As a kid I was a ferocious reader, devouring books for breakfast, comics for lunch, and Mad Magazines for dinner. Entering into my teens picking up a book wasn’t so popular as basketball or getting stoned, to say the least. My passion for reading faded like a great haircut.
When I started smoking marijuana, an overwhelming feeling to crack the books rushed over me. I was met with a little bit of resistance, as switching my habit from blazing and playing video games to reading wasn’t an easy transition. Soon enough I would be consumed enough by a great book to lay down plans on the weekend.
Getting stoned not only helped me re-kindle my love affair for books but it painted the stories in my head like never before. Pages became more like vivid movies than ink, springing to life right from the paper.
Even after the years, there’s a handful of books I can’t pry myself away from. Each with a deeper meaning then scratches the surface. Like a great restaurant, they’ll keep you coming back for seconds and thirds.
Related Article: Tired Of Being Bored? The Stoner’s Guide On Best Things To Do And Not Do When High
4 Stoner Books to Read While High
The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle
It would be hard not to start off with the most influential book I’ve ever laid hands on. The Power of Now made me realize that everything I needed to live a happy and content life was inside, in the moment. I often find myself comparing it to a modern-day Tao Te Ching, an ancient Chinese text with simple parables on life and the universe.
What could be described as a self help book, The Power of Now is so much more. Echkart really engages with his readers by not being preachy or over zealous, allowing you to experience his words with changes in ones life.
Changing from living in the past or future to being fully centralized in the moment as much as possible changed the way I live my life. “When you ask a bird what time it is, It will only ever answer, Right Now!”
Life of Pi – Yann Martel
The Life of Pi is truly a remarkable story about life and death beautifully written by Yann Martel. We follow the life of Piscine, a young boy from Pondicherry, India.
What really stands out to me about the Life of Pi is the way it expresses life’s boundless twists and turns on such an undeserving child. The daily routine can be quickly swept under the rug when events unfold that we can not control.
Piscine is the epitome of perseverance personified. Alone his will and desire to live and spend another day with his family is motivation enough. Making you strive to take advantage of every second, realizing only you are holding yourself back.
Flatland – Edwin A. Abbott
If you’ve never heard of Flatland, I won’t blame you. Written in 1884, Flatland is a fictional novel revolving around the idea of different dimensions and perceptions.
In a 2 dimensional world, the antagonist “A Square” describes his life as, well a square in a Victorian-style society. Class is dependant on how many sides your body has and women are single lines. Through dreams and encounters, A Square experiences life as a 1 dimension and 3-dimensional being.
All the words in the world could not help A Square relate back to Flatland what the other dimensions are like, no matter how hard he tries. He soon realizes that you can’t teach a fish to fly, even with a blueprint.
To me it relates back to reality in the truth is everyone is living a different life, factors and circumstances leading us down separate routes. Judging someone on a view or point they can’t perceive does not make you right or wrong.
On the Road/Dharma Bums – Jack Kerouac
Although these are two separate books, I consider it one long story of a paper bag in the wind. Jack Kerouac writes about his crazy life travelling throughout the states and the antics that followed. I wouldn’t recommend living exactly like Kerouac, as he died from heavy alcohol abuse leading to liver failure.
On the Road is the story of a young Sal Paradise (Jack Kerouac) and his absolutely mental friend Dean Moriarty. Sal is instantly drawn to Dean’s care free lifestyle and ability to drop it all on a pin drop. Through long road trips, train hopping, and hitchhiking, the duo makes their way back and forth from New York to California.
What it takes to survive, let alone “thrive” in his life style is quite interesting. What makes it all worth it, and what helped spark my travel bug is you really never know who you’re going to meet, and for what reason. I wont be satisfied until I’ve touched every blade of grass.
Although not chronologically next Dharma Bums is the heralding journey of Jack and his new best friend, Japhy Ryder (Gary Snyder) in their quest for zen. The internal conflict and pressure faced by Ray Smith (Kerouac) really encompasses the truth of duality.
A major key to a happy life is simplicity and inner peace. Through their journey, Japhy and Ray look to find the answers of life, realizing that looking outwards reflects the inside.
Reading While Stoned – Find What Sparks Your Heart
No matter what your day-to-day life is like, there’s something that fires you up. Whether you’ve discovered it already or it’s lurking underneath the surface, almost surely ambition is there. Smoking pot and reading stoner books brought me back to a place where reading is part of my routine, blazed or not.
I’m not saying you have to be stoned to read whatsoever, I read plenty sober. Regardless, if you are looking to add it back to your routine and that book is just sitting on the coffee table, take a hit and pick it up. Let the story flow through your mind and allow creativity to play the movie in your head.