Before this summer slips away like all the ones before it, remember to take in some summer reading. It's easy, relatively cheap, and you can do it while sitting on the beach or in the back yard... perhaps enjoying a gentle indica buzz along with the sunshine.
Consider adding one of these cannabis-related reads to your summer reading list. You can learn about business or history or just get a good laugh when reading about marijuana, so dig in.
The Little Black Book of Marijuana
By Steve Elliott
If you want a crash course in cannabis and you've got time for just one book, this 2011 title is one of your best bets. Elliott, who writes the marijuana blog Toke Signals, covers everything from history to a basic strain guide to tips on growing plants.
Weed: The User's Guide
By David Schmader
If you've been reading newspapers in the Northwest for a while, you'll recognize this author. Schmader was a longtime writer and editor at the Stranger and is well equipped to deliver this comprehensive (and funny) book about modern day cannabis culture, business and consumption.
Chronic City
By Jonathan Lethem
OK, so this acclaimed 2009 novel isn't all about weed, but the high-grade cannabis shared by its two protagonists, a burned-out former child actor and a reclusive pop culture critic, fuels the utter weirdness that runs through this delightfully bizarre book. Here, we have a Manhattan draped in a permanent winter with an escaped tiger running rampant. But, again, that's just the edge of the weirdness you'll find here.
The Emperor Wears No Clothes
By Jack Herer
Today, as more and more states take up legal cannabis and entire countries (hey, Canada!) are considering doing the same, the shock of Jack Herer's examination of the cannabis plant doesn't have the same impact as it did upon its original publishing in 1985. But you can still learn a hell of a lot from this book, which explains why marijuana was made illegal in the first place, while also making a case for the usefulness of industrial hemp. ♦
