Book Tests in Mentalism & Spiritism

After reading this ebook you will be able to divine the words selected at random from any borrowed dictionary or book; deal four straight winning hands of Blackjack without sleight of hand; teach anyone how to read minds convincingly in just 30 seconds; sense colors merely thought of; transform a borrowed pack of cards into a bizarre impression device.

Several effects in this ebook require what Leo calls The Nothing Book. It is a hard cover book with empty pages. You can also use an empty notebook.

first edition, 1989, The Rustic Press, Arlington; 128 pages.

5. Introduction
1. STRANGE TALES ...

Annemann has created a wonderfully direct telephone book test where he has eliminated faked books, pads, mathematical oddities, forcing decks and the thousand and one "foreign" objects that have been used in combination. He incorporated an Al Baker idea to make this a true miracle. You also get notes added by Kanter's magic shop which further explain various details and important points.

first edition, 1932; 2 pages.

Please keep in mind that you only get the instructions, not the Reader's Digest Enrich Your Word List booklet, not the ungimmicked Webster's New World Dictionary and no prompter cards. However, the instructions will allow you to adapt this effect to any dictionary in any language.

This 1976 Al Mann Exclusive is widely regarded as one of his most ingenious book tests. From an "Enrich your vocabulary" list inside the covers of a dictionary, two spectators secretly agree to think of one of 400 word pairs. Each thinks of one of the words, looking it up in the dictionary to be certain of its meaning....

• The Ghost of the Unborn
• The Master of the Word
• The Adonis Book Test
• Adonis, Aphrodite and Zeus
• Fifth Row Center Aisle
• The Shades of Thought
• The Uninvited
• Forcing the Word
• Forcing Three Words
• The Book Mark

23 pages

This is a totally impromptu book test. It requires no gimmicks and can be done with virtually any book (hard cover or soft cover). There is also no setup. You do not need to have access to the book beforehand. And still you can reveal Any Word on Any Page.

Picture somebody choosing any book, from their own bookshelf. Then they open their book to any page they please and freely select any word. There are no forces and the choice of page and word is entirely free. That's what A.W.A.P. stands for. Any word any page.

You amaze them by revealing the word one letter at a time! This is a very...

An amazing three phase book test designed for walk-about and close-up magicians that will fit in to your pocket. Great for restaurant workers, street performers, trade shows and private party magicians. This book test would normally sell for up to $100, but Paul has put it out as a PDF ebook to keep the cost affordable to magicians. In this package you get everything you need to do this book test.

1. Instructions on how to perform this book test
2. PDF file of the gimmick book – just take it to your local copy center or printer and have them print it off for less than $10.00
3. JPG file of the...

The Magazine Memory effect is a highly entertaining, high energy, astounding feat of mental prowess that audiences love. It has been a feature effect for many high profile performers, yet little has been written about the effect until now.

Timothy Hyde has used the routine to close his show for many years. Performing on luxury cruise ships, corporate events and at theatre shows around the world he has explored the routine in great depth.

In the classic form of the effect, pages from a current issue magazine or newspaper are distributed into the audience. Audience members randomly call...

"The easiest and most portable book test to date!" - Erik Jansson

The iPhone has loads of apps designed to do magic in the app store but there is one problem. None of them really are organic. As soon as you performed one of these effects with the phone everyone screams: "Its an app! Very clever but its an app". So here is one of the most organic apps on the market.

You show the spectator an ebook on your phone and run through how it works (scrolling etc,) for them... You let them see that every single page is different before you have a page randomly selected. You hold the phone...

A unique and popular subject like the Book Test is analyzed here in 20 routines by such great contributors as: Ian Adair, Howard Adams, Len Belcher, Tan Hock Chuan, Rachel Colombini, Tom Craven, Maurice Fogel, Karrell Fox, Karl Fulves, Richard Himber, Arthur Setterington, Walter Sleight and Nick Trost.

In the standard effect (sometimes done as a prediction) a spectator opens a book to a page and concentrates on a word (or three words or a full line). The mentalist, standing some distance away, is able to reveal the word the spectator is thinking of. Of course, as per many classics, variations abound and Rachel has tried to keep this variety...

CONTRIBUTORS:

• MAGAZINE TEST (Someeran)
• FORCED SIGNAL (Rachel Colombini)
• ASTRO BOOK TEST (Rex Taylor)
• NEWSPAPER MIRACLE (Arthur Carter)
• EVERY WORD-EVERY PAGE BOOK TEST (Ian Adair)
• SIMPLAMENTAL BOOK TEST (Karrell Fox)
• BOOK - BELL - CANDLE (Floyd Shotts)
• ONE-HANDED BOOK TEST PREDICTION (Ian Adair)
• BOOKMARK MENTALISM (Graham Reed)
• THE ROVI BOOK TEST (Ivor Parry)
• PAGE 98 - 14TH LINE (Werner Miller)
• THE TURN-OVER BOOK TEST (Stephen Tucker)
• THE S.R.R. BOOK TEST (Arthur Setterington)
• SIX-SELECTION (Paul Daniels)
• PSYCHO BOOK TEST (Bob Gill)
• TWO-FIGURE BOOK TEST (Rex Taylor)
• DIRECT BOOK TEST (Arthur Carter)
• THREE-DICE BOOK DIVINATION (John Bragoli) ...

Genesis: In the beginning there was Mick Ayres' award winning RhymeTime.

In 2002, Mick Ayre's won a Linking Ring Award for Mentalism from the International Brotherhood of Magicians for his effect RhymeTime:

At the end (of his wonderful manuscript), Mick wrote: "I feel...

This is an ebook test. Yes, not a book test done with actual paper copies, but rather a book test done with ebooks, PDF ebooks that is. The advantage here is that you can perform it wherever you have your smartphone, tablet or iPad with you. (For another ebook test see Dracula Ebook Test.)

Effect: A spectator selects any one of seven ebooks, turns to the page of his/her choice as you look away. The spectator concentrates on one word and you name it, even though you don't know the page and there is no fishing.

You will get the following ebooks:

• "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens
• "Around the World...

Trinities is a two-phase mind-reading routine. In the first phase, the mentalist correctly divines attributes (colour, suit, value) of playing cards which the spectator has shuffled, dealt and covered with his hands while the mentalist has turned away. In the second phase, which can be performed alone, the spectator forms a page number by combining the values of freely selected cards from the deck. Without the mentalist seeing, the spectator then opens up and freely examines an eBook (standard PDF) from a collection of classic literary works stored on a computer, eBook reader or smartphone....

Based on the original Al Mann Lexicon Phenomena, but greatly improved and so far advanced it fools those who know the original effect.

Now you can make this up using your own computer for a fraction of buying it new already made up.

Imagine revealing two FREELY thought-of words from across the room using an ungimmicked dictionary (you will have to paste two pages with word lists at the very front and two pages at the very end of the dictionary). Imagine doing this 15 feet away and never touching the dictionary during the presentation. Devin Knight's Word Sight allows you to reveal two words, sight unseen, that...

Here is the act exactly as the audience sees it:

The performer asks for the loan of three paperback novels, a piece of paper, and a pen or pencil. The performer says, "I have a feeling about one of you, and I think I have a pretty good idea about something that is going to be significant to you a little later on." The performer then writes something on the paper, folds it up, and hands it to one of the audience members.

Three audience members are now selected to participate in the tests. Participant #1 selects a book, opens it up to a random page and remembers a word. The other participants,...

Make It Yourself with this PDF.

Mentalist tells the audience that before the show, he gave a lady a dictionary, a red crayon and an envelope. He asked her to secretly circle a word and to seal the dictionary in the envelope. She was instructed to tell nobody the word, nor let anyone tamper with the envelope. He says this envelope is still in the audience.

When it's time to perform this effect, the Mentalist calls two people on stage.

The sealed envelope with dictionary is then retrieved by one of the spectators who holds on to it in full view. The Mentalist picks up a 300 page book...

Designed for the serious working performer, 'Whacked!' is a 10 minute mind-reading routine which revolves around Dave Gorman's best-selling comedy book Googlewhack Adventure. If you've no idea what that is, you can bring yourself up to speed by heading over to www.davegorman.com

This second edition manuscript gives full details of Mark's script and psychological approach – which is one of the things that lifts Whacked head and shoulders above so many other book-tests. The presentation has been honed over many, many performances for a wide variety of audiences, which ensures that the routine...

A spectator is handed a theatrical review sheet and is asked to choose one of the hundreds of words that make up the various articles. There is no restriction of choice and the word is not written down. It is merely thought of by the spectator.

When the spectator is ready the mentalist begins to concentrate and slowly, letter by letter, reveals the mentally chosen word. It is that direct. A spectator things of a word and you reveal it. The spectator can choose a different word and you can repeat the effect right away.

Simple to learn, simple to perform, devastating in effect. What more...

What Happens:

The mentalist displays four or five current popular magazines. They are handed out and freely examined. One is chosen by an audience member and he or she is asked to peruse the magazine. Next they are asked to decide on a page with lots of text, they do so and proceed to remove the page from the magazine. This is repeated with the other magazines until there are four or five random pages from each magazine.

Next the audience member's with their respective pages are instructed to turn them landscape and tear them in half. Place the two pieces together and repeat, and repeat...

Book tests are a staple in the repertoires of mentalists and are very effective in a performance of mentalism (see David's Bookworm Act). However, for magicians the effect can be rather lack luster as nothing visual happens. There is very little or even no "magic" when it comes to a standard book test.

David Devlin's Contact is not a book test in the traditional sense. It is a book test designed for the magician. It is a book test of sorts with a séance themed presentation. It is through the book itself that the performer will make contact with the "spirits". The presentation is rather spooky; however...

[Note: This book test uses adult material.]

Nic Holson brings you a comedy book test unlike any other based upon the literary success of EL James 50 Shades of Grey and the soon to be released film of the same title.

A thought reading demonstration seems to have gone hilariously wrong - yet despite the odds being against you, all comes good when you show the very same prediction to your spectator with no switching!

• Method can be adapted to other book tests
• Close up, Parlor, Stage
• Comedy script included
• Un-gimmicked books used

1st edition 2015, 37 pages.

"Dee shared with me this concept and I must say that is really something smart and revolutionary. Being able to spark your own creativity and let the book fit your persona as performer and not in reverse. I did this years ago with my own book tests (in Spanish) but in here Dee is giving you all that work and much more. I recommend without a doubt this great release." - Pablo Amira (Mentalism Author)

"You should be charging WAY more for this!!" - Alan Rorrison (Consultant for Dynamo & Troy TV shows)

The book test is a classic in mentalism and mental magic. Every professional show demonstrating the power...

This is a wonderful collection of some of the best mental magic published in The Gen.

CONTENTS:

Section One - Predictions

• The 100% Prediction (Punx)
• Total Prediction (Gerald Kosky)
• The Direct Prediction (John Rice)
• Note and the Jar (Tom Sellers)
• Phenomenal Forecast (Jack Cook)
• The One-man Full-Vu Prediction (Ken De Courcy)
• Mental Flashes (Dr. Stanley Jaks)
• The Patient Telepath (Peter Warlock)
• Novelty Dice Prediction (Tom Sellers)
• Predicted From the Papers (Tom Sellers)
• Super Forethought (Cyro)

• Unique Book Test (Harry Stanley)
• Magazine Test (Ali Bongo)
• Danson's Book Test (Ted Danson)
• A Telephone Directory Test (Eric...

This routine has been part of my act for the last 20 years. An easy and novel way of performing a magazine test without any specially printed magazines, duplicate pages, external cue lists, or memory work. All you need are two magazines that you can get in any grocery store. A spectator chooses one of them and another spectator calls out a page number. He turns to the page and notes the first word on the page. The performer then reveals the word with NO FISHING or can show it was previously predicted on a white board. No secret peeks or sleights, it's self-contained and so easy to do. You will...

Canastos is one of these few book test predictions, which you can perform anytime, anywhere and with anyone. Once you have learned Canastos, you can perform an impromptu miracle wherever you go.

The performer invites a spectator to take part in his experiment. The performer hands a spectator an envelope and asks them to make sure it is never touched by the performer again. The spectator is also given a book to inspect and to make sure that every page is different with nothing else written down except the text itself.

The performer takes the book back and riffles through the pages until...

You will involve five spectators with various tasks. Two persons are first called up. We shall refer to them as 'A' and 'B'. A pack of cards is dropped between them. 'A' is asked to cut the pack and 'B' is told to take half for himself by actual count. 'A' retains the other half.

From this point the mentalist turns his back on the spectators and does NOT face them again until AFTER everything is over.

The two persons are told to deal together from their respective portions of the pack. A THIRD person is asked to act as umpire and to stop the dealing at any point. As an added precaution...

This is probably the finest book test using special books that has ever been released.

This is a remarkable set of three books which allow you to do four different book tests:

• The Master Key by Terri Rogers
• True Test first created by U. F. Grant
• Al Koran's book test
• Val Andrews sentence test

The Master Key book test runs like this: A spectator has a completely free choice of any of the three different books. Then they can also...

"A brilliant and versatile principle that has stood the test of time." Ian Rowland

This is an unbelievable book test. Just imagine taking a modern book; perhaps a best seller in the bookshops right now. The book is genuine and is completely unfaked in any way. You can even ask a member of the audience or perhaps someone on a radio show that you will be talking to, to bring along a copy of the Da Vinci Code or whatever you choose to use. Or you could do this impromptu with any book as long as you have a couple of minutes private time with the book.

You have the book examined and you...

Important: These are not directions for making this yourself. These are the directions that came with this trick that sold for $150. 00. This PDF is designed for collectors who may have the props, but no directions, magic historians, and those simply curious as to how this trick was done. Well worth the small price just to see how this incredible trick was accomplished. Considered by reviewers to be the best trick Devin Knight ever released.

Two participants secretly choose words from a "real vocabulary book" containing hundreds of words. There are no duplicate words in the book's word list....

How a page is forced during a book test is the most important part of the test. Unfortunately, most page forces are sadly lacking. Most appear contrived. Dice are rolled to determine page numbers, playing cards are used or math is used to determine a random number. This not what a real mind reader would do.

Other methods involve mis-calling numbers. If the audience realizes that the mentalist knows the page number, then the effect has dropped a few levels. Many people have read in books about secret cue lists and realize if the mentalist knows the page number, then he may have memorized the...

An improvised book-test with a borrowed newspaper.

There are dozens of newspaper tests or predictions, but this one is different, improvised, and will be remembered as hands-off.

• There are no newspaper tears or cuts, no center tear, no peek, no counting, no secret writing, no sleights, no weird procedure, no complex maths or logic or convoluted stuff, etc.
• All you need is a normal borrowed newspaper. No gimmicks, no other props, cards, swami, pens, etc. Nothing else, except ...you... and the secret.

The Snip-Snip Want Ad Test is the a sensational, simplified, baffling and easy to present effect. No switching, palming, sleight of hand or advance preparation is needed. Guard the secret well. I have seen professional mentalists pay $100 and more for secrets far inferior to this. Your audience will not believe it. Neither would you if you were not in on the secret.

Effect: A single column of want ads cut from any newspaper is freely shown. It is not gimmicked or prepared in any way. Holding the strip vertically, you start to snip ads from the bottom of the strip, one at a time, until a spectator...

An easy-to-make and easy to perform version of a book reading test. You can not only tell them the word they're thinking of, but you can even tell them how many characters are in the word - and it's all easy. No forcing.

One of the more difficult tasks facing magicians is coming up with scripts - of any sort. And explaining why someone is picking a word from a dictionary so that you can read their mind is - at best - difficult.

Well, the author of How To Write A Script used his methodology to write a script that successfully explains - and conceals the secret - to perform the dictionary test. He even explains...

A Head Full of Books has actually replaced the Hoy book test as my go-to casual mind-reading effect.

Whilst visiting someone's home (or in a bar or coffee shop that has books on the shelves) you ask someone to select any book from their library or off the shelf. He opens the book to any page and reads the first few lines to himself while you look away.

Without touching the book you immediately reveal what he just read! It's that clean.

• Zero memory work.
• Use almost any book, in any language.
• Nothing is written down by the participant or the performer.
• No sleights, finger breaks or other...

Book tests comprise some of the most stunning effects in the mentalist's arsenal. Here, completely explained, are many of the cleverest, most transparent mental demonstrations ever assembled.

Selling for the equivalent of over $50 in today's buying power when it was first released, this manuscript contains some of the most jealously guarded secrets ever developed for apparently reading the minds of your spectators in a clear, convincing manner.

Not just bare bones descriptions, Hull provides complete patter and the thought behind the workings for several outstanding tests using books...

Effect: The book of love poems may be given for examination, opened at any page by a spectator, and whatever the number of the page is selected, spectator counts the words of this number and remembers same. Performer then picks up a paper and pencil, and predicts the word selected. This can be repeated with a different word.

Note: You will receive the force book (Anthology of Love Poems by S. Wynne Burne) as PDF. The easiest way to use it is to load it onto a phone, tablet or eReader and present it that way in electronic form to the spectators. Alternatively you can print and bind it at a...

A super baffling book test that can be done with books in any language.

The effect is that the mentalist shows a copy of a recent ungimmicked New York Times bestseller and hands this to any spectator (no stooge). Another person, (again, no stooge) decides on the page to be used. The first spectator secretly underlines with a pencil a word on the page, closes the book and retains it.

Without touching the book or asking a single question, the mentalist circles the identical word in an ungimmicked dictionary and hands it to a member of the audience for verification. The dictionary is handed...