I'm reading "Strong Magic" by Darwing Ortiz -- a fantastic book! A serious student of performance will benefit from what it says. IMO what Ortiz talks about is a serious consideration of what a magical performance ought to be...it's for each of us to deal with the reason for performing. And, he calls magic a presentation of "eternal mysteries" rather than magic tricks. "What sense of mystery, and what challenge, from out of all that we consider to be impossible, can I bring to the audience to create 'magic' for them?" It's important to point out that the key word in that last sentence is THEM. After all, if there was no audience there'd be no performance.
According to Ortiz, a magician should prepare an answer to that question BEFORE they stand in front of an audience. Me?..I think it's worth asking many times over the course of one's development.

Another book I'd recommend, STAGE PERFORMANCE by Livingston Taylor. He's not a magician, but he's a ***ed good performer! He's a singer-songwriter (brother of James Taylor). More importantly, he teaches "Stage Performance" at Berklee College of Music, in Boston. The book he wrote is what he teaches at Berklee. Essentially, it's a guide on "how to please your audience." Understand this, the same principles are in place whether one is performing magic or music. And, simply, if the magician ignores or forgets their audience, the audience will turn and look away from the magician -- nobody in this room wants that to happen! Nurturing the audience (meaning, taking care of their attention) will show that you appreciate the gift of their attention. When care is given to an audience, and in return audience reciprocates by offering their much desired applause, the magician has been given a great gift. A door begins to open that permits the performer/magician to have a conversation with their audience. The conversation and the performance rely on each other. Once the gift of conversation occurs, it is the responsibility of the magician to keep the door from closing between them and the audience. A primary lesson I took from Livingston's book is this: A magician that wants to succeed will be sure to take care of their audience.

Both books are serious in tone, but accessible. And, both were written by authors that are each a master of their chosen craft.
I hope I wasn't too wordy in my comment. I recommend the books to anyone who wants to start thinking about what a performance is.

Ooops- meant to say * darned * -sorry, I'm a new member

Chris

While not strictly about magic in the sense you mean, I would recommend, "How to Win Friends & Influence People" by Dale Carnegie.

Originally published in 1936, but just as relevant (if not more so) today.

It's a classic for a reason, and has certainly helped me greatly over the years.

Echo that. Regardless of what you choose to do in your life, this masterpiece is worth re-reading once a year!

Couldn't agree more. In fact, I'm due for another reread soon.

It's never gotten the same attention and recognition as "How to Win Friends" has, but I also feel that Carnegie's "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" is JUST as essential.

They're both wonderful, wonderful works. A whole masterclass in human interaction!

It's too late to "second that", so, I'll "third that"!