Best magic & illusion books according to redditors
We found 218 Reddit comments discussing the best magic & illusion books. We ranked the 78 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
17. Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals about Our Everyday Deceptions
2 mentions
Magician checking in... sooo many easy effects:
For general gags there's stuff like drinks on thumbs (no 10, here), salt-cellar BJ gag, reverse arm-wrestle.
For annoyingly 'knacky' physical bar games there's the napkin behind the back thing, cork penetration, pen twist, coin snatch, this co-ordination thing.
For little gifts there's napkin rose, napkin folds into pair of tits or a cock, money orgami like finger ring etc.
For challenging folk's minds try little brain-teasers and puzzles such as vocab tests, logic puzzles, number puzzles etc. Just search online for these as there's thousands. Go for something quite simple though - it's best if some people can work them out and others can't as it's more fun that way.
For betchas and games then there's the matchstick pickup (last match loses) and other match puzzles, heads and tails bets and odds, and a personal fave of mine removing a bra from under a girl's shirt in under 10s. Loads of others if you have money/pool table/playing cards/dice available.
For really simple bar magic there's the arm twist, ashes on palm, scarf through neck, simple coin/money tricks, cig tricks, stuff with your finger ring should you wear one.
For little mind-reading tricks there's stuff like a lying test using NLP cues (previous link), simple mind-reading and influence stuff, little prediction effects.
For 'super-powers' things then stuff such as spoon-bending, pain control, pulse stopping (just use a wadded up napkin not a ball) as well as the mentalism stuff above. Also simple mental arithmetic tricks like quickly multiplying numbers together, knowing what day of the week any date was on (or here), remembering long lists of random stuff, creating magic squares for any number etc.
That's off the top of my head. Most should be Google-able. Use terms such as 'bar magic', 'simple mentalism', 'bar bets' (or 'betchas'). Optionally include the effect as well.
EDIT: Added a few links. These were just quick Google hits so could be complete shit but look OK at first glance. If you're interested in anything in particular let me know and I'll dig out a better, or more complete, resource.
For general background....
Bar bets, games and little betchas look at Scam School. For more in depth (proper scams, some rudimentary magic / gambling ruses) I love the book How To Cheat At Everything by Simon Lovell. There's also some explanations here. Also the bar bet bits of The Real Hustle (loads on YouTube).
For some simple magic tricks which will work in a party/pub/street environment then Paul Zenon's Street Magic is a good beginning point. He also has a bar bets book but it's so-so.
For some simple mindreading / mental powers / memory things then Derren Brown's Tricks of the Mind is quite accessible.
Also if you're really keen, head over to /r/magic I guess and ask for advice on 'proper' magic resources there.
FIRST PIECE OF ADVICE THAT TRUMPS ALL THE OTHERS...
Don't ever show a trick until you have it perfect. If that means you only get to show one trick, that's great. One amazing trick will make your reputation - three mediocre tricks and people will never want to see another one.
My current favorite is Dresscode. Now, there's some work involved in constructing the prop, but I got it to work the first time, and I only had to practice the trick maybe three or four dozen times before I went out with it. It's never gone wrong for me, and people are absolutely amazed - and yes, it looks just like the video.
Tenyo's recent 4-D Surprise is very easy to do and looks like a special effect on TV. BUT BUT BUT the fact that it's easy means you should practice twice as hard, and in front of a mirror.
If you don't want to spend money, get a book. I always recommend this one which I learned from, Henry Hay's The Amateur Magician's Handbook. It's a great book full of really practical tricks and you can get a used copy for about $2 and shipping.
And a few more tips!
Tip one is do everything as slowly as possible. Yes, it sounds like the reverse of what you'd expect, but the key to real mastery of this skill isn't speed - your hand can't possibly (in most cases) move faster than the eye, and even when it does the audience definitely feels something is wrong - the key to mastery is smoothness.
Dresscode does need you to do the change briskly - but even there, the first time I did it I jammed a finger trying to do it too fast, and I realized that I needed to slow down.
Never, ever allow anything that looks like "a move" in your trick. I spend hours making sure that each move in a trick is rational and natural seeming. Take Digital Dissolve, a staple trick of mine. If you note in the video, he has one "move" in there where his hands move quickly. I practiced this a hundred times and managed to get the trick to the point where I can do each move in glacial slow motion, and there isn't one single motion I do that isn't natural and logical.
And finally, tricks themselves are very short and people don't care unless you give them a reason to care. For example, in Digital Dissolve, I explain to people that magic is not quicker than the eye (as above) and I thus learned a trick which I could do as slowly as possible. I spend some time showing them the English penny and making sure it's in their hands for a long time, and the 50 cent piece too. I never say "Examine this," because it implies that something is funny about the coins (which there isn't), and because it sets up a bad power structure between you and the audience - instead I point out the details on the coin, get them to feel the milling on the edge or look at the Queen and Britannia on the penny.
By the time one coin transposes to the other, they're familiar with the coins, they believe they are real items (which they are!), and when they switch and you drop the coins back into their hands, they're flabbergasted.
Or take the Voodoo Doll trick, perhaps $10 or $20 at your magic shop. That video shows how to make a great trick dull :-D because there's no magic in it. I have a little straw box that I pull the item out of, I explain a little about voodoo and fetish objects - and then I ignore the audience for a minute or so when I spend the time whispering into the doll's ear (in French :-D).
When I finally do the levitation, I do it very slowly. I let it rise for a little and then stop... then I do it again and pass my hand around it slowly (no strings! There aren't any strings, but I never say that - I merely demonstrate that it's impossible). Eventually, I slowly get it standing upright - until it suddenly falls over - people usually are startled.
Have fun! Magic is a great hobby, you can do it anywhere and it costs very little if you do card or coin tricks.
Used to do card magic long ago. Having the muscle memory for classic forces is nice, but if you want to incorporate this kind of thing, there are a lot of super simple to do forces that require little to no practice to do effectively.
Edit: If you want to get into doing this, a great place to start is The Royal Road to Card Magic. Its a phenomenal book for beginners and intermediate skill. It was written back in the 40's and covers a lot of the basic foundations of card manipulation.
It looks like it honestly could have been the favorite spot of a magician/card cheat. Back in the early 1900s, and still today, most card cheats would have to keep their cheating a life long secret, because many of them were upstanding citizens in positions of power. Some just like the thrill. They would hole themselves up somewhere that nobody would care to look in order to master all of the sleights required to give them an advantage. You can read more about things like that in the preface to "The Expert at the Card Table" by S.W. Erdnase published in 1902, under 9 bucks. Even if you don't care to learn the secrets, it has some phenomenal insight into the lives of these guys back in time period.
As far as magician's go, many will find a place completely deprived of distraction in order to practice for hours. The great Dai Vernon used to rent two hotel rooms, one to store all of his belongings, and the other to sit in and practice magic. Given the playing cards, I'd say either is at least a possible option. That corner looks like an excellent space to practice.
Source: I'm a magician.
Magician here. Head on over to the sidebar at /r/Magic - there's plenty of information on exactly where to start.
For my money, there's no better place to start than a cheap book. For card magic, look to "The Royal Road to Card Magic". For coins, grab "Modern Coin Magic". For general magic, pick up either Mark Wilson's Complete Course or Joshua Jay's Complete Course.
None of those books should run you more than fifteen bucks. Grab a copy and just read it until you get bored.
Also, please, don't ever learn magic on youtube. The thing that's hard for those new to magic to understand is that it is a craft that has been worked on for thousands of years. Every secret, every beautiful piece of magic ever invented has been based on the work of others, which couldn't have existed if it weren't for the work of others even before them. Every secret, as minute as you can imagine, deserves to be shared with the express permission of the person who put in the hours, days, and years of work it took to discover that secret. YouTube magic schools rarely give proper credit, and truthfully, they rarely teach a magic trick very well at all. You can also never be truly sure that a YouTube magician is worth their salt, whereas you can see--from the fact that these books are decades old yet still being heralded as some of the best magic books out there--that we magicians think they are worth reading.
Bottom line: youtube will teach you secrets. A good magic book, like the ones I recommended, will teach you how to be a magician.
Some excellent Books on the subject:
Magic and Showmanship by Henning Nelms
Magic by Misdirection by Dariel Fitzkee (The entire Fitzkee Trilogy is great!)
Five Points of Magic by Juan Tamariz
Strong Magic by Darwin Ortiz
Maximum Entertainment by Ken Webber
Books of Wonder by Tommy Wonder (I highly recommend these books for every magician - if you find them, get them!)
Stop focusing on what you don't have and can't do. That's like the kid learning to ride a bike and can't stop staring at the telephone pole in the sidewalk: he keeps staring at it and he keeps steering straight into it.
Put some focus on the things you can accomplish and can acquire: You can make yourself stronger, and it's not the thing that will take you 4 hours a day (4 hours would make it faster, but it's not necessary). 25 pushups four times a day will take you no more than 5 minutes total and costs you zero, yet after a month or so will start showing you some visible results. Swimming takes a bit more time a day, but has more pronounced results on your physique. Bike riding is pretty much free once you have a bike. The girls calling you ugly is at least half kids just being kids and doing what they can to hurt other kids - adults don't do that sort of thing very often even when it is true. Get yourself into better shape and they'll probably start changing their tune.
Good grades will only cost you the effort you put into it, and will pay off tremendously in the future: college grants and the like come far easier to the guys who have great grades and learn how to apply for them.
Get yourself a hobby that is interesting and teaches you something - this will make you interesting to others and give you things to talk about. You can research it online at the library or get books on the subject. Astronomy will give you some perspective, learning to perform magic tricks will help you entertain people (The Royal Road to Card Magic is an excellent book to start with, and can be bought used for less than $2 plus shipping), balloon animals will help you get along with kids.
Get a part-time job. If you can afford to take a girl to dinner and a movie, they'll not be inclined to turn their nose up at you. Also, if you work in the food industry (McDonalds, pizza, fine dining, whatever) you can get meals free and might be able to take some food home - your family having to pay for less meals will help their situation and perhaps generate some upward momentum.
Also, cut your soda pop intake by at least %50. For most Americans, soda makes up about 60% of their calorie intake and is horrible for your teeth. Rotting teeth are very expensive to fix and very avoidable. Plus, making yourself look good is a lot easier if you're not overweight.
Get in the habit of walking around with a good, upright posture. Whenever you can, force yourself to smile at least 10 times an hour - this has been shown to actually affect your mood regardless of whether you had a good reason to smile, plus folks take a much more positive view of people who seem happy.
At least once a day pay someone a sincere compliment - don't just make something up, find something about them or something they've done that you can honestly say something good about. Also, once a day try to do something, anything, to help someone out or make their job a little easier: people that see you do stuff like that will look up to you for it, and the people you help will try to pay you back for being a good Joe.
Also, don't even try to date girls that primarily pay attention to your wallet - unless you enjoy watching them have sex with your wallet instead of you.
At this point, total is $500..
Instructions to student:
Read and study Three Uses for a Knife and Strong Magic. Notice the theories at work in other forms of media beyond magic.
Watch Johnny Thompson and Ammar vids and observe the theories in practice. Work through Amateur Magician’s Handbook and Ammar vid.
Read Five Points in Magic.
Read Essential Dai Vernon and note how the five points work with those effects.
Read Conjurors Psychological Secrets.
Learn and practice Thompson effects.
Pick and choose through remaining books what you want to learn.
Keep re-reading theory books and modifying your routines.
I loved this one: Tricks of the Mind by Derren Brown
Any "starter pack" you end up getting is probably going to be cheap and not contain quality materials. You're much better off buying them separately as needed.
For example, some of the things I would personally buy if I wanted to do...
Card Magic: A deck of Tally-Ho playing cards and the holy bible of beginner card magic
Coins: go to your local bank and ask them to exchange a $5 bill for some half-dollars. They're not as rare as you think, and you can always ask them to order some in for you for no cost.
I specialize in cards, and I can very confidently say that any deck of cards you get in a "starter pack" is going to suck. Tally-Ho is my personal favorite, but standard Bicycles will get the job done and cost about $15/12pack at Costco (or $12 when they go on sale).
I would recommend Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic. It's a tried and true classic that covers card tricks in great detail as well as coins, sponge balls, and larger illusions. In other words, it's well-rounded.
With the money you save, you could pick up a deck of cards, a few sponge balls, and maybe a few quarters/halves from the bank.
There are three methods that I know of for throwing cards (I used to throw playing cards, but the same methods apply to business cards). The first method is holding the upper right corner of a card between your index and middle finger, and then throwing the card like a frisbee.
Second method (one in the video and the one I used the most) - hold the card at the upper right corner between the middle and ring finger and flick your wrist forward (try to emulate the motion in that video). This method has potential to give you the most velocity and card rpm compared to the other two.
Third - hold the card slightly above and to the right of the center with your thumb and middle finger, and place your index finger lightly at the top right corner of the card. Throw with the same motion as a frisbee, while using the index finger and wrist motion to add spin to the card.
Source - I used to be obsessed with card throwing and also read This book about 15 years ago. If you need clarification on the different grips, or any other questions feel free to ask me. I don't know what sources are available online or whether card throwing technique has changed much in the past decade, but I could send you quick pictures of the different throwing styles and answer questions to the best of my ability.
It essentially comes down to choosing a grip, perfecting the release and throwing mechanics, and then practice practice practice.
FYI: The book Cards as Weapons as been out of print for ages, so it's expensive and not really practical or necessary to read in order to learn how to throw effectively. Edit - I wanted to add that the book might sound kinda ridiculous, but the techniques that are outlined in the book are quite real and effective.
This Book. Find one used. Work through it slowly. Page by page. Read every trick in it. Find your favorites and master them. A few tricks done really well are better than thousands done poorly.
bring him to LA to visit The Magic Castle...
Check the side bar for the proper way to learn card magic.
Have him check out Scam School tutorials on YouTube.
Buy him a brick of bicycle cards (costco cheapest), some rubber bands, and a roll of quarters.
Joshua Jay's Complete Course in Magic and Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic are the two most comprehensive and affordable magic books out there.
People use "brain washing" too freely.
My opinion is, people are too ashamed and scared to admit their own weaknesses.
Let me give you an example;
Bill Clinton. People love the guy. But here's the thing, a ton of people very much dislike his politics.
I forget the exact quote, but one of those people said, "You hate Bill Clinton before you meet him and after he leaves, but while he's there talking to you, you like the guy."
People can blame Scientology all they like, but I think it's exactly what the name sounds like; it's the religion of science. And it uses the science that everyone claims isn't a science, psychology.
Having a degree in psychology, and having had more people than I can count tell me I "should have picked a real degree," I can't help but feel a guilty twinge of happiness when I see people say things like "Scientology brainwashes people!"
No; they're using psychological principles to make you not only accept and like any horse poo they spout, but they change your beliefs. Brain wash? Pfft. They're doing what Bill Clinton does in his interviews.
It actually helps them that you claim they're brainwashing people, because it keeps people from learning the science behind what they're really doing (which just so happens to be my "worthless" degree). Words like brainwashing might as well be the modern day word for "magic," because 99% of people don't actually know what that means, or how people really change other people's minds. Another modern-magical word is "hypnosis." Everyone knows the word, and people are like "Oooo, magic..." but again, 99% of people don't know what it is or how it works. There are literal "magic shows" that have hypnotists, and people call things like that "mental magic."
Calling it brain washing is basically telling 99% of people, "It's not your fault. You couldn't help it. They used magic on you!" And for the people saying they were brainwashed? You notice how they never give real details about what the people actually did to them to "make" them want it? They might as well be saying "They used voodoo on me! I couldn't stop myself!"
Well you can stop yourself, it wasn't "brainwashing," and people want what Scientology has to offer because they're using science to make people want it (like Bill Clinton can control an interview on a supposedly Republican television network, and manage to look good, and make it look like everyone there loves him and he's in control). Even if they crash and burn as a religion, which I doubt, they'll make a ton of money in marketing.
If you're interested in the science, I'd recommend:
http://www.amazon.com/Charisma-Myth-Master-Personal-Magnetism-ebook/dp/B005GSZZ24/
and
http://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Robert-Cialdini/dp/006124189X/
and
http://www.amazon.com/My-Voice-Will-Go-You/dp/0393301354/
and
http://www.amazon.com/Sleights-Mind-neuroscience-reveals-brains-ebook/dp/B003ZDNZYM/
I second the recommendation on the book route, I personally think a lot of the kits on the market are geared for a younger age group.
http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Complete-Course-Joshua-Jay/dp/0761149872
http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Wilsons-Complete-Course-Magic/dp/0762414553
Cards wear out. Books don't. The most bang for your buck is definitely books.
Now You See It, Now You Don't! by Bill Tarr. Around $17.00
You know the ones that are most regularly recommended. If there are any on that list you don't have, fill the gaps.
If you must buy cards, consider getting some double-backers. They are an incredible secret weapon.
Hard to say, depends on how far into magic you are, but here's a book that should be in every magician's library:
https://www.amazon.com/Mark-Wilsons-Complete-Course-Magic/dp/0762414553/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512052771&sr=8-1&keywords=mark+wilson%27s+complete+course+in+magic
If you are into cards specifically, and don't have them, here are three books you should own (and I would suggest reading them in this order):
https://www.amazon.com/Royal-Road-Card-Magic/dp/0486408434/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512052913&sr=1-1&keywords=royal+road+to+card+magic
https://www.amazon.com/Expert-Card-Table-Treatise-Manipulation/dp/0486285979/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512052934&sr=1-1&keywords=the+expert+at+the+card+table
https://www.amazon.com/Expert-Card-Technique-Close-Up-Table/dp/0486217558/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512052952&sr=1-1&keywords=expert+card+technique
The 16th century isn't really the "Birth of Magic", so much as it represents the first printed magic books in English.
With that in mind, any resource is going to be primarily based on "The Discoverie of Witchcraft", and therefore you may as well go to the source yourself:
http://www.amazon.com/Discoverie-Witchcraft-Reginald-Scot/dp/1153345269/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
There are plenty of magic history books out there. The majority in print are by Jim Steinmeyer, but his all cover a similar period - the "golden age" of around 1900-1940 or so. "Hiding the Elephant" is probably the most generic of his books, and gives an overview to the period with particular regards to optical effects:
http://www.amazon.com/Hiding-Elephant-Magicians-Impossible-Disappear/dp/0786714018/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313347852&sr=1-1
For a wider point of view:
http://www.amazon.com/Performing-Dark-Arts-Conjuring-Consciousness/dp/1841501492
is not a bad alternative. This book tries to place magic in an anthropological context. This will detail more of the period you are after, but again, the same sources will be referenced, and they're not hard to find.
The birth of magic is really with Robert-Houdin, and you can't get any better than his own memoirs:
http://www.amazon.com/Memoirs-Robert-Houdin-ambassador-author-conjuror/dp/1178024555/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313348089&sr=1-6
This is, of course, 19th century and not 16th. They are still a cracking read, and what he got up to in Algeria defies belief.
For "Women and Magic", by far the most interesting I feel is the influence of the Suffragette movement on stage magic - specifically P.T.Selbit's "Sawing a lady in two" which bucked the trend of using young male assistants, in favour of the now-cliche women-in-danger. To what extent this was a (violent!) reaction to the greater powers and control that feminism offered is highly debatable, but very interesting. Houdini also had some tussles with the Suffragettes, mainly as publicity. Again, this isn't 16th century.
I feel like most people would be disappointed to learn the secret behind most magic tricks.
Camera tricks, like cutting to different angles to hide certain elements, are different because the magician doesn’t have that same luxury with the live audience and so what is shown on camera should reflect what is shown to the live audience.
I’m currently reading Magic by Misdirection by Dariel Fitzkee and it has a really interesting point about how a person who hears music on a radio doesn’t consider it magical even though they don’t know how it works. They just assume the technology does work and move on. Similarly, if a magician is using a prop or piece of technology and it is clear that the trick is done using this technology, they will just assume that’s how it is done and will be less impressed. So in modern magic acts that use things like iPads, something needs to happen that makes the audience go, “Even though I get that the iPad is doing some of this, I don’t understand how they did THAT.”
Magic by Misdirection
Definitely books and instructional DVDs as opposed to gimmicks and one trick. This book is a great place to begin.
The Royal Road to Card Magic.
While the Mark Wilson course that a few people have recommended is fabulous, it may feel a little dated for your group.
I would strongly recommend Magic: The Complete Course by Joshua Jay. It covers a variety of easy but powerful tricks, includes a DVD for those visual learners, and can be gotten for under $20.
Magic: The Complete Course https://www.amazon.com/dp/0761149872/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_X.X8ub133YA6B
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0761149872/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_X.X8ub133YA6B
Josh has also just released a new book geared towards kids called Big Magic for Little Hands, which runs the same price as the other book. I've not read this one, so can't personally say what it contains. Josh is a very talented performer and teacher though, and I've always been happy with the products of his that I've seen.
Sleight of hand with coins
Sleight of Hand
Sleight of Hand with Cards
Edit: there's my 3 suggestions that I've had great experience with. These are 3 staples in any magic collection in my opinion.
Ok! I need to clarify one thing. These books are very old. Don't get discouraged at the fact that the vernacular can be somewhat confusing. If you take the time to look up any words that might be hard to understand and just work trough the text, you will find timeless effects that you'll be able to show off for years to come! Don't dismiss a move because it seems so simple!
Yes.
Some advice first; skip the pass for now, skip the flourishes (unless that's what you are interested in). As for books, this book was like my card magic Bible when growing up, you can get the PDF version for free this week only at the Conjuring Arts website:
Expert Card Technique
You can algo buy a softcover version of this book for cheap (and you should).
Learning how to do magic might be something to look into. It can get expensive, but if you're smart about it and you're willing to put in a good amount of work it can be pretty cheap. Get a deck of bicycles ($2-3) and The Royal Road to Card Magic (≈$10) and start working. That's an older book and a lot of modern beginners ignore it, but it has great information.
The biggest problem with learning magic as cheaply as possible is that you have to learn primarily from books. It's not a massive problem, but it can get really confusing when someone is trying to describe a slight without any real demonstration. I can list some other pros/cons if you're interested. It's a fantastic hobby and it'll help build creativity and dexterity.
https://www.amazon.com/Cards-As-Weapons-Ricky-Jay/dp/0446387568
May I present, Cards As Weapons. A book dedicated to all the many ways to use playing cards for self defense. It is absurd, amazing, and super helpful if you're this guy. Very few have attained such mastery.
I think it might be from this. Good luck finding a reasonably priced copy though.
The Royal Road to Card Magic by Hugard & Braue
If you practice all the things this book has to offer then you will have an amazing foundation in card magic.
Modern Coin Magic by J.B. Bobo
This is a must have if you want to begin learning coin magic.
At some point I would also suggest The Books of Wonder by Tommy Wonder, pricey, but his philosophy on magical thinking is worth it alone. I am a tad biased however because he is my favorite magician after all. :)
I'm weary of suggesting YouTubers but one I will recommend is Jay Sankey
YouTube — Jay Sankey
I hope this helps and welcome back!
Color Change Tutorial
I think you have to create an account for this one.
Royal Road to Card Magic
Here
This book has the basics in almost every kind of magic. Cards, coins, rope, spongeballs, etc. There's even some cheap stage illusions you can build yourself.
Cards As Weapons https://www.amazon.com/dp/0446387568/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_HWrtDbSBVHH7Z
The very best thing you can do is find a magic shop in your area and tell them you're interested in learning. Buy books. Not tricks, books. They may actually have a reprinted copy of The Expert at the Card Table (by Erdnase), but in lieu of that, any card manip book by Dai Vernon will be both a wealth of knowledge for you, and an impressive selection for whomever the magician is that's selling it to you. Learn from the book, come back to the shop later and show some moves you learned, and ask if they're able to help you find some clubs to learn more and be more involved. You'll be introduced to at least two magic organizations, and one of them requires a couple other magicians vouch for you; which you'll have if you've shown you can learn something from Vernon.
It's likely the book you get will describe in stunningly precise detail exactly what you want to know anyway, but if you're serious about learning this stuff, being a part of the organizations will open up so many more doors and routes to have someone teach you these things face to face than any other method.
Good luck :)
Edit: If there's no magic shop near you, Amazon will do nicely too. The Erdnase book you're looking for is here. Amazon has a few Vernons too -- this wouldn't be a bad start. If you're having a hard time following the descriptions and desperately need video guidance, look up DVDs by Jeff McBride. He won't teach things like bottom dealing or double-lifts or passes, but his raw card manip is essential and will be a great gateway to building up the dexterity that you need to pull off full deck moves. Once you get the basic idea down, put a deck of cards by every computer you use, and force yourself to brainlessly repeat the moves as you browse Reddit. You will bleed between your fingers. It will be worth it.
https://www.amazon.com/Game-Magic-Designers-Systems-Practice/dp/1466567856/ref=sr_1_sc_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1474059905&sr=8-2-spell&keywords=gamemagic
Ricky Jay Cards as Weapons. https://www.amazon.com/Cards-As-Weapons-Ricky-Jay/dp/0446387568
Empty my pockets, breathe, check in on my mental state and focus in/get centered, and then fist bump someone.
Re Mantras/relationship to the audience: I like TJ Jagodowski's habit of shielding his eyes from the stage lights and looking at the audience. And I think it was in Hiding the Elephant that I read about a magician who, from behind the curtain, would whisper "I love you" to the audience before taking the stage. I've stolen TJ's move for once I'm on stage, and I try to remind myself of my love for the craft, audience, and opportunity before I step out as well.
How big an influence was Ricky Jay on your current endeavor?
Brilliant. To learn card magic, I'd recommend the books Royal Road to Card Magic and or Card College by Robert Giobbi (VOLUME 1) . If you can afford it go for the DVD set Royal Road To Card Magic by R. Paul Wilson (does not include the book). Both the Royal Road and Card College are essential for starting out with card magic. Some of the venacular may seem dated, if in doubt look up the moves on youtube, but study the books first, please do not rely on youtube for this
Local Magic shop will usually show you what they are selling and recommend some good starter material.
I started out with Royal Road then I moved onto whatever seemed interesting.
A lot of the stuff seems a lot harder than it is, and presentation is really key. That book with some gimmick coin sets will get you rolling.
For coin stuff there is no better start than Bobo's Book.
Your mileage will vary depending on how much you practice. I usually practice flourishes on the subway, and some simple moves there too. Luckily I have a job with long stretches of down time so I am always practicing there too.
Cards as Weapons
Get a good book like: Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic
Invisible Thread, thumb tip, variety of colored silks
Then I recommend picking up the books "Royal Road to Card Magic", "Modern Coin Magic", and "Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic"
As for YouTube, there's a lot of bad magic tutorials on YouTube. So be careful of who you watch.
Besides Chris, I would recommend watching Alex Pandrea, 52Kards, and SankeyMagic.
PigCake is a pretty good teacher as well but he can be sort of crude sometimes so that's up to you.
Xavior Spade also has good stuff but he also teaches a lot of advanced card moves.
I read 48 Laws of Power few months ago. Very good book, which reminded me The Prince from Niccolò Machiavelli on some sides. I'll keep an eye on Mastery too.
Another very good book I forgot to mention : Tricks of the mind
http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Wilsons-Complete-Course-Magic/dp/0762414553/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347715705&sr=8-1&keywords=magic+course
This is all you need starting out for awhile.
Congratulations on the bonus! Those are always fun.
I'm a booknut, so if I were you I'd go for Console Wars. I have that one on my "To Read" list as well and it looks really interesting. When you're 14 years old playing Super Mario Bros. 2 on your Nintendo 64 you'd never even consider the development, marketing--business--side of what you're playing with.
I love reading through other peoples' wishlists to see what they're reading and to find suggestions to add to my own list. (I "borrowed" a few from you too!) :)
I saw that you have The Truth About Uri Gellar on your list. Have you read [Hiding the Elephant] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0786714018/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2ODFXD0JPMTVD&coliid=I37PF07RQSRYSV)? I haven't read it yet so I can't tell you if it's any good, but it's in the same genre if you want to check it out.
Thanks for the contest! ;0)
Edit: renegade hyphen
another really great book for anyone interested is The Practical Encyclopedia of Magic.
i have found that cards and coins are harder just because my hands are not as stretchy as they once were... but, practice makes perfect.
> Are there any must-read books or is watching youtube videos enough?
This used to be an easy answer, but juggling has advanced so quickly in the last decade that even the best books show age. Charlie Dancey's Encyclopaedia of Ball Juggling is the best book I can recommend. Only a couple names have gone out of style since its publishing, and it's a very charming read.
There are a couple videos that are essentially glossaries of juggling patterns - I have to leave now, but I'll edit this post later with them.
Edit: here's the one I was thinking of for all sort of standard tricks, and here's Steve's 101 Mills Mess Variations video.
Amazon link
learn the double undercut and the overhand shuffle... A good place to start in general is The Royal Road to Card Magic
Horseshit. First, in his TV shows he admits he uses "a combination of psychology, showmanship, 'magic' and misdirection". He up-front admits that he's lying to you, and that there's nothing magical or supernatural about what he does - it's simply all "for show".
Secondly, if you read his book he's actually quite scathing about NLP and the happy-clapping brigade, claiming they're basically self-deluding and idiotic, just as bad as religious people.
Yes, he admits he studied NLP at one point, but no, he doesn't claim it has any magical benefit - at best, he takes a few techniques from it and applies them differently in some of his tricks.
You should really take some time to read up on people before jumping to such strong conclusions about them - temperamentally the guy's actually more like The Amazing Randi than Uri Gellar.
Or does Randi's day-job as a magician also mean he's "not a friend of rationalism"?
I'm replying quite late, but I don't think you want to gift him bicycle decks. He's probably already got enough of those and would continue getting more. I think it wouldn't be special to him. He would really appreciate some fancier decks as a gift. Please take a look at www.theory11.com or www.ellusionist.com for some decks. Most of them are $10 so a fair bit more expensive than the regular bicycles. www.artofplay.com has some wonderful ones as well, broader range of prices. Multiple copies of whichever deck you select would be worth it, because he would never use a fancy deck if he had just one.
Its also worth checking with him on which books he has already. Royal Road is very popular and he might already have a copy.
An example gift I would set up, priced at around $30(not including shipping costs) :
3x Aviator Heritage Edition (Art of Play) [$21]
OR
2x Knights Playing Cards (Ellusionist) [$20]
+
1x Royal Road to Card Magic (Amazon US store) [$11]
fun book from Harry:
https://www.amazon.com/Games-You-Cant-Lose-Suckers/dp/1580800866
That man could throw a playing card something fierce.
https://www.amazon.com/Cards-As-Weapons-Ricky-Jay/dp/0446387568/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543137189&sr=8-1&keywords=cards+as+weapons
I learned to read on the Hanson-Roberts deck. I bought it with my best friend when we were 15 and she spilled wine on it a couple of years ago, unfortunately. ._.
Currently I am using the Russian Tarot of St. Petersburg for my readings. I actually bought it a couple of years ago and started to do a couple of readings with it, but I wasn't ready for it at the time. I found the imagery to be too intense for me. Now, though, I find that it is exactly what I need and I find myself very in tune with this deck.
I bought the Art Nouveau deck at the same time as the St. Petersburg deck, and although I used it at first and I think the cards are beautiful, it does not speak to me whatsoever. I don't really know what to do with the deck since I have already used it, I can't exactly gift it to anyone else, but I have zero communion with the deck and won't be using it again. The symbolism is virtually non-existent for me and I find myself becoming irritated with the cards very easily.
First off, pick up Mark Wilson's Complete Course. It's cheap, TONS of info (Though maybe a little dated), and at least an introduction to almost every kind of magic out there. Play around, see what you like, then learn to specialize in that.
Ricky Jay (who you've probably seen acting but don't know his name) literally wrote the book on this. If you really want to see some astonishing things done with cards, try to catch "Ricky Jay and his 52 Assistants". He's amazing.
I had this one for a couple years until this bad boy came out
I loved Hiding the Elephant by Jim Steinmeyer. You'll likely get many recommendations for it here.
I also liked Fooling Houdini by Alex Stone.
I would totally use this but only if I got this as well because how else am I going to use them right? And if they come close I will use this. Also it can serve as a lighter or just a small bonfire or whatever if needed...:)
And yeah I'm not actually participating in the contest I just thought the idea was fun and you needed some comments on this awesome contest!
I love both books but another good one is called “Expert card technique” by Jean Hugard and Frederick Braué if you’d like to purchase it here’s a link https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0486217558/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Hanson-Roberts is a beginner friendly deck with a lovely feel to it, and much of the original symbolism in the cards. Read the reviews.
Reading a book on stage magic made me think more deeply about attention, and how you can “hide things in plain sight” by redirecting your audience’s attention.
He also released a very expensive book that can sometimes go for over $800.
This is how I learned
http://www.amazon.com/Cards-As-Weapons-Ricky-Jay/dp/0446387568/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370445135&sr=8-1&keywords=cards+as+weapons
A generation or two ago, henry hay was the equivalent of mark wilsons complete course. Everything you need to know about magic in one book.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Amateur-Magicians-Handbook-Henry-Hay/dp/0785802045
It really depends on your skill level.
If you're more of a beginner, The Royal Road to Card Magic (mentioned elsewhere on this page) is a great introduction to the subject.
Card College is another great resource. This five-book series provides much more in-depth information on all aspects of sleight of hand, and as such is valuable regardless of whether you're a beginner or an advanced card handler.
Finally, if you already have a little skill, Expert Card Technique is a fantastic resource with tons of great tricks that will fit your criteria.
Hope that helps!
I'd like to add, Expert at the Card Table by S.W. Erdnase for a more experienced card handler, IE if you've tried some slight of hand and like doing it, this book contains a lot of basic and more advanced techniques you can use in card magic.
Ricky Jay is to playing cards as George Carlin is to words.
Ahh! Now I get to plug my book :-)
CharlieDancey
Joshua Jay has some great material for kids, some of which is DIY. Magic the complete course is great and has a kids section. He also has a book called Big Magic for Little Hands which has tricks for kids to learn how to do if you are maybe into teaching them something.
Magic: The Complete Course https://www.amazon.com/dp/0761149872/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_uNKtxbE5PTNRP
Big Magic for Little Hands: 25 Astounding Illusions for Young Magicians https://www.amazon.com/dp/0761180095/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_7OKtxb1Q9HCK8
http://www.amazon.com/Card-College-Vol-Sleight-Hand/dp/0945296185
#1
Because I will need refreshments while studying
[#2] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0030HMQTS/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=EPS3TS5HDN6C&coliid=I1RU8CYY4TTINL)
Because I need to look good while studying
[#3] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006R9JXZG/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=QE8F4372V12A&coliid=I278R7PDI8I7XK&psc=1)
Because I will wave these magic wands and conjure up a new hat
[#4] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ZDNZYM/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=T2W93XK4UYF3&coliid=IUYVA44S5HNZL)
Because I think this may be one of the textbooks
[#5] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004GBLK5I/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1IW6H9DRTQ7C7&coliid=IR6NCVAZL9G7U)
Because it's always good to prepared for emergencies, especially when studying magic
[Bonus] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002FZ147G/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3MTF6KZZSOOJR&coliid=I1F3K42FC1LC46&psc=1)
Because I need my dog to chill out so I can study
Okay, couldn't find my box, but I managed to dreg up what I remember as far as books go.
This book is a good start for coin magic and sleight of hand in general. Be warned though, the coins you will need for this might be slightly hard to find (silver dollars, half dollars) but is worth it. For whatever reason people think that the bigger the coin, the harder it is to work magic with it. This is false. The bigger the easier and the better looking.
This book is a good start for card magic. Sometimes it is a bit hard to understand (as all books are) but this is pretty simple and will give you some good pointers.
This book is my all time favorite. More card magic, but more advanced than the previous one.
And lastly this book which gives some good tricks, teaches some good things. Much of it is based on props and stage magic, and much of it isn't. A good read.
And lastly some advice: if possible find someone who knows how and is already practiced. That makes it MUCH easier. And stick with it. Once you learn something you never unlearn it. I have not practiced in near 5 years and I can still pick up a deck of cards and mess with them. Learn a few versatile tricks and learn some flourishes. The tricks can fascinate, and the flourishes look pretty, but only when used together does it really blow people's minds.
https://www.amazon.com/Expert-Card-Table-Treatise-Manipulation/dp/0486285979
"The Expert at the Card Table: The Classic Treatise on Card Manipulation" by S. W. Erdnase, originally published in 1902.
This comment will get drowned 'cause we're ~600 comments in but this book called 'Cards as Weapons' (which is now rare and expensive) is all about learning this type of skill. Here is a pdf you can read. It was referenced in an episode of Jonathan Creek called 'The Three Gamblers'
You may find this book useful https://www.amazon.com/Game-Magic-Designers-Systems-Practice/dp/1466567856
Almost every card trick is a combination of a few basic sleight of hand maneuvers. Here's a decent intro, i think. I just checked it out quickly, but it looks like he talks about the basics. Buy the Royal Road if you really want to learn, it's old, but it's a total classic.
Here's some beginner tricks that I learned from YouTube when I first started:
Biddle Trick
Don't know what its called but the title says "Slop"
Three Card Monte this one is a bit more difficult. Make sure you practice this so you don't flash a card!
For novinces, these tricks are all fine and good, but you should really get proficient at sleights. I can't recommend The Royal Road to Card Magic (and its on sale right now!
The Royal Road is what I used (along with Complete Card Magic with Gerry Griffin and a Royal Road Deluxe Edition that they've stopped producing ^(you can still find dvd's on it but not the specific one I have). However, the book is better than both of these, although they are good for reference should you get stuck or confused on a part). The royal road is very very good. A good investment and teacher
Second bob on posting in /r/Magic. However, I wanted to give you two quick specific recs. Mark Wilson's Complete Course is a classic, and it runs the gamut from cards, coins, rope, stage, etc. I personally found this book extremely useful in advancing my magical knowledge. The second is Josh Jay's more contemporary course. I haven't actually read this one, but everything JJ does is so good that I'm comfortable recommending it.
Feel free to PM me if you've got any other questions; I'm always happy to help out a new magi!
Not in any particular order, but any of these would be perfect for your young 10 year old aspiring student of magic! None of these will break your bank! :
The Magic Digest by George B. Anderson I picked up a used copy of this book 5 years ago for around 2 dollars. In my opinion, you should acquire a copy for your son for cheap before the prices go up! Don't worry about getting a pristine/good copy, my copy is in "acceptable" condition, but that doesn't take away from the secrets and advice it holds. It's an old book, but it's excellent! It is filled with solid advice for magicians of any age and very solid magic all throughout. It still falls into the realm of a "beginners" book, but I'm definitely not a beginner in magic but was still blown away by its content! Most of the tricks are self working, some use very basic sleight of hand that is also expertly taught in this work. This is truly a book I wish I could have had earlier on in my study! I simply can't recommend this enough!
Big Magic for Little Hands: 25 Outstanding Illusions for Young Magicians by Joshua Jay Despite his young age, the author Joshua Jay is without a doubt one of the most knowledgeable and thoughtful students of magic that I've encountered over the years. This book is a fantastic example of why I have this opinion about him! I picked this up a year ago for one of my co-workers kids that loved watching some of the magic I do. I was humbled to have my co-worker tell me that because of me and some of the tricks I taught his father, that she too wanted to learn magic. I was so humbled that I wanted to do her father and her a solid and get them both a quality magic book that was suitable for a 7 year old. I got wind of this and ordered it. After reading half the book over the weekend before handing it to her father the following Monday, I was so inspired and blown away by the content in here that I ordered a copy for myself to study also. The magic and advice in here is that solid and it I don't care if it's targeted at young magicians! I still learned from it! Fantastic!
Magic: The Complete Course by Joshua Jay There is a nice mix of basic sleight of hand and self working tricks in this big book for an outstanding price! The magic taught in here is top notch and this book encompasses many, many areas of magic! Heck, they even tip a way for an aspiring magician to make something like an Invisible Deck, which is considered by many top professionals to be one of the best "special decks", with a common household item. I've tried it myself and it works beautifully in a pinch! This book even comes with a DVD to accompany some of the amazing content in this work!
The Magic Handbook by Peter Eldin This holds a special place in my heart! I believe it was 1988 when my grandmother gifted me this very book when she thought I was "outgrowing" my Fischer Price magic set. This book is outstanding and it's easy to tell that Peter Eldin has a deep love and respect for magic as an artform. There is only a few basic sleights in here, but don't let that scare you or your son. I was 5 when I started learning a lot of this stuff and thanks to the clear illustrations and text, I had very little trouble learning basic card handling from this as well as ways to conceal a coin. One of the highlights for me in this was a very unique handling of a classic coin trick known as "The Miser's Dream". Your son will have the ability to seemingly and continuously produce coins out of thin air and get this...without sleight of hand technique....This version is still a "go to" for me...Need I say more? :D
​
Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic This book truly lives up to what the title promises. I would be hard pressed to find a more comprehensive course in magic for 15 bucks! Sponge Balls, Cards, Coins, Mental Magic, Stage Illusions that can be made at home, solid advice from a legend, information that I haven't found elsewhere, among other things! This book will keep both and your son busy for a long, long time! Self Working tricks, basic sleights and tricks to accompany them, great methods, inspirational food thought. I simply wouldn't feel right not recommend this to anyone who loves magic!
​
Karl Fulves "Self Working" Series: All of these are dirt cheap and worth any students time and study regardless of age or experience! Collect them all or simply pick a subject that your son favors! This series encompasses mental magic as well as magic with cards, coins, numbers, paper, rope, handkerchiefs, and household objects! Any one of these will serve your son well.
​
Scarne on Card Tricks and Scarne's Magic Tricks I would recommend getting both of these together. There are hundreds upon hundreds of quality tricks from some of magic's legends including: Paul Rossini, Dai Vernon and Harry Blackstone to name a few! All these tricks were re-worked by those magicians with the help of John Scarne to eliminate most or all sleight of hand while not sacrificing the clarity of effect! These two books are classics for a reason! Highly recommended!
Lots of recommendations here for sure and yes these are all books, but I'll even recommend a fantastic and entertaining DVD for you and your son!
Amazing Magic and Mentalism Anyone Can Do by Jay Sankey 39 stellar tricks that are as fun to learn as they are to perform. Very basic sleight of hand tricks and even some self working ones taught by one of my favorite teachers, Jay Sankey!
TL;DR: Just click on the links provided. Hope you like what you see! :)
Read this book.
I was hesitant to respond to this question initially. My first reaction was, 'For what kind of reading?' I use a variety of decks for a variety of readings. The list I am about to post is by no means comprehensive. It's just a starting point.
For readings in a public venue I'm a huge fan of the Etheral Visions Tarot. This particular deck is gorgeous with art nouveau/art deco style. The foil accented artwork really makes this deck pop and the images are generally in line with what you should expect of a Tarot deck. It does include to addition cards, the artist and the well, which can be used or not as the reader desires. This also the physically largest deck I own. This deck really grabs attention and pulls interest in towards your table.
For romantic readings in preestablished relationships I'm a huge fan of the Romantic Tarot. It hearkens back to the Victorian era for it's art inspiration and generally is on point for committed relationships.
For romantic readings with a bit more drama or uncertainty I have been digging the Mystical Manga Tarot. Manga does both drama and romance really well. It really captures these readings and the emotions that fill them.
For general readings I like the Rider-Waite Tarot or the Hanson-Roberts Tarot. I find both to give seriously solid readings for general readings and the imagery is fairly on point. Some people clearly prefer the Rider-Waite deck even to this day and, when I can, I try and accommodate them. I personally, however, find the Hanson Roberts deck to be just a little more on point.
When someone wants a reading that will lead them to make decision or they are asking about the future I tend to lean towards the Linestrider Tarot. It feels like the art invites the querent to see almost as much as the reader which really helps with these kinds of readings.
I could list a variety of other decks for other reasons, but I feel this will do for a starting point.
I believe you will greatly enjoy Jeff Howard’s book Game Magic. I wrote a little tweet thread extolling some of its virtues. It basically catalogues all extant novel magic systems that have been done in video games.
Reminds me of Cards as Weapons by Ricky Jay.
I clicked on the link thinking it was this boo and didn't remember that page in my copy.
First of all, that's great! I'm always happy to meet someone who wants to give magic a start! Don't worry about being good at it yet, it's a very involved performance art, but once you know the core fundamentals (misdirection, audience management, sleight of hand, banterful patter) it's super easy to get into.
If you want to know how I personally started seeking out magic to learn, it was around age 12 with a book called Now You See It, Now You Don't by Bill Tarr. That was my first book on sleight of hand and it covers a multitude of moves and sleights with various objects like coins, cards, and balls. I studied that book like it was a holy text and learned every move, though I didn't quite know how routines worked yet and I wasn't especially charismatic at the time. Not to sound dramatic, but that book had a huge impact on my life and very much shaped the person I would become. I still have that same copy on my shelf. After that it was the Royal Road to Card Magic for my first real introduction to card magic and card routines, but that was a much denser book. It wasn't until a bit later that I discovered online magic stores and downloadable instructional videos. They were so accessible and easy to diget, my desire to learn skyrocketed.
The first I found was penguinmagic.com when I was maybe 13? It's still my gold standard for online magic shopping; my first purchase was Sponge by Jay Noblezada, game changing magic for a kid. From there I graduated to coin magic routines from In the Beginning There Were Coins (also Jay). I recommend sponge or coin magic to start if you want an easy introduction to the principles and fundamentals of sleight of hand.
After that, just before starting high school, I found ellusionist.com and the "leather coat" magicians like Brad Christian and Justin Miller (they've since become more hipsterish, and still a great resource). They were edgy, cool, and influenced my personal style an unfortunate amount... I wore a lot of black and gray back then.
Just before high school I stumbled onto theory11.com, which had more of an artful feel to it, but it's there that I found out about Daniel Madison's Dangerous video. His card magic shaped my performance style in a huge way. He was so laid back and casual about his massive skill. I got really into gambling sleights and card control and manipulation around that time. Cards became almost my exclusive medium for years after that.
I'm 27 now and I'm more into organic magic that fits in one pocket, so less cards and more coins, rubber bands, and mentalism. I use a lot of different resources and it's mostly advanced stuff, I love the challenge of complex sleights though! Those books, those sites and those names guided me into the world of magic.
You can find some other great starting resources on the r/Magic subreddit they have a pretty comprehensive list. There are also a ton of free materials in the public domain available through libraries, google, youtube, tons of effects and fun routines you can learn quickly and easily. If you ever have any questions, need some direction, or just want to chat about where to start, I'm happy to help!
Do you have a type of magic or magician you especially enjoy?
Instead of $10 for one effect, spend $10 to get this book that's loaded with great stuff or this book that's a little more advanced - and also loaded with great info. Or spend $30 to get this book that takes you step by step through a lot of basics, or this one that's a little more advanced. If you just really want to avoid books, try this DVD. But, really, books are going to give you the most bang for your buck by a lot. Give books a shot. Your local library might even have some good stuff for free. DVDs would be the next obvious step, since you're paying $25 for 9 powerful effects taught by a master. Even with tax and shipping, that's under $4 each. When you're looking at stuff that's $10 for a download for stuff that's generally unproven, you're usually wasting money.
Also, check the thread in the sidebar. There are a lot of good references in there.
I'd recommend getting it. Also get Royal Road to Card Magic. Hugard and Braue make card magic incredibly available in that book. If you wanna do coin stuff, David Roth's Expert Coin Magic is also amazing, but you could probably find it cheaper than that listing.
They've only been printed since around Mercadian Masques - and that was a ghetto magazine insert. (http://www.magiclibrarities.net/121-rarities-players-guide-inserts-english-cards-index.html)
The smaller books didn't start until 9th edition iirc. (http://mtgsalvation.gamepedia.com/Fat_pack)
The last big book they did was a compilation of the other individual ones and covered up through 8th Edition (http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Encyclopedia-Magic-Gathering-Comprehensive/dp/1560254432/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425311458&sr=1-1&keywords=9781560254430)
The editing in it is completely awful - it's basically copy paste from the original 6 encyclopedias.
That said - I miss them too. Wish they'd have done a 25th year anniversary edition - but I guess they figured it wasn't worth the poor sales these things have gotten in the past. I liked them.
Sleight of hand.
Week's challenge: Post a video of yourself performing a trick selected from the
Royal Road to Card Magic
Good luck!
Card magic. It will easily take up hours and hours. It's also cool as hell!
You can get a couple decks of good cards for less than $5, and you can get a copy of a good book on card magic for less than $10. I'd suggest starting with The Royal Road to Card Magic. It is pretty much THE intro text to card magic. You can probably find a pdf of the book floating around on the web somewhere. It's worth paying for, though. Plenty of used copies for less than $5 here.
Royal Road to Card Magic - http://amzn.com/0486408434
And a fresh deck of Bicycle cards (fancy decks are expensive and make people suspicious) - http://amzn.com/B010F6BXEA
I'd also recommend Modern Coin Magic - http://amzn.com/0486242587
If a coin book sounds good, get four kennedy half dollars (or similar sized coins if you're not in the states) from the bank, just ask a teller.
Reading books is way better than watching youtube, as most trick tutorials are by people who don't actually have a lot of experience or knowledge. If you read books, you also develop your own style instead of parroting whoever is on the video. Start with those two books, then practice a lot in front of a mirror. Think about presentation too- what will you say? When? Why? (a great resource, if you're interested, is Strong magic - http://amzn.com/B00534I956) Once you feel fairly confident, perform the trick(s) as often as you can for as many people as you can. At school, at home, on the street, wherever. Stick with it and do it a lot and you'll get the hang of it.
Break a leg!
Now You See It, Now You Don't: Lessons in Sleight of Hand is a classic, and one that was recommended to me years ago when I was interested in learning magic tricks. Excellent starting point.