Welcome to Litsy!

It's been a minute Litsy... 😭
Life has been crazy and I've been in a horrible reading slump for the past few months.

Excited to get back into some good books!

Looking forward to #Scarathlon

Wow, what a great book. I was immediately hooked, and it never let go. The concept is fantastic, the emotions are raw, and even though I predicted the ending from the start, it still had me teary-eyed at the end. Beautifully written, inspiring, loved it.

🌇❤️

It is easy to mourn the lives we aren't living.
It takes no effort to miss the friends we didn't make and the work we didn't do the people we didn't do and the people we didn't marry and the children we didn't have. It is not difficult to see yourself through the lens of other people, and to wish you were all the different kaleidoscopic versions of you they wanted you to be. It is easy to regret, and keep regretting, until our time runs out.

I enjoyed reading all the little stories in this book. It felt like you are living those lives.

#Book2Book @ALLDEBOOKS

Open to all who signed up using the form in #AllDeBook's original post. 🤗

@LiteraryinLawrence, @Soubhiville, @Cuilin, @TheBookHippie, @Lizpixie, @Clwojick, @Chrissyreadit, @BookwormAHN, @CSeydel, @julieclair, @Catsandbooks, @bcncookbookclub, @TheAromaofBooks, @Tineke, @Bookish_Gal, @KateReadsYA

Was an easy read, quite predictable in my personal opinion, with an expected message at the end so it was okay, however I also wouldn‘t really recommend it to anyone.

I‘m torn over this. The premise of being able to explore how your life would‘ve gone if you‘d chosen different paths was really interesting. I‘m in a place of wondering that myself, so I was worried it would hit too close to home in some ways! But it wasn‘t written in a way that did it justice, I think. The mechanics of how it all worked were discussed too much, and certain details set it up for an inevitable ending that felt too predictable. ⤵️

I loved the premise of this book, but the storytelling didn‘t work for me. The plot follows Nora who gets the opportunity to try many different iterations of her life in pursuit of the one that will make her happy. It just felt like an elongated metaphor, very heavy-handed, and like it wanted so badly to be profound that it took shortcuts of “this is profound!!” without actually being nuanced, subtle, innovative, and truly profound.

Other reviews said this one was dense. I loved it. Frank and funny. I am also always a sucker for flashback type stories so entering the different lives was so fun. Sometimes the message doesn‘t need to be buried beneath profound metaphor.

As Norah Seed hovers between life and death after a suicide attempt she finds herself in a library where she gets the chance to explore what her life would have been like if she'd made other choices at various points.

We all wonder “what if“ sometimes and I think I'd already reached the same conclusion the book does, but it was still an interesting journey to reach that point.

2023 book club choice…. Diff kind of book not finished yet …. It‘s ok 6/10. When thinking deeply about this book it actually could be powerful never give up and see the potential in ourselves!!

I bailed the first time I tried to read it, managed to make it through the second.
Nora has a shit life and decides to end it. Instead of going into the bright light, she‘s transported to the midnight library full of the books of all the untaken paths of her life. She‘s allowed to live a bunch of them to decide which would make her happy.
I struggled to care about Nora and the ending was predictable. Not worth the hype.

#coffeeandabook

Unpopular opinion and maaaybe a tad spoilery. ⬇️

Waited so long for this to come out in paperback and it was worth it. Maybe we should all appreciate everything around us and the lives we live? Great read.

Finishing up “The Midnight Library” at the beach

This is my IRL Bookclub pick,and I am glad that it was also on my TBR shelves! First of all,I did not notice the digital clocks on the cover until I took a picture! It is a clever part of the design that my brain had not registered! It is such a popular book that I was expecting more. As many of you,I love any library references,and liked the thread of returning to the library. How do we handle regret and choosing again were the prevalent themes.

The sky grows dark
The black over blue
Yet the stars still dare
To shine for you

This page touched my heart this morning.

☕️📚

What a fantastic book. Without spoiling, I truly wish this was a possibility. Very well written, beautiful, and the feels got me on this one. Highly recommend to read.

The conceit of this book was interesting: How would life have gone if we made different choices? But the book ultimately felt more like an excuse for a philosophical exercise than a solidly written story - I could tell where the plot was bending very early on, and I got impatient for it to just get there already. Also wasn't expecting the very heavy exploration of suicide and despair - while it was handled decently it was a shock.

Finally got around to reading this one for book club. Not what I was expecting, but I really liked it!

“Life is worth living! It‘s never too late!” is a nice sentiment, but I didn‘t love the overall message of The Midnight Library. It read to me like: “if you‘re just grateful and kind and hopeful, you‘ll be able to think yourself out of depression!”. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-midnight-library-matt-haig/

I don't expect to end up loving this as much as I did. I think with any other ending, I'd have felt differently, but it wrapped up quite beautifully. Many lines stood out and a few places I left little notes on postits. Thanks to @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks for the chance to read. It's ready to move on any time 💜

A fascinating look into what can happen in alternate lives. Please note this book may be triggering as the catalyst is Nona taking her life. But it also contains messages of hope. Each life Nora experiences drives her towards a better understanding of happiness and how to let go of regrets. This is a book for readers who enjoy motivational stories with a hint of sci-fi.

Review: https://www.behindthepages.org/post/the-midnight-library-by-matt-haig

TW - mention of suicide

This book didn't start how I expected but I'm enjoying it. I find I can relate a bit too much to Nora. I can't wait to see where this journey takes her

Very philosophical, makes you think about life and hopefully leaves you feeling a little better than when you started.
The plot was predictable, kind of lost me towards the end.

Two days late, but May was a fun month to read through. Had a mixture of suspense, murder, and fantasy! The Midnight library definitely won top prize this month, but Tress and the Emerald Sea was a very close second!

This Midnight Library is not one of ghosts. It is not a library of corpses. It is a library of possibility. And death is the opposite of possibility.

My book journal and I are finally ready for this read from @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

It's taken me ages to actually get to this. I love the highlighter strips, such a great idea

Starting the week off with a new listen.

#audiobook

This was an interesting concept. I‘ve often wondered what all of the different versions of me are up to throughout the multiverse. Who are leading the craziest versions of my life? What are the more “successful” ones up to? Are there happier versions of me? In this book a woman who has given up on life is given the chance to try on all of the infinite versions of her life in the multiverse….with some interesting results! 3.5/5

#bookspinbingo

4/5 ⭐️
Il racconto di una biblioteca che si trova tra la vita e la morte, con un'infinità di libri nei quali ognuno di loro racconta una vita diversa che avresti potuto vivere se anche una piccola decisione fosse stata presa diversamente. La biblioteca che ti dà la possibilità di riprovarci.
Un'idea splendida (con finale leggermente prevedibile ma comunque piacevole)

Finished this up on my lunch hour. Nora gets a chance to try out various lives she would‘ve lived if she‘d made different decisions. I thought it was so interesting and relatable - I know I‘ve sometimes wondered where my life would be if I stayed at a certain job or did something different. I liked the message and it got me thinking about my life.

Interesting, quick read

This was a fun read and although it deals with depression it has a nice feel good approach. Life is for living.

A lovely story

Read The in April 2023 ...
#Goodreads #BooklyApp #StoryGraph #Bookstagram #MMDBookClub #OUABC #Litsy #Libby

• TBR since August 15, 2020 • 5-Stars • parallel-universe

The story of a young woman named Nora Seed who, feeling lost and unfulfilled in her life, attempts suicide. Instead of dying, she finds herself in a sort of purgatory where she can explore different versions of her life that could have been, had she made different choices. Each "book" in the library represents one of these alternate lives, and Nora must decide which one she wants to live.

@Mjm1 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Got this beauty in my box today when I checked the mail. My wife is hiring whoever packed this to help with Christmas! It took ages to get into and she always jokes I open presents too quick 😂

4/5 ⭐

Such an impactful story.

The plot of this book was incredibly intriguing — being able to live your regrets is incredibly thought provoking. I really enjoyed the positive ideas that this book made me have while reading it. The main character was relatable and insightful. I just didn‘t like how predictable the story was — but I don‘t how it could be written any differently. It was a nice read but a one and done type of book.
My review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Simple enough idea - the end was obvious from the start; not a lot of surprises. But while the idea is simple, the execution - not so much. That‘s the value of this book for me. Life is scrutinized through the lens of comparison, and the photo taken often times develops into criticism, doubt, anger, fear - you know, all the good stuff that keeps a body healthy. 😳

🖋: Tailored Pen Company Essex Mid-Century Mod M
🩸: Private Reserve Shoreline Gold

I'm finding this book to be a little therapeutic.🤓

#MarchMagic
@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
#Publishedin2020

Read this one last year and loved it. 💜

After bailing my first read of this book I picked it back up for a book club read. I still really had a hard time connecting with the story and really didn‘t like Nora the MC. The book felt really repetitive and predictable. I do give it props for being transparent about depression and SI and I think it rounded out the story in the end to show how Nora was grateful when given a second chance at living her life.