DIY Magic

“Really wonderful…. I picked this one up based entirely on name, a method that has served me just fine in the past, assuming I’d either be conjuring demons or pulling rabbits from hats on the plane ride home. A pretty big win either way. But Alvarado’s magic is an entirely different thing altogether. The author describes it as, “the fine and subtle art of driving yourself insane.” I’d say it’s more along the lines of hacking one’s perception — going on reality trips (mostly) within the confines of the law. Apparently Salvador Dali would nod off with a spoon in a hand that would fall into a bucket below, waking him up immediately with its clamor. That blurred line between sleep and waking is said to have informed the master of surreality.”
—BoingBoing

“Presented in relaxed language…Alvarado seeks to create altered awareness in a way that is accessible.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Few books are as immediately useful as this delightful, inspirational tips ‘n’ tricks tome. I’m having a backyard betel nut party in five minutes and everyone’s invited!”
—Jay Babcock, Arthur Magazine

“This book is full of tips and tricks that will expand your consciousness and the edges of your world.”
—Jason Leivian, Floating World Comics

“[D.I.Y Magic] represents…the stripping away of a lot of the balderdash and exotica from esoteric and magical practices and the reformulating of them for a more immediate, hands-on, consciousness-hacking kind of approach.”
—Erik Davis, author of TechGnosis: Myth, Magic, and Mysticism in the Age of Information

“Anthony Alvarado has concocted a cookbook for vivid living: poetry that’s lived rather than written. His ‘spells’ are actually practical suggestions by which the reader may coax the extraordinary from the everyday–and from themselves.”
—Lord Breaulove Swells Whimsy, author of The Affected Provincial’s Companion

“One of the best life hacks I have seen…a much needed prescription for some of the ills of this modern world…[an] eloquent and illustrative tome.”
—Farel Dalrymple