Title: Midnight Library
Author: Matt Haig
Genre(s): Fantasy, Fiction
Pages: 288
Rating: 5 out of 5 Crowns.
The Book
“The Midnight Library’ by Matt Haig, who is also the author, of ” Reasons to Stay Alive” and “How to Stop Time.” Matt Haig is an author who is very open about his mental health and depression, which I genuinely appreciate. I love the different variation lengths for each chapter as the main character Nora Sneed (the main character), makes a critical determination about her life. If you are a believer or a fan of the “multiverse,” you will love this book. After reading this book, I watched “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and “Everything, Everywhere at the Same Time,” and I had a better understanding of both films.
I am a person who “dog ear” (folding a corner of a book page) pages of a book. One reason is that reading a particular quote can create a “crown moment” for me, and another reason could be I want to refer back to that page for further research. There are many pages of this book that are “dog ear.”
Without giving away spoilers, I can tell you:
Nora Sneed is the main character of “The Midnight Library,” she is guided through “The Midnight Library” by Mrs. Elm, a familiar face to Nora and also a woman of wise words. Nora is given a choice through each book she selects to see how her life would be if she made just one different choice in her “root” life. Nora has to make a permanent decision before time runs out, but she is unsure when the time will end.
I can say this without giving away spoilers (Just read the book).
“You have as many lives as you have possibilities. There are lives where you make different choices. And those choices lead to a different outcome.”
The Midnight Library.
The Bloom.
I started this book three months ago but had to pause reading it to read “Digital Minimalism ” (a book I will do a review for once I practice being a “Digital Minimalist”) for one of my classes. While reading the book “Digital Minimalism” the author Cal Newport uses the published work of Henry David Thoreau, “Walden or Life in the Woods.” In short, the book is about being in nature, embracing solitude, and understanding oneself.
“I have never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude”
-Walden, Henry David Thoreau-
After reading “Digital Minimalism,” I returned to reading “The Midnight Library.” While reading the book, the author also referred to Henry David Thoreau, Nora’s favorite philosopher. Reading both published works was a full bloom for me because I better understood why Nora quoted Thoreau during her moment of exploring her alternative lives.
First, this book reminded me that life is full of regrets. Honestly, you are not living your life if you don’t have regrets. We have the option to allow our regrets to put us at a dead end, or we can enable our regrets to create different opportunities in our life.
Secondly, this book reminded me of how important it is to be “kind” to others. We move around so fast in this world that the simple act of being “kind” can often be forgotten. I consider myself a kind person when being approached. But from reading “The Midnight Library,” I am learning to approach more people with kindness.
Last but not least, this book taught me that as long as I am living, I have the potential to be anything that I want to be and do anything that I want to do. The message about potential came on time as I celebrated my 37th birthday; instead of thinking of my regrets, I celebrated my future potential. As I am writing this, I am making myself a promise that this will be a continual celebration.
If you have not already, please visit the previous Book and Bloom Review:
Book and Bloom Review “Wahala” By Nikki May. – CROWNONES.COM
