chriswiehl: First, I'd like to thank you for your approach to the question and willingness to learn.
Few, if any, good psychics use "cold reading". Most use legitimate traditional systems (palmistry, for example) and natural intuition. That's it.
My favorite quote is by steerpike:
Believe it or not, skeptics are among the worst people to ask for learning cold reading.
Ian Rowland I'm confident is sincere that he believes that that's how readers do it, but I sincerely doubt he's ever given a real reading in his life, let alone had one given to him. His book is laughable. Skeptics love it though.
With the exception of Bob Cassidy, all the mentioned books are by folks who haven't got a CLUE how to give readings. Seriously.
Want some awesome advice? Learn a simple "ology". Learn, for example, the meanings of the four major lines of the palm. You can learn it in an evening or two. It's pretty easy and there are plenty of places to pick it up. You won't need to B.S. anyone, make up fake lines or any of that skeptic-think. Just do it. Give entertaining readings and you're on your way.
I highly recommend finding Richard Webster's stuff. He's written books for the trade and he's written books for the public. Look up "Palmistry for Beginners" on Amazon. That'll get you going. You'll give FUN readings for your school friends and you won't sweat remembering those crappy "cold" lines.
One last piece of advice, if I may. I'm getting back into card magic after being out of it for nearly 30 years. If you do a card trick, simply add a fast quick card reading at the end...
They'll love your Ambitious Card routine... but they'll always remember your reading. As much as I'm loving card magic and having fun with it... nothing touches a good solid reading.
Stuart Cumberland