Cheltenham Literature Festival: Author Matt Haig shares joy of books

Books have a "magical way" of reaching you when you need them most - and when you are struggling, they "make you feel understood", an author has said.

The writer of bestselling book The Midnight Library, Matt Haig, was a special guest at the Cheltenham Literature Festival on Saturday.

He said it would be a chance to connect with his fans and hopefully inspire younger readers to experience the joy and healing of reading without the "nonsense snobbery" that society puts on it.

Haig said he had ADHD and struggled with school, and at the time found himself "on the cusp of stopping reading for life" because he thought he was the type of person "that shouldn't be reading".

"Part of the problem is were getting narrower and narrower in our idea of what reading is," he said.

"Picture books, graphic books, audiobooks - reading for joy is when you're reading the right book for you.

"Schools send a message to kids that books are inherently educational. It may actually put people off."

Saturday was World Mental Health Day - a topic Haig said was very important to him.

In the past, he has written about mental health and openly shared his experience of depression while growing up.

"When I was going through a breakdown as a young person, I was back in my childhood bedroom, and I was reading, like, Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner, and I think they're among the best mental health books ever written," he said.

"I think there's just something very healing about reading because we're interacting in our own minds, but they don't demand a response, you know? It's not WhatsApp, it's not Instagram."

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Haig said books were "magical" and reached you "when you need them most".

"If you're not the most gregarious, outward-going person who's well-connected in their social group, then books are vital. Books can literally be life-saving, they can be a friend," he said.

Haig said he hoped the "nonsense" around books and "snobbery" became something of the past.

"We're all readers - it's about how you get the right texts in front of the right people," Haig added.

Co-chief executive for Cheltenham Festivals, Ali Mawle, said reading for joy was particularly important for young people.

"Finding a story they love can open up new worlds, help them understand themselves and others, and create a lifelong relationship with reading," she said.

"As we mark World Mental Health Day, it feels particularly important to recognise the role that creativity, writing and reading can play in helping young people feel heard, connected and less alone.

"Ultimately, we want every young person to have the chance to find a story – or a way of telling their own story – that works for them."

The Cheltenham Literature Festival runs from 9 to 18 October.

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