The Midnight Library audiobook vs book: which should you choose?
One woman finds a library where she can try out other lives. Carey Mulligan reads it, in an edition that won an AudioFile Earphones Award.
Content note: sources list depression, a suicide attempt at the start of the story and addiction among the novel’s themes. This page does not describe them.
Short answer: for The Midnight Library audiobook vs book choice, we say listen on Audible (100% confidence, clear cut). Carey Mulligan reads Penguin Audio’s US edition in 8 hours 50 minutes (8h 50m), unabridged; the Canongate UK edition is 9h 9m. One viewpoint, one narrator and an award-listed reading favour audio, and nothing confirmed points to print.
Listen on Audible
One viewpoint, one narrator and an award-listed reading by Carey Mulligan, with nothing confirmed that points to print.
Affiliate links: we may earn a small commission, at no cost to you. It never changes a verdict.
Confidence 100%, which puts it in the clear cut band. Bands run from close call at 50 to 64, through leaning at 65 to 79 and clear at 80 to 94, up to clear cut at 95 and above.
The audiobook at a glance
| Recording | US edition, our verdict (Penguin Audio) | UK edition (Canongate) |
|---|---|---|
| Narrator | Carey Mulligan | Carey Mulligan |
| Length | 8 hours 50 minutes (8h 50m) | 9 hours 9 minutes (9h 9m) |
| At 1.5x | about 5h 53m | 6h 6m |
| At 2x | 4h 25m | about 4h 35m |
| Abridged or unabridged | Unabridged | Unabridged |
| Audio publisher and year | Penguin Audio, 2020 | Canongate Books, 2020 |
| Print length | 288 pages (Viking hardcover, 2020) | Not confirmed |
| Price (17 October 2026) | $18.00 on Audible US | £13.64 on Audible UK |
The two editions run 19 minutes apart, and whether they are the same performance is not confirmed. A US library CD (Brilliance Audio, 8 hr 50 min, read by Mulligan) matches the US length.
Lengths checked 17 October 2026. Speed times are calculated from the listed length; prices are a snapshot from the same day.
The Midnight Library
Matt Haig
- Genre
- Contemporary fiction
- Published
- 2020
- Length
- 288 pages (Viking hardcover, US, 2020)
- On audio
- 8 hrs 50 mins (Penguin Audio, US); 9 hrs 9 mins (Canongate, UK)
- Narrated by
- Carey Mulligan
- Awards
- Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction 2020
- On screen
- A film with Florence Pugh as Nora in development, as of October 2026
On this page
Why we reached this verdict
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions. They are based on research into what most people find easier to follow in each format, not on whether the book is any good.
Listening: single point of view and narrator (7), award-winning or praised narration (6), 13 points. Reading: nothing confirmed, 0 points. 100% of the confirmed points favour listening, so the verdict is listen on Audible at 100% confidence (clear cut).
The recording in detail
- Two editions
- Penguin Audio (US, 2020, 8h 50m, our verdict) and Canongate Books (UK, 2020, 9h 9m), both read by Carey Mulligan
- Recognition
- An AudioFile Earphones Award and a place as an Audie Award fiction finalist, credited to the Penguin Audio edition
- Listener ratings
- 4.6 from 71,317 ratings on Audible US and 4.5 from 29,873 on Audible UK, as of October 2026
- What audio adds
- Mulligan’s characterisations, which Kirkus credits with keeping the episodes cohesive
- What you miss
- Any print setting of the Book of Regrets and the chapter titles (not confirmed)
What this book actually is
The Midnight Library is Matt Haig’s novel, published by Canongate in the UK on 13 August 2020 and by Viking in the US on 29 September 2020, where the hardcover runs to 288 pages. Nora enters one alternative life after another, returning to the library between them, and the book opens nineteen years before the main story.
It won the Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction in 2020, and UK sales reached 733,221 by September 2023. BBC Radio 4 broadcast a ten-episode adaptation in December 2020, and a film with Florence Pugh as Nora was in development as of October 2026.
Matt Haig’s The Midnight Train, described as “from the world of The Midnight Library”, came out on Audible UK on 21 May 2026, read by James Norton.
The case for reading it
The case for print is unconfirmed, and it rests on the Book of Regrets. It records every regret since Nora’s birth, from small ones such as “I regret not doing any exercise today”, and chapters carry titles such as “A Thing I Have Learned (Written By A Nobody Who Has Been Everybody)”. If these are set out in print in a way that adds meaning, a reader sees something a listener does not. We could not confirm how either appears in print.
Beyond that, the book asks little of a reader that a listener cannot manage. There is one protagonist, a light cast and real places, and critics praise how readable it is, not sentences worth slowing down for.
The case for listening to it
The structure suits audio better than it first sounds. Nora is the only point of view, and however many lives she tries, she comes back to the same library, so there is always somewhere fixed to return to. Kirkus says the episodic structure stays cohesive through Mulligan’s characterisations.
Carey Mulligan, a BAFTA winner and three-time Oscar nominee, reads both editions. Her reading in the Penguin Audio edition won an AudioFile Earphones Award and was a finalist for the Audie Award for Fiction, and listeners rate it 4.6 from 71,317 ratings on Audible US, as of October 2026.
The audiobook in detail
Penguin Audio’s US edition came out in 2020 and runs 8 hours 50 minutes, unabridged: about 5 hours 53 minutes at 1.5x and 4 hours 25 minutes at 2x. A US library CD from Brilliance Audio matches that length. Canongate’s UK edition, also from 2020 and also read by Mulligan, runs 9 hours 9 minutes, 19 minutes longer; whether the two are the same performance is not confirmed.
We scored the Penguin Audio edition because the awards are credited to it, and an award-recognised reading ranks above one without recognition. This page credits both to the Penguin Audio edition only. Canongate’s edition rates 4.5 from 29,873 ratings on Audible UK, as of October 2026.
Who should ignore this verdict
Readers who want to see the Book of Regrets and the chapter titles as they are set out in print, which we could not confirm either way. Readers who like to take a reflective book slowly and go back over passages, which is easier in print. And anyone who wants a dramatisation rather than the full text, for whom the BBC Radio 4 adaptation is the other route.
Read differently from most people? The app, coming soon, will let you switch off any of the thirteen checks. Get notified →
Related verdicts
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
A book narrated by one woman, with an Audie-winning reading, with a Listen verdict.
A Boy Called Christmas
Matt Haig’s Father Christmas origin story, read by Stephen Fry.
A Little Life
Contemporary fiction dealing with mental health, decided for print.
Start hereHow we decide
The thirteen questions behind every verdict on this site.
Questions people ask
Who narrates The Midnight Library audiobook?
The Midnight Library audiobook is read by Carey Mulligan, in both the US Penguin Audio edition and the UK Canongate edition.
How long is The Midnight Library audiobook?
The Midnight Library audiobook is 8 hours 50 minutes (8h 50m) in Penguin Audio’s US edition, unabridged: about 5h 53m at 1.5x and 4h 25m at 2x, calculated. In the UK: Canongate, 9 hrs 9 mins.
Is The Midnight Library audiobook abridged?
No. The Midnight Library audiobook is unabridged on Audible in the UK and the US.
Should I read or listen to The Midnight Library?
Listen on our checks (100% confidence, clear cut). One viewpoint, one narrator and an award-listed reading favour audio, and nothing confirmed points to print.
Did The Midnight Library audiobook win any awards?
Yes. Carey Mulligan’s reading in the Penguin Audio edition won an AudioFile Earphones Award and was a finalist for the Audie Award for Fiction.
Is The Midnight Train a sequel to The Midnight Library?
The Midnight Train, released in May 2026, is listed in the same series and described as “from the world of The Midnight Library”. James Norton reads the audiobook.
Do you agree with this verdict?
We said listen on Audible. One tap, no sign-up.
Spotted a mistake on this page? Tell us and we will fix it. Or tell us how the site could be better.
How this verdict was reached
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions, set in advance and applied identically to every title. They are based on research into what readers and listeners generally find easier to follow in each format, not on personal preference, and they are published in full so you can check the reasoning yourself. Verdicts are never paid for, sponsored or influenced by affiliate partners.
- The criteria: read the thirteen questions in full.
- What we checked for this book: the Penguin Audio and Canongate listings on Audible US and Audible UK, a US library record for the Brilliance Audio CD, Viking edition details, AudioFile and the Audie Awards finalists, Kirkus and Publishers Weekly reviews, and the Goodreads Choice Awards and UK sales figures.
- Verdict last reviewed: 23 October 2026. Editions and narrators change, so verdicts are rechecked annually.
- Prefer different criteria? The app, coming soon, will let you change which of the thirteen questions matter to you.
Deciding about a different book?
Search for it. If we've written it up, we'll take you to the verdict. If not, we'll add it to our list of books to check.