Book of the Month Thread Proposal

[TeeDee]

I see a lot of people bemoaning the fact that Theory 11 doesn't have much of a focus on books. Given this, I've got a simple idea for something we can do to remedy the situation.

Every month, on a given day, I'll post up a thread about a classic book, including a brief history and summary of the contents. By classic, I'm thinking predominantly nineteenth-century works to begin with, as these are all public domain and will be available free of charge on Archive.org, Project Gutenberg or the free level of Ask Alexander at the Conjuring Arts Research Centre. So, no-one will have any excuse not to acquire and read these texts. That's another reason why I've gone "Book of the Month", rather than "Book of the Week", as a week may be too short a time for some people to read and digest the contents of a book and contribute to a conversation on it. This is key, as I don't want this to be an elitist thing; I'd like to encourage contributions from novices who've never even heard of the book before as well as seasoned pros who read it, learned it and subsumed it into their bloodstream twenty years ago. Fresh, unjaded eyes on a text may bring a new perspective and novel ideas, as well as interesting questions which may spark off interesting conversations.

The thread would be a place to share thoughts inspired by the book, discuss its ideas, the way it relates to modern magic and perhaps even share videos of performances of tricks and techniques from the book. The hope would be that some newer magicians were inspired to rediscover this treasure, and that cynical old hands had the flickering embers of joy rekindled by these classic works.

I'm tentatively proposing Modern Magic as the first of these texts, but if anyone has another suggestion that would be welcomed. Additionally, any thoughts about how good or bad an idea this is, or any supplementary ideas about how it should be implemented would be great.

Thanks!

 

[Deechristopher]

Great idea TeeDee!

I still find myself leafing through many older texts - There's always a lot of fascinating content and there's also often effects or routines that you can modernize to suit your show.

I look forward to reading your first post!

 

[ChrisWiens]

I like the idea!

 

[Craig Browning]

I will most always support ANYTHING that encourages education in the craft (even card tricks) . . . my biggest concern centers on how many of "us" don't know the basic history of magic, let alone the key areas of study we happen to specialize in; we don't know the "Who's Who" of that niche and when it comes to those yesteryear legends, there seems a passe attitude now days even with those key players that are still alive and bringing us awesome material. If it's someone over 40 a lot of people see it as being "too old" and not applicable to themselves. . . that's a terrible attitude and maybe in sharing about various books, their content and how new life was given to a dead horse, we can encourage more people to change their attitudes and want to learn from we old timers ;-)

I would discourage you from starting with the Classic texts most all of us know already, take a look at those books that are less known to people so they aren't looking at the "bibles" alone. I'd go so far as to encourage other learned sources to coordinate with you in introducing alternative materials with a solid review. Maybe in the form of a monthly Reading Challenge for members?

Great idea!

 

[TeeDee]

I would discourage you from starting with the Classic texts most all of us know already, take a look at those books that are less known to people so they aren't looking at the "bibles" alone. I'd go so far as to encourage other learned sources to coordinate with you in introducing alternative materials with a solid review. Maybe in the form of a monthly Reading Challenge for members?

Thanks Craig! My thinking on starting with the classics (at least for the first couple of months) was to ensure that those more experienced, such as yourself, would have a ready store of knowledge which could be tapped to give this project a boost in its nascent days. Works like Modern Magic may be well-known to many magicians, but I'd wager that ninety percent of the members here have never read it, let alone learned anything from it. Maybe if the thread's getting a good response after a couple of months, we could turn to more arcane texts...

Having said that, though, if you've got any particular titles in mind, I'd love to hear them.

 

[krab]

I think on top of getting some of the newer books, we should look at cost. I'm thinking we stay away from stuff like Pallbearer's Review since we are trying to get the younger guys into these books and $400 is asking a bit much of them for a three book set.

Small list to look at for non-classic books.
Vortex by Tom Stone. Some great stuff, and just not cards. On top of effects there is theory as well.

Creative Magic by Adam. Should be a guy most of the video only guys know. Book has some real world working effects and some theory.

Book of Wonder Vol.1 and 2 by Tommy Wonder. The magic of the great Tommy Wonder. This is all that should need to be said about these two books.

Abbott's Encyclopedia of Rope Tricks for Magicians by Stewart James. Great place to start for rope magic.


Maybe we could offer a side book as well. Something outside of magic, but still offers something to magicians. Books like Steal Like an Artist, Art of Deception, and Accidental Genius all offer something for magicians working pro or otherwise.

 

[Steerpike]

At least one of Jim Steinmeyer's history books like "Hiding the Elephant" or "The Great Deception" should go in there somewhere. Anyone who thinks history is boring has never actually studied history. Our art has only gotten better because of the academic study of everything that came before us and critical application of those lessons to the here and now.

 

[TeeDee]

At least one of Jim Steinmeyer's history books like "Hiding the Elephant" or "The Great Deception" should go in there somewhere. Anyone who thinks history is boring has never actually studied history. Our art has only gotten better because of the academic study of everything that came before us and critical application of those lessons to the here and now.

Definitely. I absolutely love Steimeyer's books. The Great Deception is a particular highlight for me, so that's definitely got to be included.

 

[Steerpike]

While I'm thinking of it, I'm always on my crusade to convince magicians that the best thing they can do for their creativity is to read more fiction. Is it conceivable that once or twice a year, we could feature a novel? Or maybe have an extra book that month as a bonus? There's a lot of good stuff to pick from. Neil Gaiman, Ramsey Campbell, Ray Bradbury, Jim Butcher, Cherie Priest, MR James, Steven King, Edgar Rice Burroughs, HP Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith... Granted, that list is mostly genre fiction but the closer it gets to fantasy the more palatable it will probably be to those who haven't already made reading a habit since it has at least a tenuous connection to magic.

 

[ChrisWiens]

While I'm thinking of it, I'm always on my crusade to convince magicians that the best thing they can do for their creativity is to read more fiction. Is it conceivable that once or twice a year, we could feature a novel? Or maybe have an extra book that month as a bonus? There's a lot of good stuff to pick from. Neil Gaiman, Ramsey Campbell, Ray Bradbury, Jim Butcher, Cherie Priest, MR James, Steven King, Edgar Rice Burroughs, HP Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith... Granted, that list is mostly genre fiction but the closer it gets to fantasy the more palatable it will probably be to those who haven't already made reading a habit since it has at least a tenuous connection to magic.

Interesting. I got a collection of Clark Ashton Smith`s Hyperborea tales last week. As a fan of Robert E. Howard and H.P.Lovecraft, I always wanted to read something from another great "Weird Tales" author. Especially since Lovecraft has many allusions in some of his tales regarding Smith (e.g. highpriest Klarkash-ton in "The Whisperer in Darkness") and was an admirer of Smith`s work.
There are others on my list ´m looking forward to reading (Robert Bloch, Ambrose Bierce, Arthur Machen).


Back to topic. I LOVE reading books with background. I mean not books about tricks, effects, presentation or theory, but history and/or biography.
On my list:
Dai Vernon - A Biography by David Ben
Milo & Roger: A Magical Life by Arthur Brandon
Cardini: The Suave Deceiver by John Fisher
Del Ray: America's Foremost by John Moehring
Tales from the Uncanny Scot by Ron Wilson

 

[the_dude42]

I'd like to second and third Hiding the Elephant. Taught me some amazing things about magics history. Also, anything that contains Pepper's Ghost is usually worth reading.

 

[Steerpike]

Interesting. I got a collection of Clark Ashton Smith`s Hyperborea tales last week. As a fan of Robert E. Howard and H.P.Lovecraft, I always wanted to read something from another great "Weird Tales" author.

Smith, Lovecraft and Howard were considered the golden authors of the pulps. Weird Tales and similar publications reached their peak with those three, but the beginning of the end was Howard's suicide. Lovecraft died a year later from cancer. Smith was so distraught to lose two of his most respected writer friends that he retired from the pulps.

Anyway, a couple other titles I'm thinking about. Rick Maue's Book of Haunted Magick is full of great material and some fantastic essays as well. It's October as well, which fits right in. There's also Seance and Eugene Burger's Spirit Theater along the same lines.

It's a more obscure text, but Kenton Knepper's Mystery by Association is a nice text on performance theory.

 

[TeeDee]

It seems as though the consensus is drifting towards more theoretical and historical works rather than "books of tricks". While I'm all in favour of going as deep as possible into the secrets behind the secrets, I'm a bit concerned that a focus on theory straight off the bat will alienate some of the people this project is intended to inspire. I think that we're more likely to encourage video learners to pick up a book if we can promise they'll be able to learn some tricks and moves they've never seen before. Then after a couple of months when they've got used to the whole words-on-pages concept, then: Bam! Hit 'em with the theory.

Thoughts?

 

[Craig Browning]

I fear that TeeDee is correct and we need to mix things up a bit more.

In re-reading things here I think that first of all, T-11 needs to create a book club sub-forum because this can get rather big, fast. Too, there are a couple of secondary niche departments that should exist under this banner i.e.; Beginner, Intermediate & Adept not to mention breakdowns when it comes to key areas of study like bizarre, mentalism and such . . . that of course takes us back to my previous suggestions about creating additional forums for specialty study . . . but when it comes to this topic, I do think we need to look at a rating system of some kind that allows the person reading the thread to know that the book is considered something for the Neophyte or the Journeyman , etc. maybe a Star rating when it comes to how basic a text may be or at what level of experience it is practical to.

I also think that the original "sticky" should list the top 10 books that are appropriate to each level of study. For an example, the beginner's list should look something like this;

The Mark Wilson Course in Magic
The Tarbell Course in Magic
Now You See It; Now You Don't I & II
The Amateur Magician's Handbook
Hiding the Elephant
Modern Coin Magic
Royal Road to Card Magic
The Karl Fulves Self-Working Series
and focus texts like those dealing with Rope, Silks, Billiard Balls, Cups & Balls, Linking Rings, etc.

I think this introductory list would be rather extensive because it offers foundations and an overview of what's out there to learn and do. The next tier of study starting off with Magic & Showmanship as the #1 must read before moving further down the list, challenge.

There is one other point I think the launching article needs to offer; these are the books that should be on the shelf of all working magicians and avid fans of magic. They are not a buy now and sell later investment, but something you should keep on your shelf for future referencing. I think this is something we should consider when we make contributions to the list in fact; if a book is something that should be a fixture on the shelf or one of those texts that can be pass on to another? At 40+ years in this biz I still keep both the Wilson & Tarbell close at hand and refer to them frequently, same goes with the foundation texts to Mentalism & Bizarre.

Just my two cents worth. . . .

 

[Deechristopher]

I think that first of all, T-11 needs to create a book club sub-forum because this can get rather big, fast.

Lots of great ideas in this thread, lets keep it in general discussion for now and see how that goes. Sounds like a great way to help other members!

Perhaps to keep it easy to follow for other members, start your threads with the title:

"Book of the month: October 2013" (and so on and so forth!)

Looking forward to seeing your write ups TeeDee, it'll be a good excuse to dust off some of my older volumes no doubt!

 

[Steerpike]

It seems as though the consensus is drifting towards more theoretical and historical works rather than "books of tricks". While I'm all in favour of going as deep as possible into the secrets behind the secrets, I'm a bit concerned that a focus on theory straight off the bat will alienate some of the people this project is intended to inspire. I think that we're more likely to encourage video learners to pick up a book if we can promise they'll be able to learn some tricks and moves they've never seen before. Then after a couple of months when they've got used to the whole words-on-pages concept, then: Bam! Hit 'em with the theory.

Thoughts?

Fair point. To that effect, Mark Wilson would be the ideal choice to kick things off.

Now that I think of it, it might be an interesting idea to push discussion and motivate guys to get the book if we all share one or more of our favorite stories performing material from the book. I have two stories from when I performed the Chapstick Mystery at the Pittsburgh Zoo Dragon Renaissance Festival that are pretty good, one of them hilarious in a Not Always Right dot com sort of way.

 

[Austin24]

So very excited to see this getting started. I can't wait for this to get started. TeeDee, you are a mad genius