Episode · How I Write · 2026-08-26
Books mentioned on Matt Haig: How to Write a Book Millions of People Read | How I Write
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David Perell discussed The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Matt Haig recommended Winnie the Pooh (Winnie-the-Pooh) by A. A. Milne, and discussed The Humans by Matt Haig, The Possession of Mr. Cave by Matt Haig, and The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Midnight Library
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig is a bestselling novel about a depressed woman who finds herself in a magical library where every book offers an alternate version of her life choices.
Discussed“Matt Hag sold more than 10 million copies of his book, The Midnight Library.”
Where to get it
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The Humans
Discussed“I mean, with a novel I write called The Humans, I think I deleted 40, it was a small novel to start with. It was about 80,000 words.”
Where to get it
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The Possession of Mr. Cave
Discussed“I mean I wrote a book my third book which you won't have read no one has read. It's called the possession of Mr. Cave. It's like the most depressing book I think anyone's ever written. Everyone dies in it. There's literally no hope. I would recommend no one to read this book.”
Where to get it
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The Polar Express
Discussed“You've got Polar Express. Yeah. You've got a lot of magic trains in children's books. So, that was one of the things that led me towards the train. Cuz that's the way things happen in the Polar Express. I love that book.”
Where to get it
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Winnie the Pooh (Winnie-the-Pooh)
Winnie the Pooh (Winnie-the-Pooh) by A.
Recommended“Winnie the Pooh is a book I loved as a child and then I loved again when I was 24 years old having a breakdown at my parents house... I think it's the ultimate self-help book that's ever been written.”
Where to get it
