Tales Of Connection

by Matt Haig

A selection of stories from Notes on a Nervous Planet, The Comfort Book, and Reasons to Stay Alive.
Week van het Engelse Boek-special edition. Not for resale.

Matt Haig is the number one bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive, Notes on a Nervous Planet, and The Comfort Book as well as seven novels for adults, including The Midnight Library, How to Stop Time, and The Humans.
Haig also writes award-winning books for children, including A Boy Called Christmas, which has recently been made into a feature film with an all-star cast.
He has sold more than three million books in the UK and his work has been translated into over forty languages.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help

88 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2021

About the author

Matt Haig is the author of novels such as The Midnight Library, How to Stop Time, The Humans, The Radleys, and the forthcoming The Life Impossible. He has also written books for children, such as A Boy Called Christmas, and the memoir Reasons to Stay Alive.

Reviews

[Sterre° · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was free, it was good, I liked it.

[Hanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maar eerder 3,5 denk ik. Interessant boek met goede punten. Ik denk dat ik misschien wel The Comfort Book zou willen lezen hierdoor omdat die excerpten me wel aanspraken. Oh ja dus het zijn excerpten. Dus ik weet nog steeds niet het gedoe met de theekopjes en chips maar goed.

[Marjolein · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a selection of stories from three of his other books: Notes on a Nervous Planet, Reasons to Stay Alive & The Comfort Book. I've read all three, I've loved all three. It was good to sort of 'revisit' them all, and even though I still love these entries... I kinda wished there'd be something new in here. So, even though I still enjoyed it - it wasn't groundbreaking for me.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was quite curious about this little booklet. I have to admit that I normally get my English books online, because it saves me about 2-3 euros a book, but for this booklet I got an English book from the local bookstore.

Just like with all collections with short stories, some spoke more to me than others. There were a few stories making me cry, because they validated me as a person or made me feel understood. There were also a few stories I disagreed with.

However, it's quite clear that Haig knows what he's talking about and thought about life and what it means to him. It's also quite clear that he wrote these pieces from his heart and soul and really wants to share his experience.

What this booklet does brilliantly, is making me curious about the complete books. I'm not entirely sure if I'll ever read them, because I still prefer reading fiction over non-fiction, but once my curiosity is there, one never knows!

[Inge · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m only giving this two stars because I didn’t realise this would be short paragraphs from his other books, I thought it would feature new or previously unseen material. I’d already read ‘The Comfort Book’ and ‘Reasons To Stay Alive’, and had no intention of picking up ‘Notes From A Nervous Planet’ because it seemed too depressing (spoiler alert: it is). It’s more my fault than this book’s really, and if you haven’t been introduced to Haig’s work you might really enjoy this one. I just wish it would feature content for people who already like and have read his work.

[Evelyn Evertsen-Romp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prima

[Lisa van Vliet · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

Fun quick read, don't read if you don't feel like overly positive and deep stuff today. If you do, it is quite charming.

[amoriec · Rating 5 out of 5]

genuinely one of the best self help books I’ve read
“In short, we never know. The only certainty is uncer-tainty. And so, if we are to reach any kind of constant comfort, we need to find comfort in uncertainty. And it is there. Because while things are uncertain, they are never closed. We can exist in hope, in the infinite, in the unanswered and open question of life itself.”

[PuriP · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mediocre and a little cliched, but otherwise not that bad for a free book.

[Hyūga · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

[Lana (Taylor’s Version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 ⭐️
I would’ve rated it 5 ⭐️ if it was just the first book, but since it’s little bits from three different books it’s like a 4/4,5 ⭐️

[Carmijn Gerritsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book works well as a palate cleanser, however it is nothing extraordinary. Haig shares his short but interesting thoughts on life, mental health and technology. Some excerpts were very strong, and could thus have been longer in my opinion.

[Zoë Melief · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,63 sterren op Goodreads. Dus bijna zo goed als Shakespeare;)
Vanmiddag "per ongeluk" een boek van hem gekocht. Ik kijk er naar uit om deze te lezen.

[Lotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

comfort food voor je brein

[Sanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some light philosophy, sprinkled with hope and compassion. :)

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alles wat hij maakt is mooi

[Jacoline · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this as a free gift while buying other books. After reading The Midnight Library I was not interested in any other book written by this author, but I decided to give this a try.

As someone who struggles with mental health I thought I would relate more to his writing, but I just do not connect to it. The thing that annoyed me in The Midnight Library, still annoys me in this book; everything seems so cliche. If it helps other people I am glad the writing can offer some comfort. I however feel that the writing does not offer any new insights.

There were some parts that spoke to me, but most of the book is very repetitive. For a compilation book that surprised me, as there is an option to pick diverse segments.

Overall I can say with certainty that I will not be reading any work by this author again.

[Mijs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. I have come to the realization that at some moments I really enjoy non fiction.

The combination of own experiences, other peoples experiences and theory just makes this book very enjoyable. The writing style was good, and I loved that in between the stories there were also self made lists, pieces of advice and encouragement.

I will defenitly be reading one of his non-fiction works sometime.

[Matty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this as a gift at the store when buying a few books. (Yes it still happens). Its a neat way to venture into different works and musings of Matt Haig. I was particularly drawn to the first section which has excerpts from his "notes on a nervous planet" book. But i didn't find the section on his "reasons to stay alive" book captivating. So if you are curious about Matt Haig this little book is a great way to do some discovery....

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

I have to be honest, I don’t really remember what I’ve read and I started the book yesterday.
Although I did not agree with everything in the book, I loved most of it. It contained very interesting perspectives and premises and it was a great way of become aware of certain things and positions/perspectives on life. It’s a great and short entry way into rethinking one’s way of thinking.
I especially liked the third part because it included more stories of people.

[lou ˖ . · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Your mind is a galaxy. More dark than light. But the light makes it worthwhile."

I found this book in a so called "minibieb" in the Netherlands were you can take or leave books for free. I already had the midnight library on my reading list, so I had to take it with me, to get to know his writing style. I really like his way of thinking and poetic core. I am definitely looking forward to read more of his books.

[Skyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars — This was an easy and (most importantly) a free book, though I felt like it was lacking originality. I haven’t read the full books and these are just a few selected stories, but for what I’ve read here it’s all stuff that has been said before and is very cliché. Despite this it’s still nice to read, I personally really like Matt Haig’s writing style.

[Esther Dijkhuizen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a nice, short read and definitely made sure I’d want to read the complete works. Especially the Comfort Book seems appealing to me. Glad to have gotten this book for the English Book Week in Dutch bookstores last year.

[Bo · Rating 4 out of 5]

lovely reminders.

[September · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

[Nohr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book for free at the bookstore. I didn't expect to like it this much. I usually only read fiction. But this was really inspiring.

[Rosanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was free, and it was a nice taster of the writer's work. I enjoyed it.

[Arline · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just not my cup of tea to read 🤷🏻‍♀️

[sterreherwarts · Rating 4 out of 5]

so many interesting thoughts and perspectives!

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did I read this because it's under a 100 pages and I have a reading goals to complete? Yes. Did I enjoy it anyway? Absolutely