Join us Wednesday, September 8 from 2 to 3 pm in the Sanctuary when Revs Helen Avery and Doreen Bonnet will be hosting a book club for the book The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.
The book tells the story of Nora Seed who finds herself in the Midnight Library – a library between life and death with an infinite number of books, each one providing a chance to try another life she could have lived.
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.
The book touches on themes such as regret, grief and acceptance and is full of inspiring quotes.
It is a fairly quick read and is available on Kindle, Audible and Amazon for those who may not have yet read it. (It’s 8hr 49 mins on Audible if you fancy cramming it in before Wednesday ). But all are welcome even if not having read it.
 
The Midnight Library Book Club Questions
- Did you enjoy this book and why/why not?
- What would be another title for this book other than the Midnight Library? Matt Haig says one of his inspirations was It’s a Wonderful Life that also had heavier themes and started quite bleak but ended on a cheerier note. (Bedford/Bedford Falls George Bailey/Ryan Bailey).
- What do you think of Nora Seed at the beginning? How does she evolve during the book? What do you think of her at the end?
- There are many lives that Nora tries on. Were there any of the lives that spoke to you the most?
- There are many quotes in this book – some from famous philosophers like Bertrand Russell, Henry David Thoreau, Lao Tzu, and Jean-Paul Sartre, and some from Mrs Elm – were there any that stuck out for you?
Here is a list of some to jog the memory.
- Nora is presented with her Book of Regrets. Some of which come and go, some that reoccur. Did the book make you realise any of your own regrets as indications of where you haven’t had acceptance yet? Or make you revisit the I Am Bad belief?
- Nora Seed had Mrs. Elm and the midnight library and Hugo Lefevre had his uncle Philipe and the video store. What would be your portal to your life?
- What did you think of Hugo Lefevre’s role in the book?
- There are many themes in this book like chess, fire, climate change, nature – are there any that stood out for you?
- What did you think of the ending? Was it what you expected?
- What was your own take-away from The Midnight Library? Has it made you reflect on your own path at all?
- Can you compare this novel with other novels you have read? Which ones and how?
