West Sussex libraries centenary: what is your favourite book?

“The Midnight Library by Matt Haig is one of those reads that makes me really think about what I am reading and what I would do if I was placed in this fictional world. The main character is Nora Seed, and we join her journey when her life is going nowhere and bad things are happening to her. She finds herself in the Midnight Library, a place between life and death which houses books of all the different lives she could have lived. With the help of the trusty librarian, Nora is able to try out some of her parallel lives and choose a different life and putting right some of the regrets from her current life. Nora makes her choice and you’ll have to read it to find out what she chooses….

“Haig is a masterful storyteller and throughout the book he has a real understanding of people, how they work and writing about our ordinary everyday lives. Haig puts Nora into a variety of lives and situations, so we get to know this complex and flawed character really well. What I particularly loved was every time that Nora was placed into a new life, she had to work out where she was and who she was with, especially if she didn’t know them in her original life. As characters come and go throughout Nora’s lives, the one constant is Mrs Elm, the librarian who helps Nora navigate the Midnight Library, offering sage advice and guidance to an often bewildered Nora. I loved the concept of this book with the massive library full of books and endless possibilities to be explored. One touch of a book and you are whisked off to another life where you can live happily ever after, or do you?

“The book explores many difficult themes that some may find upsetting such as suicide, depression and death. As Nora experiences her many lives, these themes are explored and Nora begins to understand more about herself. For a reader, this can be really powerful as it allows you to reflect on the what ifs in your own life and consider what living life is all about.

“The sign of a good read is the impact it has on me and my thinking over the following weeks, months or even years later after I’ve read it. For me, The Midnight Library is one of those books. It deals with emotion, it is written from the heart and really explores what makes us human. According to The Bookseller (17/01/2025) The Midnight Library in paperback is the sixth most bought book between 2020-2024.

“The Midnight Library is available from West Sussex Libraries in hardback, paperback, large print and audiobook on CD (read by Carey Mulligan). It is also available via the Libby app.”