I LOVE this type of video where you share your less preferred books. Or books that simply didn’t work for you. Please keep making this type of vids in the future, as it helps me get an idea of what style of materials are within these books. Its like a book review from another (less preferred) standpoint, I love it!
Your closing statement is so very true. I have had Kaufman’s book on Derek Dingle for a few years and only now have I been able to get around to start doing some of the routines.
Agreed about Prism. Recently bought and was looking forward to it but it hasn't go me excited. Looking forward to seeing what others say here to make me go back and look at it more. Thanks again for the another great post and for prompting the discussion and thoughts that have followed.
Regardless of whether I’m in agreement with the selection, the fact that this sort of list exists on the channel is really important. It proves the channel’s independent bona fides. There are too many channels that claim to be independent but are really shills for companies, and whose ‘reviews’ are in fact actually adverts in disguise. This channel is not one of them. Keep up the good work.
Another great video, Jeff. I would agree with your comments regarding the Magic Rainbow. However, I do see it contributing another lens through which to think about our magic. For some, this other lens may be of value! Thanks again for a thought provoking episode.
Thanks for watching and taking time to comment, Scot! I have no doubt The Magic Rainbow contains immense magic value, but I just had a hard time connecting with it. As promised, I will revisit in the future 😃
I really like that you pointed out that tastes change, people don't always get that especially younger people and its a shame because they may miss out on something great because they came across it in the wrong point of their journey.
I've definitely come across things at the wrong point in my journey, but fortunately, I've kept most of my books, so I've been able to revisit at a time where I was more receptive to what it was teaching.
Great video, Jeff. Finally someone who gives a respectful opinion about magic literature. What would be your top 5 mentalism books? You mentioned in another video "The Artful Mentalism" from Cassidy and now I am curious about your current top 5 :) Keep up the good job!
These are some of my current faves, although I may end up doing an update at some point in the future. Thanks for your kind words! th-cam.com/video/v7zZNLX__A0/w-d-xo.html
I enjoyed this episode so much Jeff☺️. I agree with your comments especially Nate’s book Clouds & kingdoms. It followed his book “Here is Real Magic” which I truly enjoyed after meeting him in person. The other point to make is that I enjoy seeing the writer before buying their books and that is what happened to me with Luke Jermay I had a chance to see his performance and then I bought his book 49 seconds and enjoyed. I am learning to do my homework before buying a book. We invest money in them and sometimes it does deliver to our expectations. I am learning so much. Thank you!!
The Magic Rainbow reminds me of those great long-form novels of literature - incredibly rewarding but they put up such a big stylistic wall of inaccessibility. It's almost like a challenge that you need to be in the right kind of head space to enjoy. I'm undecided if it's challenging on purpose, or just a result of how Tamariz writes, but that's how it felt when I first tried to read it. I've had it since it's release and it's only the last month or so I've been able to read it and have things "click".
The Magic Rainbow s more than difficult to digest. Time and time again I just could barely get through a chapter because of Tamariz's writing style (and, since this is essentially a work of philosophy and Tamariz uses flamboyant language, maybe something is lostt in translation a bit...?) Recently though, after having read more books on theory like Ascanio's Structural Conception Of Magic, Freedom Of Expression by DaOrtiz and many many other works, The Magic Rainbow has ceased being an undecipherable mosaic of articles and essays. I can now read the whole thing back to front (which is what I'm currently doing). You'll definitely come around to enjoying this masterpiece.
Hi Jeff, I appreciate this honest video. Not everyone has the courage to share constructive criticism in the magic community - I honestly think we need more of it. That being said, I wanted to point out that Luke Jermay has, in fact, published more books than just 3510. Some of those include Building Blocks, Coral Fang, and 7 Deceptions, though they are all out of print. Unfortunately, I’d say your observations on lack of editing and polish apply to most of Jermay’s written work. I prefer his DVD projects.
Thanks for pointing that out! I knew Luke had published some other books/booklets, but are any of them after 2007? For some reason I thought 3510 represented his latest effort. Thanks again for the comment
I love the Annemann book, I'm re-reading because I didn't get it when I started it a year ago. I bookmarked what I liked, even though I didn't understand what some parts meant, and now it makes more sense and I can combine other ideas with his.
I like Prism but I will say, every time I ran across an effect description that blew me away, the method was always the use of a stooge :/ I have a used copy of 3510 in the mail to me currently. We'll see how I feel about that one.
I love Prism, especially for the fantastic scripts that Max Maven provides here: They're mysterious, sophisticated, and spiced with subtle, intelligent humor.
I had been wondering where Prism was in your review series. Now I know. The one piece I’ve performed most from it is Rainbow Matrix, and I’ve made a couple other versions that end up with different numbers at the end, so I can have different “predictions.” As far as the other stuff, I haven’t tried any of them just because I don’t perform as a mentalist and could not see any opportunity for them. But I’m glad I have the book.
Well done. I am a generally a positive person and love my books but think there needs to be more brutal (but respectful) honesty in magic reviews so this episode had my name all over it. I agree 100% on The Darkest Corners book and was *completely* baffled when I read through Prism upon receiving it, not having the faintest idea what the big deal was with it. I don't have The Magic Rainbow but I don't have any interest in it based on the table of contents that I've seen -- and I really enjoy magic theory! I respect Mr. Tamariz more than I can say and love Mnemonica but I'll pass on the Magic Rainbow book. As for other books I was disappointed in, I would add If An Octopus Could Palm. I love the Buck Twins and their work, am always up for a challenge, and want to improve my palming so this seemed a slam dunk. Didn't like it at all. Highly overrated. Keep up the good work, Jeff.
Another great concept. I love it. I am not so surprised with Prism. It does have quite a few good impromptu effects, like Burnt Offering, Geometric Coin and Kirigami, but I was also underwhelmed by this book. When I read how much each booklet sold for, I was expecting masterpieces like Osterlind's Time/watch routine. Maybe I was expecting too much. My pet peeve in books will have people banging down my door with pitchforks. Expert at the Card table leaves me cold. The most boring book ever written. This "classic" was best read by Dai Vernon and thank goodness for that. He brought out better stuff using this book as inspiration. Erdnase,I hate it.
Prism was one of my target books to buy at some point but not too sure now.I haven’t got any of the five books you’ve talked about so I can’t really have an opinion. A group of books that I wasn’t too enamoured with was the “Art of astonishment books.Ok,but for me,no great shakes.Maybe a little weak on effect and some what quirky.But each to their own of course.They aren’t bad but they just didn’t resonate with me.Very enjoyable topic.Thanks.
Thanks for watching and sounding off, @Kalvin Hepple! Just goes to show you: different strokes for different folks - AoA is one of my favorite sets of magic books! 😄
I really enjoyed The Darkest Corners, but I've seen your video on it and agree with the downsides you list. I can totally understand why someone wouldn't like it.
Jeff, this was a courageous topic to discuss. Even more courageous was your very first Magic Book Review posting, as it wasn't even a thumbs up! Jeff, that's chutzpah!!! The Book I MOST Wished I Liked was by Arthur MacTier (2000). It's an anthology of 30 numerical and sequential principles within card magic; no book has ever been written that compares to its diversity and quantity. Mr. MacTier described each principle well, but fell very short in crafting the effects to demonstrate each. They were all such low impact - even for a mathematical effect - that they served to greatly diminish the perceived power of the principle. Readers would need to be quite motivated to pursue additional uses for them. I wanted to LOVE this book, as its subject is the backbone of 90% of my published work, but the bitter taste of the effects at each chapter's end prevented that. Alas, I've relegated it to a pure reference book, when I was hoping for so much more. (However, Jeff, I don't want to part with it - sorry!)
Calculated Thoughts. It delved way too much into the Magic Square, which I never liked, and then went overboard on MemDeck material which I never do and have no interest in. I know, people kill with MemDeck routines, but it is just not my cup of tea.
I never read 3510, but I remember Building Blocks had a lot of typos and grammar errors, as well. However, I would say that it has been the book most responsible for the way I present mentalism. Its lessons in subtlety and performance endure more strongly than its effects, and I think that is far more valuable.
The only one I’m surprised about is Prism. I love Middle Telepathy from that book (among others)! Perhaps I enjoyed it more because it was one of the first Mentalism books I read after reading 13 Steps and I do enjoy mentalism with cards. The Magic Rainbow definitely sounds like an acquired taste. With the sticker price being so high, I never gave it a shot. 🤷🏼♂️
I performed desire from Prism at 8 shows and my audiences liked it. I agree that the book was a bit disappointing. It did, however, give me a jumping off point and an inspiration for other effects.
I found Prism easy to read cover to cover but the Stooge stuff really turned me off. I have the other Tamariz book, Magic Way? (I think that is the title)…I agree about the style. I don’t know if it was a translation issue but it meanders.
Love your channel. Love your reviews. But Magic Rainbow? I read it TWICE lol. Has your opinion changed? Hard to change your opinion with this one though lol. It’s an art book to me more than a magic trick book
I don't have (and not interested) in the first 3 on your list. Probably due to the fact that I'm retired from magic and have moved on to other things. I still have the original color series (PRISM) pamphlets I purchased back in the 70's. Love looking through them once in awhile. I agree with you regarding 'the Magic Rainbow'. I found it to be a really difficult read that I had to push through (took me months to finish). I think the problem with me is that I'm a very logical thinker (50+ years in math/physics). I think don't think Juan would appreciate my books on Partial Derivatives.
Funny. Prism is the book I’ve read the most. I love that book. One of my favorites is Squarot. Also, I have all of the original booklets too. In some cases more than one copy. Some are even signed. 😊
Interesting topic. I have seldom been disappointed with a magic book but there have been a few. There are some interesting permutations for me. I could name a few well-received books and which I liked everything but nothing quite fit me for one reason or another. Then I have had a book two where, overall, neither liked the material or the thinking but where one idea usually in a totally different context, provide a solution to some problem I was working on and so the book worth it for me.
I'd like to hear opinions of other viewers Do you prefer magic books with short concise effect descriptions and instructions ie Karl Fulves Self Working Card Tricks series of book just to name one example as opposed to books with long drawn out explanations that get bogged down in the fine print with every dry detail & theory. I'm finding that is the case with some of the Simon Aronson books. Thank you look forward to hearing some replies.
I think there should be more videos like this, personally I don't want to buy an expensive book just because it "Looks nice," 😅 Interesting list! My one would be Maximum Entertainment, or 'The book you have to pretend to like to be seen as serious..." For me, as a Toastmaster I found it pretty basic.
Interesting take! Maximum Entertainment is still one of my favorites, but then again, I'm not a Toastmaster. 🤷🏻 Thanks for voicing your opinion and for watching the channel
I'm very interested in reading The Magic Rainbow but as a game designer not a magician. I think the esoteric nature is the appeal, big concepts to drape over all efforts of life. But, I haven't read it yet. Could be wrong. We'll see.
Great video! I think Jeremy is one of advicer men that help Chris Angel in his acts.where I can find the sankey books the one you have in your library?
As an old magician (I started in 1977) I totally disagree about The Magic Rainbow. I understand that it's a very difficult book, but it's one of the very few books (at the moment the other is Absolute Magic) that gives depth and meaning to magic. The philosophical books are not easy to read but I will never be grateful enough to Tamariz for his act of love that has required more than 20 years. Who is the target reader of The Magic Rainbow? Only the magician that wants to do the next step, the person that wants to become an artist beyond the magic itself and that can achieve it without spending 30 or more years in researches and tries.
I love Prism and particularly like the effects "Geometric Coin", "The Mind's Eye Deck", "Kirigami", and "Rainbow Matrix". I also love Robert Neale's Tricks of the Imagination and most of Rick Maue's output. On the other hand I've had people I really respect rave about Henry Hay's Amateur Magician's Handbook. I just can't get into it.
Carneycopia is a book for me that i just could not get into. I don't know why, but it just didn't catch my attention. So, I totally relate to your list and your feelings about the books. Magic is a very personal thing.
@@EruditeMagic I have bought and sold the book 2 or 3 times always thinking i was wrong and that i would like the book. It just never connected with me. I don't have the book currently.
I can’t disagree with your list. I bought the Magic Rainbow because Matt Franco said it is his one book he would want if he was stranded on a deserted island on the Penguin Magic Podcast with Eric Tait. Great podcast by the way. See you next week at Magifest. My S.A.M. Convention was so amazing last night on the All Things Magic show when Charlie Frye closed the show!
I agree about The Magic Rainbow - especially the first 50 pages!!! I chalked it down to style (he is more "artsy" and poetic than I feel comfortable with), and I was musing on how I find reading much of the same theory from Darwin Ortiz much easier. Strangely I disliked The Five Points for the opposite reason: too short and felt rushed, when those huge concepts need such careful thought. Another one (actually 3) I couldn't quite come to love is "The Complete Walton" series. Some AMAZING card magic (and some distinctly average card magic too) but written up in a way that feels rushed and half-hearted. Last one on my list would be Carlos Vaquera's "The Illusioneer". I just couldn't get into it!
Lists of favourite, or most disliked books always reflect the person whose list it is - that's what makes them interesting, so thank you for sharing. Nate Staniforth & Ben Hart's books I thought were great, clearly two of the most creative magicians working today. Their routines illustrate a willingness to work 90% harder for even just a 5% stronger effect, and both put the theatre of a piece above 'practical' concerns, which is nothing but an inspiration. And the fly banner I don't think is a joke, but a piece of absurdity in the realm of Paul Harris 'ladybug'. For the right audience you'd never be forgotten!
Thanks for sharing, Nathan! I know there's some good stuff in my list, but as you say, we're all individuals with different perspectives. Keeps it fun!!
Isn't it funny how our ability to read a routine and see it in our minds eye is not the same as seeing someone perform the effect? I think this is especially true in mentalism.
Yes, I chucked all the volumes of Card College books in the trash. They just didn't appeal to me. Every book written by Marlo or Dai Vernon, I threw those books away too. I can't be bothered with such nonsense. I threw away all the volumes of the Nick Trost books away. I threw away the Simon Aronson books too. Who's got time to memorize a deck of playing cards anyway? A complete waste of time in my opinion. I do like this card trick where I have a spectator deal out 3 rows of seven cards and he tells me what row it's in. Then I have him deal out the cards once again and tell me which row the card is in. Finally, I have him deal out the rows again and I name his card! That's a good one. I literally get gasps from the audience when I do that trick. I think it's called the 21 something card trick. This is all sarcasm and all in fun.🤣 Love your videos.
I'm with you on PRISM. I saw Max Maven perform years ago. His was the first mentalism performance I went to, and I was really excited to go. Unfortunately I felt really let down throughout and after the show. I was expecting to be "wowed" but was not. By anything. It just seem like he was performing very lackluster tricks and puzzles, not mind-blowing effects. He's famous and well-respected and has published a great deal, but I guess his approach and style just does not resonate with me.
This may be blasphemy, but I had a really hard time getting through The Magic Way. I really appreciated the thought, but I found getting through it tiresome.
@@EruditeMagic it probably took me a couple months to finish it. One of those where you start, switch to reading something else, then come back and finish.
I wished I liked 13 steps when I first read it but it was too difficult I then read Ted anneman practical mental magic/effects and then read it.It then made sense. I personally feel 13 steps is overrated not bad but overrated Practical mental magic is better
You may be interested to hear what I say, then. Believe it or not, Practical Mental has a large role in what I'm trying to communicate! Thanks for sharing!!
Uhh, interesting topic! Just now I am reading PRISM. There is some cool stuff and principles to adept, but I no big love until now. We'll see :) Expert at the card table is also something I don't get used to. The boy who cried magic is something that didn't catch me the first time, but that has just changed in respect of one routine in there, maybe more will follow :)
Of those 5 books I've only read two of them, and I agree that PRISM was a disappointment... There are 3 or 4 gems in it (I have a version of the Geometric Coin that I enjoy performing), but the rest felt quite outdated IMO (even Max confessed to us that some of the PRISM effects are "not so good") And talking about Tamariz's book, first hundred pages feel like they were written while some illegal substances were consumed. And some of my friends here in Spain agree, so you're not the only one to dislike his esoteric stuff haha
Just share your opinion, stop making excuses for having that opinion. Don’t dilute what you have to say by trying to find some other way to heap praise on the authors. Just say what you think. Everyone’s entitled to an opinion without having to justify it, including you.
I sense you feel bad about your opinions about your feelings toward these books. You don't need to apologize for your opinions or feel a need to build up the authors because of your feelings on a specific book. Martin Scorsese has made a bad film and its OK to point it out without having to remind everyone that Scorsese is one of the finest filmmakers of our lifetime. A dud is dud. It's OK. You don't have to apologize for having your opinion and your perspective. And who says it's about you?
😄👍 - there are books I didn't include because I *don't want to like them. Any apology you hear in my tone is because these are books I really did/do want to like, but I don't. I firmly stand by my opinions, though. Thanks for sharing, Brett 👌
Yeah, I don't like any of Juan Tamariz's books. Too much waffle. Not for me. Maven's effects might not always be hot stuff, but a.) he can actually write readable prose, and b.) he's hugely erudite -- the footnotes are always massively informative.
@@EruditeMagic I like memdeck work, I just don't like the writing style of the author and the constant references to outside material and props. It's not relatable to me.
Almost every time I buy a mentalist book I'm disappointed. They are so expensive and almost never deliver. I've bought a number of excellent mentalism products but I'm invariably disappointed by mentalism books. I got nothing of value out of Prism despite many, many efforts to even find one effect that resonated with me. I mean, everyone loved it, so I should have found something, right? Nope. I enjoyed 3510 (unfortunately paid full price) but never gained much from it. I performed one trick from it once and totally bombed. One of the worst bombs of my career, possibly the worst. Overall, not a great book at all. I was shocked when I watched his penguin lecture what an incredible mentalist he is. That totally didn't come through in 3510, although unlike Prism, there were some nice pieces. Para Lies by Joshua Quinn is another mentalist book that I tried incredibly hard to get something of value from, but found it impossible. A lot of thought provoking stuff, but nothing performance ready. The same story keeps playing out with mentalism books for me. I'm always shocked at how much worse the value is in them than magic books. They're way more expensive and don't begin to touch the quality you get out of an ordinary magic book.
I hear you, but some of my favorite books are mentalism books! 🤷🏻😄 The Barrie Richardson trilogy, Bob Cassidy's books, What Lies Inside by Florian Severin, and Paramiracles by Ted Lesley. It sounds like we need to put you on to some different mentalist authors 😃📚
@@EruditeMagic The only one of those I own is one Cassidy PDF he sent everyone who attended one of his lectures (he actually sent me the wrong one by mistake. It didn't matter to me. I had no preference. However, I must confess that I only read about 15% of it). The other authors I haven't read (other than Paramiracles, which I don't own but skimmed parts of once and was very impressed with) but seem to be out of stock everywhere I frequent.
Actually it's not [the only pronunciation]. After 5 years, you'd think I've used the word more than almost anyone in history, right? 🤣 It all depends on where you're from, but there's a great video from The Princeton Review that will help clear this up for you.
5⃣ Top 5 Magic Books I Can't Stop Reading ▶ th-cam.com/video/IsviheilzXM/w-d-xo.html
I LOVE this type of video where you share your less preferred books. Or books that simply didn’t work for you. Please keep making this type of vids in the future, as it helps me get an idea of what style of materials are within these books. Its like a book review from another (less preferred) standpoint, I love it!
Glad you liked it, Daniel - thanks for the feedback 👍. I'll do my best to revisit a topic like this in the future
Your closing statement is so very true. I have had Kaufman’s book on Derek Dingle for a few years and only now have I been able to get around to start doing some of the routines.
Yup! If you stay the course in magic, you never know when you'll want to use something that's been on your shelf for a while
Agreed about Prism. Recently bought and was looking forward to it but it hasn't go me excited. Looking forward to seeing what others say here to make me go back and look at it more. Thanks again for the another great post and for prompting the discussion and thoughts that have followed.
Thanks, George! Looks like there's more consensus on PRISM than I anticipated
Regardless of whether I’m in agreement with the selection, the fact that this sort of list exists on the channel is really important. It proves the channel’s independent bona fides. There are too many channels that claim to be independent but are really shills for companies, and whose ‘reviews’ are in fact actually adverts in disguise. This channel is not one of them. Keep up the good work.
Thank you!!
Another great video, Jeff. I would agree with your comments regarding the Magic Rainbow. However, I do see it contributing another lens through which to think about our magic. For some, this other lens may be of value! Thanks again for a thought provoking episode.
Thanks for watching and taking time to comment, Scot! I have no doubt The Magic Rainbow contains immense magic value, but I just had a hard time connecting with it. As promised, I will revisit in the future 😃
I really like that you pointed out that tastes change, people don't always get that especially younger people and its a shame because they may miss out on something great because they came across it in the wrong point of their journey.
I've definitely come across things at the wrong point in my journey, but fortunately, I've kept most of my books, so I've been able to revisit at a time where I was more receptive to what it was teaching.
Looking forward to seeing this episode. I have had some instant regrets upon opening the book after I purchased, but really keen to see your top 5.
Thanks, @Zubair M - hope you found it interesting!
Great video, Jeff. Finally someone who gives a respectful opinion about magic literature. What would be your top 5 mentalism books? You mentioned in another video "The Artful Mentalism" from Cassidy and now I am curious about your current top 5 :) Keep up the good job!
These are some of my current faves, although I may end up doing an update at some point in the future. Thanks for your kind words!
th-cam.com/video/v7zZNLX__A0/w-d-xo.html
I enjoyed this episode so much Jeff☺️. I agree with your comments especially Nate’s book Clouds & kingdoms. It followed his book “Here is Real Magic” which I truly enjoyed after meeting him in person. The other point to make is that I enjoy seeing the writer before buying their books and that is what happened to me with Luke Jermay I had a chance to see his performance and then I bought his book 49 seconds and enjoyed. I am learning to do my homework before buying a book. We invest money in them and sometimes it does deliver to our expectations. I am learning so much. Thank you!!
Thanks for the kind words, Nancy. Excited about your growth and seeing you grow your library 👍📚
The Magic Rainbow reminds me of those great long-form novels of literature - incredibly rewarding but they put up such a big stylistic wall of inaccessibility. It's almost like a challenge that you need to be in the right kind of head space to enjoy. I'm undecided if it's challenging on purpose, or just a result of how Tamariz writes, but that's how it felt when I first tried to read it.
I've had it since it's release and it's only the last month or so I've been able to read it and have things "click".
Love it, thanks for the encouragement!😃
The Magic Rainbow s more than difficult to digest. Time and time again I just could barely get through a chapter because of Tamariz's writing style (and, since this is essentially a work of philosophy and Tamariz uses flamboyant language, maybe something is lostt in translation a bit...?)
Recently though, after having read more books on theory like Ascanio's Structural Conception Of Magic, Freedom Of Expression by DaOrtiz and many many other works, The Magic Rainbow has ceased being an undecipherable mosaic of articles and essays. I can now read the whole thing back to front (which is what I'm currently doing). You'll definitely come around to enjoying this masterpiece.
Thanks for the encouragement, Jacques!
Hi Jeff, I appreciate this honest video. Not everyone has the courage to share constructive criticism in the magic community - I honestly think we need more of it. That being said, I wanted to point out that Luke Jermay has, in fact, published more books than just 3510. Some of those include Building Blocks, Coral Fang, and 7 Deceptions, though they are all out of print. Unfortunately, I’d say your observations on lack of editing and polish apply to most of Jermay’s written work. I prefer his DVD projects.
Thanks for pointing that out! I knew Luke had published some other books/booklets, but are any of them after 2007? For some reason I thought 3510 represented his latest effort. Thanks again for the comment
I also love Prism. I like that it's a smaller idea, without scripts that i could combine with what I'm already working on.
Glad to hear it serves you!
I love the Annemann book, I'm re-reading because I didn't get it when I started it a year ago. I bookmarked what I liked, even though I didn't understand what some parts meant, and now it makes more sense and I can combine other ideas with his.
It's always good to revisit things that went over your head the first time.
I like Prism but I will say, every time I ran across an effect description that blew me away, the method was always the use of a stooge :/
I have a used copy of 3510 in the mail to me currently. We'll see how I feel about that one.
@Dusty Hill - yup, I get it! Hope you like 3510 🤞
I love Prism, especially for the fantastic scripts that Max Maven provides here: They're mysterious, sophisticated, and spiced with subtle, intelligent humor.
And there's nothing wrong with that!
@@EruditeMagic ☺Thanks! Puhh!
I had been wondering where Prism was in your review series. Now I know. The one piece I’ve performed most from it is Rainbow Matrix, and I’ve made a couple other versions that end up with different numbers at the end, so I can have different “predictions.” As far as the other stuff, I haven’t tried any of them just because I don’t perform as a mentalist and could not see any opportunity for them. But I’m glad I have the book.
As am I! I have no plans to get rid of it 👍
Well done. I am a generally a positive person and love my books but think there needs to be more brutal (but respectful) honesty in magic reviews so this episode had my name all over it. I agree 100% on The Darkest Corners book and was *completely* baffled when I read through Prism upon receiving it, not having the faintest idea what the big deal was with it. I don't have The Magic Rainbow but I don't have any interest in it based on the table of contents that I've seen -- and I really enjoy magic theory! I respect Mr. Tamariz more than I can say and love Mnemonica but I'll pass on the Magic Rainbow book. As for other books I was disappointed in, I would add If An Octopus Could Palm. I love the Buck Twins and their work, am always up for a challenge, and want to improve my palming so this seemed a slam dunk. Didn't like it at all. Highly overrated. Keep up the good work, Jeff.
Thank you, Craig! I try to be fair, and it was time for a 'different' type of episode. I appreciate you sharing some of your findings as well 👍
Another great concept. I love it. I am not so surprised with Prism. It does have quite a few good impromptu effects, like Burnt Offering, Geometric Coin and Kirigami, but I was also underwhelmed by this book. When I read how much each booklet sold for, I was expecting masterpieces like Osterlind's Time/watch routine. Maybe I was expecting too much. My pet peeve in books will have people banging down my door with pitchforks. Expert at the Card table leaves me cold. The most boring book ever written. This "classic" was best read by Dai Vernon and thank goodness for that. He brought out better stuff using this book as inspiration. Erdnase,I hate it.
I would agree with Erdnase. It's not on my list because I don't want to like it 🤷🏻😆😆😆
Prism was one of my target books to buy at some point but not too sure now.I haven’t got any of the five books you’ve talked about so I can’t really have an opinion. A group of books that I wasn’t too enamoured with was the “Art of astonishment books.Ok,but for me,no great shakes.Maybe a little weak on effect and some what quirky.But each to their own of course.They aren’t bad but they just didn’t resonate with me.Very enjoyable topic.Thanks.
Thanks for watching and sounding off, @Kalvin Hepple! Just goes to show you: different strokes for different folks - AoA is one of my favorite sets of magic books! 😄
I really enjoyed The Darkest Corners, but I've seen your video on it and agree with the downsides you list. I can totally understand why someone wouldn't like it.
I appreciate you voicing your opinion. I'm glad some people got more than I did! 👌
Jeff, this was a courageous topic to discuss. Even more courageous was your very first Magic Book Review posting, as it wasn't even a thumbs up! Jeff, that's chutzpah!!!
The Book I MOST Wished I Liked was by Arthur MacTier (2000). It's an anthology of 30 numerical and sequential principles within card magic; no book has ever been written that compares to its diversity and quantity. Mr. MacTier described each principle well, but fell very short in crafting the effects to demonstrate each. They were all such low impact - even for a mathematical effect - that they served to greatly diminish the perceived power of the principle. Readers would need to be quite motivated to pursue additional uses for them. I wanted to LOVE this book, as its subject is the backbone of 90% of my published work, but the bitter taste of the effects at each chapter's end prevented that. Alas, I've relegated it to a pure reference book, when I was hoping for so much more. (However, Jeff, I don't want to part with it - sorry!)
Thanks for sharing, Doc! I've never heard of Mr. MacTier, but I'm glad you did so the magic community could reap the benefit. 👍
Calculated Thoughts. It delved way too much into the Magic Square, which I never liked, and then went overboard on MemDeck material which I never do and have no interest in. I know, people kill with MemDeck routines, but it is just not my cup of tea.
A reasonable rationale! Thanks for sharing, Jim 👍
I never read 3510, but I remember Building Blocks had a lot of typos and grammar errors, as well. However, I would say that it has been the book most responsible for the way I present mentalism. Its lessons in subtlety and performance endure more strongly than its effects, and I think that is far more valuable.
That's great, Jeff! I'll have to see if I can find a copy of that one sometime to check out 👍
What do you think of world of super mentalism by Larry Becker
It's a good, if dated source for mentalism. The material will still entertain an audience, but the format of the book leaves a lot to be desired
The only one I’m surprised about is Prism. I love Middle Telepathy from that book (among others)! Perhaps I enjoyed it more because it was one of the first Mentalism books I read after reading 13 Steps and I do enjoy mentalism with cards. The Magic Rainbow definitely sounds like an acquired taste. With the sticker price being so high, I never gave it a shot. 🤷🏼♂️
@Evan Bishop - there are definitely some great tricks in PRISM, but I just never got hooked. Glad you like it! Thanks for sharing your thoughts 👍
I performed desire from Prism at 8 shows and my audiences liked it. I agree that the book was a bit disappointing. It did, however, give me a jumping off point and an inspiration for other effects.
And there's nothing wrong with that! Bravo that you harvested a trick and started performing it 👏
I found Prism easy to read cover to cover but the Stooge stuff really turned me off. I have the other Tamariz book, Magic Way? (I think that is the title)…I agree about the style. I don’t know if it was a translation issue but it meanders.
I think it's more a style than a translation. The Magic Way is another Tamariz title, but I found it easier to read then The Magic Rainbow 🤷🏻
Love your channel. Love your reviews. But Magic Rainbow? I read it TWICE lol. Has your opinion changed? Hard to change your opinion with this one though lol. It’s an art book to me more than a magic trick book
😄 you pretty much have to read it twice to 'get it', right? 🤣 I need to give it another spin...
@@EruditeMagic it’s a philosophy book! :)
I don't have (and not interested) in the first 3 on your list. Probably due to the fact that I'm retired from magic and have moved on to other things. I still have the original color series (PRISM) pamphlets I purchased back in the 70's. Love looking through them once in awhile. I agree with you regarding 'the Magic Rainbow'. I found it to be a really difficult read that I had to push through (took me months to finish). I think the problem with me is that I'm a very logical thinker (50+ years in math/physics). I think don't think Juan would appreciate my books on Partial Derivatives.
😄 "partial derivatives" - I'm glad someone is interested in that so I don't have to be 😉
i feel like the gold in prism is the presentation and clear and conciseness of the plots.
It could be. But most of them just didn't resonate with me 🤷🏻 Glad you like it!
Funny. Prism is the book I’ve read the most. I love that book. One of my favorites is Squarot. Also, I have all of the original booklets too. In some cases more than one copy. Some are even signed. 😊
Ha - it just goes to show you that we're all slightly different in our tastes. I'm glad you like it!
@@EruditeMagic - probably my second most read book is Maven’s “Redivider”
I've heard some great things about that one!
Interesting topic. I have seldom been disappointed with a magic book but there have been a few. There are some interesting permutations for me. I could name a few well-received books and which I liked everything but nothing quite fit me for one reason or another. Then I have had a book two where, overall, neither liked the material or the thinking but where one idea usually in a totally different context, provide a solution to some problem I was working on and so the book worth it for me.
Glad to hear you've generally had good experiences!! 👍
I'd like to hear opinions of other viewers Do you prefer magic books with short concise effect descriptions and instructions ie Karl Fulves Self Working Card Tricks series of book just to name one example as opposed to books with long drawn out explanations that get bogged down in the fine print with every dry detail & theory. I'm finding that is the case with some of the Simon Aronson books. Thank you look forward to hearing some replies.
I think there should be more videos like this, personally I don't want to buy an expensive book just because it "Looks nice," 😅 Interesting list! My one would be Maximum Entertainment, or 'The book you have to pretend to like to be seen as serious..." For me, as a Toastmaster I found it pretty basic.
Interesting take! Maximum Entertainment is still one of my favorites, but then again, I'm not a Toastmaster. 🤷🏻 Thanks for voicing your opinion and for watching the channel
I'm very interested in reading The Magic Rainbow but as a game designer not a magician. I think the esoteric nature is the appeal, big concepts to drape over all efforts of life. But, I haven't read it yet. Could be wrong. We'll see.
Great video! I think Jeremy is one of advicer men that help Chris Angel in his acts.where I can find the sankey books the one you have in your library?
The Sankey books are currently out of print, but Vanishing Inc. plans to republish in the futurew
@@EruditeMagic thanks lot!
As an old magician (I started in 1977) I totally disagree about The Magic Rainbow. I understand that it's a very difficult book, but it's one of the very few books (at the moment the other is Absolute Magic) that gives depth and meaning to magic. The philosophical books are not easy to read but I will never be grateful enough to Tamariz for his act of love that has required more than 20 years. Who is the target reader of The Magic Rainbow? Only the magician that wants to do the next step, the person that wants to become an artist beyond the magic itself and that can achieve it without spending 30 or more years in researches and tries.
Thank you for sharing. 👍As I said, it's not going anywhere, and I appreciate you giving me another reason to revisit!
@@EruditeMagic With the Tamariz book... try starting somewhere in the middle. Then read the first half last.
Its so important that regardless of subject, your opinion and personality as so much to the review and products
Thanks, Chad! 🙏
Love your honesty to these books. Not everything is for everyone. But l am sure there are some gems in these.😊👏😊👏🤜🤛👍👍👍
You're 💯 right - thanks for your support, Robert!
I love Prism and particularly like the effects "Geometric Coin", "The Mind's Eye Deck", "Kirigami", and "Rainbow Matrix".
I also love Robert Neale's Tricks of the Imagination and most of Rick Maue's output.
On the other hand I've had people I really respect rave about Henry Hay's Amateur Magician's Handbook. I just can't get into it.
That's great - I'm glad you get value out of those books. That's part of what I was communicating: different people will see value in various books
What do you think of mainly mental by cl boarde
Haven't read it, but have read books that reference it
Carneycopia is a book for me that i just could not get into. I don't know why, but it just didn't catch my attention. So, I totally relate to your list and your feelings about the books. Magic is a very personal thing.
Interesting - that's a book on my list - reach out to me if you want to part with yours 😃
@@EruditeMagic I have bought and sold the book 2 or 3 times always thinking i was wrong and that i would like the book. It just never connected with me. I don't have the book currently.
Darn 😉
I can’t disagree with your list. I bought the Magic Rainbow because Matt Franco said it is his one book he would want if he was stranded on a deserted island on the Penguin Magic Podcast with Eric Tait. Great podcast by the way.
See you next week at Magifest. My S.A.M. Convention was so amazing last night on the All Things Magic show when Charlie Frye closed the show!
Looking forward to seeing you this week. This is a lot of magic back-to-back 😄👍
@@EruditeMagic I have to sneak in naps when I can. Tonight goes to 1 am.
@@ScottRSmith1964 haha, I get it! I'm trying to rest up before I get to MagiFest this week 😁
Charlie is a wonder of a performer! Greatly admired.
@@donunicycle it was so cool to be surprised with the last act. See you next week Don!
I agree about The Magic Rainbow - especially the first 50 pages!!! I chalked it down to style (he is more "artsy" and poetic than I feel comfortable with), and I was musing on how I find reading much of the same theory from Darwin Ortiz much easier. Strangely I disliked The Five Points for the opposite reason: too short and felt rushed, when those huge concepts need such careful thought. Another one (actually 3) I couldn't quite come to love is "The Complete Walton" series. Some AMAZING card magic (and some distinctly average card magic too) but written up in a way that feels rushed and half-hearted. Last one on my list would be Carlos Vaquera's "The Illusioneer". I just couldn't get into it!
Thanks for sharing, Tom! Glad I'm not alone in some of my choices 😄
Lists of favourite, or most disliked books always reflect the person whose list it is - that's what makes them interesting, so thank you for sharing.
Nate Staniforth & Ben Hart's books I thought were great, clearly two of the most creative magicians working today. Their routines illustrate a willingness to work 90% harder for even just a 5% stronger effect, and both put the theatre of a piece above 'practical' concerns, which is nothing but an inspiration.
And the fly banner I don't think is a joke, but a piece of absurdity in the realm of Paul Harris 'ladybug'. For the right audience you'd never be forgotten!
Thanks for sharing, Nathan! I know there's some good stuff in my list, but as you say, we're all individuals with different perspectives. Keeps it fun!!
Isn't it funny how our ability to read a routine and see it in our minds eye is not the same as seeing someone perform the effect? I think this is especially true in mentalism.
Just for the record Luke has written other books, I can't say if you'd like them or not, I do, but I also like 3510
Great video! We need more honest reviews. I do think you shouldn’t apologize for your thoughts and opinions though.
I'm not going to apologize for apologizing 😆😆😆 😉👍
Yes, I chucked all the volumes of Card College books in the trash. They just didn't appeal to me. Every book written by Marlo or Dai Vernon, I threw those books away too. I can't be bothered with such nonsense. I threw away all the volumes of the Nick Trost books away. I threw away the Simon Aronson books too. Who's got time to memorize a deck of playing cards anyway? A complete waste of time in my opinion. I do like this card trick where I have a spectator deal out 3 rows of seven cards and he tells me what row it's in. Then I have him deal out the cards once again and tell me which row the card is in. Finally, I have him deal out the rows again and I name his card! That's a good one. I literally get gasps from the audience when I do that trick. I think it's called the 21 something card trick. This is all sarcasm and all in fun.🤣 Love your videos.
😄👍
@@EruditeMagic 👍
I'm with you on PRISM. I saw Max Maven perform years ago. His was the first mentalism performance I went to, and I was really excited to go. Unfortunately I felt really let down throughout and after the show. I was expecting to be "wowed" but was not. By anything. It just seem like he was performing very lackluster tricks and puzzles, not mind-blowing effects. He's famous and well-respected and has published a great deal, but I guess his approach and style just does not resonate with me.
We don't all have to like the same performers/things, right? 🤷🏻
This may be blasphemy, but I had a really hard time getting through The Magic Way. I really appreciated the thought, but I found getting through it tiresome.
This is the place to get some of that magic blasphemy off your chest 😉 Thanks for sharing. How long ago did you read it? Just curious.
@@EruditeMagic it probably took me a couple months to finish it. One of those where you start, switch to reading something else, then come back and finish.
I wished I liked 13 steps when I first read it but it was too difficult I then read Ted anneman practical mental magic/effects and then read it.It then made sense.
I personally feel 13 steps is overrated not bad but overrated
Practical mental magic is better
You may be interested to hear what I say, then. Believe it or not, Practical Mental has a large role in what I'm trying to communicate! Thanks for sharing!!
Oo this is gonna be a good one!
It should create some good conversation if nothing else 😆 🤷♂️
Uhh, interesting topic! Just now I am reading PRISM. There is some cool stuff and principles to adept, but I no big love until now. We'll see :) Expert at the card table is also something I don't get used to. The boy who cried magic is something that didn't catch me the first time, but that has just changed in respect of one routine in there, maybe more will follow :)
Thank you for sharing!
Of those 5 books I've only read two of them, and I agree that PRISM was a disappointment... There are 3 or 4 gems in it (I have a version of the Geometric Coin that I enjoy performing), but the rest felt quite outdated IMO (even Max confessed to us that some of the PRISM effects are "not so good")
And talking about Tamariz's book, first hundred pages feel like they were written while some illegal substances were consumed. And some of my friends here in Spain agree, so you're not the only one to dislike his esoteric stuff haha
Hahaha, I thought the *exact thing about the substances in the first 100 or so pages 😄😄😄
Just share your opinion, stop making excuses for having that opinion. Don’t dilute what you have to say by trying to find some other way to heap praise on the authors. Just say what you think. Everyone’s entitled to an opinion without having to justify it, including you.
Your posters are cool, but you were genuinely terrible with money, Mr. Carter... 🤷♂️ There, I got it off my chest 🤣
@@EruditeMagic fair point
I sense you feel bad about your opinions about your feelings toward these books. You don't need to apologize for your opinions or feel a need to build up the authors because of your feelings on a specific book. Martin Scorsese has made a bad film and its OK to point it out without having to remind everyone that Scorsese is one of the finest filmmakers of our lifetime. A dud is dud. It's OK. You don't have to apologize for having your opinion and your perspective. And who says it's about you?
😄👍 - there are books I didn't include because I *don't want to like them. Any apology you hear in my tone is because these are books I really did/do want to like, but I don't. I firmly stand by my opinions, though. Thanks for sharing, Brett 👌
Yeah, I don't like any of Juan Tamariz's books. Too much waffle. Not for me. Maven's effects might not always be hot stuff, but a.) he can actually write readable prose, and b.) he's hugely erudite -- the footnotes are always massively informative.
😄 - thanks for sounding off! 👌
Sleightly out of Order is mine. Thought I would like it but eh.
Interesting! Is it memdeck work in general, or just this particular book? Do you have any ideas about what specifically you didn't like? 🤔
@@EruditeMagic I like memdeck work, I just don't like the writing style of the author and the constant references to outside material and props. It's not relatable to me.
Thanks for clarifying - just curious
Almost every time I buy a mentalist book I'm disappointed. They are so expensive and almost never deliver. I've bought a number of excellent mentalism products but I'm invariably disappointed by mentalism books.
I got nothing of value out of Prism despite many, many efforts to even find one effect that resonated with me. I mean, everyone loved it, so I should have found something, right? Nope.
I enjoyed 3510 (unfortunately paid full price) but never gained much from it. I performed one trick from it once and totally bombed. One of the worst bombs of my career, possibly the worst. Overall, not a great book at all. I was shocked when I watched his penguin lecture what an incredible mentalist he is. That totally didn't come through in 3510, although unlike Prism, there were some nice pieces.
Para Lies by Joshua Quinn is another mentalist book that I tried incredibly hard to get something of value from, but found it impossible. A lot of thought provoking stuff, but nothing performance ready.
The same story keeps playing out with mentalism books for me. I'm always shocked at how much worse the value is in them than magic books. They're way more expensive and don't begin to touch the quality you get out of an ordinary magic book.
I hear you, but some of my favorite books are mentalism books! 🤷🏻😄 The Barrie Richardson trilogy, Bob Cassidy's books, What Lies Inside by Florian Severin, and Paramiracles by Ted Lesley. It sounds like we need to put you on to some different mentalist authors 😃📚
@@EruditeMagic The only one of those I own is one Cassidy PDF he sent everyone who attended one of his lectures (he actually sent me the wrong one by mistake. It didn't matter to me. I had no preference. However, I must confess that I only read about 15% of it). The other authors I haven't read (other than Paramiracles, which I don't own but skimmed parts of once and was very impressed with) but seem to be out of stock everywhere I frequent.
Really? You dont like Prisma! Is a great book if you like Mentalist you have to take your time reading it.
If you weren't honest, you would be doing us, and yourself, a disservice. Thank you
Thanks, Merlin 😄👍
Actually it's pronounced eh ru dite
Actually it's not [the only pronunciation]. After 5 years, you'd think I've used the word more than almost anyone in history, right? 🤣 It all depends on where you're from, but there's a great video from The Princeton Review that will help clear this up for you.
Cannot like everything.