John J. Vinacci

For a book that has spent time on the New York Times Bestsellers list, I have to echo the sentiment of one reviewer who wrote on Reddit, “ The Midnight Library reads like what someone who has never suffered from depression imagines it to be, and lacks all the intelligence, profundity, and complex thought you can tell the author feels they are ‘blessing’ the readers with.” Scanning reviews of this book seem to indicate the read was life-changing for some readers which I guess could be possible if you’ve never thought about the meaning of your own life until this book came along.  The story follows the unlikable, wooden-esque Nora, a 30-something English woman whose life is in the drain and decides to kill herself whereupon she finds herself in a library filled with books that tell the story of her other lives, given a multiverse of possibilities had she made different choices or at least choices she didn't regret. Opening those books gives her a chance to live those lives and if ...