The Midnight Library

Matt Haig

The Midnight Library

Recommendation inspired by:
What causes sleepwalking? - Emmanuel During

Why we love this book:

Have you ever wondered what your life would look like had you made different choices? Would you be a rockstar? A professional athlete? A glaciologist fighting off polar bears in the Arctic? Nora Seed is endlessly filled with these questions; living her life in a world mired by regret to the point where living has become nothing but a chore. Enter the Midnight Library: the place between life and death where Nora can try on other lives where she made different choices. Matt Haig’s short and absorbing novel explores existential depression, the weight of regret, and poses the question: if we live in a universe where everything that can happen, does, how do we find meaning and purpose in our individual lives? “The Midnight Library” is the kind of story that will mean something different to each person who picks it up, but is ultimately a celebration of ordinary people and their ordinary choices.

Trigger Warning: suicide and suicidal ideations

Recommended by:
Lauren McAlpine, TED-Ed Team

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