The most recommended dream interpretation books

Who picked these books? Meet our 8 experts.

8 authors created a book list connected to dream interpretation, and here are their favorite dream interpretation books.
When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

What type of dream interpretation book?

Loading...

Book cover of Dr. Ann Faraday's Dream Power

Theresa Cheung Author Of The Dream Dictionary from A to Z

From my list on dream decoding.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was born into a family of psychics and spiritualists, where dream decoding was the order of the day. I did my Bachelor's degree in Theology and English at King's College, Cambridge University, and since graduating have devoted my life to spreading the word about the healing and transformative power of dream work. I share my passion for mainstreaming dream decoding as a potent personal and spiritual growth tool through my numerous dream and spiritual awakening books, podcasts, media appearances, my Sunday Times bestselling author status, and my collaboration with scientists, neuroscientists, and psychologists researching dreams and the science of consciousness; I have earned the title Queen of Dreams.

Theresa's book list on dream decoding

Theresa Cheung Why did Theresa love this book?

Of all the dream books I have read, this one is perhaps most in line with my own thinking about how to understand and work with your dreams for personal and spiritual growth. It was also one of the first books to really push dream decoding towards the mainstream, which has also been my passion.

Ann Faraday is a British psychologist who conducted an experimental study of dreams for her Ph.D. thesis. Each chapter is easy to read and process and explores the psychology of dreams and why they matter for self-awareness.

It also offers a realistic and easy-to-apply method for dream interpretation that has helped hundreds of thousands of dreamers all over the world fall in love with the personal growth potential of their own dreams.

By Ann Faraday,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dr. Ann Faraday's Dream Power as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“Stimulating and provocative . . . a simple do-it-yourself dream interpretation kit.”—The Washington Post
 
The stress and anxiety of everyday life is often too much for our conscious minds to bear—and the answers we seek can only be found beyond our waking minds. Most of us remember at least some of our dreams. But do you know how to interpret their meaning and use them to solve your toughest problems? Dr. Ann Faraday’s classic Dream Power has helped more than 500,000 people recognize the importance of their dreams and learn how to use the messages and information they reveal to…


Book cover of The History of Last Night's Dream: Discovering the Hidden Path to the Soul

Lara Honos-Webb Author Of Six Super Skills for Executive Functioning: Tools to Help Teens Improve Focus, Stay Organized, and Reach Their Goals

From my list on dream interpretation.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in ADHD. My passion for dreams overlaps with my interest in ADHD which is commonly associated with daydreaming. I have intensively studied dreams in courses, conferences, experiential dream groups, and in years-long therapy that focused only on dream interpretation. I have seen dreams offer insights and at times solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems in my client's lives and also in my own life. I am an author writing on ADHD, executive functioning, and depression including the books The Gift of Adult ADD and The Six Super Skills for Executive Functioning. Dreams can offer insights into all of these conditions suggesting perspectives and healing actions.

Lara's book list on dream interpretation

Lara Honos-Webb Why did Lara love this book?

This book introduces the reader to Marc Bregman - a postman turned dream interpreter whose approach breaks through intellectual interpretations of dreams to the emotional experience of your predicament in life. Dreams show you the path out of your predicament – usually through connecting with what used to be called “your inner child” but here is redefined as being childlike in your sense of adventure and mystery in life. 

The method shown in this book goes far beyond dream interpretation to using a dream to heal your life, your relationships, your career confusions, and more. The images in the dream are medicine and can be recalled to offer healing in your waking life. Full disclosure – Marc Bregman was my dream therapist for several years, I found him through this book.

By Rodger Kamenetz,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The History of Last Night's Dream as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Our Dreams Will Never Be the Same Again

International bestselling author Rodger Kamenetz believes it is not too late to reclaim the lost power of our nightly visions. He fearlessly delves into this mysterious inner realm and shows us that dreams are not only intensely meaningful, but hold essential truths about who we are. In the end, each of us has the choice to embark on this illuminating path to the soul.


Book cover of Dreams and Healing: A Succinct and Lively Interpretation of Dreams

Lara Honos-Webb Author Of Six Super Skills for Executive Functioning: Tools to Help Teens Improve Focus, Stay Organized, and Reach Their Goals

From my list on dream interpretation.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in ADHD. My passion for dreams overlaps with my interest in ADHD which is commonly associated with daydreaming. I have intensively studied dreams in courses, conferences, experiential dream groups, and in years-long therapy that focused only on dream interpretation. I have seen dreams offer insights and at times solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems in my client's lives and also in my own life. I am an author writing on ADHD, executive functioning, and depression including the books The Gift of Adult ADD and The Six Super Skills for Executive Functioning. Dreams can offer insights into all of these conditions suggesting perspectives and healing actions.

Lara's book list on dream interpretation

Lara Honos-Webb Why did Lara love this book?

This book establishes that throughout history and cultures, dreams have been seen as essential tools in healing mental, physical, and social problems. While many dreams may be “housekeeping” or processing the day’s events, the author persuades that dreams come for a purpose. The author provides in-depth case studies of dreams that transform the lives of dreamers. Dreams offer direction toward finding your own path against collective expectations. One of the case studies in the book shows how dreams guide a 20-year-old college student to make decisions his parents didn’t approve of. Another is a case study of a woman whose dreams guide her to go back to get a college degree late in life.

By John A. Sanford,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dreams and Healing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dreams and Healing: A Succinct and Lively Interpretation of Dreams by John A. Sanford


Book cover of Man and His Symbols

Claas Florian Engelke Author Of The Practice of Ethical Leadership: Insights from Psychology and Business in Building an Ethical Bottom Line

From my list on refine your ethical leadership.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have more than 20 years of experience in the field of leadership development and assessment. I am a trained theologian and English/German linguist, and I hold a passion for the more fundamental questions concerning the human condition. In my business consulting practice, I invite clients to become better versions of themselves and to transform their organizations as well as societies by consciously adhering to doing the right thing. 

Claas' book list on refine your ethical leadership

Claas Florian Engelke Why did Claas love this book?

I consider this book to be THE book for delving deep into the realm of symbolism and unveiling the hidden meaning behind visions, dreams, memories, myths, and art.

In this classic, Jung explores the more profound—not just pragmatic—aspects of the human psyche. Through Jung’s thought-provoking concepts, I gained significant insights into the unconscious mind. 

By Carl Jung,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Man and His Symbols as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The landmark text about the inner workings of the unconscious mind—from the symbolism that unlocks the meaning of our dreams to their effect on our waking lives and artistic impulses—featuring more than a hundred images that break down Carl Jung’s revolutionary ideas

“What emerges with great clarity from the book is that Jung has done immense service both to psychology as a science and to our general understanding of man in society.”—The Guardian
  
“Our psyche is part of nature, and its enigma is limitless.”
 
Since our inception, humanity has looked to dreams for guidance. But what are they? How can…


Book cover of Where People Fly and Water Runs Uphill: Using Dreams to Tap the Wisdom of the Unconscious

Linda Yael Schiller Author Of PTSDreams: Transform Your Nightmares from Trauma through Healing Dreamwork

From my list on understanding your nightmares and dreams.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've always been fascinated by non-linear ways of knowing. I moved to Boston in the ’80s and became a part of a dance community, and a friend invited me to join a dream circle. My immediate response was “Yes!”, followed by, “What’s a dream circle?” I said yes even before I knew what it was, and that decision formed one of my major life paths personally and professionally. (FYI, a dream circle is a group of people who get together regularly to understand their dreams.) Add this to my years as a trauma therapist, and you have the template for Modern Dreamwork and PTSDreams. My next book focuses on healing ancestorial legacy through dreamwork. 

Linda's book list on understanding your nightmares and dreams

Linda Yael Schiller Why did Linda love this book?

Jeremy Taylor was one of my very first dream teachers, and this title may be my most favorite title ever! 

As a minister, Jeremy brings a psycho-spiritual approach to the work, as I do, and he taught us the respectful style of honoring the dreamer who had the dream by responding to it with, "If it were my dream…”, allowing us to associate yet keeping the dreamer as the. Ultimate authority of their dream.

By Jeremy Taylor,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Where People Fly and Water Runs Uphill as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Based on intensive study and thousands of case histories, this remarkable guide opens up the world of dreams by showing readers how to remember and interpret dreams, establish a dream group, learn the universal symbolism of dreaming, and change their lives using their dreams.


Book cover of Dream Work: Techniques for Discovering the Creative Power in Dreams

Lara Honos-Webb Author Of Six Super Skills for Executive Functioning: Tools to Help Teens Improve Focus, Stay Organized, and Reach Their Goals

From my list on dream interpretation.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in ADHD. My passion for dreams overlaps with my interest in ADHD which is commonly associated with daydreaming. I have intensively studied dreams in courses, conferences, experiential dream groups, and in years-long therapy that focused only on dream interpretation. I have seen dreams offer insights and at times solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems in my client's lives and also in my own life. I am an author writing on ADHD, executive functioning, and depression including the books The Gift of Adult ADD and The Six Super Skills for Executive Functioning. Dreams can offer insights into all of these conditions suggesting perspectives and healing actions.

Lara's book list on dream interpretation

Lara Honos-Webb Why did Lara love this book?

I picked Dream Work because it is “one-stop shopping” meaning it is a comprehensive and thorough review of many different approaches to dream interpretation. I particularly like the quick tips he offers if you don’t want to delve into theory. For example, he recommends you create a title for a dream which is effective in increasing your insight quickly. He also has guidance for working with fragments of dreams and offers a powerful case study of how one small dream fragment of remembering “pastel” colors opened up a new career direction for a dreamer. While many dreamers find dream fragments to be frustrating he shows how these can be condensed and edited “telegrams.” Other quick tips he offers are asking questions about a dream such as “What might happen if I did this in the real world?”

By Jeremy Taylor,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dream Work as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Offers an invaluable tool for the exploration of the inner life contained within our dreams and individual, group,and community techniques for discovering more of the multiple meanings inherent in every dream. With extensive, annotated bibliography.


Book cover of The Dream Game

Theresa Cheung Author Of The Dream Dictionary from A to Z

From my list on dream decoding.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was born into a family of psychics and spiritualists, where dream decoding was the order of the day. I did my Bachelor's degree in Theology and English at King's College, Cambridge University, and since graduating have devoted my life to spreading the word about the healing and transformative power of dream work. I share my passion for mainstreaming dream decoding as a potent personal and spiritual growth tool through my numerous dream and spiritual awakening books, podcasts, media appearances, my Sunday Times bestselling author status, and my collaboration with scientists, neuroscientists, and psychologists researching dreams and the science of consciousness; I have earned the title Queen of Dreams.

Theresa's book list on dream decoding

Theresa Cheung Why did Theresa love this book?

Once again, Ann Faraday offers practical and easy-to-use dream interpretation advice with a total absence of 'woo-woo.' It consistently reminds dreamers of the importance of personalising their dream interpretation rather than seeking out generic meanings in book form or online. 

Above all, this book truly demystifies dream work and empowers dreamers to believe that they don't need to consult a dream therapist, psychiatrist, or analyst to understand their dreams. They can use simple tools and techniques to understand the meaning of their night vision, their inner therapist, for themselves. 

By Ann Faraday,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Dream Game as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A fine anthology that is a good introduction to the thoughts of the father of psychoanalysis.


Book cover of Knock Knock Dream Journal

Lara Honos-Webb Author Of Six Super Skills for Executive Functioning: Tools to Help Teens Improve Focus, Stay Organized, and Reach Their Goals

From my list on dream interpretation.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in ADHD. My passion for dreams overlaps with my interest in ADHD which is commonly associated with daydreaming. I have intensively studied dreams in courses, conferences, experiential dream groups, and in years-long therapy that focused only on dream interpretation. I have seen dreams offer insights and at times solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems in my client's lives and also in my own life. I am an author writing on ADHD, executive functioning, and depression including the books The Gift of Adult ADD and The Six Super Skills for Executive Functioning. Dreams can offer insights into all of these conditions suggesting perspectives and healing actions.

Lara's book list on dream interpretation

Lara Honos-Webb Why did Lara love this book?

I included this book because the most important part of dream interpretation is recording your dreams. This journal has space for your to write a title for the dream as recommended in the previous book Dream Work. In addition to writing out the dream, there are boxes to check off the category of dream – from a nightmare to mundane - and a checklist to note the prevailing emotion. There is space to draw images from the dream and a section to reflect and try an interpretation. You can use any of these features and the journal, by offering space and checkboxes, deepens engagement with the dream, and may offer directions you wouldn’t have thought of by yourself.

By Knock Knock,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Knock Knock Dream Journal as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Perplexed by inappropriate, recurring, or just-plain confusing dreams? Make friends with your subconscious-and its head-scratching contents! Cheaper and considerably less nosy than a shrink, this bedside analyst offers an easy format for recording your psyche's odd nocturnal missions and interpreting their significance. Because sometimes a cigar is just a cigar-but not usually.


Book cover of Dreams And How To Guide Them: Practical Observations

Antonio Zadra Author Of When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep

From my list on the science of dreams.

Why am I passionate about this?

Although I had many intriguing dreams during my childhood, including fantastic flying dreams, the idea of becoming a sleep scientist never crossed my mind. All that changed during my first year in college. It was then that I experienced an exceptionally long and vivid lucid dream that changed my life; it was because of this dream that I decided to become a dream researcher. Today, I’m a professor of psychology at the University of Montreal, director of the department’s Dream Research Laboratory, and have published over 100 scientific articles and book chapters on sleep and dreams. I don’t have as many flying dreams as I once did, but I do have a really cool job while awake. 

Antonio's book list on the science of dreams

Antonio Zadra Why did Antonio love this book?

Have you ever wondered what happens to our mind as we fall asleep? Or whether we can experience things in dreams that we never experienced in waking life? Jean Marie Léon d’Hervey de Saint-Denys tackled these and other questions like them in his remarkable 1867 book, Dreams and How to Guide Them. Saint-Denys used his finely-honed skills as a lucid dreamer (knowing that you are dreaming while still in the dream) to investigate dreams from within, exploring their images, memory sources, and inner logic as they unfolded before (or, rather, behind) his eyes. More amazing still, some 150 years later, many of his Saint-Denys’s ideas can still be found in modern clinical and scientific theories of dreams. 

By Léon d'Hervey de Saint-Denys,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dreams And How To Guide Them as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Hervey de Saint-Denys (Marie-Jean-Léon, Marquis d'Hervey de Saint Denys) published this book in 1867, and since then it has become one of the forerunners of the study of lucid dreaming.

This is one of the few 19th century works that has lost none of its freshness or usefulness with the passage of time, due to the author's entirely practical foundation.

In the second part of this work, devoted mainly to a history of professed views on sleep and dreams from antiquity to modern times, the author expounds his own ideas, based on numerous practical observations, supporting with ample evidence his…


Book cover of The Psychology of Dreaming

Antonio Zadra Author Of When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep

From my list on the science of dreams.

Why am I passionate about this?

Although I had many intriguing dreams during my childhood, including fantastic flying dreams, the idea of becoming a sleep scientist never crossed my mind. All that changed during my first year in college. It was then that I experienced an exceptionally long and vivid lucid dream that changed my life; it was because of this dream that I decided to become a dream researcher. Today, I’m a professor of psychology at the University of Montreal, director of the department’s Dream Research Laboratory, and have published over 100 scientific articles and book chapters on sleep and dreams. I don’t have as many flying dreams as I once did, but I do have a really cool job while awake. 

Antonio's book list on the science of dreams

Antonio Zadra Why did Antonio love this book?

This book, written by an actual dream researcher, presents a smart and easy-to-read introduction to the psychology of dreams. Covering topics like the history of dreaming, how dreams are scientifically studied, how to work with dreams for personal insight, the possible functions of dreams, lucid dreaming, nightmares, and what the future of dream research may hold, Malinowski does a commendable job of introducing the reader to a wealth of information about dreams. Complete with personal examples, eye-opening insights, and a thoughtful discussion of ethical questions surrounding emerging dream-related technologies, this delightful book is sure to please those looking for an engaging introduction to dreams.

By Josie Malinowski,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Psychology of Dreaming as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Why do we dream? What is the connection between our dreams and our mental health? Can we teach ourselves to have lucid dreams?

The Psychology of Dreaming delves into the last 100 years of dream research to provide a thought-provoking introduction to what happens in our minds when we sleep. It looks at the role that dreaming plays in memory, problem-solving, and processing emotions, examines how trauma affects dreaming, and explores how we can use our dreams to understand ourselves better. Exploring extraordinary experiences like lucid dreaming, precognitive dreams, and sleep paralysis nightmares, alongside cutting-edge questions like whether it will…


Book cover of Dr. Ann Faraday's Dream Power
Book cover of The History of Last Night's Dream: Discovering the Hidden Path to the Soul
Book cover of Dreams and Healing: A Succinct and Lively Interpretation of Dreams

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,586

readers submitted
so far, will you?