Tap a cover to jump to that book
The Midnight Library asks the biggest question there is - what if you could try every life you might have lived? - and answers it with real warmth. Our editors have picked the novels that share its second chances, its gentle touch of magic and its hard-won hope.
The short answer
- Closest match
- Life After Life by Kate Atkinson — a life lived again and again
- Best by the same author
- The Humans by Matt Haig — an alien falling for humanity
- Best comfort read
- Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi — time travel, one cup at a time
What to look for in a Midnight Library readalike
The best readalikes offer a "what if" at their heart - time travel, lives lived twice, a chance to go back - but use it to say something true about how we live now. Expect regret, kindness and a lot of heart, with just enough of the fantastical to lift the story off the ground.
Our pick of books like The Midnight Library
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Ursula Todd lives her life again and again, starting over each time it ends; the great "what if" novel.“Winner of the Costa Novel Award 2013”Our review, by the LoveReading team
Reviewed by the LoveReading teamAudiobook read by Fenella WoolgarThe Humans by Matt Haig
An alien sent to Earth in the body of a Cambridge mathematician slowly falls for humanity; Haig at his warmest.“April 2014 Book of the Month”Our review, by Sarah Broadhurst
Reviewed by Sarah BroadhurstBefore the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
A Tokyo café lets its customers travel back in time - as long as they return before their coffee goes cold.Audiobook read by Arina IiThe Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab
A woman who bargains to live forever finds that everyone she meets forgets her the moment she leaves.Audiobook read by Julia WhelanHow to Stop Time by Matt Haig
A man who ages impossibly slowly has lived for centuries, and must decide whether to risk loving again.Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Two friends make video games together over thirty years; a novel about second chances and the lives we might have had.“An intimate alliance of a lifetime, the power of play, the pull of work - this outstanding love story set in the gaming world is a soulful joy”Our review, by Joanne Owen
Reviewed by Joanne OwenAudiobook read by Jennifer Kim and Julian CihiA Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
A grumpy widower's plans are upended by his new neighbours; funny, tender and life-affirming.“59-year old Ove is quite possibly one of the grumpiest people you’ll meet but, he has been an upstanding pillar of the community for decades”Our review, by Sarah Broadhurst
Reviewed by Sarah BroadhurstThe Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
An old man meets five people in the afterlife who show him what his life meant.“October 2014 Guest Editor Cecelia Ahern on the Five People You Meet in Heaven”Our review, by the LoveReading team
Reviewed by the LoveReading teamThe Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan
A writer who collects lost objects leaves his house - and his mission - to his assistant; a gentle story about connection.“One of Our Books of the Year 2017 | Oh my, this is totally and completely gorgeous, in fact, an absolute treasure!”Our review, by Liz Robinson
Reviewed by Liz RobinsonThe Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
A retired man sets out to post a letter and keeps walking, the length of England, for an old friend.“A moving and poignant, yet comic, story with such affecting characters it’s hard to stop reading”Our review, by Sarah Broadhurst
Reviewed by Sarah BroadhurstAudiobook read by Jim Broadbent
Who chose these books, and why that matters
This is not a list pulled from a bestseller chart. Every title here was read and chosen by the LoveReading editorial panel, and we turn far more books down than we put forward.
The panel includes a judge of the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger; a past Chair of the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals; a former children’s editor of the Guardian, who is also Children’s Director of the Hay Festival; a Managing Director of the Hay Festival of twenty years; the founder of the Murder One bookshop, who has reviewed for the Guardian, The Times and the Daily Telegraph; and two UK School Librarians of the Year.
Each is named, with a photograph and full biography, on our editorial experts page.
Members of the panel include:
Liz RobinsonLoveReading reviewer since 2014 and former judge of the CWA Gold Dagger
Joanne OwenAuthor, publishing expert, and LoveReading’s Literary Fiction Champion and YA Lead Reviewer
Paul BlezardMulti-award-winning broadcaster, author and literary commentator
Lois CudjoeBook critic, content creator and passionate cross-genre reader
Their judgements are informed by our Reader Review Panel — several hundred readers across our adult and children’s sites who read titles before publication and tell us plainly whether a book delivers.
LoveReading has been recommending books since 2004 and has reviewed more than 33,000 titles in that time. Every physical book bought through us donates 25% of the cover price to a school of your choice — more than £100,000 in books so far.
Where to start
For the closest idea, Life After Life. For more Matt Haig, The Humans or How to Stop Time; and for pure comfort, Before the Coffee Gets Cold.
Your questions answered
What is The Midnight Library about?
Nora Seed finds herself in a library between life and death, where every book lets her try a different version of her life. It is a novel about regret, choice and what makes a life worth living.
Does The Midnight Library deal with difficult themes?
Yes. It opens with its heroine at a very low point and deals with depression and regret, although it is ultimately hopeful. The books here share that balance of dark and light.
Are these recommendations generated by an algorithm?
No. They're curated by LoveReading's editors and informed by our 800-strong Reader Review Panel, who read widely across every genre. We've recommended on merit, not sales rank, since 2004.
Which should I read first?
For the closest idea, Life After Life; for more Matt Haig, The Humans or How to Stop Time; and for pure comfort, Before the Coffee Gets Cold.
More from the LoveReading blog
- 20+ Novels of Community Unity – the best feel-good fiction about communities coming togetherOctober 2023
- Make a New Book-friend in These 10 Fabulous Feel-good Tales Where the Main Focus Is a Relationship Other than a Romantic OneAugust 2022
- WHSmith names Matt Haig as Author of the YearNovember 2021