Hi guys ! I just watched a video by a HK artist Stephen Fung and i got amazed by the magic tricks he did !! I watched the video over and over again and i think i had fall in love with magic ... haha
Just wanna ask how/where do i start ? Any book titles to recommend ? Thx

I think u should state what kind of magic u want...

U said u are new to magic right?if u are going towards card tricks u should buy Born to perform DVD ...^_^

u should not buy books as u said u are new to magic,they might be a little bit to hard to understand,get them when u are more familiar with the basics of magic...

U may want to get some beginner's stuff from ellusionist.com but they are a bit more expensive compared to Penguin magic and some may consider it a rip off..but it emphasize alot on basics ;)

i see... thx for the advice.. so where can i get magic DVDs ? online ?

Dealers here are kind to help u get them ^_^

or maybe u can get themonline from many websites,this are a few i know...

www.penguinmagic.com
www.expertmagic.com
www.ellusionist.com(i didn't know if i spell it correctly) :unsure:

Or u may post what u want to buy in marketplace if u don't mind some people selling u 2nd hand.. ^_^

You can always contact the dealers here like Me,Cynwell and Ning lol.. We can get magic DVD for you.. :D Decks of bicycles and more lol

Well, if you want books, these are some really awesome choices.

-Card College
-Complete course in magic
-Complete idiot's guide to magic

And yes, for videos, perhaps Born to perform would be good.

my advice is just to get materials from well established names in magic. u almost certainly will not go wrong.

mark wilson
michael ammar
daryl martinez
juan tamariz
dai vernon
larry jennings
paul gertner
kaufman
etc.

well, starting off with Vernon's books is kinda overkill isn't it?

another really significant person you missed out is Gregory Wilson. he's come up with some really great videos, not books though.

a good, but not essential book to start with is Royal Road to Card Magic. I hear it's one of the 'foolproof' methods of starting to learn card magic.

wow thx for all the advices.. think i will start off with born to perform DVD first :) then i will continue to get more DVDs

not really, vernon's stuff are usually rather easy to learn (at least the ones he prints that u read). vernon always emphasised on simplicity, but of course that does not mean sleights will be easy, but with practice (as all things are), things will turn out all right.

and i did not miss out greg wilson, its under the "etc." section. i believe there are definitely many more ppl that u guys may think of:

eugene burger
david roth
darren brown

many many more (but pls, dont bother adding to the list).

btw, if ur starting, i feel that its usually better to go with these big names who specialises in a particular genre of magic, and the names which are more classic. basics are better learnt from them then from some up-and-coming person gaining popularity.

NOTE: I am not ruling out any exceptions! just a general view...

well derren brown is good. i always do his stuff as he does in trick of the mind, mind control, inside your mind as well as seance. Check out his devil's picturebook.

gordie, well maybe it's just that there's so much goodstuff in the Chronicles that I don't want other people to get it. B)

anyway, Derren Brown does not do that many card effects. at least, most of them are mentalism-related. not easy to do without a good presentation, but get's killer reactions.

as for DVDs, I think Michael Ammar's series or Daryl's Encyclopedia are better than BTP or other newer ones. these cover the basics, and give you a good foundation to start with rather than a not-so-strong foundation which will leave you stranded if you move on deeper into card effects.

U may want to get some beginner's stuff from ellusionist.com but they are a bit more expensive compared to Penguin magic and some may consider it a rip off..but it emphasize alot on basics

I would second ellusionist. No doubt their DVDs are more expensive compared to most others, the fact that they provide protective forum for owners of ellusionist DVD would great help - any problems that you have - just post there, replies will come suprisingly fast..

i would recommend u ellusionist video.Their tricks were explosive.Drop me an email if u are intrested at rashidrajat@yahoo.com

i definitely think that you should start of with the fundamentals of magic and you can do so by watching oz pearlman's born to perform.or you could get books from magic shops.there is a wide variety,don;t worry.

In my opinion, a totally beginner should seek advices or help from someone whom he/she knows. Then, it'll be a live performance, one on one, instead of one on dvd/book.

Nothing beats "live" advices. If you dont have a friend who does magic, you can either try making a friend here, or go to Magic Castle thats located at Shaw Towers, or its Branches; Street Magic located at Kovan, and Magic City located at Queensway Shopping Center. These places are the best places to start magic in my opinion, though its costly.

Well, my magic grew in Street Magic, but after getting the Basic, one can go into DVDs or books like that the other has mentioned earlier.

But its up to you, DVD or Book or a Live Instructor. ^_^

It's hard to start learning from basics with books or dvd. When I first started on cards, I seek advice from a friend. Much easier that way.

Hmm i think it worth learning from books despite being a tad harder. You can really get your imagination running if u learn from books, rather then from friends. When learning from people, we tend to follow their style of presentation, the wordings, etc. But with books, you can really think of many different ways to perform an effect.

Anyway, i started learning from books so i think its not that difficult as long as the person is willing to put in some effort. My first book was "Royal Road to Card Magic"

Some people feel that dover books being sold at borders are not that good, but i think thats really an unfair statement. IMO, i think those books (e.g dover editions of Royal Road to Card Magic, BoBo, Expert at the Card Table, etc) are really great for magicians who are beginners or even for intermediatians alike. ^_^

yes yes yes. very true.

ppl who are not willing to spend effort on books dont deserve the wealth of knowledge contained within. if they think they can progress with advice from friends, or are satisfied that way, i say, let them be.

i can easily find many many material in dover books that most ppl here will not know about, never heard about and did not think of. if they think those are "pointless", not worth learning/knowing, again, i say, let them be.

im sorry for sounding so snobbish, but frankly, im just saddistic. theres no greater thrill than seeing the ignorant perish through their own actions (or lack of it) and their "love" for magic which they are willing to put "so much" effort into, except for books.

i am selfish for magical knowledge, and i also want to fulfil my sadistic desires. So, i hope that noone bring up this subject of reading magic books again. im dead serious.

well, for me, i think that it's very hard for us, beginners, to actually start learning magic through books. it's very hard for us to imagine the moves and all by ourselves. for example, like me who just started learning magic, they would say, do a false shuffle. i wouldn't know that move at all. even if there was a section all about false shuffle, it's tough understand that block of words.

i still prefer videos, it allows you to replay and replay all over again, countless times. and they show you a much clearer picture. :D

i would say 'Born To Perform by Oz Pearlman' is good. good choice!