For someone who scarcely utters a word — in public, at least — Teller is a regular Chatty Cathy on the phone. Especially when he’s discussing his passion: magic, which he calls “the mechanics of deception.”

“I stopped speaking on stage because I was intrigued about the idea of lying without speaking,” says the silent partner of Penn & Teller, who sent away for a magic set advertised on TV’s “Howdy Doody” more than 55 years ago, when he was 5.

“I know every kid goes through a magic phase,” he says. “But for some reason, I’ve never gotten out of mine.” He’s parlayed that fascination into writing off-Broadway’s “Play Dead,” which has garnered spirited reviews for its grand illusions, though Teller isn’t in it (co-creator Todd Robbins does the honors). Here’s what’s in Teller’s library.

— Barbara Hoffman

Flim-Flam!

by James Randi

All your life, you’re surrounded by people who say, “There are certain things that are unknowable.” Randi says there really are ways to test whether psychic powers are real or not. I’ve had no evidence that anyone can really read your mind, or bend objects by projecting force waves. Zero. None. Anyone who says it’s a question of faith is bulls – – – – ing you.

The Annotated Alice

by Lewis Carroll, edited by Martin Gardner

The one book I’ve had bedside for 50 years. Carroll’s language remains breathtaking to me, and Gardner’s notes help the reader get all the jokes. I can open it to almost any page and, just by reading a paragraph, I’ll laugh aloud.

Atlas Shrugged

by Ayn Rand

The fable that clarifies everything about the importance of the individual, and how a smart person can do tremendous good in the world. One of the terrible things I’ve seen happen is that we’re adopting what Australians call “the tall poppy syndrome”: If you stick out, your head’s lopped off. We deride Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, when the benefits they’ve provided us are so vast.

Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural

edited by Herbert Wise and Phyllis Cerf Wagner

It’s the richest anthology of terror and supernatural stories I’ve ever encountered — much richer than those by the more modern fear people, who spend a lot of time dropping brand names. I keep coming back to it year after year. I’m looking at a story right now as a template for a screenplay.