The Midnight Library: Am I A Sucker If I Like This?
2021 ж. 21 Там.
3 026 Рет қаралды
Apologies - I am out of practice! New rig, new workflow, and a long break makes it feel like I'm learning how to do this all over again. Matt Haig's latest book (not to mention his entire literary output) has me conflicted.
MENTIONED:
The Midnight Library - amzn.to/2W8rgUk
Notes on a Nervous Planet - amzn.to/381AWlE
Reasons to Stay Alive - amzn.to/3gqyI3R
American Shoppers Are A Nightmare - bit.ly/3kfxpG7
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#TheMidnightLibrary
“The self-help corner of the Marvel universe” 😂😂😂 Apt.
my mum picked this up on a whim, and while it's not her usual fare, she really enjoyed it. it's been flying off the shelves at the library where i work so maybe one day i will pick up a copy of it. thanks for the video!
It's been selling well but it's been mostly under the radar as far as my bookish media goes - still, great to go in blind and find myself plowing through the pages.
I loved this book.
Matt Haig, and especially this book is something I've been dancing around for ever. Literally since before booktube. I want to read him to be part of the conversation but can't decide if it'll be good ofr me or not. So interesting to here your take on it and that it is a pageturner.
Nothing revelatory here but I found myself enjoying the exploration into other possible lives and the slow reveal with each on why it might seem objectively great but actually not.
I loved it. I was literally crying when I came across it. My depression has not been treating me well since 2016 but 2021 was a blessings. And by the end of 2020, when I read it, I’ve been a lot better.
I'm anxious but not depressive and I found it comforting, and like - who doesn't want more of that?!
I just bought this ebook *last night* after resisting for months. So I’m not sure if I want to know anything about it yet, but I’m encouraged by the title! 😂
I went in totally blind (the cashier explained I could buy two for one and I ended up rushing back to the books to find something fast) You figure things out fast (like any genre romance or mystery) but the fun is in the reading.
"A Rupi Kaur Instagram poem in long form." 😂 Like you, I found it would be easy to snub this one, but I did enjoy it. I also enjoyed _How to Stop Time_ but haven't read his others.
Right, it's obvious and predictable but I still found myself enjoying the ride. And there's comfort in landing exactly where you expect and happily not begrudging Haig for the choice.
Thanks for the review. I just picked up The Midnight Library - looking forward to reading it :)
hope you enjoy it (but you have to be open to the experience!)
Great video! I read this in two sittings as well, but my cynical self was too ashamed to admit that it had been a fun, comforting (and, well, saccharine) read. Funny how the message is still criticized for being unoriginal and bland despite living in a day and age where we seem to be at our maximum levels of assholery. Some things never change, even after a pandemic.
Thankfully I haven't been privy to heightened levels of assholery ...yet, but the hot vax summer never really materialized here with the advent of the Delta. With both of Haig's books I was happy to settle for comforting.
I read this book a month or so ago. Loved it. I also read The Humans this year. I enjoy his writing. Thanks for another perfect review. 🤩
Thanks! Hadn't heard of The Humans but it certainly sounds like a Matt Haig read (and a bit like Resident Alien the TV show)
I enjoyed this book, I needed the fast pace to keep me engaged but overall a good read I really enjoyed reading it last year, but see how a reminder on just being a good person is needed this year too
The world could use a little more kindness right now - which again, said out loud seems awfully basic and a little naive. It's like I can't suppress my own cynicism and need to keep being reminded that the world could use a little more kindness right now ...and repeat
@@ThePoptimist I feel the same seems so cliche but there is nothing wrong with that. Perhaps if we saw more stories about the everyday kindness of people it the state of the would not be so disheartening , it all starts and ends with us really and all we can do is try to emulate that behavior that we want to see in the world.
Thank you for the cat death warning. I can handle bad/sad things happening to humans but animal death/abuse/sickness/etc are hard for me to read
I loved The Midnight Library!!
You know, after the last 18 months or so, I know I've been needing a warm fuzzy blanket read more often than ever & I'm not ashamed to admit it. Of course I did experience a cat death of my own right in the first month of the pandemic, so maybe I was destined to seek out some hugs in book form. I'll add this to my "books when I need some happiness" shelf.
wasn't expecting a warm fuzzy blanket so was pleasantly surprised when I was offered one and found it was just what I needed.
I just finished The Midnight Library a few weeks ago, just as we descended into our 6th hard lockdown - a cumulative 200 days since the start of the pandemic - and it was just what I needed to be reading at this time of continuing uncertainty. Perspective, perspective and all the warm feelings! Hello from Melbourne, Australia, and thank you for the perfect update :)
That was exactly the vibe I needed reading this too - technically we've never left lockdown here in Ontario so a bit of perspective was appreciated. Good luck out there!
I went in with no expectations and ended up loving it
I think that's the best way to go - was in exactly the same boat.
i loved the dolly parton reference...she is one of my sheroes! and it's good to hear your take on this book....yes, it doesn't hurt to be reminded.
Anyone responsible for giving away more than 130 million books is doing right by the world as far as I'm concerned.
@@ThePoptimist amen!
Been considering picking this one up. Sounds like it might be a good one to put on hold at the library. :)
I can only imagine what the hold list looks like at the library considering it's still topping the charts. But no hurry either for this light, diversionary read.
Good review. I would add, the main character also tried some pretty mundane lives, and was not any happier. Coming mid-pandemic, I did take comfort, especially the reminder to put aside regrets. Go forward. Like others, my cat died at the start of 2020, so, there was a bit of identification with that aspect. I do agree that The Midnight Library is the culmination of other published musings. I respect Matt Haig for his published honesty, but I have to admit I did not make it all the way through the other books. Sometimes we just need that crystal in an incense-and-Apple-pie scented tea room. Even banal statements can hold great wisdom. Yeah, I liked, and continue to like, The Midnight Library. Thanks for reviewing it!
I'm sorry to hear about your cat! We really do run the gamut of lives here and there's something to be learned from each (though if we follow Haig's logic - there's also "enough" in each of those lives as well and the possibility of happiness) but again - fuzzy blanket that doesn't bear intellectualizing!
I had different expectations for this book when I read the blurb, and when I got into it I was worried the end was going to be “ the life you are living now is your best life” which thankfully it was not framed that way, at least that’s not how I interpreted it. I thought it was handled well and had many of the Well duh moments too, but I think the delivery was pretty awesome and worth the time to read it. I think it’s good to have things repeated to ourselves even when we might not think we need to hear them. Sure it could have done more, but maybe that needs to be in another book.
Those truths that bear repeating thing is what got me. Intellectually it's all so obvious but I'm just a dumb ape that needs to be reminded repeatedly and am grateful when it's done in such a nice way.
Good Review... 📚👍🏾📖✌🏾🔖
Thanks - appreciate it!
💙
I loved this book too. The only sus thing about your journey was the trip to Walmart. 😒 But you don’t have Target in Canada and no more Zellers, so I guess you’re off the hook!
LOL - it was closing down, there were deals to be had!
I enjoyed this book overall…however I did read it right after reading Hamnet which I really loved and is MUCH different in tone. So that might have colored my overalll experience. But all in all it was a fun, easy read that had a nice message. I’m glad you enjoyed it and that you got a good deal :)
Fun, easy read that I consumed in a weekend - just a nice straight shot down the middle readingwise that I was happy to have given the benefit of the doubt.
@@ThePoptimist Absolutely! And honestly there isn’t anything wrong with a book that makes you feel better at the end of it. Sometimes that’s what you need. I did enjoy my read too…though I was hoping the cat would be saved!
Me too, but even so I appreciated Haig's elegant explanation of why.
@@ThePoptimistI hadn’t heard his explanation, so I really appreciated you sharing it and getting the chance to hear it. It definitely makes the book “make more sense”, for lack of a better phrase.
I confess I had a lot of mixed feelings about this one. I think it was a good fast paced book, but the sort of in your face message had me rolling my eyes a bit.(and the fact they translated a Mexican slang into Portuguese irked me as a Brazilian)
It's like a genre novel. In romance or mystery there's no question as to how the book is going to end, it's more how the author creates tension and keeps the reader engaged. Haig kept me reading even as I was thinking "well duh".
Great review -- I don't disagree with your thoughts but I landed in a very different place (2 Stars). I thought it was too simplistic and predictable. I can see why others might like it but it wasn't a good use of my reading time.
Can't argue with you there, you know exactly how it's going to end (and you could argue that the overall message could just as equally apply to any iteration of Nora's "lives" - to find happiness and be enough as a rockstar, swimmer, friend) I just found myself more interested in how he was going to fashion each new life and how he would subsequently sabotage it. There was also an opportunity to more closely examine the other "sliders" and what their choices mean.
Actually it’s not his newest book. He just came out with a new one called The Comfort Book. Haven’t read it yet, but I want to. I’ve read 5 of his books now, I think he’s great. However, I find his books to be polarizing. People either connect with his writing, or they don’t.
Looks like it's another like his Notes on a Nervous Planet - a mess of a book as he likes to say.
Buddy that's a lot of spoilers without any warning.
I debated, you could argue that all of these are pretty obvious following the book's logic established in the first few chapters - and that the ending is hardly a surprise - the fun is in how Haig sets up and pulls down each "life" to get to that ending.
@@ThePoptimist You need to say "this review will include major spoilers" if you are going to include this much detail. Most BookTubers are super careful with that and I've watched your reviews before and don't remember them divulging to much plot. Or just put *Spoilers* in the title.
Americans could certainly use some lessons on how not to be asshole customers. Great review!
Canadians may have a reputation for being polite but damn if we can't be some triffling assholes at times too.
Hallo I just found your channel and viewed your video about Pachinko. Have you read Living reed by Pearl Buck? It is a novel set in Korea from the end of 19th century to the Second world war. The author is a Nobel Prize for Literature.
That one crazily enough I haven't yet read - but thanks for the recommendation! I will have to check that one out.
I found this book insufferably predictable and the main character was so irritating to me. I only finished it because it was an audiobook read for me and I didn't have any more credits for a new one yet. 😂
I'm not going to argue that it was predictable - you know exactly how it's going to end, not to mention the appropriate story beats in the first few chapters but like any genre novel I still couldn't help racing to the "happily ever after" or "the butler did it" ending.
I have purposely not read The Midnight Library because I don't have much faith in how Haig portrays a woman. So few male authors, I find, write women well. Plus, I suspicious that Haig uses the "single, childless woman in her 30s has no friends, career, or anything good in her life" trope. (Which has been done to death) Sorry, rant over.
...and a cat! fair cop there. Without an earnest heaping of giving Haig the "benefit of the doubt" it would quickly become unbearable.