What is a good mentalism book with routines? Pre-requisite: not Max Maven and something modern.
My club has a monthly theme where we all take part doing some tricks and, when it's mentalism turn, I always struggle because I don't have a big range in that area.
Thanks in advance to whom will help.
Arhitect of the mind by Drew Backenstoss is a phenomenal book. A lot of stage and close up magic. One of the best mentalism books ever written considering quality of tricks in my opinion.
Oh I'll look for it.
I should mention that the tricks are primarily designed to fool laypeople. Those are not some weird magician foolers types of tricks. Although a lot of them are magician foolers.
You didnt specifically mention what type of material you are looking for.
The book is also out of print and only available—rarely—on the second-hand market. Great book, but not a great recommendation for someone who would need to procure it first.
A reprint is coming, I believe through Penguin Magic.
Source: Drew’s lecture at Magic Live this year
No, for layman is OK. We are not trying to fool each other, we just want to show good magic.
Ian Rowland has a set of his lecture notes for free on his site. There's magic, mentalism, and some commentary. And it is all worth reading. I've paid money for his lecture notes in the past and I don't regret it. Free is an awesome price. Modern, not Maven.
Bruce Bernstein's Unreal has a ton of good material, but is more about methods than about presentation. So the routines are more like outlines of presentations. I'd keep this as a bunch of thought-starters for someone who wants to work on mentalism more than just when it is called for at the club. I understand this is meant to be released again.
I heartily suggest just cracking open Mark Wilson's Complete Course and looking at some of the mental material in there. You'd be surprised how well some of it can play, even today. Highlights for me are the tic-tac-toe prediction and the magazine test.
I'll also suggest some DVDs I have gotten value from.
For some good, basic, solid routines, I really liked Ross Johnson's DVD "Simply Psychic." A lot of people sort of pan it because the wooden reactions of the little audience don't appeal, but I have to say that seeing a pro roll with a nonresponsive audience (I'm guessing unpaid members of the families of people working for the studio) was a subtle lesson in itself. I like the tricks. Voiceprint is an excellent and often overlooked one. But I don't think there's a single stinker in the whole video.
Rudy Hunter's DVD "13" had some good material on it. Again, the real lesson is the audience management. Unfortunately, the actual performance was cut up and mixed around, so it takes a little time to figure out where he's actually just starting to win folks over and where he's able to just roll with a group who now like him. There are several excellent routines and some so-so ones. For a magic club, I think you'd get some good stuff from here. His pendulum routine is worth the price of the video for me.
Thank you for your kind and wide answer. Mark Wilson's book was my first introduction to magic and I know his mentalism routines that I still use nowadays (I love the man).
Do you have the link to Ian’s lecture notes? I did a search but didn’t find them.
Sorry. I should have checked that they were still available before I posted that. He used to have a download link on his main site, but it isn't there anymore.
13 steps to mentalism. It's old but gold. Then you can read Psychological Subtleties 1, 2, 3 by Banachek. Those are my recommendations.
Thank you, mate.
You're welcome, have fun while learning.
Came here to recommend these!
Because these are excellent books.
Max did a lot and I’d be surprised if everyone has seen all his stuff! My club has about 40 members but I’m sure if we had a Max Maven night we’d all do something different. Even if we didn’t, it wouldn’t matter if we saw the same effect performed differently.
I assume you’ve got Anneman’s practical mental magic? There’s gold in there too.
No, I don't. Thank you for the tip.
Mind, Myth and Magic by TA Waters is well worth seriously studying.
Thats a classic!
Thank you!
I was gonna suggest this!
Michael Murray's "A Piece of My Mind"
Thank you!
Not a book, but if you get Ted Karmilovich live, Impossible Princesses follows the tossed out deck routine, but will throw off anyone expecting the tossed out deck. But you have to actually perform it. You can't just "do a trick."
I'd probably avoid his stuff unless you're happy supporting a convicted sexual predator.
Oh yeah it's on The Jerx blog.
Well, he's dead, so I don't think it's going far to support him
I mean each to their own but I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable buying this after reading about him.
ROFL. That won't stop Reddit! If you do any of his routines, youre supporting the very idea of him!
I'll give it a look, thanks!
There’s also a new Ted K book that just became available for preorder on Penguin Magic.
Theatre of the mind maybe, but if you say they all know max i suspect many know some of what is in there too
Well, I live in Spain and I suspect the guys know almost ANYTHING (a couple of them do, at least). But it's not about knowing, it's about not doing all the same thing. So I'll give it a look, thank you. :)
I know you said no Maven, but I wanted to learn more about mentalism this year and PRISM is where I started. It's phenomenal and really opens your eyes to the psychology of mentalism. It's a reprint of a collection of booklets early in Mavens career.
If you are set on not having Maven, I also read Mentalism Incorporated by Chuck Hickok this year, but it's more focused on performing in a corporate environment. You'll see it is more about presentation, psychology, etc... some of the effects are his script for effects you need to buy.
Some of Richard Osterlinds "Diverse Deceptions" booklets we're good for me to learn more of his style. It's actually why I bought Whispering Die (see below).
If you like cards "Very Hush Hush" by John Bannon is good & could interest you.
I have purchased these, but have not read them yet (they have good reviews but can't speak personally yet): - Theater of the Mind & Act Two by Barrie Richardson - The Definitive Mental Mysteries of Hector Chadwick
You could forgo a book and just buy an effect you want to learn - a book test, 4k color vision, Tic Tac Toe by Bond Lee, etc. I purchased Richard Osterlind's Whispering Die this year and it has been fun and plays well with friends/family.
Thank you for the suggestions. Again: I don't have anything against Max Maven who was a genius, for me. But a lot of people do his things and so I wanted to try other mentalists' material. About buying an effect, I usually prefer books because they give you more depth and, apart from the effect, they teach you more about techniques and "philosophy" behind them.
You might find something interesting here:
http://thelearnedpig.freeservers.com/
Thank you!
As it's for a club meet, if you want to blow them away you'll probably want something a little off the beaten track. But as you are asking here, I'll also assume you don't have a great deal of experience with mentalism (otherwise you'd be able to answer the question yourself). That's an observation not an attack, so please don't take it as one.
You don't say how long you have in your slot, keeping in mind mentalism effects tend to be much slower than 'normal' magic where you can machine gun card tricks or knock out a load of coin moves. Mentalism is, when done well, much slower and more thoughtful. So a full routine that you take from one of these books is likely to drive you over your time allowance. But anyway, to answer the question:
Castle Dracula Mentalism by Charles Cameron comes to mind as a good option for you. It's one of those books that looks unassuming but really delivers if you're after presentational texture and something atmospheric. I wrote a review of it HERE if you want to have a look to see if it will suit you.
Another good option is The Green Neck System by Gabriel Werlen, I hear there is a Green Neck System 2 book now, but I have yet to get a copy so can't comment on it.
And if you can find a copy, A Book by Anton is well worth getting. It's written by a well known mentalist under a pseudonym, but contains well-worked professional material. It doesn't have full routines, but is put together in a way you could easily make one from the pieces provided.
Oh, a couple of last-minute thoughts (a bit more mainstream, but absolutely worth it) that just popped into my head before posting: Calculated Thoughts by Doug Dyment, A Piece of My Mind by Michael Murray, and Colin McLeod's book Divine.
Thank you for taking time to answer. I am absolutely not offended by your observation, I said in the opening that I am not a great buff on the mentalist side, so any help is welcome. Thank you very much!
First two books that come to mind:
Not cheap but Mythology CODEX by Phill Smith. Beautiful book and has a lot of various things.
The Green Neck System by Gabriel Werlen is based on one principle but has a lot of variations and overall great concept. But I think he also teaches it in his Penguin Live.
Thank you!
In the Spotlight by Christopher Carter is wonderful. Modern practical stage and parlor mentalism.
A Piece of My Mind by Michael Murray is really really great. Super unique thinking. Great magic for the casual performer and bold methods.
Architect of the Mind is great. Practical mentalism perform for real world world performances. Close-up, parlor, and on stage. One of the best mentalism books I've ever read.
Prism is dense. Some good mentalism, some odd mentalism. Some underdeveloped ideas.
13 Steps is old. It's a good reference but it's rare to see anyone who actually performs any of the material inside. It uses lots of bold methods. And it uses lots of outdated apparatus.
Practical Mental Magic is also a good reference. This has much more practical magic than 13 Steps. Good book.
Thank you very much.
I recommend watching Lewis Le Val's two shows at Oracle Bar, which you can find in their entirety on YouTube: The Witch of the Woods and The Parlor Room Seance.
It might give you some ideas on how to present effects and maybe even take inspiration from them.
The Q&A he does in The Parlor Room Seance is phenomenal. And I also think the apple-and-pins effect in The Witch of the Woods is amazing.
Sounds great. Thank you very much!
Maybe my favorite mentalism book: https://archive.org/details/PracticalMentalMagic
Theodore Annemann is a true legend.
Thank you!
You’ll fool your club more with an old book than a new one.
I hear you. Any suggestion?
Check out Lybrary.com in general; they have lots of (legitimate)digital copies of old, out of print books.
And if you want an archive of the best Mentalism that’s been forgotten, AND a cheap price, they have a digital copy of The Complete Jinx available. It’s old, but I bet there’s lots of stuff in there the guys at your club have never seen.
If you want something newer, check out Paul Brook’s stuff. He has a number of books you can get as physical or ebooks, and a lot of it is for close up or walk around.
Thank you!
And sorry just because I was unclear. Paul Brook has his own site: https://www.heknows.co.uk
Agreed. Have a look at Trickshop.com. They have reissues of LOADS of old pamplets from yesteryear. Some absolute gold in there - and cheap too.
Gabriel Werlen's Iceberg
Thanks!
Why not max?
Nothing against him, but a lot of people do his stuff. I wanted to try something different.
If creepy Uncle Max is off the list, go for bitchy Uncle Ted or drunk Uncle Bob.
Worst Christmas family dinner ever. :D
Nah, it’s all good until judgey Uncle Richard turns up.
Not sure why anyone is downvoting this. Anneman and Cassidy are both solid choices.
Thanks! I didn’t mean Max was ‘a creep’! If you have read The Jinx (and you really should - try Julien Losa’s retyped and reset version) then you will know just how bitchy Anneman was. Constantly picking fights with other performers and newsletter editors. Bob… was most certainly Uncle Bob.
Anneman has some absolute classics, hidden in plain sight in books that nobody can be bothered to read. If you like slightly more modern takes in classics, Bob Cassidy did it better and before the Derren Brown-alikes of the modern era.
Fresh mentalism: 1.Green Neck System 2 - Gabriel Werlen 2. Dream Walk With Me - Judah Gabriel 3. Psychological Forces Remastered - Emma Wooding 4. Thought Control - Matt Mello
I really enjoyed The Definitive Mental Mysteries of Hector Chadwick
I'll give it a look, thank you. :)
Hector Chadwick’s work is great.
Thanks!
https://preview.redd.it/rh7ffc0t4f6g1.jpeg?width=1079&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=728557b71769b4860af667c18a1bc32bf0e15c28
OK, I like the enthusiasm, but is there something for which I don't have to ask my bank for a loan? :D