The Stoned Bookworm: 5 Books to Read While High

Calling all reefers ’n’ readers: this roundup features five of the best books to read after you’ve consumed cannabis, from transgressional fiction and fantasy to philosophy and plant-based education.

Consuming media along with your weed is a great way to utilize your high, but it’s important to pay attention to dosage levels if you’re really trying to comprehend and retain what you’re reading.

While it’s perfectly fine to be zonked out of your mind while listening to a trippy album or watching a film or TV show, you might want to find a lighter balance before delving into the pages of one of the below books – or mark the pages your high mind tripped out on so you can go back and re-explore with a clearer head.

1. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk (1996)

A work of satirical, mind-bending unpredictability, Fight Club is a novel that unabashedly explores the extents of the human psyche. Palahniuk’s words alone are enough to make you feel stoned out of your mind – try pairing that with actual cannabis for a trippy treat.

2. The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro (1995)

The Unconsoled follows a pianist as he prepares for a major performance but gets swept up in a barrage of frustrating tasks leading up to the event. Ishiguro seamlessly fuses reality with what feels like a dream, forcing you to question what’s real, what isn’t, and what’s just the THC talking.

3. The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down: How to Be Calm in a Busy World by Haemin Sunim (2012)

This mindfulness guide was written by a Korean Buddhist monk, who offers unbridled advice on a wide variety of relatable experiences, like handling setbacks, taking time for rest, and engaging in relationships. 

While readers can take away a lot from this book while sober, absorbing its message while under the influence of cannabis will allow you to understand it in a more multifaceted and holistic manner.

4. The Secret Life of Plants by Peter Tompkins (1973)

The perfect accompaniment to the cannabis plant, The Secret Life of Plants documents controversial experiments that claimed to reveal some unusual herb phenomena, essentially challenging us to open our minds to the possibility that plants can care, nurture, and even communicate directly with us. 

The researchers might or might not have consumed weed while compiling this data – but you sure can (and should) while reviewing it.

5. The Black Sun: The Alchemy and Art of Darkness by Stanton Marlan (2005)

If you’re into Jungian psychology, you’ll definitely dig this book. Marlan reimagines the meaning of darkness in Western society. While it’s largely viewed as a negative descriptor, this book poses a new perspective for readers – one that invites darkness in the individual and the collective as something that holds intrinsic importance to the human psyche.

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