Reader's Choice Book Club--Frisco Public Library discussion

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
4.05 · Rating details · 1,008,732 ratings · 116,372 reviews

Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?

A dazzling novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived, from the internationally bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive and How To Stop Time.

Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?

In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig’s enchanting new novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.

Here are some discussion questions to consider:

1. Let’s start with Nora at the beginning of the novel. Nothing is going right for her and she feels her life is already full of so many regrets. Why did Nora feel this way? Why do you think she felt she had no other option but suicide?

2. As Mrs. Elm tells Nora how The Midnight Library works, she asks her, what would you have done differently, if you had the chance to redo your regrets? Have you ever thought about if you made a different choice, what your life would be like now?

3. If you somehow ended up in a place like The Midnight Library, how do you think you would handle it? Would you want to see all the different outcomes that your life could have taken?

4. Nora goes to so many different realities from marrying her ex-boyfriend to studying glaciers. Which alternate reality did you find the most interesting?

5. Every time Nora goes to one of these realities, there’s usually a lot of good but also something bad. Whether it’s her brother dying in the rock star storyline or her mother passing away alone when Nora kept going with swimming. What do you think the author was trying to say there with how each of these concepts had huge consequences?

6. Let’s now talk about Nora’s relationship with the real-life Mrs. Elm. Why was this such a significant relationship for her?

7. Throughout the novel, Nora realizes how people blamed her for their own shortcomings. And that the different realities she chose, were based on hoping for a better outcome for her loved ones. Let’s talk the significance of Nora realizing this. How did it help her move forward with her own life?

8. What did you think about the storyline where Nora marries Ash and has a daughter? Why wasn’t she able to stay in this alternate reality?

9. What were some of the key realizations that made her want to go back to her original life?

10. How will things be different for Nora going forward? What happens next for her?

11. What are some of the takeaways from Nora’s journey?

12. In your opinion, what’s truly fulfilling in life?

Reader's Choice will be meeting virtually on July 26 at 7:00 pm. You can join the discussion via Zoom using the link below.

https://friscolibrary.bibliocommons.c...

Clicking on the link above will redirect you to the library's event page where you can find the Zoom link and meeting ID, and password.