DIY Magic: A Strange and Whimsical Guide to Creativity

This is a terrific little book, a mishmash of psychology (much of which is debunked in actual studies now, but shhh), esoteric tradition, and some really really cool artwork. It's an exercise in changing your point of view, both in the book itself and how it presents its content, and in the exercises it suggests. One of the best books of modern magic I've seen.

Firstly, it took me a little while to open this book as I couldn't take my eyes off the cover. The way the door is illustrated gives it an almost 3D effect and there's something so very soothing and heavenly about the blue sky on the other side.

I love quirky books and this was no exception and I found myself trying out the mind hacks as I went along. They really work! I was always the person walking along the road with her head down hoping to go unnoticed. Little did I know that I was going about my quest for invisibility completely the wrong way. Along came Anthony Alvarado and his mind hack number 8: the Cloak of Invisibility, so off I went to Newcastle with my head held high and looking disinterestedly at approaching strangers. It show more actually worked - I looked at them first so they didn't look at me - it was amazing!

There are some really interesting ideas in the book that actually made me think about life (and death) and simpler times - I definitely want to walk more than drive and I will try the switching off from the internet for 1 day per week, although it does sound a bit daunting I am from the pre-internet era so how hard can it be?

With inspirational quotes at the start of each chapter and mind-boggling illustrations throughout, it's full of food for thought and life-enhancing tricks. I know I will refer to this book time and time again and my life will only improve because of it.

I am indebted to Amy from Souvenir Press for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review. show less

I liked the way the author, often with humor, promoted looking at the world in different ways throughout the book. While not groundbreaking (and sometimes slightly pretentious), the ideas support the underlying message, and most are easy enough to experiment with.