This is probably the routine I’ve performed the most in the last 10 or 15 years. The reason is simple: It checks every box for a professional piece: it hits hard, it takes up no space, it can be done at any point in the show, requires almost no setup, and lets you move around the stage.
That’s true, I know, of many book tests. But with this one, I managed to solve a couple of things that had always bothered me—things that kept me from doing book tests at all. Mainly, I wanted a good reason for the book to be in the act. (I like books too much to treat them as props—it always felt like heresy.) And I wanted a proper ending, something that wrapped up the routine without relying on an “even more impossible” kind of kicker.
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to track down who was the first magician to use a dictionary for a book test, or who came up with the method I’ll describe here. What I do know is that the idea of introducing the dictionary with a gag comes from Bob Cassidy.