Matt Haig in conversation with author Joanne Harris discussing his novel The Midnight Library, the nature of regret, and his writing process.
Uploaded by Waterstones, 2021 · Watch on YouTube ·
Haig explains that The Midnight Library served as self-therapy against modern comparison culture, which he believes leaves people feeling inadequate. He wanted to write about embracing ordinary life and recognizing that no frictionless, perfect alternative existence actually exists.
Haig found writing Nora's life as a famous musician the most fun and wish-fulfilling because he regrets quitting piano lessons as a teenager. In contrast, portraying her life as an Arctic glaciologist was the most challenging and required extensive research outside his comfort zone.
Haig considers Winnie-the-Pooh to be a foundational mental health book that he still finds deeply comforting. He views A.A. Milne's characters as personifications of distinct psychological states, such as Piglet representing anxiety and Eeyore embodying depression.
21 books, 1 series; 2 reviewed on LuvemBooks. Dates and covers from Amazon.
4.4/5
reader rating · 286,542 ratingsMatt Haig's speculative novel The Midnight Library follows Nora Seed through a liminal space between life and death where every unchosen path becomes a door — a richly imaginative premise that earned strong sales and generally positive critical reception, though some critics found its emotional resolution more comforting than challenging.
Reviewed Feb 16, 2026
4.3/5
reader rating · 35,956 ratingsHow to Stop Time is a historical fantasy novel in which Tom Hazard — born in 1581 in France and cursed with a condition that makes him age at a glacial pace — navigates centuries of human history before returning to present-day London as a high school history teacher. Reception was split: starred reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly sit alongside mixed notices from The New York Times and other outlets, making this a novel that passionate Haig fans and readers of high-concept literary fantasy are most likely to embrace.
Reviewed Aug 19, 2026
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