This was certainly "provoked" by someone in the forum.
Why do magic books suck?
1. They are wordy and boring.
2. I don't like to read.
3. My english is not good so I don't understand what they are saying (duh. then brush up your English!)
4. I'm afraid I won't do it correctly with the description provided.
5. It's going to take time you know, watching DVDs is faster.
6. I can't learn from books.
And the list goes on. Blahblahblahblahblah....
Now it is not a major issue in our mystical society that the younglings or beginners don't read because there are still those who do. But I hate to see if this so happens that, people are influencing the newcomers to not learn from books but DVDs. Any suggestions that you make for learning magic should be books FIRST. This do justice to the art and its roots: books/texts.
Noble Guardian.
I am in love with magic books because I am in love with magic.
Books are the roots of magic and they seem to have this aura that a lot of knowledge are in them.
It is the books I can bring around and read and learn that I can hold and feel that: "Hey! I have the REAL SECRETS of MAGIC and I am a REAL STUDENT of MAGIC. I have to protect this important text of my beloved art. Who knows 50 years from now, I am one of the few left with these Bibles of Magic. I have read them! I am a successor of these secrets! I am a guardian!"
Try bringing a DVD around, you will not have such noble feelings for it. What more, you need a computer or a DVD player to even learn from it. Yucks!
Learning Process
Yes. Learning from books is HARD. I don't claim to have read all the words in my books. I don't claim to have read them many times yet and have truely studied them yet.
Part of my fun in learning magic now is realising a certain trick I have read about and going back to read it again and study it again figuring out the moves and etc.
Realising and Oh-ings my mistakes and so much that I have missed when I first read it.
Then, I truely felt that I learnt, I have achieved something that I am a real student.
There is such so much to this learning from books that you can only discover by yourself.
I wish I was not such a lazy person and I wish I had no academic responsibilities so I can commit myself to reading the books and learn.
What's wrong with DVDs?
There is nothing wrong with them except making lazy people, lazier and allows our art to be in the piracy.
Of course it has kept rare footages and leave us with the amazing works of the late legends.
But I wish I had witness and met these legends in person and learn from the books they have orginally.
(Currently, I have the Martin A. Nash and Andrew Wimhurst craze for their original text)
I would rather have my DVDs in books. Really, every single one of them.
I had just watched the DVDs and learn the tricks and not able to study much of them because I was so spoonfed.
Still, don't take me wrong that I am against DVDs. There are a few jems in DVDs but much more in the books. Choose the correct DVD but you can be sure that you have chose the right book most of the time.
Try.
You don't to start off learning from books, well I don't.
But I just hope that I have gotten you to keep the thought "I will learn from books in the future" in mind. I had considered myself lucky to be able to discover the wonderful adventures of learning from books. If not, I would now be ripping off easy learning from the DVDs and more DVDs and the single tricks.
Try to learn from books now.
Try to learn from books in the future.
Try to learn from books forever.
Are you a Guardian of Magic?
I'm on my way.
