If you loved
Books like Sum
A dazzling kaleidoscope of thought experiments that reimagines the afterlife to reveal the poignant absurdities of being human. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with Sum.
- contemplative
- surreal
- wonder-struck
- unsettling
- 01
Stories of Your Life and Others
Ted Chiang
A collection of mind-bending thought experiments that quietly break your heart while expanding your understanding of the universe.
- 02
Spook
Mary Roach
A hilarious, deeply curious romp through humanity's most bizarre attempts to scientifically prove the existence of the afterlife.
- 03
Six months, three days, five others
Charlie Jane Anders
A wry, offbeat collection of speculative tales that uses the bizarre to illuminate the deeply human.
- 04
Half-resurrection blues
Daniel José Older
A shadowy, supernatural mystery that explores the eerie, liminal space between the living and the dead.
- 05
Axiomatic
Greg Egan
A cerebral plunge into the terrifying, exhilarating fragility of human consciousness and identity.
- 06
Permutation City
Greg Egan
A dizzying plunge into the deep end of hard science fiction that will leave you questioning the fundamental nature of your own consciousness.
- 07
The brain
David Eagleman
A mind-expanding journey into the dark, silent fortress of the skull to discover how biological matter constructs our entire reality.
- 08
Machine of Death
Camille Alexa
A darkly clever exploration of fate and human folly that turns a single morbid thought experiment into a kaleidoscope of humor and heartbreak.
- 09
Life after God
Douglas Coupland · 1994
A quiet, wistful search for grace hidden in the lonely spaces of modern suburban life.
- 10
Livewired
David Eagleman
A thrilling, metaphor-rich surf along the leading edge of neuroscience that will completely change how you view your own mind.
- 11
Cloud Atlas
David Mitchell
A breathtaking, genre-hopping puzzle box that spans centuries to reveal the invisible threads connecting all of human history.
- 12
Get in Trouble
Kelly Link
A darkly playful plunge into a world where suburban anxieties and teenage sleepovers collide with ghosts, superheroes, and the uncanny.
