As I am typing this, yes - this very minute - I am listening to John Lennon's "Imagine" sung by Etta James. "Imagine there's no heaven..." It just popped up serendipitously on my playlist, and how appropriate because I was about to write about heaven.
One of my son's favorite books is Sum by David Eagleman which explores various versions of the afterlife. When he and his wife got married a number of years ago, they asked me to read the first story in the book during their wedding ceremony. They tied it into the ceremony beautifully and so many people commented on how meaningful the reading was. Another title I would like to highlight is Spook. It's funny, irreverent, and thought provoking. People I know who have read Mary Roach's various books always seem to have strong reactions to them (positive and negative), and that's a good thing. Elsewhere was written for middle and high school readers, but I found it to be a really interesting look at an afterlife. I always think that what Bishop Spong has to say is challenging to one's preconceptions. Read his Eternal Life and see what you think.
Here are some heavenly books:
Extract from Captain Stormfield's visit to heaven - Twain, Mark 813
Heidegger and a hippo walk through those pearly gates : using philosophy (and jokes!) to explain life, death, the afterlife, and everything in between - Cathcart, Thomas 129 CAT
Spook : science tackles the afterlife - Roach, Mary 129 ROA
Heaven : our enduring fascination with the afterlife - Miller, Lisa 202.3 MIL
Heaven: the logic of eternal joy - Walls, Jerry L - 236.24 WAL
Eternal life : pious dream or realistic hope? - Spong, John Shelby - 236.2 SPO
Paradise : a history of the idea that rules the world - Rushby, Kevin. - 202.3 RUS
The good book : writers reflect on favorite Bible passages /220.6 BLA
Ten eternal questions : wisdom, insight, and reflection for life's journey - Sallis, Zoèe 100 SAL
The five people you meet in heaven - Albom, Mitch, 813 ALB
Sum : forty tales from the afterlives - Eagleman, David F EAG
Ideas of heaven : a ring of stories - Silber, Joan. F SIL
Heaven: Where is it? how do we get there? DVD 202.3 HEA
What's heaven? Shriver, Maria - E SHR RR
Elsewhere Zevin, Gabrielle - J F ZEV