The Midnight Library
by Matt Haig
Between life and death, a woman finds a library of books that let her try the lives she might have lived. Warm, imaginative, and hopeful. Read the full description
Best for: Readers who want a hopeful, thoughtful novel
The Midnight Library is #98 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 48 out of 100.
The Midnight Library: reading interest over the past 12 months
Sources: Open Library’s public reading-log and ratings data (dump of 2026-08-31), Wikipedia page views and Wikidata. Monthly counts are exact; they show relative interest among readers of these public sources, not total readership.
Ranked against the other books on this list, The Midnight Library’s reading interest has run from #53 to #91 over these 12 months. Interest rank blends shelf adds, Wikipedia page views and rating activity, each compared with the other 99 books that month.
Shelf adds by month
The Midnight Library was added to Open Library readers’ shelves 355 times in the past 12 months, peaking in September 2025 with 42 (42% above its monthly average of 30). Over the latest three months (Jun 2026 to Aug 2026) shelf adds were up 12% on the three months before. 82% of the adds were “want to read”, 6% “currently reading” and 12% “already read”.
Want to read Currently reading Already read
Wikipedia page views
Its Wikipedia article was viewed 333,358 times in the past 12 months, peaking in May 2026 with 46,377 views. The latest three months were up 14% on the three before.
Source: Wikimedia monthly page views for the article The Midnight Library.
What the data says about The Midnight Library
- Moderate swings. Monthly shelf adds averaged 30 with some ups and downs.
- Busiest and quietest months. September 2025 was its busiest month (42 adds), about 3.8 times its quietest, December 2025 (11).
- Attention and shelf adds move independently. Its Wikipedia views and its shelf adds did not rise and fall together over these 12 months (correlation 0.15).
- Against its genre. It had 48% fewer shelf adds than the average Literary fiction book on this list.
- Share of the list. It accounts for 0.3% of all shelf adds recorded for the Top 100 over these 12 months, #92 of 100.
- Its age. First published in 2020 (6 years ago), it is older than 14% of the books on the list.
Each finding is computed from the public data above and shown only when the numbers support it.
The Midnight Library on the Top 100: rank history
First charted in September 2026. The chart gains a point with every monthly update, so its peak, climbs and falls will show here as they happen.
| Month | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | #98 | 48 |
Is The Midnight Library rising or falling?
Holding steady Its weekly, monthly and yearly ranks are close together, so interest is steady rather than spiking.
On Open Library, The Midnight Library ranks #71 this week, #102 this month, and #169 over the past year. A longer bar means a higher position. Comparing the three windows shows whether readers are arriving faster than the book's long-term pace. Readings as of 2026-09-30.
Why The Midnight Library made the Top 100
The Midnight Library made the list mainly on momentum (+24.1 points) and reader love (+9.1 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+2.3). The BookWard Score blends five public signals, each scored from 0 to 100 and weighted as shown.
The reading-now, rating and rank signals come from Open Library’s public data, not from BookWard’s own readers. The score measures reading interest, not quality or sales. How the score works.
Open Library reader stats for The Midnight Library
Source: Open Library public reading logs, as of 2026-09-30. BookWard’s own monthly snapshots are added to the picture, and anonymous BookWard reader data will be layered in as the community grows.
More readers have The Midnight Library open right now than 3% of the other books on this list. These counts come from one public source, so they show relative interest rather than total readership.
Where it sits among Literary fiction books
It is #7 of the 8 Literary fiction books on this month’s list.
About The Midnight Library
Between life and death, a woman finds a library of books that let her try the lives she might have lived. Warm, imaginative, and hopeful.
Why it’s here: It is a book club favorite for people asking what a good life looks like.
Best for: Readers who want a hopeful, thoughtful novel
At a glance
- First published
- 2020-09
- Genre
- Literary fiction
- Also described as
- fantasy
- Length
- about 304 pages (the median across its editions)
- Original language
- English
- Languages
- editions in 8 languages listed on Open Library
- Editions
- 27 on Open Library
From Open Library and Wikidata public records. Missing rows mean the records do not list that fact.
Themes
- Regret
- Second chances
- Choices
What reading it is like
Uplifting and philosophical.
At about 304 pages it is a longer read: roughly 6 hours at an average reading pace (about 250 words a minute, 300 words a page). Audiobook and edition lengths vary.
Good to know
Contains suicide themes.
The premise
Nora Seed, unhappy with her life, finds a library between life and death where every book lets her try a different life she could have led. She searches for the one worth living.
What you’ll get
- A hopeful, imaginative story
- Gentle philosophy
- A quick read
You might skip it if you want realistic plotting.
Pairs well with: The Alchemist · The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Keep exploring the chart
Also on the chart at #97 and #99
Questions about The Midnight Library
What rank is The Midnight Library on the Top 100 books?
The Midnight Library is #98 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 48 out of 100.
Is The Midnight Library rising or falling?
Holding steady. Its weekly, monthly and yearly ranks are close together, so interest is steady rather than spiking. On Open Library, The Midnight Library ranks #71 this week, #102 this month, and #169 over the past year.
Why is The Midnight Library on the Top 100?
The Midnight Library made the list mainly on momentum (+24.1 points) and reader love (+9.1 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+2.3).
How many people are reading The Midnight Library right now?
Open Library's reading logs show 79 readers currently reading The Midnight Library, 2,081 who want to read it and 144 who have logged it as read (as of 2026-09-30). These are counts from one public source, not all readers.
How much interest has The Midnight Library had over the past year?
355 Open Library shelf adds in the past 12 months (peak September 2025, 42); latest three months up 12% on the prior three; 333,358 Wikipedia views in the past 12 months (up 14% over the latest three months). Figures come from Open Library and Wikipedia public data.
Who is The Midnight Library best for?
Readers who want a hopeful, thoughtful novel.
Ask a question about The Midnight Library
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How we know
This page is built from public data: Open Library’s dated reading-log and ratings dumps, Wikipedia page views, Wikidata, and BookWard’s own monthly Top 100 snapshots. The interest rank blends shelf adds (45%), Wikipedia page views (30%), rating activity (10%) and, for months where a snapshot exists, BookWard’s own score (15%), each as a percentile among the Top 100 books. Every month shown is real data; nothing is estimated. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Last updated September 2026. Read the full methodology.
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