Most Well Designed Magic Book

[ChrisWiens]

- A good example of a new book that has great content and excellent design and paper quality is Tom Gagnon`s "Too hot for the devil".

- My favorite cover is "A book in English". The cover is the introduction to the first trick in the book

- The most physical efficient books I own are the German Edition of Card College with ring binding (Vol 3 + 4). Makes working with it much more comfortable.
The least efficient is my copy of "The Essential Dai Vernon". Fantastic content. It just doesn`t remain open because it has so many pages and working with it is a pain.

- The aesthetically most pleasent magic books in my collection are "Magic 1400s-1950s" and "Johann Nepomuk Hofzinser. Non plus Ultra Vol. 1 + 2"

- The book with the highest "pages-exploit"-ratio to me is "Card Fictions" by Pit Hartling. Very few pages, nifty little book, learned a lot.

- Books with new ?! (at least creative ) ideas in terms of how to represent/read material are "Secret Agenda" (Diary), "Dear Mr.Fantasy" (a part is presented as a story/dialogue -> dead reckoning for example) , and as already mentioned by Zach, "Session: The Magic of Joel Givens" (which contains my favorite Pseudo Memory routine beside "Unforgetable" (Card Fiction))

 

[popchris3]

Wow, there are some great suggestions in this post, for sure.

I forgot to mention Rune's World by Rune Klan. It's part comic book and ALL wonderful.

Speaking of books that are consise, honestly, are you guys more likely to buy a book if it has more pages? I know it doesn't make sense, but I've definitely had that moment where I think "40 pages? No way it's worth it", even if it's the same amount of information as a 200 page book.

 

[ChrisWiens]

Wow, there are some great suggestions in this post, for sure.

I forgot to mention Rune's World by Rune Klan. It's part comic book and ALL wonderful.

Speaking of books that are consise, honestly, are you guys more likely to buy a book if it has more pages? I know it doesn't make sense, but I've definitely had that moment where I think "40 pages? No way it's worth it", even if it's the same amount of information as a 200 page book.

Rune is such a funny guy! How can anyone not like his show. Phenomenal magician and entertainer !

I have books with hundreds of pages, from which I use...well almost nothing. And little books such as Card Fiction, from which I use most material.
Woody`s "A book in English" is, in that regard, my favorite magic book. There is not much in it I don`t actually use.
Normally a book is a winner to me if I can use 3-5 Items (an idea, presentation, sleight, method or effect)!
6-8 is unbelievable. Nearly everything... unearthly

But...and that´s important IMO...it doesn`t mean a book with effects, presentations, constructions, sleights or ideas I don`t use is bad! Absolutely not. The learning effect is important. How others think. They can inspire you in several ways.
Just an example:
Sometimes a tiny little detail you get from a book can make a huge difference in something you`re working on. A more elegant method which can be used in different ways for your own effect. Or a presentation idea. A subtlety. Tiny things.

What are you you guys thinking about this ? I would like to know.


Ups. Forgot one book which is my favorite all-around magic book (ok, this and "Carneycopia" ) with great design in my opinion.
"Stars of Magic"

 

[4ofClubs]

Three (four technically) awesome books are:

Books of Wonder Vol. I&II by Tommy Wonder
Reflections by Helder Guimaraes
Tangled Web by Eric Mead

Design-wise, they are all beautiful. Books of Wonder appear like actual magic tomes (like with spells, not card tricks), and the other two are in small format which makes them very readable.

The feature that unifies all of these books, though, is that they are combinations of effects and essays. The theory and concepts presented in the essays are then explored by means of an effect that illustrates that particular concept. Considering the idea of "useful items", the essays might influence EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF MAGIC THAT YOU DO, as opposed to providing you with a cool new effect. I find that the more of the thinking I get behind the construction, goals, and presentation of an effect, the more effectively I am able to use it, take and modify pieces from it, or present it as is. So I would highly recommend all of those books, both because they are beautiful, and because of the design of their content.