Advancing Your Magic - Unrelated Products

[StevenLevitt]

What books, DVD's, courses or anything can you recommend for a magician which is nothing to do with magic.

I have a couple of books here which I would recommend:

Contacts 2008/2009 - Spotlight
Job Hunting after University or College - Jan Perrett
Make Acting Work: The Practical Path To a Successful Career - Chrys Salt
Confidence - Rob Yeung

What magic unrelated things would you recommend to a magician?

 

[blahblah]

books on pyschology

 

[StevenLevitt]

Which? There are millions, I am sure they are not all recommended

 

[blahblah]

the... ummmm.... good ones?

 

[StevenLevitt]

Well you are not much help at all. - Next.

 

[Chr!s]

Hello.

I would recommend 'Language in thinking'. The authors name escapes me, but I'll check later and edit duly.
Also, 'The lying ape-an honest guide to a world of deception', by Brian King. Excellent treatise on the practice of lying and it's affects on culture.



CL

 

[Ben Long]

I would actually recommend some books on film. You'd be surprised at the similarities between magic and the movies.

Try these: Film Form by Sergei Eisenstein, The Film: A Psychological Study by Hugo Münsterberg, and Film as Art by Rudolf Arnheim.

All of these books discuss the human brain and how it perceives images. I find that a lot of it can be applied to magic. I really makes one think about what the human eye sees.

 

[StevenLevitt]

Thank you, you two obviously know what "recommending" actually means. Thank you for not being so ignorant

I shall check them out!

 

[Ben Long]

Also, if you have the chance to take any kind of acting class, it really helps. Improv classes are really great.

 

[StevenLevitt]

I am currently at University studying Drama, Performance and Theatre Arts (BA (Hons)), and have completed a BTEC Performing Arts (ND) - I must say that they really do benefit, and I would also recommend performing art courses.

 

[blahblah]

Well you are not much help at all. - Next.

its all that britians got talent fever...

sorry for not being able to help.
psychology books on (I think) cognitive psychology.

books on memory (try "tricks of the mind" by derren brown for some basic memory stuff

I suppose memory is part of mentalism though.
maybe dvds and books on how to juggle - when you juggle you apparently calm down and it means you have better concentration and I suppose its good for your hand/eye co-ordination, "juggling for the complete kluzt" is a good book.

sorry I cant help more.

 

[Deechristopher]

Talking of memory, I have a great book by Harry Lorayne, How to Develop a Super Power Memory is great.

Also, as far as Psyche books go, look at some of Jung's work - alot of his stuff is quite out there. Stuff like Syncronicity.

none spring to mind, but I've a few books in my library on body language, I feel that knowing those kind of techniques is very, VERY useful when doing magic as you want to get the audience on your side asap!

There are a lot of books floating around the Oxfam 2nd hand shops for tiny sums of money, just browse the psyche sections and pick stuff up!

Ooooo, interesting reading is 'Blink' by Malcolm Gladwell - it's about the power of thinking without thinking

D.

 

[Randomwrath]

As previously mentioned, Derren Brown's Tricks of the Mind is an amazing book. It has one chapter on magic but the rest isn't really magic related. If you like Derren Brown and want to see what goes on in his mind, get it. If you don't, get it. Just get it.

 

[praetoritevong]

I second Ben Long's suggestions about film and acting classes. A thorough understanding of the theory behind performing (and if you can actually act in a production, even better!) is so, so important for magic. Magic, after all, is presenting a magical element of theatre.

 

[joshrobarts]

public speaking courses are a good way to overcome nervousness and get your patter and presentation more fluid and smooth. also a lifetime supply of sharpies, bussiness cards are a good idea for magicians, ive found that clips, dvd's and shows of comedians can give me really good idea's for presentation and patter. its also a great example of interaction with audience members.

 

[iwannayoyo]

I took an elective on improv, it helpes fix a fumble with a joke and things like that.

 

[Ben Long]

I plan to write more on this later, but I thought it would be good to mention my thoughts on the whole "be yourself" thing.

I think one should be him- or herself, however I think it's important to note that it is always good and one always should develop his or her character, that is to say, the way he or she presents him- or herself as a person. Everyone can always work on his or her charisma. It's important to be able to get people to listen to you, after all.

 

[dragon521]

Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe

 

[cm763]

I would suggest any introductory textbook to psychology, and any psychology books relating to Social Psychology. Most universities offer undergraduates an Introduction course to each type of psychology that they can choose from (they don't teach the meat and bones of the stuff until graduate schools), so just take a look through any of the psychology books that sound interesting (again, any books relating to Social Psychology would be ideal, but I'm sure there are other interesting tidbits in other fields of psychology--Cognitive, like mentioned, should be helpful) since they'll offer a broad overview of the field (mentioning the big names who get thrown around a lot, such as Jung, Rogers, Freud, etc). It'll differ depending on what's available in your area--just check the bookstore of your local university (or college). Just be warned that textbooks aren't cheap--none of my textbooks this semester cost under $100.

(Just as a note, I'm taking an Honors Double Major in Psychology in Statistics, so if you really want some specific textbooks, send me a PM and I can suggest them--but most are Canadian editions, so they tend to focus on the work of Canadians (along with the major stuff) and the textbooks may be more difficult to acquire)

 

[StevenLevitt]

Thank you for all the recommendations. - Just PM-ing you now cm763