any good magic books

Mar 6, 2012
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hey i would like to purchase a magic book with many tricks and have good stuff. Not a old or classic book something awesome and new anything will help but not reinventing the real.
 

Josh Burch

Elite Member
Aug 11, 2011
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Utah
hey i would like to purchase a magic book with many tricks and have good stuff. Not a old or classic book something awesome and new anything will help but not reinventing the real.

What kind of magic are you into? The classics have some of the best stuff out there. Who do you plan on performing for? What books do you already have?
 
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CaseyRudd

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Jun 5, 2009
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The "classics" are so for good reason. If you don't own tarbell card college mark Wilson's course in magic or royal road then those are great starting points.

Agreed with William. If you are into card magic, Card College/Royal Road have personally helped me a lot, and will get you started the right way. If you are into more parlour style magic/stage magic, then Tarbell/Mark Wilson's Course in Magic are great starting points. There are also quite a few card items in both books as well.
 

RickEverhart

forum moderator / t11
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Sep 14, 2008
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Tarbell (all of the volumes or just the new condensed version), Mark Wilson's Complete Course, Art of Astonishment, Card College Series, Books of Wonder by Tommy Wonder. These are all outstanding.

If you are more into theory: Maximum Entertainment, Strong Magic or Designing Miracles. Jay Sankey's Beyond Secrets is a good read as well. Tamriz's 5 Points in Magic. Eric Mead's Tangled Web.

Also..as mentioned, do not shy away from classics. Where do you think everyone gets their new material? They revamp the old and tweak it.

For example: The paddle move with color changing knives has now been updated to USB flash sticks.
 
Mar 6, 2012
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it is just that i have so many classics like tarbell and expert at the card table and so much more
 
Jan 1, 2009
2,241
3
Back in Time
Expert at the Card Table is a bit advanced and more of a "College" level magic book. Tarbel is a HUGE group of books that deals with much more than close up magic.

Here is what I am going to suggest doing. First question: Do you have Royal Road to Card Magic? If Yes, then here's what my mentor has suggested to do when you want to learn something properly. First spend around 20 min at the most reading the book out loud, then take a note book and write down the effects/sleights you want to learn in has much detail as you can, then read your notes out loud, then take a 10 min break. Rinse and repeat this with the effects you WANT to work on for around 2-3 months.

As well practicing the effects/sleights in Super Slow motion at first and then continuing to work on them in slow motion.
 
Oct 22, 2011
97
2
California
new things aren't always the better things. there's a great deal of crap magic and crap books that are new and there are those 50 year old books that are still the gospels of magic. from what I glimpsed in the list of books the above have listed you're in good hands.
 
Mar 6, 2012
45
0
no dont get me wrong i love classics but its just that i think i do many of the material so often in the last month of summer i am performing at a party for a family that i have been working at their parties for 2 yrs and its time to change it up and well since my dvd and blu ray players dont work at the moment i need a book with good and new principles and tricks sorry if its hard to understand but i just need a modern thing so i wont perform the same stuff that i did last year which came from card collage tarbell expert at the card table and a bit about all my books which are classics sorry if u dont understand but if you do help
 
Oct 22, 2011
97
2
California
Modern is the wrong word. You don't need something modern, you just need something different than what you have been doing. Without knowing your full repertoire I'd say...check out some Vernon stuff then. That's my two pence. The Inner Secrets Trilogy, Revelations, there's some stuff of his in Stars of Magic, etc, etc, etc... You can never go wrong with Dai. Oil and Water, Triumph, and Slow Motion Aces are definitely knock out tricks that he did and taught. If you already have his stuff try Expert Card Technique or Card Control. Hope that helped. Good luck in your search bud
 
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Oh I understand. But Why do you need to "change it up" as you put it? Penn & Teller have said that they'd rather know how to do 7 tricks better than anyone else in the world, than a 100 tricks half assed.

My main stage act consists of the same six or seven effects that I've been doing the past five years. Occassionally I'll toss in something new, sure, but honestly I like the material that I do run.

Don't get me wrong, there's some new stuff out there but honestly I don't think you're giving the old stuff enough of a break. There's no way you can be performing all the material in Tarbell, Expert and Royal Road. All three of those teach enough foundational material that it's completely possible that you could even craft an effect/routine all of your own from what they teach.

We older forum members see this all the time. "Hi! I'm new and I want some X new thing. Please tell me what to buy?" Other than rolling our eyes, not at you but at the repetition of these kind of posts, we really do want to help out. Years of experience, and having gone down that very road myself several times, I can tell you right now there's no way in hell you've exhausted all the material in Tarbell and Card College, let alone the other classics mentioned. So when we tell you to stop what you are doing and go hit the books again it's not that we're being difficult. We're just A) speaking from experience, and B) Trying to save you a little money in the process.

Now without knowing what you are currently doing, what your skill level is, and what kind of magic you're interested in I've got to be honest. Making suggestions is like shooting in the dark. HOWEVER there are some authors that are worth looking into. Magic Matters with Robert Neale is an exceptional read. Also Eugene Burger has some great material. Spirit Theater, and Strange Ceremonies being two of his books I prefer. Anything Vernon is a good, safe bet, and I think Aaron Fisher has a book out now but god help me If I can remember what it's called.

If your heart is set on something new then go with one of those above mentioned books. Good luck.
 
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Sep 26, 2007
591
5
Tokyo, Japan
no dont get me wrong i love classics but its just that i think i do many of the material so often in the last month of summer i am performing at a party for a family that i have been working at their parties for 2 yrs and its time to change it up and well since my dvd and blu ray players dont work at the moment i need a book with good and new principles and tricks sorry if its hard to understand but i just need a modern thing so i wont perform the same stuff that i did last year which came from card collage tarbell expert at the card table and a bit about all my books which are classics sorry if u dont understand but if you do help

Look directly to the right of the "N" and "M" keys on your keyboard for some of the more useful punctuation keys.
 
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Sep 2, 2007
1,186
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42
London
It's going to sound trite, but if you want new material, read old books. If you revisit the magic of the nineteenth-century and read the works of Hoffman, Hofzinser, Robert-Houdin, Roterberg and Sachs, you'll find a goldmine of tricks and moves that you won't have seen anyone else do. If you think you've learned everything from the classics then I contend that you're mistaken. If not, then I'd love to see your routine with the sixth method for the pass from Modern Magic, or Erdnase's Open Shift, or the fourth method for the colour change from New Era Card Tricks.
 
Dec 18, 2007
1,610
14
64
Northampton, MA - USA
no dont get me wrong i love classics but its just that i think i do many of the material so often in the last month of summer i am performing at a party for a family that i have been working at their parties for 2 yrs and its time to change it up and well since my dvd and blu ray players dont work at the moment i need a book with good and new principles and tricks sorry if its hard to understand but i just need a modern thing so i wont perform the same stuff that i did last year which came from card collage tarbell expert at the card table and a bit about all my books which are classics sorry if u dont understand but if you do help

Ok, two things here. . .

A.) if you think you're a pro then start typing like one, using proper punctuation, very little if any Text Message short-hand and capitalization where proper. If you write like a poorly educated fool you will always be seen as such. I know that sounds picky and petty but I had that same message drilled into my head by Harry Blackstone and other successful people in this industry and other industries so there must be something to it; you have to act successful and educated if you wish to be successful and a leader in any vocational path. -- COMMUNICATION SKILLS ARE PARAMOUNT!

B.) as my friend William points out, you rarely need to "change-up" your material. HOWEVER, you are right when it comes to working the same group of people over and over again. You do need to give them something new. . . not a complete act necessarily, but something that will make them talk positively about you until the next time they see you. But let me back up a bit. . .

The majority of the mega-legends in all of show-biz (live, stage variety) built their reputation by doing the same basic act for decades. Even now the routines made famous by comic-actress Sophie Tucker are so solid that they slay audiences nightly. This is because of delivery and the personality of the performer . . . not all of which are human; one of the more successful Sophie Tucker comics was a puppet (Madam of Waylon & Madam fame).

Another example of this, a pun in all truth, was when Greg Wilson walked out on stage at a magic convention carrying a small bird cage. . ."This is something my father taught me. . ." he stopped dead in his tracks, shakes his head and tosses the cage off into the wings ". . . oops, wrong father. . . ." It brought down the house BECAUSE, the bird cage is an established bit of Blackstone family branding.

You already have material that is identified with you, why ignore that and loose out on the power it gives you? That would be like Kansas or David Bowie not singing their top chart hits (if you need a parallel).

Take what you know and are known for and find ways to tweak and add to it. If you do Assembling Aces then find a way to hold to that idea and add to it such as Ricky Jay did long ago, literally stealing the thunder from under Doug Henning, the star of the show.

You find such nuance by studying the older material, especially techniques and methods. While you may not find a a specific piece from these books, you are quite likely to find concepts that will inspire your creative side, helping you put the polish on your older material. Again, this is how the legends have done it for generations.

When it Comes to Changing Up. . . yes, you should have at least a second program at the ready in my opinion. I've been known to have 3 different 20 minute sets so that when I'm working a date that requires me to do 3 sets, I can give a different routine each show. It not only keeps me fresh but it encourages word of mouth; one group seeing something the other group misses out on and so you end up with repeat guests. . . it's an old carnival method of recycling the audience but in how I use it, it's a powerful bit of marketing . . . we'll not go into that however.

Build a second act, nothing wrong with that. But base it on what you are known for so you can profit from the association. If your first program focuses on Coins then expand on that and maybe blend it with Card work. If, on the other hand, you have a particular type of character people relate to, then let that be the carry over; the constant that makes you memorable. Understand however, working with the classic routines of old, especially those that are rarely spoken of in today's world, is what will make your task easier when it comes to reputation and booking gigs. Speaking of which, have you looked at Dice Stacking routines?
 
Jan 1, 2009
2,241
3
Back in Time
You know, you never answered Will's question. All you did was list random books (poorly) and then continue to say "I need something new." We don't have any idea of what your skill level, or what exactly you are looking for. What you are doing is like walking into a store and asking "I need more food.".

If anything, I am going to suggest that you go through your books again and continue to search there. Because Tarbell is freaking huge and there is now way in hell that you've performed EVERYTHING in that book. Card College is also a large series and I highly doubt you've performed EVERYTHING in those books as well.
 
Mar 6, 2012
45
0
i am 13 and i am new on the forum and i feel that you guys are being harsh but you see it is just that i would like to try something new and Will thanks for all the help and everybody else thank you and for some books i have not performed every thing that is true but that is why i only do the stuff that i like and thank you guys for everything
 
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