Sum
Forty Tales from the Afterlives
by David Eagleman
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More Recommenders
“Awesomely creative thinkpiece. 40 very short fictional stories about what happens when you die. The framework is inspiring for anyone: coming up with 40 different answers to any one question. But they?re also just brilliant ideas and powerful little fables. I just read it a 2nd time and love it even more now. | Awesomely creative thinkpiece. 40 very short fictional stories about what happens when you die. The framework is inspiring for anyone: coming up with 40 different answers to any one question. But they’re also just brilliant ideas and powerful little fables. I just read it a 2nd time and love it even more now. | You will not read a more dazzling book this year than David Eagleman's "Sum". If you read it and aren't enchanted I will eat 40 hats.”
Source →“Awesomely creative thinkpiece. 40 very short fictional stories about what happens when you die. The framework is inspiring for anyone: coming up with 40 different answers to any one question. But they?re also just brilliant ideas and powerful little fables. I just read it a 2nd time and love it even more now. | Awesomely creative thinkpiece. 40 very short fictional stories about what happens when you die. The framework is inspiring for anyone: coming up with 40 different answers to any one question. But they’re also just brilliant ideas and powerful little fables. I just read it a 2nd time and love it even more now. | You will not read a more dazzling book this year than David Eagleman's "Sum". If you read it and aren't enchanted I will eat 40 hats.”
Source →Recommended by 4 notable people, including Patrick Collison and Derek Sivers
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Should I read this?
Recommended by 7 sources and appears in Most Recommended Books, Philosophy, and Fantasy.
At once funny, wistful and unsettling, Sum is a dazzling exploration of unexpected afterlives—each presented as a vignette that offers a stunning lens through which to see ourselves in the here and now. In one afterlife, you may find that God is the size of a microbe and unaware of your existence. In another version, you work as a background charac...
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Why recommended
Recommended by 7 sources and appears in Most Recommended Books, Philosophy, and Fantasy.
Recommended by notable people
People and public figures who have recommended this book.
Recommendation Signals
Recommendation proof is sourced from public posts, interviews, reading lists, and cited references.
Patrick Collison
Co-founder and CEO of Stripe
“Awesomely creative thinkpiece. 40 very short fictional stories about what happens when you die. The framework is inspiring for anyone: coming up with 40 different answers to any one question. But they?re also just brilliant ideas and powerful little fables. I just read it a 2nd time and love it even more now. | Awesomely creative thinkpiece. 40 very short fictional stories about what happens when you die. The framework is inspiring for anyone: coming up with 40 different answers to any one question. But they’re also just brilliant ideas and powerful little fables. I just read it a 2nd time and love it even more now. | You will not read a more dazzling book this year than David Eagleman's "Sum". If you read it and aren't enchanted I will eat 40 hats.”
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Not sure if this is the right fit?
Consider The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy. Recommended by 8 sources.
“Soft-spoken, heavily illustrated fable built from short dialogues and watercolor sketches. Each spread pairs a spare line of text with a loose drawing, so the pleasure is visual and aphoristic rather than narrative; readers collect felt-true sentences more than plot. Most useful when you want quick consolations, a prompt for conversation with a child, or a pause during a rough day. Limiting if you want sustained argument, concrete advice, or tightly plotted storytelling: the repetition of gentleness can feel sentimental or thin after a while.”
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Each recommendation is collected from a public source — interviews, articles, or curated lists — and linked to its original URL. Books with many verifiable recommendations from respected people rank higher.