Atlas. . . as I've pointed out on this and other forums for years, doing Readings has been a constant part of Mentalism for generations, it's "true" mentalism or what I call "Old School". If you read material penned prior to the current trend (prior to the mid-1990s) you will find an amazing amount of it deals with Readings and doing "the work". Dunninger being one of the first louder voices shunning this but even Corinda gives this art form/skill exceptionally high respect, pointing out that it is one of the few skills within Mentalism that can deliver one a very full and lucrative career.
In the 1980s and late 70's the most promoted books commercially were the many Richard Webster books on doing Readings as well as the more questionable Herb Dewey texts. Prior to that we had the Robert Nelson material which was likewise heavy when it came to emphasizing Reading skills. The older books, especially sources like the coveted Larsen Book on Magic & Mentalism, offered significant insight to "Cradle to the Grave" Readings.
I can assure you, much of what is offered in the Scryer books is top shelf material that the contributors use when they do Reading work, which is one reason the price was so high on the composition; the contributors didn't want just anyone to have this information and more importantly, they wanted it in the hands of people that would understand it and use it PROPERLY.
I would encourage you to download my two FREE PDFs (see links below) on Cold Reading & Mentalism, they explain elements of this particular side of the magic world certain factions wish to suppress (skeptics & cynics), leading Mentalism down the course of being little other than magic tricks vs. things miraculous and other worldly. Here in the states we are seeing a fast growing transition away from this colder mode of doing things and a reprise of the older traditions; a curious blending of Bizarre Magick, Mentalism, Storytelling and genuine Paganism as wrapped into a single thing being called "Shamanic Magic", "Urban Shamanism" and a number of other things.
FREE PDFs -- http://www.lybrary.com/free_ebooks.php (2 & 3 titles down from the top)