Helpful Links & Recommended Reading

The Royal Road To Card Magic is quite a good little read. It progresses through different sleights, shuffles, etc. at a fairly easy pace and gives a few tricks at the end of each chapter that you can try out using your new skills. It should be available in any good bookshop. I think I got mine in Easons but it was a good few years ago so I'm not sure.

I to will recommend. Not the book i first started out with but i definetly wish i had. Very consise book with not only tricks and sleights but also tips on presentation

13 steps by corinda is great from the little ive read of my copy (dam college work!:mad:)

I would also recommened the encyclopedia of card tricks by Hugard. is more for the beginner magician but gives a good grounding even if it contains alot of self working tricks

The Card College series by Roberto Giobbi is very good as well. there are 5 books so cost can mount up but they can be bought seperately and are basically the best book out there on card magic IMO

King Mob wrote: »

Do you have the ISBN number by any chance it make searching for it a lot easier.

I dunno if you've found it yet but I'm in work at the moment and don't have the net at home. I'll check the ISBN tonight in any case and laet ya know tomorrow. I'd also recommend anything in the Tarbell Course in Magic series. I only have one of them at home - again ISBN tomorrow. Hiding the Elephant is a nice little number going through the history of vanishes and the use of mirrors. It has a few basic principles that I used to first start building my own illusions - author and ISBN tomorrow. There's also a great book called Magic and Showmanship which is more about polishing your act than anything else but also has a few nice little tricks in it - author and ISBN tomorrow too (I hope. I gave my copy to another magician as a gift and dunno if I can reach him).

On the novel front - Carter Beats the Divel by Glenn David Gould is a fantastic fictionalised version of the life of the late great Charles Carter.

That's all for now anywho.

bigslick wrote: »

on the non-instruction book front, id recommend David Blaines book Mysterious Stranger. Sure he may come across as a bit weird but his book is a very interesting look into his life and pure love for magic. but i could be biased here as me loves him

Thanks for the ISBN info.

On the non-instruction front I'd definitely recommend Derren Brown's Tricks of the Mind. It's quite autobiographical in many places but also does provide a bit of instruction including a very useful chapter for any illusionist on how to improve your memory. It's a pretty funny read too. Again, still in work so no ISBNs at the mo .

Sorry folks. Got rather drunk after work yesterday as I hadn't seen most of my friends in the past week and a bit so a few of them wanted to meet for a pint. Couldn't see well enough to read an ISBN by the time I got home. Amazon and the like should have every book I've mentioned anyway,. At least that's where I got my copy of Magic and Showmanship but I can't check any sites selling stuff from work so I can't see if they still have them all.

Just recieved my 'Expert at the Card Table' in the post. Must say i cant wait to get stuck into it.

The structure is very like that of Bobo's 'Modern Coin Magic' and Sach's 'Sleight of Hand' which is excellent. Will defo be getting further into it in few days time

Expert card technique is a great book!

Time for some shameless self promotion.

I have a magic blog (Magic Ireland). I don't tend to update it as much as I should, but at the moment I have promised myself that I will start adding stuff bi-weekly. Expect the kind of information that I post here (In fact, some of the posts are duplicates of information that I have posted here), product (and store) reviews, and just various hints and tips that might help anyone starting off along their way.

I have also decided to do a series of interviews. I will be interviewing various working pros from around the place, but mostly focusing on Irish magicians. Expect to see information on their favorite effects, any tips they might have for anyone looking to go pro, how they feel about the level of exposure (reveals) in magic these days, what their feelings are on magic orginisations (IBM, Magic Circle etc) and that kind of lark. The first one will be going live early Thursday morning (12.30) and is a very detailed session with Ruairi O'Connor, a mentalist working in Dublin who deals with alot of large commercial clients (Magners etc).

Also, I would like to use this oppertunity to thank fellow M&I groupie ??? who has decided to help me out by contributing some posts.

So check it out, let me know if there is anything you want to see there, or even if you would like to contribute something yourself!

brendan, we're delighted to have you here. I didn't delete the posts, just edited it a bit. Looking forward to your contribution here. May i suggest a link to irelands fastest growing magic forum if you have any questions about anything you'd like to post here, pop myself or 6th a pm