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5 Books for New Magicians

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Interested in learning magic? Here's a semi-pro magician's First Five books to check out!

Getting in to magic is easy these days - just go to a web site and type in your credit card number for a 5 minute video clip that costs $20! But if you want to save your money, get some good starting wisdom and perhaps save your sanity, you can do a lot better and get more "bang for your buck" with just a few carefully-sought-out books.

Why books?

Books are portable, easy to work with, and you will get a lot more content in a $20 book than you will a $20 "instant download". You'll also find it easier to borrow books from your local public library without having to deal with the ethical question of whether or not that 'free' video you downloaded on line was really, uh, legal.

The Books themselves

Courtesy of the fine folks at Amazon.com

Going through the books in my library, I found five books which will give anyone a good solid education in magic for the least amount of money - most of the stuff you see in those "instant downloads" are described in these books - usually better - and you don't have to be sitting in front of a computer to use 'em!
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So whatnow?

I've got these books, what do I do with 'em?

Magic books are a lot like cookbooks - each trick in it has its own "recipe" and you can put them together to make a pretty good meal - but you don't want to try and learn how to do all this stuff at once - even an all you can eat buffet has it's limits.

I'm not suggesting that you sit down and learn *every* trick you see in all these books.. The books I'm recommending above would give you a very solid "jumping off" point if you want to pursue the art / craft / hobby / mindless obsession the way I did... and if not, they will at least give you a few neat things you can do to help make the world a little more amazing.

And remember - CHEAP MAGIC RULES!

More Magic Stuff from Amazon

Jumping off points for further exploration!

Here's what Amazon brings up when I ask it to riff on Mark Wilson's book...

If you loved Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic, you might also enjoy:

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Self-Working Table Magic: 97 Foolproof Tricks with Everyday Objects by Karl Fulves

Self-Working Table Magic: 97 Foolproof Tricks with Everyday Objects by Karl Fulves

mystifying tricks done with ordinary objects that more...0 points

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Modern Coin Magic by J. B. Bobo

Modern Coin Magic by J. B. Bobo

The most complete treatise on sleight-of-hand coin more...0 points

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Magic for Dummies by David Pogue

Magic for Dummies by David Pogue

Move over, David Copperfield. The coolest magic tr more...0 points

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Easy Mind-Reading Tricks by Robert Mandelberg

Easy Mind-Reading Tricks by Robert Mandelberg

Dazzle friends, family, and acquaintances with a s more...0 points

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NLP: The New Technology of Achievement by NLP Comprehensive

NLP: The New Technology of Achievement by NLP Comprehensive

<p>NLP has already helped millions of people more...0 points

Talk to me!

What do you think about this lens?

This is the first of what will probably be a BUNCH of "Magic Fives" from me - I'd love to get your feedback on what you think, thought, suggest, recommend, or if you know any good recipes for baklava. Type on!

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  • Reply
    theadequate Dec 30, 2008 @ 10:17 pm | in reply to MindGuru | delete
    Wow. There are quite a few faves - some of which I do and some I don't do (because of logistics, environment, "fit" and so on)... and that sounds like a darn fine thing to do a lens on, too!

    Searching around for "magic" lenses, I see a lot which are teaching tricks - I feel a little odd *not* teaching 'em, but in a lot of cases the stuff I do has been published in the last 30 years by someone who created the routine, so I don't want to tread on toes...
  • Reply
    Dec 30, 2008 @ 7:02 pm | delete
    I like that you really know what these books are about and can give a personal recommendation. What are some of your favorite tricks?
  • Reply
    Myth Dec 29, 2008 @ 1:52 pm | in reply to theadequate | delete
    And why is a coin purse at the Dollar Store, sale for say, oh, a Dollar. And the same Purse at a magic supply warehouse it sales for 10 dollars. Why does two pieces of cheap rope get thunderous applause and the $700 illusion that looked realy great online, get polite golf claps.
    Why to I have thousands of dollars worth of Props and illusions filling my garage but my money making show fits in a medium size suit case.
    Why! I'll tell you why. Because I learned too late that Good magic doesn't have to be expensive magic.
    Preach on. Oh Adiquate one. So that some young Magician can avoid my fate.
  • Reply
    theadequate Dec 28, 2008 @ 12:13 am | in reply to Myth | delete
    I'm planning on making a bunch more lists, including 'Things you might not think would be useful to a Magician, but are...'

    ... just as soon as I come up with a shorter title than that.
  • Reply
    Myth Dec 27, 2008 @ 11:56 pm | delete
    The Mark Wilson Book is a must. As one semi-pro to another. I still find myself going back to it from time to time. Also might think of some books on acting. Tricks are just tricks but the Magician is the magic.
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eBay - Another good source for magic books

Because, as we know, Cheap Magic Rules!

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by

theadequate

Tobias the Adequate is a frugal (read: cheap) part-time pro magician who wants to share his love of magic with people who don't want to splash out ins... more »

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