D.I.Y. magic
a strange & whimsical guide to creativity
In DIY Magic, Anthony Alvarado provides readers with a collection of techniques for accessing deeper levels of creative thought--for hacking into their subconscious. From Salvador Dali's spoon technique and ornithomancy (divination by crows), to bibliomancy and using (legal) stimulants, the exercises in this book will help anyone chasing the muse--from artists and musicians, to writers and more--as they tug at the strings of everyday reality and tap into the magic of their own minds.
Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Fantasy. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.
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What the reading experience may hold
A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.
Fantasy
Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.
No specific content concerns can be confirmed from the available English catalog information. Consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.
These notes are inferred from available catalog information and may not be complete. Check a publisher or reader-supplied guide if you need comprehensive warnings.
Balanced tone · Steady pace
A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.
A good fit if…
Readers who want a thoughtful experience and enjoy noticing the connections beneath a book’s surface story.
This book's DNA
A visual estimate based on this edition's categories, description, and length. Select a star to explore the signals.
This signal is descriptive, not a rating. It helps compare the kind of reading experience this edition may offer.
Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc
A broad estimate of the book’s emotional rhythm, shown without story events or outcomes.
This visualization is an interpretive estimate based on catalog description, categories, tone, pace, and content signals. It does not describe specific scenes.
A quick reading snapshot
Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.
- ISBN-13
- 978-0-3991-7179-6
- Language
- English
- Edition record
- OL27179179M
A more thoughtful way into this book
This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.
A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.
Begin with its place in Fantasy, then notice where the book resists that label.
Read for connection, not completion.
Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.
Three questions to carry with you
- Which familiar part of life becomes easier to see through this imagined world?
- What rules shape the world, and who benefits from them?
- Where does wonder, fear, or possibility change a character’s choices?
Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.
More Fantasy books
These matches combine shared categories with author, publication-era, and reading-length signals.
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Why it fits: shares Fantasy, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.
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Why it fits: shares Fantasy, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.
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Why it fits: shares Fantasy, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.
Immortal guardians
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Why it fits: shares Fantasy, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.
Miracles of ordinary men
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Why it fits: shares Fantasy, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.
Named of the dragon
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Why it fits: shares Fantasy, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.