Best Magic Games
It tells the story of his rediscovery of astonishment--and the importance of wonder in everyday life--during his trip to the slums of India, where he infiltrated a three-thousand-year-old clan of street magicians. Nate Staniforth, magician and former host of the Discovery Channel's TV show Breaking Magic, takes us along his journey from wide-eyed kid trying to convey his sense of wonder to the adults around him, to young magician trying to get a break in LA, to the demands and drudgery of constant touring, to finally feeling that he’s lost the sense of awe that originally set him on his course. What results is a thoughtful, often moving memoir about a man who truly understands (and loves and respects) his craft, even more so for the struggles he has had with it. —Chris Schluep, Amazon Book Review "A personal story that conjures up the wonder and magic of life without any trickery or deceit." "A vivid, deeply compelling, startlingly personal account of life on the far side of the illusion." - Chris Guillebeau, New York Times bestselling author of SIDE HUSTLE and THE HAPPINESS OF PURSUIT. "A real gem; a great read that belongs on the shelf of creative inspiration right next to Art & Fear . As irresistible as his quest for magic is, it's Staniforth's urgent feeling for the craft, and the meaning behind it, that should make all artists―writers, actors, musicians, everyone―take note.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"He expertly, perfectly conveys what life is like for a touring magician, and I think most people can absolutely relate to his subsequent burnout and quest to recapture his own wonder."
"The second part is about how to disappear, Kolkata, the train to Varanasi, the snake charmer, Godmen, choomantar, go North, now we put the river to sleep, the poet, the street magicians of Shadipur depot, the train to Jodhpur, and here is real magic. In conclusion, this is a well-written and interesting story for anyone who is fascinated by magicians and the real magic all around us."
"He is insightful and gives deep thought to the place of awe and wonder and magic tricks. Since there isn’t a “look inside” feature available for this book at the time I’m writing this review, here’s the table of contents (to give you a better idea of what if covers): Part One. 1: Alchemy. 2: How to Be a Starving Artist. 3: Tour. 4: How to Light Yourself on Fire. 5: The Break. Part Two. 6: How to Disappear. 7: Kolkata. 8: The Train to Varanasi. 9: The Snake Charmer. 10: Godmen. 11: Choomantar. 12: Go North. 13: Now We Put the River to Sleep. 14: The Poet. 15: The Street Magicians of Shadipur Depot. 16: The Train to Jodhpur. 17: Here Is Real Magic. To be clear about the magic this book is and is not about, here’s a quote from the book, “I had learned by this point that some people do not like magic. For many, the word brings to mind laser beams, smoke machines, and tight leather pants. It conjures images of Las Vegas showmen, of style without substance, of overblown, underwhelming spectacle heavy on cliché and light on actual ideas.” This is not the type of magic that this book is about."
The Unofficial Harry Potter Spellbook is a comprehensive companion for fans looking to delve deeper into the magical world of Harry Potter.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I loved the spells you put,but for some people, they might need a pronunciation key to read the spells the correct way."
"My son loves this!"
"Bought this to accompany the three wands I bought my grandsons - nice addition."
"I love Harry potter and I am addicted to learning spells I even am wanting to find a wizard/witch school so this is a awesome experience if you like Harry potter then you will love this book."
"My Grandson loves Harry Potter."
"It was a gift for my granddaughter."
"It was good, but it didn't really do anything but tell you the spells and a poor explanation of what they do."
"I got this book and it was like twenty dollars and it took forever to convince my mom. say ACCIO (object desired) and sharply flick your wand up. I mean I know that might be a little fantasizing, but some of the kids reading this book would love to learn that stuff. Now I can't purchase any books for a whole month , which is the worst, because I am a real bookworm."
Ready to impress at any moment Learn once, perform forever Show yourself off as a Mathemagician! Blow Minds Beyond Explanation Trick Your Way to Mental Superpowers Your friend will name a random number. With a smug flourish, you then reveal that all combinations and directions within the grid add up to their chosen number. You appear to have performed thousands of calculations, in your head in mere seconds, producing a Magic Square of exquisite mathematical elegance. The basic effect is: a spectator is asked for a random number and you, the magician, quickly fill up a four-by-four matrix with seemingly-random numbers. None of these numbers is the spectator's selection, however, when you add the rows, columns, corner numbers, quadrants, etc they all total the spectator's choice.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"In just a few short pages, Lewis explains how to easily perform a seemingly difficult feat of mind power."
"This is a great way to learn to do magi squares quickly and reliably."
"Simple but very effective, this classic trick will have your friends and family amazed at your magic powers!"
"Book is as described."
"Yes, it's a simple trick."
"An old math formula comes alive and it can make someone wonder if it is done right."
"I love doing magic tricks to impress my friends and new acquaintances."
"It was so simple to learn that I (this guy."
Best Card Games
It’s time to master small stakes poker with a world-class poker champion as your guide. In Strategies for Beating Small Stakes Poker Tournaments, you’ll discover: - Skills that will instantly improve your poker game. - How to stop blaming bad luck and learn the real secret to mastering poker. - The pitfalls to avoid that will allow you to crush your mistake-prone peers. - The reasons pros make the plays they make and how you can adopt their methods. - How to win more money from poker, and much, much more! http://www.JonathanLittlePoker.com Jonathan Little is a professional poker player who has won over $6,400,000 playing tournament poker over the last 10 years.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Well, this is one more great book by Jonathan Little. Having bought and read his Professional tournament series (I own all 3 of those books both in physical and digital form) I knew that Jonathan Little is a "little" expert in producing great books with solid content, that can teach you well about the game and elevate your poker play."
"The books are not meaty.....and lack depth, but they more then make up for that with original thinking and out of the box concepts. As an intermediate player I have found his books very interesting because they challenge my tight aggressive stance.....with a very clear explanation of the benefits of playing loose aggressive."
"If you are an advanced player who understands or is currently beating lower buy-in live tournaments this book is not for you. I kept thinking to myself, "I hope my opponents I play in low boy-in tournaments don't get this book.""
"It`s not like magic happened and I will now crush the games, but at least I`m now aware of how I should leave my "comfort zone" and adjust my game when playing against 5 different types of players I meet at low stakes tournaments: 1) Too loose too passive. 2) Too loose too aggresive. 3) Too tight too passive. 4) Too tight too aggresive. 5) Optimal players, who are in a process of moving up in stakes. I even realized that actually I`m in one of the first 4 groups and that`s why I`m still in low stakes games... I`ve used gained knowledge (and making 5$ cost payed off very quickly) against a guy from group 5 during very next local league tournament, when I checked-raised his cbet from UTG (I was defending BB) because I had backdoor flush draw on K with my KTo and flop (7s6sx) was good for my range and not for my opponent."
"This is a pamphlet with a cover ... interesting information but nothing that can't be obtained elsewhere for a lot less money."
Best Board Games
A public figure since winning his first National Chess Championship at the age of nine, Waitzkin was catapulted into a media whirlwind as a teenager when his father’s book Searching for Bobby Fischer was made into a major motion picture. Rather than focusing on climactic wins, Waitzkin reveals the inner workings of his everyday method, from systematically triggering intuitive breakthroughs, to honing techniques into states of remarkable potency, to mastering the art of performance psychology. In stories ranging from his early years taking on chess hustlers as a seven year old in New York City’s Washington Square Park, to dealing with the pressures of having a film made about his life, to International Chess Championships in India, Hungary, and Brazil, to gripping battles against powerhouse fighters in Taiwan in the Push Hands World Championships, The Art of Learning encapsulates an extraordinary competitor’s life lessons in a page-turning narrative. Now 31, Waitzkin revisits that story from his own perspective and reveals how the fame that followed the movie based on his father's book became one of several obstacles to his further development as a chess master. He turned to tai chi to learn how to relax and feel comfortable in his body, but then his instructor suggested a more competitive form of the discipline called "push hands." In fact, he found a respect for artistry, meditation, and philosophical devotion within both chess and martial arts and realized the possibility for broader application to learning in general.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"One of the best books I've read in a long time."
"The book gets a little long winded when going into detail about his matches throughout the book, but in particular the World Championship."
"Josh creates a fantastic look into learning and the elements that create the learning experience."
"Great book!"
"A page turning read, accompanying Josh through his experiences in chess and Tai Chi!"
"Got a little sluggish with the tournament story as a finisher, but that was the life experience that he used to illustrate the principles learned along the way."
"Along the way, I developed my own love of martial arts, along with other arts such as writing and piano."
"I highly recommend this book if you are interested in learning the process of taking your game to the next level."
Best Word Games
Fun for all ages, with categories from Animals to Best Movie Oscar, there are 50 themed 13x13 puzzles included in Volume 1 covering a wide variety of subjects.
Find Best Price at AmazonBest Trivia Games
And as ever, our team of world-class photographers have traveled the globe to capture amazing images of the year’s most impressive record holders. Bonus content for the US edition Find exclusive pages just for the USA featuring amazing records from the X Games and a special look at the 125th anniversary of basketball. Gr 3 Up—The 2017 edition opens with a particular emphasis: a foreword by Buzz Aldrin, an interview with astronaut Chris Hadfield, and the first section focusing on space. VERDICT An engaging addition to most collections.—Beth McGuire, Hempfield Area School District, Greensburg, PA “As a middle school English teacher, I always keep a copy of the most current Guinness World Records book in my classroom.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"My kids love this book!"
"She has consistently been picking this book to read at bedtime and I enjoy reading it together."
"got this for our daughters 9th birthday!"
"I Loved this Book and so did my 11 yr. old Grandson and he started reading this right away."
"My X generation son loved it and said his daughter will enjoy just a much."
"Grandsons get this every year!"
Best Travel Games
Winning American Mah Jongg Strategies: A Guide for the Novice Player is the strategy guidebook that provides American Mahjongg beginners with the practical information they need to build hands, improve game-play skills, strategize, and win! Finding the best hand The use of defensive tools To Expose or not to Expose and why Determining an opponent's hand And many more…. She has taught American mah jongg for Holland America Cruise Lines, and currently, teaches classes in the Los Angeles area.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I have read it only once but I can say it has been completely helpful."
"I wanted to be able to highlight what was important to me, on the printed page. Only being able to access online didn’t work."
"Learning how to play and this is so much fun."
"Great book for the majlong person that has been playing."
"This book reinforced the learning and strategies of her first book."
"I have been playing Mah Jongg since 1968."
"Helped to improve my game strategy."
"Good basic intro book but the card the book uses is highly outdated (a new card comes out every year)."
Best Video & Electronic Games
Previously published as Diary of a Wimpy Steve: Trapped in Minecraft! (Book 1) takes you on a hilarious Minecraft adventure in which Wimpy Steve (a complete newbie) records his experiences while trapped INSIDE the Minecraft game! With charming illustrations and creative storytelling, Wimpy Steve: Trapped in Minecraft! Kids ages 5-12 (even reluctant readers) can't wait to "dig in" to these Minecraft adventures! Minecraft is a registered trademark of, and owned by, Mojang AB, and its respective owners, which do not approve, endorse, sponsor, or authorize this book.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I like these books zdfgsegrgbggbdreythftdfvdkfonelfivndlfnlekfefoivndfvnjvmcjfgkv."
"Lol LoL LoL LoL !!!!"
"I love this book its combines to of my favorite things."
"THIS IS THE BEST BOOK EVER IN ALL SPACE. TIME!!!!"
"I really liked this book."
"Awesome book sure to make your child laugh."
"I really like this book because it is about adventure very very very very very very very very awesome By matt."
Best Gambling
It’s time to master small stakes poker with a world-class poker champion as your guide. In Strategies for Beating Small Stakes Poker Tournaments, you’ll discover: - Skills that will instantly improve your poker game. - How to stop blaming bad luck and learn the real secret to mastering poker. - The pitfalls to avoid that will allow you to crush your mistake-prone peers. - The reasons pros make the plays they make and how you can adopt their methods. - How to win more money from poker, and much, much more! http://www.JonathanLittlePoker.com Jonathan Little is a professional poker player who has won over $6,400,000 playing tournament poker over the last 10 years.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Well, this is one more great book by Jonathan Little. Having bought and read his Professional tournament series (I own all 3 of those books both in physical and digital form) I knew that Jonathan Little is a "little" expert in producing great books with solid content, that can teach you well about the game and elevate your poker play."
"The books are not meaty.....and lack depth, but they more then make up for that with original thinking and out of the box concepts. As an intermediate player I have found his books very interesting because they challenge my tight aggressive stance.....with a very clear explanation of the benefits of playing loose aggressive."
"If you are an advanced player who understands or is currently beating lower buy-in live tournaments this book is not for you. I kept thinking to myself, "I hope my opponents I play in low boy-in tournaments don't get this book.""
"It`s not like magic happened and I will now crush the games, but at least I`m now aware of how I should leave my "comfort zone" and adjust my game when playing against 5 different types of players I meet at low stakes tournaments: 1) Too loose too passive. 2) Too loose too aggresive. 3) Too tight too passive. 4) Too tight too aggresive. 5) Optimal players, who are in a process of moving up in stakes. I even realized that actually I`m in one of the first 4 groups and that`s why I`m still in low stakes games... I`ve used gained knowledge (and making 5$ cost payed off very quickly) against a guy from group 5 during very next local league tournament, when I checked-raised his cbet from UTG (I was defending BB) because I had backdoor flush draw on K with my KTo and flop (7s6sx) was good for my range and not for my opponent."
"This is a pamphlet with a cover ... interesting information but nothing that can't be obtained elsewhere for a lot less money."
Best Quizzes
Originally published in 1987, The Book of Questions , a New York Times bestseller, has been completely revised and updated to incorporate the myriad cultural shifts and hot-button issues of the past twenty-five years, making it current and even more appealing. The Book of Questions gives you permission to ask those things that are too bold, too embarrassing, or just too difficult to ask by yourself.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This is a cute fun little book."
"Absolutely wonderful."
"Very helpful, and not as overtly manipulative of creating conversation as the book I bought called something like, Conversation Starters."
"Love this book, it's the second volume I bought after having the first for many years!"
"I love this little book!"
"I would have appreciated a bit more discussion on savoring the shades of gray, the learning to see the world from other people's positions so we embrace the world rather than draw lines -- but then, that's just my opinion on what could be another question :)."
"A friend and I are going on a road trip in a couple weeks and thought I'd get something to help pass the time."
"We discovered this the first time when we were on a road trip with friends and they brought it along for the drive."
Best Logic & Brain Teasers
Even if you are new to riddles and brain teasers this book will be a fun and exciting read, it will help you become a better problem solver and become more comfortable with thinking outside the box. There is no word play, the puzzles have definite and satisfying answers, and some of them will blow your mind. In this book you will be figuring out how to cross bridges, how to escape from prison cells, how to steal rope, how to shoot cyborgs, how to transport bananas through the desert, how to figure out the color of a hat you have on, how to turn on lightbulbs, and how to save a ton of prisoners from being executed! Some of these riddles and brain teasers you will find if you look into other books and spend time searching through websites. Then I kept focusing it down and refining the list of riddles until I landed on 78 brain teasers that I thought were -amazing- and unique.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Not what i was expecting."
"Please let me know if you find this review helpful - I got this book for my daughter for Christmas."
"I enjoyed this book."
"This is an excellent choice of teasers with "no ridiculous riddles.""
"Bought this for my grandson."
"Fun riddles."
Best Role Playing & Fantasy Games
Elorion has just finished a VR gaming session to find a monster waiting for him.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The reader is learning about the world at the same time as the main characters."
"Very quick read."
"I've read a lot of Litrpg and this is the second book I've found that has group play."
"Fantastic book, with a cool spin on the rpgLIT genre."
"Story is good."
"Fun read."
"Really works as a story and is compelling."
"Great read, I'm excited for the sequel."
Best Puzzles
The book that millions of SCRABBLE players consider the only necessary resource. Merriam Webster Inc, Springfield, MA.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"My son gets to use it, and we don't, so it evens up the play."
"Great gift along side Super Scrabble to keep player on the up and up."
"I'm no expert on Scrabble, but I'm finding this very useful in playing the Lumosity on-line games and keeping on hand when playing Scrabble with grandchildren."
"I teach English to English as a THIRD language and this dictionary makes expanding vocabulary (via scrabble play) extremely fun."
"It has a lot of words to get you out of a sticky situation when you have letters that you are sure you can't use."
"Very nice up to date Scrabble dictionary."
"As an avid player,using a dictionary definitely adds to the game.having gone through several paperbacks i thought. the additional words and hardcover would enhance the experience.Lots of new words makes it more fun."
Best Puzzle & Game Reference
The book that millions of SCRABBLE players consider the only necessary resource. Merriam Webster Inc, Springfield, MA.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"My son gets to use it, and we don't, so it evens up the play."
"Great gift along side Super Scrabble to keep player on the up and up."
"I'm no expert on Scrabble, but I'm finding this very useful in playing the Lumosity on-line games and keeping on hand when playing Scrabble with grandchildren."
"I teach English to English as a THIRD language and this dictionary makes expanding vocabulary (via scrabble play) extremely fun."
"It has a lot of words to get you out of a sticky situation when you have letters that you are sure you can't use."
"Very nice up to date Scrabble dictionary."
"As an avid player,using a dictionary definitely adds to the game.having gone through several paperbacks i thought. the additional words and hardcover would enhance the experience.Lots of new words makes it more fun."
Best Word Search
Fun for all ages, with categories from Animals to Best Movie Oscar, there are 50 themed 13x13 puzzles included in Volume 1 covering a wide variety of subjects.
Find Best Price at AmazonBest Fantasy Sports
A collection of three books treasured by users of the great library at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them , Newt Scamander's masterful work on magical creatures; Quidditch Through the Ages , a comprehensive history of the game and its rules; and The Tales of Beedle the Bard , with an introduction and illustrations by J.K. Rowling and extensive commentary by Albus Dumbledore. At least 15% of the net retail price* of this eBook bundle will be available to Comic Relief and Lumos Foundation for their work with children and young people to help them have a better life. J.K. Rowling is the author of the bestselling Harry Potter series of seven books, published between 1997 and 2007, which have sold over 450 million copies worldwide, are distributed in more than 200 territories and translated into 79 languages, and have been turned into eight blockbuster films by Warner Bros. She has written three companion volumes to the series in aid of charity: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in aid of Comic Relief; and The Tales of Beedle the Bard in aid of her children's charity Lumos.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It`s beautiful, love the presentation."
"The box is very good quality and very beautiful, you learn a lot about J.K.Rowling's world and annotations (that the characters have written) present in the books add a nice touch to these books."
"This was a Christmas gift for my son."
"If you're a Harry Potter fan this just adds to the wonder!"
"Wonderful!"
"As such, I owned all of these books from the day of their original releases, and remember them well. Many people reading this review (and indeed, there are even pictures posted from previous releases showing it) may remember that the original release was presented as a copy of the textbook as owned by Harry Potter. As such, it contained a lot of doodles and "handwritten" notes from Harry and his friends throughout the book, integrating a lot of humor and personality into the textbook content about the various creatures."
"I was so excited to give this as a gift."
Best Crossword Puzzles
From Jim Carrey to Sister Carrie, Homer Simpson to Homer’s Iliad, the wide-ranging entries include 500,000+ synonyms, 3,000+ literary works, 3,000+ films, 20,000+ famous people from all fields, and more than 50,000 fill-in-the-blank clues so popular in today’s crosswords.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Frequent usage demands a durable binding and the paperback just does not fit the bill and quickly wears out."
"When I first downloaded this book and tried to use it on the Samsung Kindle app I got very frustrated. However I wanted to install it on my Kindle Paperwhite so I purchased it again. This time I find that I can use it on the Samsung Kindle app. I haven't managed to download this to my Kindle, but for the moment, I am well pleased with the tablet app performance."
"I have personally laminated the covers to give it some body and have added a jacket for the book, but as the pages are folded and bent as one works with the new edition it will not hold up."
"The version now shipping has about 1500 entries updated to 2016 at the end, after the XYZ section, which includes sports, movies, politicians (i.e. foreign leaders)."
"Was in great condition for used book and good price with quick shipping."
"I will re-order this 2nd edition because it is so helpful, but it does need an update on content and a hard cover for those of us who work crossword puzzles daily and Saturday and Sunday."
"It contains everything from every kind of Oscar winner, scads of foreign country info, first and last name entries, phrases with missing words, singers with lists of their hits, movies with complete cast listings and foreign words."
"I've bought it for others as a gift, and the recipients are thrilled with the book. January 2010 update: Having purchased a Kindle, I was excited to get this dictionary on the Kindle, so I wouldn't have to lug out that huge book all the time."
Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Gaming
What if you and your friends got to live the game for real? After relentlessly mocking their strange new Game Master, Tim and his friends find themselves trapped in the bodies of their fantasy game characters, in a world where the swords, the magic, and the gastrointestinal issues are all too real.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Comedy books can be challenging, but Bevan pulls it off nicely."
"I think there was a movie made like this in the eighties, but they wound up committing suicide."
"Having been a D&D player years ago, I was thoroughly caught up in the details of the game."
"Second is that the characters never really embrace their own sense of peril, you'd think they'd take their situation a little more seriously. This isn't about the trouble with being teleported to a world of actual swords and sorcery, rather the trouble of being teleported to a word were "game balance" is paramount."
"As a fan of the real game (Letter after C&Letter after C), I was interested in reading this series."
"Voice actor Jonathan Sleep brings these characters alive and adds a whole new dimension to these already wonderfully entertaining books."
"If you have spoken by any time with dice and paper games, especially 2nd Generation AD&D, then this is a book for you."
"This is the funniest D&D style of story I've ever read."