I would suggest at this stage, choosing items and tricks that interest YOU. As has already been said, there is enough magic and books, effects etc to last a lifetime! Choosing what you find interesting, enjoyable and rewarding will only benefit you, focus your learning and allow you to express yourself and ultimately enjoy yourself, which is what it's all about. Enjoy yourself and your audience will too!

I would also not worry about getting bogged down in learning too many technical sleights. Some perfectionists would disagree, but if you know one or two ways to force a card, control a card, etc, that work for you, then stick to that method and work on it, along with the words and mannerisms, until you feel comfortable doing it without thinking and can focus on the presentation, again the most important part.

One thing I would say, is spend as much time on the presentation as leading the technical side of the effect. Ultimately magic without entertaining presentation is at best a curious distraction, at worst boring! Remember you must entertain.

Magic and mentalism - huge discussion which had been talked about many times! It all depends on your persona and act, but I do both and never have anyone question it, it appears only to be magicians and mentalists who argue, not spectators! As long as it fits your personality, style and what you are aiming to achieve there is nothing wrong with it. For me, if I was a magician, I'd like to think I can read minds too. That's how I sell it, I regularly start with magic, build and then show them how I learnt to apparently read minds - and you're off.

Just my thoughts. But ultimately enjoy it, find what works for you, and practice not just on the effect but focus on the presentation! Talk out loud as you practice, feels odd at first but it is invaluable to preparing for real people, as you get a feel of the choreography of the effect. And try it on real, breathing people, as often as you can. Then you'll have a gauge of your level.

Simon

Specialization is a good thing, and working on what interests you is great. There's no need to master everything, and an attempt to do so would be futile. That said, I think there is value is learning (not necessarily practicing or performing, but just learning) well beyond your own preferences. You never know where that next good idea is going to come from, so it's worthwhile to read and absorb a bit of everything, and then practice what speaks to you.

As for mixing magic and mentalism: if that's what you want to do and what works for you, go for it. I do. I call myself a magician rather than a mentalist, but it seems to me that mentalism is just a subset of magic (many mentalists will disagree with me, but there's a whole philosophy of magic that goes into this argument). As Simon said, only magicians and mentalists even care about those distinctions.

Keep in mind that mentalism versus magic is often a difference in presentation. Any basic card revelation, for example, can be presented as mentalism or magic depending on the intent of the effect. This isn't true with color changes and other obviously magical effects--What did the mentalist do? Change the color of the cards with some kind of telekinesis?--but yes, you might be missing out on a technique or structure that could benefit you with a change in presentation. Not only that, mentalism might seem boring to someone with a magical mindset, but lay people find them to be very impressive. Give them a try since you might be surprised at the response.

This is a great discussion! I for sure am most interested in performing mental effects, however I love magic. I wouldn't plan on leaving out magical effects completely. I'm just aware that as a result of this choice I'll probably limit myself to magical effects that would work in the context of a mental show. I definitely agree with Robert though, that I'll probably learn and study a lot that I won't use, however gain value from an idea, concept, or inspiration.
My problem is its all interesting to me really! So, I'm trying to make my decision early on and actually become proficient at something, rather than get lost in the infinite sea of trying to learn everything!

It's good to make *a* decision early on so you don't lose focus, but there's no need to make *the* decision early on. Hell, I'm still constantly rethinking and redefining what I do. I may be a bit different from many people, though, in that for me, the real fun comes not from standing on stage (though I do enjoy that) but in the intellectual pursuit. I came to magic as a scientist first and a performer second, so I still haven't made any concrete decision of exactly what sort of magic is *right* for me. It's always just whatever seems to be best based on my current thinking, and it's always in flux.

In a slight digression, it's also worth pointing out that I think that shows itself in my presentations. I'm not trying to convince anyone I have supernatural powers--I'm using magic to explore ideas, to provoke thought, or to evoke emotions. You needn't be a professor of classics or a theoretical astrophysicist to enjoy my show, but I try to always aim my presentations a little higher. And so, in my work, the common theme isn't so much a "genre" of magic as it is that presentational exploration. Which I think also goes to what MRSharpe is talking about.