dances around some predictable mini stories of which most are just plain boring. She becomes a loved rock star, she becomes a scientist, she wins a gold medal (laughing out loud at this point). Only to realize, she has been living life wrong this whole time !

After she has visited a lot of lives, sometimes feels quite untrue. Furthermore, she has concluded there is no life in which she is fully content. Without a proper solution for her former problems, she wakes up and decides she wants to live. Ain't that confusing!

The book is written in such a childish manner. Nora's personality is based around some small, but very specific topics, on which the book constantly hammers and the author manages to include the topics in every conversations. The author clearly wanted this girl to like philosophy.

You can imply these things, but this just felt really shallow. This book felt fake at times, felt like a parody. I wouldn't pick it up again.

I'm unsure whether or not to approach this book as a “Young Adult” novel and whether or not that should change how I view it, but as it stands, I'll be viewing this book the same way I would any other. My hope for this is that a teen or young person who's contemplating any form of self-harm picked this book up, read it, maybe got something from it, decided against self-harm, then read literally any of the many pieces of literature Haig pretentiously references in this book, realizes how much better that piece of literature was than this crap, and regains a wonderful outlook on life realizing there are so many better books to read than this.

This was so horribly written I'm really wondering if he had a page count he needed to reach or something. A 288 page book has never taken me under a week to read, and it really is because this writing is so overly simplistic, the characters so uninteresting, the narrative style so redundant that a 10 year old could read this in the same time I did. I have no idea how this book has so much acclaim, there's so much wrong with this book, and since it's been a long time since I read something I really didn't like, I'll even break it down!

This is some of the worst writing I've encountered, so many moments in this novel where it actually feels like Haig is breaking the fourth wall to tell the reader something, there is little that the characters or setting do to help the reader infer any further meaning, rather Haig simply has Nora say philosophical (a word that sounds so trite now after reading this book sadly) mumbo-jumbo to account for that he just doesn't know how to portray her grasping deeper meaning, and in turn help the reader to become Nora and share her journey. Pair that with a plot line that on the surface should be engaging, but handled by Haig becomes incredibly repetitive (Reading about Nora constantly asking people in her various lives what's happening or pretending to not be alien to the timeline was so grating that it distracts from the point he's trying to make, which he of course then compensates for by directly spoon feeding the reader what he's trying to say.) And speaking of repetitive, he seriously repeats himself so much in this book, Nora explains her cat's name/nickname multiple times, he uses the same Thoreau quote I think 3 times, and to read him continuously name drop philosophical authors over and over induces a headache in me as I think about it. There is also SO much empty space in this book lmao, like seriously he had to have had a page count he wanted to hit because I've never encountered a book that felt so lazy. There's seriously a page that's just four lines in a song he already dedicated a chapter to earlier, that I wish I didn't have to read again. All this not even to mention the ending of the book can be inferred maybe 30 pages into the novel, and makes the inane journey that proceeds even more cringingly annoying.

I would also like to say, since he references The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath at least 3 times in this book, (The Plath quote that begins the book, Nora seriously explains a major analogy from the Bell Jar that no doubt inspired this book, and later Nora just straight up has a copy of it in one of her realities.) Please if anyone reads this review please go just read that book instead of this. Haig basically wants you to do the same, he pretty much overtly tells you this in the book with how overt he is in saying he just got the idea for this book from Bell Jar. Seriously it's a much better book and is much more insightful than this drivel.

At the end of the day however, this book was refreshing because it helped me realize that the more challenging books I've been reading are very much worth it. I was also wondering if I'm struggling with perhaps reading comprehension or something since I was finding it hard to truly lock into more challenging stuff like To The Lighthouse, but no, that's simply an intricately written novel, while this is a 45 year old British guy who spends 288 pages poorly disguised as a 35 year old woman named Nora Seed just to tell you he knows the names of a lot of philosophers and you probably shouldn't kill yourself.

This was beautiful. It's been a while since I've read a novel that's made me stop and reevaluate my life in such a positive, hopeful light. I wish I had the right words to express all of the thoughts and feelings I had while read. A book that will be staying with me for sure. 

Um, good enough to finish. I will say I was interested in the concept and story enough to continue reading it without getting bored. At some points it was kinda preachy (like, about suicide and staying alive...idk) but I think most of it was the interest of explore alternate universe versions of yourself. I thought that was interesting and I like how it was portrayed in a library.

Generally a good read.

3.75
This was my 2nd attempt to read it and I finished this time. It was slow at first until I hit around page 150s. It picked up the pace and many more lives to experience. Trigger warnings: suicide, cancer, death, drugs, alcohol, and depression.

I always had the thought for many years of “What Ifs”. This book was basically full of “What Ifs”. My favorite quote is cheesy but it hits different; “You don't have to understand life. You just have to live it”.

boring. predictable.

A quick read – but overall an enjoyable novel with a nice message. The beginning of the book, after what I'd call the “introduction” (being vague to avoid spoilers), starts a bit weak; as it portrayed some themes that felt more bleak than expected. Once you get through that section, I found it rounded itself out by the end to a comfortable ending.

Opting for 3 stars instead of 4 stars as I found the direction the book was headed to be pretty obvious maybe 40% of the way into the book. This wasn't a major flaw, but still pulls back some of the tension and wonder when you realize what's happening and how it's going to end so early.

A wonderful celebration of life. Real life, it's joys, hardships and all the little things in between that matter more than I appreciated before I read this book. An interesting story well told. Four stars is more a reflection of my connection with the author's voice rather than any fault of his. I'm likely one of the least likely people on the planet to want to commit suicide. Philosophy can be oh so personal. The ending was maybe a little too inevitable? But overall The Midnight Library is a wonderful book, one well worth reading.

Call it cheesy, call it cliche, whatever. This book hit me hard. I loved it

Trigger warnings: Suicide ideation, depression, drug use, drug overdose, toxic relationships, parental deaths

So I'm rather in two minds about this one. On one hand, I appreciated the underlying message of this book and it did make me pretty emotional at the end, but on the other, I couldn't completely get rid of this tiny feeling at the back of my head that some parts of the premise were a little too simplified and too convenient. It's hard to discuss more about that without some pretty big spoilers, so I'll be hiding all of my plot-related thoughts behind spoiler tags.

On a non-spoilery note, the writing was very pleasant and fairly light. It read very smoothly and easily, and I found myself breezing through the book. I'm reading this with an online book club, and some of us complained that there weren't chapter numbers which made it difficult to post our thoughts, but perhaps that is a problem unique to being in an online book club. There were also some chapters that was just one or two pages long, sometimes even just one sentence long. Even after finishing the book, I was never really sure if there was an impactful enough point to this strange chapter structuring. I could probably come up with some fluffy reason for it but I don't know if it was really justified by anything we actually read in the book, and I'd feel like I'm making excuses for Haig.

Nevertheless though, I do feel like Haig might have had personal experiences with the mental health issues dealt with in this book, or at least have been close to people who did. There is a sort of intimacy in the way he describes and depicts depression and even suicide ideation. If this is in any way triggering to you, I'd recommend staying away from this book all together as it is a major theme that the whole plot revolves around.

Now for the spoilery bits. I think I first sat up and paid attention when Nora met Hugo in her Arctic glaciologist life. To know that there were other people out there sliding between lives as well was something I hadn't expected to happen in this book, and I was wondering whether they'd go anywhere with it. I guess perhaps one could argue that the point of Hugo being there was to show how we could easily get lost flicking through possibilities instead of focusing on living the one life we have, but I feel like that point could've been driven home a bit more. The character of Hugo, ironically, felt like a huge potential that was missed. Another thing that kept coming back to me was wondering whether it was deterministic to say that this or that person might've still ended up the same way in these other lives. For example, Dan. Will he always be an asshole in every version of Nora's life? If he is, why is that? Nora can only access lives that branch out from a decision she has made differently at some point in her life, but I feel like what this book didn't (or maybe couldn't) talk about was how in any and every version of our lives, it's just as much influenced by other people's decisions that directly or indirectly impact us. Nora may have chosen to get married to Dan, but Dan also chose to be an asshole. Nora may have chosen to focus on swimming but multiple people made decisions that became stepping stones on her journey to becoming an Olympic swimmer, like perhaps a teacher who decided to give her time off to attend swim training, or a coach who decided to properly focus on her strengths instead of another athlete's. Just as Nora's decisions impacted others (having her brother Joe become her manager, or dying of drug overdose), other people's decisions impacted her too, so I couldn't completely buy into the idea of - “if I had chosen swimming, this is the one and only version of my life that could have happened” or “if I had given up teaching music, this kid Leo would 100% certainly have ended up as a juvenile delinquent”. I think this thought kept recurring to me while reading this book and I kept constantly wondering whether the book was going to resolve it but apparently it didn't.

Overall though, this was a pretty feel-good book that still raised a lot of thought-provoking points, provided that you are OK with the trigger warnings.

How can a book be both depressing and uplifting? Interesting concept and characters.

Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction (2020) ,
Book started off well until the changing of so many lives. Tended to become just a bit boring for me.
Started skimming thru pages near the end! Anyone who likes Fantasy should enjoy this, I just not so much into Fantasy but read it for the award! David N.

I liked the concept but it's shoddily & predictably executed. I'll bet that majority of the people here might be able to predict what the end might be based on just the blurb. The philosophy is handpicked from the masters so those lines are the only ones that I've highlighted as the prose was pretty average. It's a fast read though. Could've been better as a short story/black mirror or twilight zone episode.

Oh my goodness, this book! I listened to this book on audio because my life is a little crazy this week with limited time to sit and read. I enjoyed the narration a lot. This book was picked by a member of The Bibliovert Podcast's Sisterhood of the Traveling Books group. This book moved me and really hit me in the feels! The titles of the chapters were intriguing and definitely kept me engaged wanting to listen for an explanation. The storyline is really interesting and unique. I went into this book completely blind and I'm so glad I did! There are so many lessons to take away from this book. There are an innumerable amount of possibilities in life and one choice can change or effect those. There's a lot of talk about dwelling on regrets and questioning what the true definition of success is. There's lots of triggers in this book especially regarding suicidal ideation so definitely check the warnings. This book follows Nora and her journey through the Midnight Library which I can't explain without spoiling.I really loved this book and found Nora relatable. I took off one star because I really would have liked an epilogue or a little more closure as to where Nora's life goes.
18+ for themes

This is a nice little novel that is a little like Nick Hornby meets philosophy. It's easy going but makes you think and hits all the cliches you expect it to.

I liked this book. The beginning was interesting, and the first few chapters really drew me in. However, once we enter the midnight library, it feels like we keep doing the same thing over and over again as Nora is experiencing new lives and trying to find one she would rather live.

Long story short, I love the concept of how all of your choices affect aspects of your life, but the plot wasn't keeping me super engaged.

It was more of a “feel-good” book and a “life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful” inspirational quote-type book than I thought it would be. People who love inspirational quotes and the butterfly effect concept would love this I'm sure.

Know that it deals with depression and suicide as well - Nora wants a life that is not as miserable and disappointing as hers.

This is a good book. In an alternate universe — if the author had made some different choices — it would be a great book.

I liked “The Midnight Library”, and was grateful to have read it. Honestly, it's exactly the book that I need for my life right now. I've been having some of the same thoughts and experiences as the main character, Nora Seed. I thought the overall concept was clever, and I liked some of the philosophical stuff that Haig explored.

That said, the book has a couple of glaring faults that drove me nuts.

First, there are parts that are tremendously awkward. Nora's conversations with characters in alternate timelines are often clumsy and frustrating. These moments (and there are many) don't contribute anything to the story after the first instance. We get it. We get that going to a new timeline is disorienting. We don't need to be shown it every single time.

Second, the climax is awful. It's as if it were written with film (bad film) in mind, not the written word. It's lame and kind of undermines everything that has come before. So frustrating.

Still, I'll end up recommending this book (with caveats) to many people, especially folks looking for something interesting to read for book clubs. This would prompt great discussions, I think. And, this is a book that I'll read again in the future. When I do, though, it won't be on audio. I need to be able to skip all of the repetitive, awkward transition scenes that ought to have been edited out (and probably were in the universe where this is a great book instead of okay).

First five star review of the year.:)

Literally, read this book in one sitting. I admit that I was on a 9hr plane ride hence had a lot of time on hand but still it's not very common for me to start and finish a book in one sitting. And yes, I did squeeze in a movie at one point but I was done before I landed on Amsterdam.
Loved this book.

Totalmente merecidos todos los premios que ha ganado.