“Never underestimate the big importance of small things.”
Have you ever wondered how different your life might have been if you had made a different decision? Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library is a poignant look at the infinite possibilities of life. Nora Seed’s life is monotonous and unfulfilling. Readers follow her daily existence until her despair reaches a point of no return. She is then taken to the Midnight Library, a place where she can jump into other lives she could have had if she had made different choices. It’s a book that is as thought-provoking as it is emotionally fulfilling. Join us here at What We Reading as we run you through some of the best books like The Midnight Library for your next great read!
These books all mirror the messages served up by Haig in The Midnight Library, offering readers the chance to build connections with stories, themes and characters that are comforting and relatable.
Night Theater – Vikram Paralkar
In Vikram Paralkar’s Night Theater, readers are introduced to a surgeon who flees a scandal in the bustling city in favour of a life in the countryside. He holds a resentful outlook, but that is changed when he is visited by the ghost of a teacher, their pregnant wife and their young son.
Having been killed in a violent robbery, they tell him they have been given the chance of a second life, but only if he can mend all of their wounds by morning. This emotive and thought-provoking novel follows the surgeon and their assistant as they set to work, delving deep into their understanding of their own lives, as well the wider complexities entangled with life’s miracles.
In Five Years – Rebecca Serle
Unlike her carefree, go-with-the-flow best friend Bella, Dannie is a meticulous planner. And, after a marriage proposal from her boyfriend and the opportunity of an interview for her dream job, it looks as though her strategy has paid off.
However, when she wakes up one morning in a new apartment with a different man, she realises things haven’t worked out the way she had imagined in the future. Returning back to the present day, Rebecca Serle’s In Five Years follows Dannie as she is forced to wonder whether she can continue on her previous course, knowing that not everything turns out as planned.
Check Out The Best Books Like In Five Years
The Humans – Matt Haig
If you’re a fan of Matt Haig books and his unique writing style, The Humans might be the book for you! Funny, warm-hearted but equally thought-provoking and sincere, The Humans is a story of an extra-terrestrial alien visitor to planet Earth taking the disguise of mathematician Professor Andrew Martin.
Whilst his first impression of humanity is one of disgust, he quickly falls in love with all the weird, wacky and wonderful traits and inventions people have cultivated. It’s a book that examines human imperfections, and how there is beauty to take away from everything.
Remarkably Bright Creatures – Shelby Van Pelt
Nominated for the Best Debut Novel and Best Fiction in the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards, Remarkably Bright Creatures is a powerful exploration of hope, empathy and friendship from Shelby Van Pelt. Following the death of her husband and the disappearance of her son, Tova Sullivan picks up a late-night job at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up as a means of keeping busy. There, she meets and strikes up a connection with the grumpy Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus.
Through their shared connection, Tova is able to learn the truth behind her son’s disappearance and learns the valuable lesson of how looking back to the past can uncover a future that once seemed impossible.
Check out our The Midnight Library Review
Millard Salter’s Last Day – Jacob Appel
In Millard Salter’s Last Day, author Jacob Appel introduces readers to a man terrified of being old, frail and a burden. Millard has decided to take his own life but has a bucket list of items he wants to tie up before he bows out.
He wants to have a stern word with his unemployed son, confront his estranged first wife, visit his second wife’s grave and confess his love for the widow Delilah. But, plans go wrong all the time and in this touching, heart-warming tale, Millard will learn that his family have a surprise in store that could completely flip his understanding of life, and what it means for him.
The Year We Turned Forty – Liz Fenton And Lisa Steinke
Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke tell a story of three best friends and their list of regrets in The Year We Turned Forty. Jessie, Gabriela and Claire have all been given the opportunity of going back to when they turned forty as a way of changing their life fortunes.
Jessie chooses not to tell her husband of the affair that led to the birth of their son, Gabriela decides to have a child instead of focusing all of her energies on a publishing career, and Claire sets about mending relationships with her mother and daughter, whilst also chasing the one special man that got away from her.
Before The Coffee Gets Cold – Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Have you ever thought about travelling back in time? Wondered about who you might see again, maybe for one last time? In the back alleys of Tokyo, a small coffee shop is brewing a unique blend of coffee that allows customers to do just that. Toshikazu Kawaguchi introduces four different visitors to the customers, all of whom are keen to take advantage of the coffee shop’s time-travelling offer.
But whether it be to confront the man who left them or meet the daughter they never got the chance to know, all four of these customers have to follow the same rules: remain seated in the same seat, do not leave the cafe, and return to the present before their coffee gets cold. A beautiful and moving exploration of grief and heartbreak, Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a book similar to The Midnight Library with its thought-provoking premise and ultimately life-affirming message.
Check Out The Best Books Like Before The Coffee Gets Cold
The Immortalists – Chloe Benjamin
A great book like The Midnight Library, if you’re a fan of Historical Fiction, The Immortalists asks the question: if you knew when you were going to die, would you change how you lived? Readers follow the Gold siblings as they visit a travelling psychic who shares with them their destinies.
Following the siblings across the next five decades, The Immortalists walks the line between fate and choice, and reality and illusions. It’s the perfect book for those who were hooked by The Midnight Library’s themes of the power of living your own life.
Check Out The Best Books On Libraries
The 7½ Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle – Stuart Turton
In The 7½ Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle, author Stuart Turton introduces a world where Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered at 11:00 pm every day. Aiden Bishop wakes up in a different body of eight different witnesses every day and has to work out who the killer is to set her free. But, with some witnesses more helpful than others, there are plenty of twists and turns to be had before he can say with confidence who the killer might be.
This Groundhog Day whodunnit is action-filled and stands as an inventive mystery novel, but also one with layered messages those who enjoyed The Midnight Library will surely appreciate.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
