Merry Christmas! My copy of Deland arrived on Christmas eve... massive and will provide many hours of fun reading.

Just as a heads up Browsers Den of Magic in Toronto got in a large used book collection over the Holidays. Was in yesterday and picked up a cool few finds and there are many great books still there at very good prices.

I was wondering about that one. I saw the email but they didn't give any book names, and it's a bit of a hike for me to get in there. You don't by chance recall any of the book names that struck you, do you JM?

There were many... Mystery School book still in shrink, Houdin book, Regal books still in wrap, New Jinx in wrap, Impossibila, Richards Almanac, Ibidems, Simon Aronason books, Larry Barwonsky books... and on and on .Plus lecture notes and smaller pamphlets and soft cover books.

I'm tempted to make a run down on saturday. My wife and son are occupied. There are quite a few books I'm trying to round up lately: Reflections by Helder G, Framework by Tom Frame, old JK Hartman stuff, Bob Cassidy and so on. I love browsing through all the physical books down there.

Pretty sure there was one or two Hartman books there when I was browsing.

Hey guys. Just wondering what your thoughts are on the price trends in magic books lately. I was looking at a few recent releases, and they all feel so pricey to me lately. The new Tamariz, for example, I'm seeing for $150 USD. The Deland book, which a couple people have mentioned, I'm seeing same price. There was one called Notas which was mentioned in another thread, which is something like 130 EUR. I feel like that $100 range is getting 'normal' right now. Obviously we all have our individual uses for these books, and much would depend on whether you are a professional performer or not, but how are you guys thinking about prices these days? Still buying? I know for myself I've decided to be a lot more selective with what I buy, and maybe start targeting one or two a year that I definitely want, as opposed to buying books to 'try' them. I love magic books, but as an adult with a family, some of these prices feel a little bit tough to justify. (Doubt I'll end up sticking to my one or two book limit, but it's how I'm thinking about this right now).

I know people will probably mention some other considerations, such as price keeping the books out of the non-serious magicians' hands. But I feel like this might have the effect of further shrinking the market for magic books. Not sure on that though..

My shelves are so full now that I am forced into being much more selective. Over the years my interest have also became more focused. I understand the price point on the Deland book (which I own). It is a deluxe over sized volume produced to very high standards... combine that with a relatively small market I can see why a higher price is needed to try and make a reasonable profit. Ultimately it always come down to supply and demand. There will be tremendous interest in Tamariz's new volume. For someone of that stature to share their life work I don't think $150 is too out of line. Same with Johnny Thompson's tomes. No one gets rich producing a magic book when you factor in the time to write, design, print and ship, again for a pretty small niche audience overall (1,000 is a best seller).

I do think there are books out there that are overpriced but I generally avoid those. My thoughts only

John

Really, all you need are 15 or 20 Dover paperback magic books, and you’ve got enough material to perform great magic for several lifetimes. $200 investment. However, if you like to collect magic books, the sky (and your budget) is the limit.

Todd
www.magicstore.ca

Good advice Todd... but as we know Magic is never about "need"....

True enough. The fact is, I have a couple of hundred lovely and precious hardcover magic books which I like to look at and salivate over on a regular basis. Unfortunately, the saliva lowers their resale value

LOL!

Recently acquired Gerald Deutsch's Perverse Magic: The First Sixteen Years

Just wanted to pass on the info that Martin Joyal is having a 30% sale this weekend on almost everything on his used book website:

http://www.joyalstack.com/magic-books/


Todd
www.magicstore.ca

Just picked up the Tamariz book. Ouch!

Ouch on the wallet?

Https://www.magicstore.ca/product/the-ma......n-minch/

It’s a big fat beautiful book, but the fat is good fat, like the omega 3s. No trans fats here! It’s very nutritious for your mind. Make it a part of your diet. Bon appetit!

Correct.

Picked up a copy of Scarne on Card Tricks recently, signed by the man himself.

That’s a fantastic book, and greatly under-appreciated. There are so many great gems in there.