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I have neither CC1 nor RRTCM yet but I would emphasise that RRTCM is cheaper. If you wanted to give someone a present, RRTCM would potentially be great because the recipient might be fascinated and if not , well , it was $10 - $15. CC1 is likely to help a more engaged / enthusiastic / more interested student of card magic go deeper and would be better for someone who you know is keen on cards. Based on my interest in card books for beginners, I think both of these are good starters but CC1 is almost 4 times more expensive.

Just ran across this one. Question: the first book she recommends. I kept replaying it and used Amazon to help me - Is she saying The Anatomy of Story by John Truby? Such an insightful interview of such a deep thinker. Would love to hear (or read!) more on her philosophies on aspects of magic, etc.

Very nice thanks for sharing.

it took me only 1 day to memorize and fully grasp the first 26 cards of the mnemonica stack but i struggled for 4 days for the rest

Some comments seem to be focused on this being a mem deck, but it's a system, and with it come three routines ready to go. I didn't open my copy until Xmas Day, I've barely scratched the surface, but I'd say it was worth the money (I got the basic edition).

Are you fucking serious,, I've lost 20 mins thinking this was real magick, ritual energetic magick not stupid stage pull a rabbit out of a hat magic,, lmao.. loser

I just want to know how he’s able to cut to a thought of card instantly?

Great tips as always. By the way, where can I get these little devil figures you have in your shelf?

No disrespect to JT, but good on you for saying out loud that these books aren't for everyone. I already have plenty of "inspirational" and "good advice" type books, so that aspect is of no interest to me. And his magic, while good are just re-hashes of things I already have preferred versions of. So this is an easy pass for me.

I did buy the books a few years ago when I had 20% off at vanishing Inc. Never got to meet Johnny but have crossed paths and had the honor and privilege to know some people in the book (Marlo, Ross Johnson...) This is an amazing history as well as an absolutely fascinating analysis of so many details of classic effects. I'm currently on a big kick of comparing how classic routines from this era (The Chicago bar magician Jim Ryan was my mentor and friend) hold up to today's magic from an entertainment standpoint. And I say that many of these routines with your personal spin absolutely can be just as successful as the flashiest material out there today. So will you perform these effects exactly as is? Probably not, although taking Johnny's advice of performing it as close as you can to his script is a good one. But will you learn far more if you sit down and seriously take it all in from a higher view? Absolutely. I remember reading it cover to cover when I first got it, and seeing this review reminds me that it's about time to read it again. Thanks!

Jeff I wanted to say thank you so much for making this TH-cam channel. Always been interested in magic and the past few years have been collecting books and I listen to your channel everyday looking for new books and just to hear talk about magic. You’re the man and I can’t thank you enough!

I recommend Steve Beams "Trapdoor" compilations over the Semi-Automatic series. You still get the same hilarious tone, but with more variety of material.

I keep thanking Vanishing Inc for reprinting this set and look forward to the other titles with lifetime compilations from Magicana. Happy to hear an honest overview of what others should expect from them.

I got to meet Johnny and it remains one of the coolest moments of my life. Coincidentally, the night I met him was also the night I met Penn and Teller. All of this occurred in 2017 after their show in Vegas when they still met with the audience. It was the first night that they recreated Johnny’s act. Teller made a comment to me about the difficulty of the double production. I was in heaven.

Great video!

Thank You for another great and honest review.

I "like" Johnny Thompson, but his act has never really had any appeal for me, and as you say, the routines aren't the kind of thing I'm interested in. I'd like to read it, but I have no interest in owning it.

Thank you.

I’m very interested in reading these, but I would want a guarantee that these aren’t going to be released sometime later as an ebook.

Johnny Thompson’s act gave me the inspiration to do an act with my wife.

No mention of the photography which is strange as it’s by far the best photographs you will find in any magic book that’s ever been produced. It was the first thing that struck me about the books when I bought them years ago and nothing has even come remotely close since.

I'll love to get them but...at 250$us...with the canadian conversion rate at 1.44...the actual price for me is 360$cnd!!! That's way too much for 2 books!!!

Does this book contain "Nemo 500" effect? 🤔

Johnny & Pam were some of the really sweet people in magic. Got to see them multiple times over the years at various Florida State conventions

I'm very interested in getting the original version, zero interest in the Vanishing Inc versions.

I loved this episode. The first time I saw him perform was in the middle of the 1990s as the opening act for Lance Burton. I loved his magic! He was funny, and I loved how he dressed. Thank you for another great episode! Hi Don!

I always had trouble reading and doing tricks at the same time, because some books are so large or I can’t put them flat. I had never come to me that I can use a book stand. 😂 Thank you for bringing that up!

Terrific guidance. I would enjoy learning what your top five (or ten) favorite magic books are and the reasons why. JUST SAYING! Thank you for the book reviews and all the guidance you relay to your followers.

Michael is such a cool guy 😎

I picked up the book immediately upon its US release back in 1999, very excited to get my hands on Guy’s handling of Reformation (I had by then acquired a bumbled handling of John Lovick’s infinitely easier Reparation) and, 25 years later, the book is still a treasured favorite, but one from which I’ve gleaned little if any performative value. There is, however, one understated and viciously clever little treasure in the form of a much more traditional signed, torn and restored card routine. I love this book, but these are the effects and routines that make Guy Hollingworth who he is. I think it has more value for others as a jumping off point of how the contained principles can be assimilated into other effects, original to the reader.

I wrote all inside my copy of Card College Vol 1. Now, I look at and want to refine my notes and I say to myself, "Well, I ruined this book."

If you want to avoid adhesive from post it notes, there are static cling notes that work just as well.

Great recommendations. Thanks

The timestamp list -- "Tool 1, Tool 2, etc" is too generic to be useful. A couple more minutes of effort to make it usable, as you usually do, would have been appreciated. As others have mentioned, transparent post-it notes can be a game changer! Also, according to the Smithsonian, 3M-brand Post-It Notes (the inventor of Post-It Notes!) use a different glue formulation that is less damaging than the generic "sticky notes," but over time they will still cause damage. Finally, in addition to using cheap notebooks, a technique that I learned from Joe Diamond is to only write on the righthand pages. This leaves the left side blank so that you can update, comment, correct etc your notes when you return to them later. Leaving this space for the future really beats trying to squeeze things into the margins when you have better ideas or more references later.

Hey Jeff I was hoping you could make a video on how to read magic books. I know when I first started I didn’t really know how to start or where to start. ❤

I’m thrifty and occasionally I’ll buy second hand magic books that sometimes have hand written notes in them. It’s not the worst thing in the world and can be somewhat charming.

Your channel is amazing, man! Salute from Brazil!

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Some great ideas. For me its my office. I also tend to jog stuff down in note books, and l have binders with tricks in them that l saw and learned. I also cross reference these on my computer so l know what binder to look for. I still keep a pad of paper in my nightstand in case l get an idea on a trick l know but can make it better. 😊😊

i have the cosy reading spot , i have the notebook , i have the book stand , i have the magician friends . I hate post it papers :( . I think you could have mentioned the conjuring archive :)

How much of genii magazine have you read through

are you a member of the Psychic entertainer association?

I don't really have any local magic friends, though I've looked into checking out the local IBM ring. My sounding board for new material is my stepdaughter, who is thoroughly unimpressed with magic. While it's a little disheartening to show her something I've worked hard on and just get a straight face at the end, she's honest, which is helpful. She'll tell me if something looks fishy or a certain angle is bad. PS-I know you're a John Bannon fan. The newest edition of the Disclaimer magazine came out today and it's an all Bannon issue. Three new tricks written by Bannon himself, so they're calling it the world's smallest John Bannon book. Also, there is a John Bannon zoom lecture for subscribers next weekend, so it's a good time to join.

Actually it's pronounced eh ru dite

It's actually pronounced eh ru dite

Love your podcasts.You preaching to the converted here. Iv loved my books.weirdly I havent read them all from cover to cover except when I was a teenager. ( I think this has paid off for me as it gave me a grounding, nowadays online downloads n visual social media tricks distract. ) Im pleased that creativity still seems to survive in the few who are passionate. Regards

SQ3R is OK, but I always advocate for SQ5R, it's an updated version. There is an SQ6R, with the final 'R' being for wRite, but as you should alredy be taking written (either digital or hand wriiten) notes anyway, I don't really see this as much different to SQ5R

Great video! If interested, try CLEAR post it notes. Game changer. Doesn’t block the text or drawings. Thanks for the great content.