New to books

Jun 29, 2009
82
0
I am not completely new to magic or flourishing, as i do own lots of DVDs and 1 on 1s from this site and can complete a decent amount of the material, but i would like to start looking into books to both advance my magic AND flourishing abilities.

See, this is where i'm at:

I have:

-Xtreme Beginners v1 AND v2
-Cradle to the Grave
-Cobra Cuts
-Trilogy by dan and dave
-Andthensome
-De'Ring by De'vo

And i downloaded Expert at the card table, in which i am spending the next week reading.

Also, i have ten awesome 1 on 1s from this site, including the outjogged herman shift, which i'm getting increasingly better at. Not to mention hundreds of youtube videos that have helped me alot (i know, but last year when i started i didn't know youtube was youn00b).

I'm not a complete novice, i can do all sorts of one hand cuts and routines. This doesn't make me in any way experienced, and i understand going out and performing is the way to go, but i do not have that access right now and would actually prefer a good read.

BUT I do not own any books, which i know is key. My question is, what books should i get? I really want these:

EOPCF
The Essential (i've just heard so much about dai vernon)
The paper engine

So, any tips?
 

Orb

Jul 19, 2009
84
0
Sweden
I would deeply recommend Strong Magic by Darwin Ortiz. This book will not show you any new flashy routines but it contains everything you need to know about magic presentations and audience controll. If you are serious about magic and want to go beyond trick by trick and actually go into the psychologi and what goes on in their mind when you perform. Then please add this to your cart. This will absolutely change your magic and give you stronger effects. This man is a genious.
 
Oct 29, 2007
21
0
Here are a few of my recommendations (for all skill levels):

- Royal Road to Card Magic
- Expert Card Technique
- Card College (All Volumes)
- Art of Astonishment (All Volumes)
- The Paper Engine
- By Forces Unseen (Advanced)
- Totally Out of Control

I own all of these books, and I have thumbed through all of them. There is enough material there to last you a lifetime!

All of the aforementioned books include both flourishes and card magic (mostly card magic), and they also teach you both old and new methods of sleights.

I hope this helps!

- Dan
 
Jun 29, 2009
82
0
Out of everything mentioned, iam very curious about Orb's recomendationof Strong Magic by Darwin Ortiz.

What do you guys think of that book? I'm going to use the search buttn on all of these books.
 
Jul 14, 2008
936
0
Here are a few of my recommendations (for all skill levels):

- Royal Road to Card Magic
- Expert Card Technique
- Card College (All Volumes)
- Art of Astonishment (All Volumes)
- The Paper Engine
- By Forces Unseen (Advanced)
- Totally Out of Control

I own all of these books, and I have thumbed through all of them. There is enough material there to last you a lifetime!

All of the aforementioned books include both flourishes and card magic (mostly card magic), and they also teach you both old and new methods of sleights.

I hope this helps!

- Dan

These are great books and I highly recommend you.
 
Jun 29, 2009
82
0
I am thinking of getting/reading these books in this order, tell me what everyone thinks:

1. Royal Road To Card magic.
2. Strong Magic.
3. Expert at the card table.
4. Expert card technique.
5. The Paper Engine.
6. The Essential by Dai Vernon.

Money is not an issue, but over the course of the next couple months i would like to get these books in this order.

Also, don't forget i will also be mastering the myriad of DVDs and 1 on 1s i got, which s going to take years.

EDIT: I forgot about the EOPCF, what do you guys think of that?

EDIT #2: Is this a good cheap copy of royal road to card magic: http://www.amazon.com/Royal-Road-Ca...e=UTF8&s=miscellaneous&qid=1248366766&sr=8-2?

EDIT #3: Even cheaper, paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Royal-Road-Ca...ie=UTF8&s=miscellaneous&qid=1248366766&sr=8-5
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nov 15, 2007
1,106
2
35
Raleigh, NC
Editing for your previous post.

the royal road can be picked up for like 10 dollars paperback, if you want the hardback it's not a bad price.

You're going to have enough material in RRTCM and Strong Magic that you won't need the others for a long time.

If you wanted something other than cards, I'd start with coins and the best place for coins is Bobo's.

I also think you should really concentrate on Royal Road when you get it, it'll build a firm base and a good starting point to advance your card magic.

I don't own all the books on your list, so others will have to comment.

-Rik

Hope it helped some.
 
Oct 29, 2007
21
0
I am thinking of getting/reading these books in this order, tell me what everyone thinks:

1. Royal Road To Card magic.
2. Strong Magic.
3. Expert at the card table.
4. Expert card technique.
5. The Paper Engine.
6. The Essential by Dai Vernon.

Money is not an issue, but over the course of the next couple months i would like to get these books in this order.

Also, don't forget i will also be mastering the myriad of DVDs and 1 on 1s i got, which s going to take years.

EDIT: I forgot about the EOPCF, what do you guys think of that?

EDIT #2: Is this a good cheap copy of royal road to card magic: http://www.amazon.com/Royal-Road-Ca...e=UTF8&s=miscellaneous&qid=1248366766&sr=8-2?

EDIT #3: Even cheaper, paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Royal-Road-Ca...ie=UTF8&s=miscellaneous&qid=1248366766&sr=8-5


Not to reiterate, but I would sincerely recommend that you add Card College and Art of Astonishment to your list, if only for reference, and especially since money is not an issue.

- Dan
 
Jun 29, 2009
82
0
Not to reiterate, but I would sincerely recommend that you add Card College and Art of Astonishment to your list, if only for reference, and especially since money is not an issue.

- Dan

Thanks. Yea, i didn't really hear much about the art of astonishment, of course i will look into it, but i have heard of card college. I looked on amazon and there seems to be 3 volumes of it?

Also, i will need to see how far my reading progresses, i don't want to overload myself. I believe i will read the royal road to card magic first, and go from there. Of course, i will keep all of those books mentioned in this thread in mind for when i get the time topage through them.

I appreciate any tips that were given and do hope they keep coming!

EDIT: and thanks rik for that post i agree with royal being the starting pint, it seems to be unanimous.
 
Jan 13, 2008
1,137
0
Card College has 5 books, if I'm not mistaken.

And Art of Astonishment series (3 books) is written by one of the top minds in magic, Paul Harris, and as such it is full of awesome. I can't honestly suggest it enough. :)

Aside from AoA, Royal Road and Strong Magic are definitely the way to go. But, to be honest, I would actually put AoA ahead of a lot on your list...possibly up to number 3. Why? Because it's not just cards (although it does contain a lot of card stuff)...it contains all sorts of innovative thinking using all sorts of objects. :)

If the goal is purely cards, then I suppose your list as it stands would be quite good (the majority of those books focus on technical card handling, after all). For more versatility in your magic, I'd definitely suggest AoA.

It's nice to see that you're getting into books, though. Definitely a good way to go. :)
 
Jun 29, 2009
82
0
It seems to me like your posts are full of win. I feel easily swayed when reading them, because i see alot of what i want.

AoA will definitely be read by me sooner or later, but i am purely working on card magic and card handling abilities right now, and i believe this list will be beneficial.

Time to hit the books!
 
well some books you guys left out which i have just ordered well im actually ordering today is the trilogy by daniel madison and the advocate. burn is also good i havent gotten it but i've heard so many good things from it. collarteal is also the same as burn i dont have it but its really good to others. then theres also magic for toddlers which sells for 7 dollers and is written bye an author called criss angel. im just joking about the toddler thing i just dont like him. but the other books are better. hope this has helped you.

-Wooj
 
Dec 26, 2007
133
0
I cannot reccommend the Card College and Art of Astonishment books enough. If you are at the level you imply i would i highly suggest not getting By Forces Unseen - definitely not the best choice for a first book due to its complexity!

Also, and believe me when I say this, it will take you years to learn the stuff in Expert at the card table and months to even wrap your head around the boggling text and at times confusing explanations. howeer, do not let me deter you, it is n excellent book and well wor the read. Hope I have somewehat helped and good luck with whatever you choose to do.
 
Jun 29, 2009
82
0
Did you read most of these books or just AoA and Card College?

Personally, i am very swayed toward card college because it is very presentable, and it seems to be alot of information. I'm ordering royal road and expert technique, but it seems like a tough decision from there lol. I just have to do ore research and see what i want to learn.
 
Sep 1, 2007
3,786
15
Personally, i am very swayed toward card college because it is very presentable, and it seems to be alot of information. I'm ordering royal road and expert technique, but it seems like a tough decision from there lol. I just have to do ore research and see what i want to learn.

Decent plan, though I'd put in a vote for also getting Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic and Modern Coin Magic. Specializing is all well and good, but the days of the Vaudeville stage are over and it's better to have a grounding in the fundamentals of a little bit of everything.
 
Jun 29, 2009
82
0
Decent plan, though I'd put in a vote for also getting Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic and Modern Coin Magic. Specializing is all well and good, but the days of the Vaudeville stage are over and it's better to have a grounding in the fundamentals of a little bit of everything.

You bring up a strong point. Being well rounded is essential. It would seem odd to be so magical with a deck of cards and not be able to do anything else.

BUT, i will get to that when i get to it. For now, i think in order to stay interested i will work on one product at a time, haha. I don't wanna get burnt out thinking about all that has to be done to get to where i wanna be. Instead, i will have fun with it. Like, the next three hours will be awesome. The Yankee game is finally starting, and i will be messing around with a deck of cards the whole time. Gotta love life!

Thanks for the post though, chances are nearly everything mentioned in this thread will one way or another be in my hands at some point, then it will be up to me to reject the bad and accept the good.
 
Sep 1, 2007
125
0
As Austyn said, I think TOOC is an amazing book if your looking for new material or cool and tricks. Some of them are challenging (partly because some people have trouble learning from books) but I think if you put in the time, Totally Out of Control will probably be one of your favorite books of material. What I liked about it is all the side comments and little cartoons, its not just trick after trick and explanations.

TOOC is the only book Ive really gotten on magic and used a lot so I cannot recommend too many others. Modern Coin Magic is definitely a great one for coin magic; Ive read though it but I haven't used it that much. I also hear great stuff about 3510 by Luke Jermay (although a bit expensive). But I think if you were to get one, it should be Totally Out Of Control.

I found something you guys might look intro. TOOC on Amazon, new 27$
 
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