The premise for this book is very interesting. What if you had the opportunity to explore how your life might be different if you'd made different choices? I really liked the exploration of the obvious choices. However, I did not really like the smaller choices that lead to some weird lives in which we only really got snapshots (we didn't even get the explanation of choices made to lead there). I did really appreciate the ending and how Nora decided to live with the original choices she had made and still had to work through all the issues she'd had at the start of the book. Nothing ended up picture perfect, but there was a sense of hope. Overall, I think it was an interesting look into depression that was also a bit uplifting.

At first I thought it was written for children. As the adult voice emerged I enjoyed it more. A “what if” book written with all the social issues of the day; mental health, gender issues... which were not really necessary for a good read. It did plod in these areas a bit, it felt like the author was forced to expand on these social issues or inserted them into an otherwise enjoyable romp through time and space.

a nice short read that will really get you thinking. would be 5 stars if it didn't take place in the modern day. i don't need to read the words "podcast" "instagram" and "mansplaining" when I hear enough about that already in daily life. i don't know about you, but i read novels for escapism, not to be reminded about the stupidity of the 21st century

If you've ever carried around a "book of regrets" in your life - this book is for you! Through the Midnight Library Nora explores all the roads not taken. Loved it!

#1 book on Goodreads! Definitely a must read. Put on hold 1/16

Nora lived a failed, lonely life but when she tries to end it, she winds up in the Midnight Library. The library is full of story lines she could have taken, and the librarian encourages her to try every plot. Nora explores regret, success - but whose? - and living a life on her own terms.

What would you do if you could take back all your regrets and live another life? This eye-opening narrative shows that we shouldn't live for anyone other than ourselves.

It's a little stressful - what would you do in you could go back and redo things you regret in your life?? Nora gains this chance, and well, it's an interesting read. I can definitely see why it's a popular read for 2020 - it's a good one to read and give you something to mull over.

All of the best books I read this year were recommended to me by librarians, just saying. Including this one that I am SO GLAD I am ending this year on because it is such a high note.
On the day Nora decides to die, she is in the deep end of a mental health crisis that too many can relate to. She thinks she's meeting death with her eyes wide open and that her regrets are an impossible burden to carry on. But instead of arriving in the hereafter, she finds herself in the Midnight Library, a purgatory of sorts where every possible life she could have lived based on every path she didn't choose is bound in a book.
The journey that follows, as she makes her way through every life she thought she wanted, as every misstep she thought she made was undone, was truly unforgettable. Full of philosophical wisdom, a candor that both unsettles and soothes, and a most satisfying, amazing, PERFECT conclusion, this is one that will stay with me forever and ever.

Regrets, we all have them. Would you walk out of the Midnight Library or start opening the books? I love fiction where you get a chance to think about what road you would take if given the option. This novel was beautifully written, introspective, and full of wonder. I did start to get frustrated with the protagonist, but I still enjoyed the story very much.