For me it was "The Mark Wilson Course in Magic" which my father purchased for me as a Christmas present when I was thirteen.....

I might be the only one who started with Erdnase.. not because I'm so hardcore, more because it was the cheapest book around

Some person, perhaps a magician, placed a card on the table.

He handed me a deck of cards. He asked me to count the cards down in a pile and stop “when you feel like it is the right moment.”

I did.

Our cards matched.

GAAAAA!!!!!!

That is not exactly what occurred; but it is exactly, precisely, how I remembered and retold the story.

The mad fellow, who hacked my brain, after acquiescing to my obsessive pleas, told me about a pamphlet written by a guy by the name of Nick Trost.

I bought it, read it, laughed unto tears and may even have wetted the pages with my saliva.

It started with a poorly stapled pamphlet and quickly led to full-out magic books.

Reality hacking… I was bitten and smitten.

Forevermore.

I first fall in love with books. When I was young, I use to hate books. So reading for me came pretty late, around 22.

When I came into magic, it was very special for me. I started, like probably a lot of people with some video VHS tape.

And I remember my first book was a beautiful french edition of "The Expert at The Card Table". And it was symbolic for me because this book is "The Book".

It was my first step into magic books and then I started to carefully select some other books.

And I would say I fall in love with magic books a second time when I read "Pure Effect". I started to read the book one week day around 9PM and only stopped at the end of the night when the book was finished.

I just couldn't stop reading.


From that, a question remains for me: How could you not fall in love with magic books when you can find so many wonderful treasures (Corinda, Brown, Burger etc...)?

It was ages ago, I was then 15. I knew nothing about magic but loved books. I kept spending my spare time going to book shops to browse the latest arrivals.

One day, I found a copy in French – I was then living in Paris (France) – of Expert Card Technique. I read a few pages at the shop and I got awestruck! Second & bottom deals, palming, faro shuffle!? Such a wonderful universe of moves and ideas and tricks I had no idea existed.

I bought the copy and spent years studying that one book, as it was quite difficult to find magic books in France back then. Later on I bought many other books – most of them in English – but very few had the same impact, emotionally, than ECT.

I feel very lucky my very first book was ECT: it’s at the origin of my love for sleight of hand and card magic.

Nice story Claudio,

I recognize myself in it.

You said it all when you say that very few books had the same impact, emotionally, than this one.

This book is so much than just a book for me.

Although I had a few no-skill magic books and effects (Card Tricks without Skill by Paul Clive and the "Deland Automatic Deck") I hadn't really been bitten by the magic bug.

In one of Martin Gardner's Mathematical Games columns in Scientific American, he mentioned a card trick from The Pallbearer's Review. I ended up buying one copy and then subscribing. I can't tell you how hoked up I thought it was - how could anyone do a Triple Lift and fool someone???

And the first trick I bought was one recommended in Pallbearer's: Color Monte.

I was spoiled to start out with such great stuff!

Howard

The moment that I discover that:
1-) For the same price of a one trick dvd I get more than 50 tricks.
2-) The tricks are MUCH better than the "One trick Dvds" ones.
3-) When I perform for my fellow magicians and fool them because if you want to keep a secret Put it on a book.
4-) When I saw how elegant my book shelf looks...

I Fall in Love with Books !

We always bought books because videos were just coming out. So many books referenced moves in other books and it just took off from there.

I started with the old Johnson Smith catalogs, and went from there to their dime-each booklets to Abbotts catalogs, and Tannens. Abbotts booklets were $.50, $1 and $2. Greater Magic was either $7.50 or $10, and I'd study it for years, learning each technique or trick that got my attention. Books were the only path back then.

The first two books that really got me into magic literature were "By Forces Unseen" by Stephen Minch and "Dai Vernon Book of Magic" by Lewis Granson. I got them for Christmas and I have loved books ever since. I am a naturally frugal person so the trick to price ratio of books was a turn-on for me and kind of fueled the flame.

A few books I have on my to-get list are the Books of Wonder, Rune's World, and Strong Magic.

In the back seat of a 69 Catalina. Oh wait, hat wasn't a magic book. My bad.

My first magic book that I really enjoyed was Royal Road to Card Magic. I love the writing of it. Then went to Harry Loraynes Classic Collection vol 1 and had to buy the rest because of it. I also have been reading Tarbell and find that really enjoyable as well. Oh and one more, Lewis Ganson's Routine Manipulation books (Thanks to Dick for loaning me that one)

But I really like books, the touch and the feel of them.

My first "real" magic book was Paul Harris "Close-up Entertainer".