#51: Why Matt Haig Reads 1-Star Reviews of The Midnight Library

2026-06-18 · 53 min · 24 entities

episode page audio

Asserted relationships

→ appeared on Off The Shelf with Morgann Book podcast

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evidence rules-v5
Hosted by: Morgann Book
→ references @Morgannbook book

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evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "#51: Why Matt Haig Reads 1-Star Reviews of The Midnight Library": https://youtube.com/c/MorgannBook
→ references Matt Haig book

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evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "#51: Why Matt Haig Reads 1-Star Reviews of The Midnight Library": https://barnesandnoble.com/authors/matt-haig
→ discusses News concept

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Feed category: News
→ discusses Arts concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Arts
→ discusses TV & Film concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: TV & Film
→ discusses Books concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Books
→ discusses Entertainment News concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Entertainment News
→ discusses Film Reviews concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Film Reviews
→ hosted by Bookish Media company

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: Bookish Media
→ references @Offtheshelf.Podcast company

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evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "#51: Why Matt Haig Reads 1-Star Reviews of The Midnight Library": https://tiktok.com/@offtheshelf.podcast?lang=en
→ references @Off.TheShelfPodcast website

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evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "#51: Why Matt Haig Reads 1-Star Reviews of The Midnight Library": https://youtube.com/@Off.TheShelfPodcast
→ references Contributor website

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evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "#51: Why Matt Haig Reads 1-Star Reviews of The Midnight Library": https://indigo.ca/pages/contributor/matt-haig?id=811768428

Entities found in this episode

concepts 10

mentioned Arts concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Arts
mentioned TV & Film concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: TV & Film
mentioned Entertainment News concept

0.50

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Entertainment News
mentioned Film Reviews concept

0.50

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Film Reviews
discusses News concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: News
discusses Arts concept

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Arts
discusses TV & Film concept

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: TV & Film
discusses Books concept

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Books
discusses Entertainment News concept

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Entertainment News
discusses Film Reviews concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Film Reviews

books 4

mentioned Matt Haig book

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evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "#51: Why Matt Haig Reads 1-Star Reviews of The Midnight Library": https://barnesandnoble.com/authors/matt-haig
references @Morgannbook book

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evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "#51: Why Matt Haig Reads 1-Star Reviews of The Midnight Library": https://youtube.com/c/MorgannBook
references Matt Haig book

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evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "#51: Why Matt Haig Reads 1-Star Reviews of The Midnight Library": https://barnesandnoble.com/authors/matt-haig
mentioned @Morgannbook book

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evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "#51: Why Matt Haig Reads 1-Star Reviews of The Midnight Library": https://tiktok.com/@morgannbook?lang=en

companys 4

mentioned Bookish Media company

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: Bookish Media
mentioned @Offtheshelf.Podcast company

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evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "#51: Why Matt Haig Reads 1-Star Reviews of The Midnight Library": https://tiktok.com/@offtheshelf.podcast?lang=en
hosted by Bookish Media company

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: Bookish Media
references @Offtheshelf.Podcast company

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evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "#51: Why Matt Haig Reads 1-Star Reviews of The Midnight Library": https://tiktok.com/@offtheshelf.podcast?lang=en

websites 4

mentioned @Off.TheShelfPodcast website

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evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "#51: Why Matt Haig Reads 1-Star Reviews of The Midnight Library": https://youtube.com/@Off.TheShelfPodcast
mentioned Contributor website

0.45

evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "#51: Why Matt Haig Reads 1-Star Reviews of The Midnight Library": https://indigo.ca/pages/contributor/matt-haig?id=811768428
references @Off.TheShelfPodcast website

0.38

evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "#51: Why Matt Haig Reads 1-Star Reviews of The Midnight Library": https://youtube.com/@Off.TheShelfPodcast
references Contributor website

0.38

evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "#51: Why Matt Haig Reads 1-Star Reviews of The Midnight Library": https://indigo.ca/pages/contributor/matt-haig?id=811768428

persons 1

mentioned Morgann Book person

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Hosted by: Morgann Book

podcasts 1

appeared on Off The Shelf with Morgann Book podcast

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evidence rules-v5
Hosted by: Morgann Book

Episode description as stored

This week on Off The Shelf, Morgann sits down with Matt Haig, bestselling author of The Midnight Library, The Midnight Train, and Reasons to Stay Alive. Matt opens up about the mental health crisis that changed the course of his life, how writing became part of his recovery, and why The Midnight Library was the most freeing book he's ever written. We also discuss the upcoming film adaptation starring Florence Pugh, the inspiration behind Nora Seed, social media, AI, creativity, and what he hopes readers take away from The Midnight Train. CHAPTERS: 00:00 Introduction 01:16 Why Matt Reads His Own 1-Star Reviews 04:06 Why Children Are Better Readers Than Adults 06:24 Trouble at School, Neurodiversity & Finding Writing 08:28 The Breakdown That Changed Everything 11:56 How Books Helped Him Survive Depression 14:05 Recovery, Rejection & Becoming an Author 17:40 The Purpose Behind Reasons to Stay Alive 20:17 Mental Health Advocacy & Writing Fiction 27:26 Conquering His Fear of Public Speaking 33:07 The Origin of The Midnight Library 35:12 Writing Nora's Many Alternate Lives 37:50 How Nora Seed Got Her Name 38:52 The Midnight Library Movie Adaptation 40:27 Florence Pugh as Nora & Behind the Scenes 44:30 Inside The Midnight Train 46:14 What Matt Wants Readers to Take Away 49:20 The Dream of Opening a Bookstore 51:24 What's Next FOLLOW US: Morgann Book TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@morgannbook?lang=en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morgannbook/?hl=en YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MorgannBook Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/morgannbook Matt Haig Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattzhaig/ Find his books at Indigo: https://www.indigo.ca/pages/contributor/matt-haig?id=811768428 Find his books at Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/authors/matt-haig Off The Shelf Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/offtheshelf.podcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@offtheshelf.podcast?lang=en YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Off.TheShelfPodcast Hosted by: Morgann Book Created by: Bookish Media, Morgann Book, and Thomas Johnston Executive Producers: Morgann Book & Thomas Johnston Produced by: Stefanie Macchiusi Associate Post Producer and Editor: Ricki Biramontes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.