Chapter 37: “God and Other Librarians”

“Creation of Adam” (1511) by Michelangelo

Consider what Mrs. Elm informs Nora regarding the lives she explores in the Midnight Library. How might this information inspire greater attention to life generally?

Mrs. Elm tells Nora: "It seems that you have spent all your life saying things that you aren't really thinking." Mrs. Elm isn't referring to lying, though. What is she describing? Have you ever noticed this phenomenon in your own life?

Chapter 40: “Wild and Free”

This chapter incorporates yet another reference to Thoreau, namely, the quotation “all good things are wild and free” (163).

How is Thoreau’s claim both true and untrue?

How does Thoreau's claim and this chapter's reference to fire (another recurrent figure in the book)  shape your perceptions of what the novel says about life and the world?

Chapter 41: “Ryan Bailey”

Above: Beatles fans.

What social commentary about celebrity is embedded in this chapter? How is that social commentary both expanded and galvanized by comparing fans to beggars with bowls (170)? Do you think admiration of celebrities in our culture is mostly harmless, is its danger underrated, or does celebrity culture contribute something valuable and enriching to human experience?

Chapter 43: “The Podcast of Revelations”

"A Face Expressing Hatred or Jealousy and A Face Expressing Despair" by C. Le Brun (1619-1690)

What do you think about what Nora says about lives being a mix of good and bad and therefore it being a mistake to waste time wishing for other lives because it just breeds more unhappiness in the life that you're in?

When is it a mistake to compare the life you're living to the life others are living and when can it be productive?

Chapter 45: “Love and Pain”

"Woman with a Mourning Shawl" (1885) by Vinent Van Gogh

A.

This chapter reckons with Nora’s grief and anger over her brother's death and in doing so illustrates how grief can rob us of our desire for life.

Have you ever felt this way, or seen it occur with someone else?

B.

What do you make of the assertion that we can't live without hurting people?

Chapter 47: “Someone Else’s Dream”

"Dream of Love" (1961) by Marc Chagall

Have you ever had a realization similar to the one Nora had about the lives she's been choosing? How do you know when it is helpful to encourage someone else to dream big and when such encouragement can amount to projecting your own dreams and values on to someone else?

How does the reference to Robert Frost’s poem (click here to read the whole thing) reinforce the advice Mrs. Elm gives Nora about considering lives?

In what way is our tendency to be monocular in our focus, or binary in our thinking, brought to attention and critiqued in this chapter? Consider what those terms mean: "monocular in our focus" and "binary in our thinking."

Chapter 48: “A Gentle Life”

"A Fireside Dream" (1887) by Julian Alden Weir

Dylan Thomas's poem "Do not go gentle into that good night" (click here to read the whole thing) argues that we should not go gentle into the “good night” of death. In other words, we shouldn't give up fighting or trying to get the most out of life.

But that does not necessarily mean we shouldn't seek "a gentle life." In this chapter, Nora does precisely that. What does she discover about it?

What are the benefits and dangers of a "gentle life"?