Books that are mind expanding drugs or total experiences?

[Lark]

Anyone else experience some books this way? I got to say that I'm reading The Divine Invasion by Philip K Dick and totally experience it that way, I read his book The Cosmic Puppets and it was a little like that but not really, The Divine Invasion is the real deal and I plan on reading VALIS, its precursor, next to try and keep the experience going.

These books use science fiction as a medium but its something more, quasi-mystical and magico-religious, God features as one of the main actors in The Divine Invasion and after a 2000 year exile he's coming back to earth to try and defeat Belial, the adversary, the earth meanwhile is governed by a curious amalgemation of Christianity, Islam and communism, created by the fusion of them all into a single authoritarian, and seemingly athiestic, super authoritarianism. What its really about is what it is to be human and have a mind.

Two other books I experienced this with were The Anubis Gates and The Drawing of The Dark by Tim Powers. Power's books take actual events and create a whole underlying and underpinning fantastic, fabulous and magical string of causation surrouding them, I find his books a total trip and they make life itself totally fantastical for the time you're reading his books and for a while afterwards.

Anyone else read any totally trippy books and want to recommend me some?

 

[Mole]

"The Foundations of Psycho-History", by Lloyd Demause explained the world to me.

And, "Understanding Media", by Marshall McLuhan gave me the history of perception.

And, "The Origin of Consciousness", by Julian Jaynes explained religion to me.

While, "The Origin of Species", by Charles Darwin is essential reading.

 

[FunnyDigestion]

Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon - definitely a "total experience", i've heard people describe reading it as similar to the intense holistic mysticism you can feel on mushrooms (I know what they're describing though i've never taken any psychedelics)

It's quite long as well as difficult to read however.

 

[Qlip]

Saw the title and I was going to yell out PKD, but I'm too late. VALIS will absolutely blow your mind, and this is me saying this knowing what your thing is.

Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared diamond was a historical perspective shifter for me.