Kannon, duanebarry actually said:



And I'll be honest, I kind of found that to be insulting. Why on Earth would that question be asked? I would like to think I'm not viewed as a writing hack- especially since I've been writing for MAGIC Magazine for years as well as Magic Friday since 2006. But even if this was my first attempt at putting pen to paper, what should it matter? It just seemed like a strange request.

But, you know what, I'll actually do the apologizing here. I'm afraid I treated this thread exactly like I treated the "Trick Of The Year" thread which I've run the last year and this one and that was, obviously, wrong. Some key differences were:

1) People can tell their friends, family, and neighbors that they are in a contest. It was/is awesome to see everyone rallying for their favourite effects and creators. It's a celebration. And voting was never skewed. No one had 1000 votes with someone else having two. What kind of contest is it if it has to be kept secret?

2) Voters don't have to justify their votes. Who am I to judge why someone likes something?

3) There is no minimum "post count". If people's first interaction on the Café is to come vote for their favourite effect, then so be it! Hopefully they'll like what they see and stay awhile.

But this isn't my contest so I'll apologize for treating it the same. I also reckon I shouldn't have mentioned that I mentioned it.

Maybe it's my surgery talking (I've lost my hand for a couple of months) but I have to say I'm in an extremely rare and angry mood. If you know me (and a lot of people on the Café do) you know that I never post anything negative and am pretty much happy 100% of the time. Seriously, all the time happy. But, for whatever reason, this whole thread leaves me with a bad taste as opposed to the happy one it should. So I'll just sign off.

jamie

This is most unfortunate. Even after reading duanebarry's explanation, I am still trying to figure out why what Jmolomagic had to say was not enough for his vote to count.

Jamie, please read the rules for voting in the first post of this thread. Rule #2 says:

2) A vote will only be counted if the voter writes at least 3 substantive sentences about the content of the book. Yes, you're writing a mini-review to tell us what you found valuable about the book. Pasting in the publisher's advertising text doesn't count. "Best. Book. Ever." doesn't count.

This year the process has slightly more depth than simply naming a title.

Consequently, if an author seeks to mobilize his readers to come influence the vote tally, then those readers/proxy marketers can at least contribute some substantive comments to inform the rest of the reading community about some useful content they were able to apply from that book which they're helping the author to marketize/promote.

Like the book n*zi! no vote for you!

I'm sorry but..... HA!

My vote goes to The Approach by Jamie Grant. It's got something for all working magicians, working pros and those just starting out alike. It comes in a nice workbook format for you to monitor your own progress as a working pro. The Big Secret alone is worth the price of the book!

Nigel

The Approach

I finished reading the book in 2 days and I think I can sum it up in one word…”Enthusiasm.”

Jamie’s enthusiasm and love of performing magic pours out of the pages of the book. When reading it, you can’t help but to be excited as well. There is TONS of valuable information packed inside. Some things I already knew but there were so many things I had NEVER thought of! There will probably be some things you disagree with…that’s ok. As Jamie says (I’m paraphrasing), “We’re all different.”

I put “The Approach” in my top 5 magic books I’ve read (please don’t ask me the other 4 right now). If you are a magician (close-up, stage, whatever), you should read this book. I’ve never met Jamie before but if we’re ever in the same place, I’m going to buy him a beer or 3 because 1) he seems like he’d be awesome to hang out with and 2) he deserves it for all he’s shared with the magic community, including this book.

(Please note: I copied this from a previous post that I wrote. I hope that's allowed.)

WE FEAR CHANGE!

The Approach by Jamie Grant
I like the use of bold words.
I like the chapters.
Page numbers are a plus.

I'm sorry again but......HA!

I am only going to vote for one book. My vote goes to Emotional Mentalism 2 by Luca Volpe. Sentence one - This book contains routines from an award winning working Pro! Sentence two - The material covered in this book is easy to follow, simple in method and is extremely powerful! Sentence three - Also included in the book are routines from various contributors that have never been published before.


OK now that I have met the rules (hopefully/maybe), let me simply say that this is a great book for mentalists from an ward winning mentalist who has performed the material he is presenting in real world performing conditions for real audiences that has been fully tested. It is well thought out, simple in execution and the routines have an emotional hook that many "tricks" simply do not have. Luca has included his full script to get you started. Also included are contributions from others that give you even more material that is great. This is not for the beginner but you do not have to be an expert either. I LOVE this book and I think you will as well.


Jamie

Also, I object to the rules. I think you should be able to just list your top five favorite books of 2013. Your first post said that if no one objects. Well I just did even though I tried to follow "the rules".

Jamie

Is it just me or is this contest a bit farce? It's just people voting for Approach after being asked. Is it a fair contest so far?

How is it not a fair contest? It's a wonderful book!

Jamie did admit to having advertised the poll, but he's far from campaigning on it; I think it's fair to have made a post to direct people to it; he's proud of his work and that's a wonderful thing.

We don't actually truly know the vote tally yet, as some have cast their vote without quite hitting the mark, or not hitting the mark enough in the eyes of the moderator; thus, we can't actually be certain which votes duanebarry is counting as valid, and which ones are not.

That said, I voted for it because I think it's a fantastic book. I had already planned to vote for it this year, long before this thread appeared. The book has impacted how I present myself on a day-to-day basis, even when I'm not performing.

Unfortunately, this thread doesn't seem to have a lot of energy. I'm not sure if that's because people didn't buy books this year, they weren't happy with them, aren't interested in the change of rules, or are just waiting to vote at a later date. I admire the intention of trying to get a friendly discussion going surrounding the most favourite works of the year, so we will see how it pans out over the next few weeks.

This is exactly why I posted that I told people about it. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm an extremely honest person and that I guard my reputation with my life!

But the thought of being in a contest and having to keep it secret is absolutely crazy to me! Say wha? Part of that relies on the person running the contest, though. I'm running the "Trick of The Year" contest and talk about it on my Twitter and Facebook- it totally helps. I know some people also think that magicians with the "most fans" will only win, but that has never been the case. You can see how close it is over on the Trick thread.

And that's what this should be- a celebration! People should be talking about it, getting each other to vote, and having fun celebrating their favourite things. A party, not a farce.

My 2 cents,

jamie

Personaly I think it would be a sad state of affairs if "The Approach" won this contest. Not that its a bad book ...just its not a great book . I bought this book based on the reviews here on the care and I was very dissapointed .

I paid £55 for this book soft back , about a5 size
The content was for me a beginers book. With little that has not been said before .
At the same time I purchased Vortex and Maelstorm books by tom stone both books together cost me £60 and for me each of toms books was far superior in advise and theory that's not even considering the great tricks
Phil

Here are my choice for Café Book of the year in the order of my favorites.

Counting On Deception by Larry Barnowsky is an outstanding book in both content and format. Many effects are self-working using hidden math principles. Among my favorites are 15 Card Poker Deal, Nine Shuffle Paradox, Underhanded Deception, The 39th Card, Drawing a Blank, and Crayola Payola. Plenty of non-card material. Clear detailed explanations, full script, and sharp photos on glossy pages. Highly recommended.

High Caliber by John Bannon is filled with wonderful material typical of the quality from Bannon. 51 Fat Chances, Riverboat Poker, and Megawave are all outstanding. Clear instructions, original concepts. Fills in the gaps of Bannon material I didn’t have. Buy it.

Japan Ingenious compiled by Kaufman and Cohen is a great collection of very clever original material from Japan. Many great items like One Man Self Levitation, Warp 9, Vanishing Wedding Band, Case Card, Flip Match, and ET Rope. Excellent drawings mainly by Ton Onosaka. You will enjoy this book.

I think anyone who loves magic books should have all three of these in their library.

BJ

1. Japan Ingenious - the best of Japanese magic in one place. A variety of tricks so there's something for everyone. Three tricks made it into my repertoire. Best magic book in years by far.

2. John Guastaferro's Discoveries & Deceptions - the best multiple selection routine in print. A amazing straw bend that is total impromtu. Strong material thoughout.

3. Gold dust companion - Lots of workers. Cheap price for large volume of good material. Good for card entusiast.

High Caliber - John Bannon $60.00
1) A great straight forward compilation of everything he has released since Dear Mr Fantasy.
2) Well thought out routines as well as being explained clearly and with great photos to illustrate moves.
3) The Man Is A Friggin Genius. Why wouldn't you want a book with like 40 great effects (most of which, You WILL use)?
4) In This Book - Bold Words, Chapters and Page Numbers are included for FREE!!! Bannon Rules!!!