New Books | Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives

Throughout December Canongate were not only having a 60% off sale, they were also offering a handpicked book from their collection based on the books in your order. I only found out they were doing this on New Year's Eve and I'd had a couple of JD & Coke's so I didn't really remember what I'd bought until they arrived a few weeks ago. I've written a little bit about my purchases on my book blog here.

In the parcel with my handpicked book was a note from Lousia complementing my choice of books - I think maybe my taste is better when I'm a little tipsy, but thank you! She said that she wasn't really sure what she could add, but had decided to go with this little collection... 

Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
As the title suggests, it's a collection of 40 short tales from the afterlives and as Alexander McCall Smith has said on the front, it's a delight. I slowly made my way through the 128 pages over ten days. There are a handful that stood out to me immediately that I can't stop thinking about and many more that I'm already looking forward to rereading. One of my favourite things about the collection is that in many ways it's not about the afterlives at all, but instead about the immediate present.

The design is wonderful in itself. It's small, I assume because it's a book that many will want to carry with them reading little snippets here and there, and the cut out detail in the slightly ajar door is perfect. Canongate have very quickly become one of my favourite publishers. Their titles are quirky and diverse, which is a brilliant combination in my opinion and most of the books I bought are slightly floppy paperbacks - they fall open so beautifully it's almost as though they're demanding to be read. Really quite wonderful. 

xoxo