Is Yesterday Was Monday Worth Reading? Review

I've been obsessed with Garth Nix's 'Mister Monday' series since I first stumbled upon it in my local library. The series is a perfect blend of fantasy and adventure, with a unique twist on the concept of time and fate. There are seven books in total, each one building upon the last to create an intricate and immersive world. The way Nix weaves mythology and modern elements together is nothing short of genius. I remember binge-reading the entire series in a week because I couldn't put it down. The character development is stellar, especially Arthur Penhaligon's journey from an ordinary boy to a hero who challenges the very fabric of the universe. The series starts with 'Mister Monday' and concludes with 'Lord Sunday,' wrapping up all the loose ends in a satisfying yet bittersweet manner. Each book introduces new layers to the House, the mysterious structure at the heart of the story, and the Denizens who inhabit it. The pacing is relentless, with each installment leaving you desperate for the next. I love how Nix doesn't shy away from dark themes, making the stakes feel real and urgent. The series is a must-read for anyone who enjoys complex world-building and morally grey characters.

I've been hunting for affordable copies of 'Mister Monday' for ages, and I've found that secondhand bookstores are a goldmine. Places like ThriftBooks or AbeBooks often have used copies in great condition for a fraction of the original price. Online marketplaces like eBay or Facebook Marketplace are also worth checking out, especially if you don't mind lightly worn editions. Libraries sometimes sell donated books too, so keep an eye on their sales racks. If you're lucky, you might even snag a copy at a garage sale or local book swap event. Patience is key, but the deals are out there.

I remember picking up 'Mister Monday' years ago and being completely hooked by Garth Nix's world-building. The answer is yes—it’s actually the first book in a series called 'The Keys to the Kingdom.' The sequels follow Arthur Penhaligon’s adventures as he battles each day of the week’s sinister ruler. 'Grim Tuesday' is next, then 'Drowned Wednesday,' and so on, all the way to 'Lord Sunday.' Each book introduces wild new realms and creative twists. I binge-read the whole series because the lore just keeps expanding, and Arthur’s growth from an ordinary kid to a hero is so satisfying.

A friend handed me 'I’ll Start Again Monday' during a rough patch, and it completely shifted my perspective on self-improvement. If you’re looking for similar vibes, 'Atomic Habits' by James Clear is a fantastic companion—it’s all about tiny changes leading to big results, but without the guilt-tripping. Another gem is 'The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fck' by Mark Manson, which pairs brutal honesty with humor, making it feel like a chat with a blunt but wise friend. For something more narrative-driven, 'Bird by Bird' by Anne Lamott blends writing advice with life lessons in a way that’s oddly therapeutic. And if you crave spiritual depth, 'Present Over Perfect' by Shauna Niequist explores letting go of perfectionism—it’s like a warm hug for the soul. Each of these books tackles self-doubt with unique flavors, whether through science, sarcasm, or storytelling.

There are evenings when the clock blurs the edges of what’s past and what’s coming, and in those hours my tomorrow and your yesterday fold into each other like worn pages. I find myself thinking of small, concrete things—half-drunk coffee, the last line of a chapter in 'The Little Prince', the way light spills through curtains—and using them like anchors. If your yesterday ends in a quiet apology, my tomorrow opens with a habit of forgiveness; if your yesterday ends in laughter, my tomorrow carries that echo. It’s not mystical so much as domestic: the dishes left unwashed become a pact to finish them together, the playlist you left on becomes my morning soundtrack. Sometimes it feels cinematic, like the kind of bittersweet closure they do so well in 'Your Name'—a meeting of wrong-time souls that still manages to give each other space to change. I think of the small rituals I keep: watering a plant at dawn, replying to a message days later with a GIF, the way I brew tea differently when I miss someone. Those tiny choices are how I map your yesterday into my tomorrow. So how does it end? Often it doesn’t end abruptly; it transforms. A knot loosens, a sentence is left unfinished and then picked up by a new conversation. Maybe your yesterday closes with a door, and my tomorrow opens a window—same room, different light. I drift off holding that possibility, which feels enough for now.

That title always makes me grin—'Buzzin': The Nine Lives of a Happy Monday' feels like a love letter to resilience, doesn't it? The 'nine lives' bit isn't just a cute nod to cats; it's a metaphor for how music, especially Madchester-era vibes, keeps bouncing back. Happy Mondays were this chaotic, glittery train wreck of a band, but their influence never truly died. They crashed, burned, then somehow resurrected in rave culture, indie revivals, and even fashion. I think the 'lives' represent their legacy's phases: the pill-popping glory days, the messy fallout, and how new generations keep rediscovering their anarchic joy. It's like how 'Step On' still gets played at parties—decades later, that groove refuses to stay buried. The title celebrates how art outlives its creators, adapting and thriving in unexpected ways.

The choice of Monday felt deliberate to me, and once I sat with that idea the layers started to unfold. On a surface level, selling the protagonist on a Monday anchors the cruelty in the most ordinary, bureaucratic rhythm—it's not a dramatic market day full of color and chaos, it's the humdrum start of the week when systems reset and people fall into their roles. That mundanity makes the act feel normalized: the protagonist isn’t a tragic spectacle in a carnival, they’re prey to routines and ledgers. I kept picturing clerks stamping forms, carts rolling in after the weekend, and a courthouse notice cycle that only processes seizures when the week begins. That logistical image—debts processed, auctions scheduled, creditors’ meetings convened—gives the author an efficient, believable mechanism for why this happens at that exact time. There’s also a thematic edge. Monday carries cultural baggage: beginnings, the grind, the stripping away of leisure. By choosing Monday, the author contrasts the idea of a new week—fresh starts for some—with the protagonist’s loss of freedom. It amplifies the novel’s critique of systemic violence; the sale is not a tragic aberration but a function of social systems that restart every week. Historically, many markets or legal proceedings had specific weekday schedules in different societies, so the scene resonates with both symbolic and historical authenticity. In some older communities, for instance, market days or auctions were fixed to a certain weekday, and courts often released orders at the beginning of the week. That reality informs the narrative plausibility. Finally, on a character level, Monday can reveal the protagonist’s hidden desperation. Debts come due, bread runs out, paydays fail to arrive—Monday is when consequences meet routine. The author may use the day to show that the protagonist’s fate wasn’t a dramatic twist but a slow compression of choices, shame, and social pressure. I also thought of similar moments in 'Oliver Twist' where institutional indifference frames personal tragedy; the weekday detail turns the scene from melodrama into a cold, everyday cruelty. Reading it made me grit my teeth and appreciate the craft—it's a small chronological choice that opens up worldbuilding, social commentary, and character insight all at once. It stuck with me long after I closed the book.

There’s something about a story where love and time don’t move together that hooked me instantly—'Your Tomorrow My Yesterday' is one of those quietly wrenching romances. The basic setup is deceptively simple: two people meet, fall for each other, and discover that they’re living time in opposite directions. From one perspective you watch the relationship blossom forward; from the other you see it unwind in reverse. That mismatch makes ordinary moments—coffee dates, shared jokes, small arguments—carry an extra kind of weight, because each scene can mean something different to each person. As the plot unfolds, we follow the main guy through a mostly linear life while his partner lives backward. So a morning for him might be an evening for her. The story uses that friction to explore memory, choice, and the cruelty of circumstance: they can grow closer only to realize that their timelines are drifting them apart. There are tender reveals—conversations that replay with new meaning once you know how each remembers them—and a bittersweet inevitability to decisions they make. I sat through parts of it scribbling notes because the emotional logic felt honest rather than gimmicky. What stayed with me afterwards wasn’t just the mechanics of the time twist, but the quiet acceptance the characters arrive at: choosing to treasure the overlap rather than cursing the mismatch. If you like films that make you think about how love holds up against time’s rules (think of cozy, melancholic vibes rather than loud sci-fi spectacle), this one scratches that itch and leaves you a little raw in the best way.