‘The Midnight Library’ by Matt Haig was my first fiction read this year. And what a read it turned out to be. The story is about a suicidal girl who walks into “the midnight library” and gets to live the lives she could have lived. By getting a chance to live these lives, her perspective on life changes and she realizes that life is a gift. I won’t spoil it for you by revealing the entire plot, but will just endorse this book and give it five stars. I urge you to read it. Anyone who has ever felt low, had a lot of regrets or felt life wasn’t worth living should read this life-affirming story.

I read ‘Reasons to stay alive’ by Matt Haig last year. It was recommended to me by a friend who’s a life coach. In ‘Reasons to stay alive,’ the author talks about his experience with depression and how he copes with it.

My next read is going to be ‘The Dalai Lama’s Cat’ by David Michie. This book has been sitting on my shelf unread since 2010 when I bought it! I’m not sure why I put off reading the book for 11 years when I love cats and I should have jumped right into it. Speaking of cats, another book I read a few years back featuring a cat was ‘ A streetcat named Bob: How one man and his cat found hope on the streets.’ Based on a true story, it’s about how a cat helped a man who used to be a drug addict and busked for a living get back on his feet. I recently watched the movie on Amazon Prime.  It is not for family viewing however, since it involves drug use, etc. Another book on cats I must get to soon is ‘Hate that cat’ by Sharon Creech that I bought late last year. Here’s my Instagram post on ‘Hate that cat.’

Do you like pets and read books on animals? Have you read James Herriot and Gerald Durrell? My favourite book of Gerald Durrell is ‘Rosy is my relative,’ which I read decades ago as a child. Which are some of your favourite reads featuring animals?