Episode · The Book Review · 2026-05-15
Matt Haig on The Book Review: books mentioned
Matt Haig on ‘The Midnight Library,’ Mental Illness and Winnie-the-Pooh
Gilbert Cruz discussed The Midnight Library by Matt Haig and The Midnight Train by Matt Haig. Matt Haig recommended Paris Trance by Geoff Dyer and Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino, and discussed Reasons to stay alive by Matt Haig, The Outsiders by S. E Hinton, Winnie the Pooh (Winnie-the-Pooh) by A. A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne, The Labrador Pact by Matt Haig, The Last Family in England by Matt Haig, Henry IV, Part 1 by William Shakespeare, Walden by Henry David Thoreau, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll and others. Jennifer Harlan recommended The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab, The History of Love by Nicole Krauss, We Burned So Bright by T. J. Klune, A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston, and The Someday Garden by Ashley Poston.
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“He's most known in the United States for his smash hit The Midnight Library. That's the story of a woman who has reached a breaking point. She ends up in a library filled with books that each hold a different version of her life.”
Where to get it
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The Midnight Train
Why people recommend it: Matt Haig's anticipated novel explores imaginative premises surrounding life choices, parallel realities, and the existential journeys that define human existence.
Discussed“Matt is now out with a new book, something he sees as kind of a sibling to The Midnight Library. It's called The Midnight Train.”
Where to get it
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Reasons to stay alive
Discussed“And in the UK, I was already a bit known for writing about mental health and I'd done so in non-fiction. I'd written a memoir/ slight self-helpy territory book called Reasons to Stay Alive.”
Where to get it
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The Outsiders
The Outsiders by S.
Discussed“Well, I love now looking back that it was just children's books, because I don't think I could have been reading I mean, it wasn't just children's books, there were some classics on there as well. But, it was basically books like proper childhood books like Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner and teenage books like The”
Where to get it
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Winnie the Pooh (Winnie-the-Pooh)
Winnie the Pooh (Winnie-the-Pooh) by A.
Discussed“Well, I love now looking back that it was just children's books, because I don't think I could have been reading I mean, it wasn't just children's books, there were some classics on there as well. But, it was basically books like proper childhood books like Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner and teenage books like The”
Where to get it
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The House at Pooh Corner
The House at Pooh Corner is a classic children's story collection by A.
Discussed“Well, I love now looking back that it was just children's books, because I don't think I could have been reading I mean, it wasn't just children's books, there were some classics on there as well. But, it was basically books like proper childhood books like Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner and teenage books like The”
Where to get it
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The Labrador Pact
Discussed“So, I suppose it's 22, 23 years ago. I started writing a very strange novel, which in America it's called The Labrador Pact. My title for it was The Last Family in England, which is what it's called here.”
Where to get it
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The Last Family in England
Discussed“So, I suppose it's 22, 23 years ago. I started writing a very strange novel, which in America it's called The Labrador Pact. My title for it was The Last Family in England, which is what it's called here.”
Where to get it
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Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1 by William Shakespeare is a celebrated historical play that explores political rebellion, honor, and the tumultuous coming-of-age of Prince Hal as he navigates his royal responsibilities alongside the roguish Sir John Falstaff.
Discussed“And to up the pretentiousness a little bit further, it's a retelling of Shakespeare's Henry IV Part 1 with Labradors.”
Where to get it
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Walden
Walden by Henry David Thoreau is a classic transcendentalist reflection on the value of simplicity, self-reliance, and intentional living in deliberate harmony with nature.
Discussed“Well, I think Thoreau is like a very attractive figure for 21st century mind that feels overwhelmed by modernity and contemporary society, absolutism, everything else. Just not necessarily the real man who he was, but the idea of Walden, the idea of going into the woods, building a cabin, retreating from society, and then enriching yourself more.”
Where to get it
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Paris Trance
Paris Trance by Geoff Dyer is a contemporary novel capturing the drifting lives, artistic ambitions, and romantic entanglements of young expatriates living in the French capital.
Recommended“Matt, what is your favorite book that you think no one else has heard of? I'm going to choose one called Paris Trance by uh Geoff Dyer.”
Where to get it
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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is a beloved 19th-century children's fantasy novel about a young girl who falls down a rabbit hole into a bizarre underground world governed by absurd logic.
Discussed“Best book I've ever received as a gift, I've got it here. And for those who can actually see this, I am holding up a Alice's Adventures in Wonderland from the 19th century, but not a first edition, alas.”
Where to get it
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Through the Looking-Glass
Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll is a classic children's fantasy novel and the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, featuring famous scenes like Alice and the Red Queen running to stay in place.
Discussed“So, it's the closest thing I've got to a family heirloom and it was Through the Looking Glass and Alice's Adventures.”
Where to get it
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Invisible Cities
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino is a fantastical work of magical realism featuring imaginative descriptions of fictional cities recounted by Marco Polo to Kublai Khan.
Recommended“I would say two different ones. I would say Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino, which is basically every page is a different city and it's an imagined city, they're fantastical cities.”
Where to get it
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The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.
Recommended“The first of which is The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab, who is predominantly a fantasy writer. She's also written some sci-fi... Addie LaRue is, I would say, probably the least heavy fantasy of her books.”
Where to get it
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The History of Love
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss is a poignant 2005 novel that weaves together themes of memory, survival, loss, and the enduring power of literature across generations.
Recommended“This is one of my all-time favorite books and one of the books I recommend to everyone I know, which is The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. This book came out in 2005.”
Where to get it
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We Burned So Bright
We Burned So Bright by T.
Recommended“Another one of my my favorites from the fantasy sci-fi world. Yeah, what's up with the initials here? Tell me about T.J. Klune... I'm actually going to talk about his newest one, which just came out in April. It's called We Burn So Bright.”
Where to get it
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A Novel Love Story
A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston is a contemporary novel that follows a woman whose life is falling apart after being left at the altar, leaving her depressed and clinging to the annual trip she takes with her book club friends.
Recommended“A novel Love Story is about this woman named Elsie whose life is kind of falling apart. She has been left at the altar, she's depressed, she's been really living for this trip that she and her friends in her book club take every year”
Where to get it
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The Someday Garden
The Someday Garden by Ashley Poston is a contemporary novel featuring a magical realism setup centered around a secluded nature sanctuary and a woman starting a new chapter in her life.
Recommended“If you like her she has a new book coming out on June 16th called The Someday Garden which is a secret garden again like a little a very teeny tiny pocket universe in this case about a woman who moves to Maine to be the sort of head groundskeeper at this nature estate”
Where to get it
