The Magic of a Book

[@EruditeMagic]

💸 How Much I've Spent on Magic Books ▶ kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6jJXqmIpLmZf5o

[@az7500]

Great video and glad to see you back, Jeff! I think you are absolutely right about the advantages of books over videos. I personally prefer books that capture a large body of work, rather than 1 routine or presentation. It’s amazing how the magic industry exploded in the past 30 years..

[@EruditeMagic]

Thanks, az. Yes, the industry has changed quite a bit!

[@jethro1963]

I have another reason to prefer a book, just plain fun. I just watched the review of Gene Anderson's book. I already have Newspaper Magic and his Steven's video so I think a lot of the content might have already been covered for me, but, boy that book looked like fun. I promised myself no more stuff until I have watched and read all I have but dang watching that video was hard (not to order...yet). Maybe it's a perceptual thing and part of being older but to me a video seems like homework and a book is a real gift. Just me I s'pose.

[@twatmunro]

I own some magic DVD's, but I own a lot more magic books. I like DVD's primarily for the performance, but I think authors can communicate more directly and more effectively through the printed page. Also, as a fast reader, I can control the speed at which I intake the info. via the book. DVD's tend to be a bit slow for me and a lot less information dense than the best books. OK, on watching, I see you already cover all the points I would have made. You do this to me every week. Another great show.

[@EruditeMagic]

Thanks, Twat!

[@edwinscheibner7941]

Thank you for explaining the advantages of books over video. Of course I would be remiss in not pointing out that most people would rather listen to Erudite Magic reviews on KZbin than reading them in a book. Thank you for being aware of that.

[@EruditeMagic]

😄

[@johngrahammagic]

What an honor, Jeff. Thank you! Your videos make me feel like we are having a session. Love the matching jacket, BTW. 💚

[@EruditeMagic]

Thanks for the kind words, John, and for putting your thoughts into print! I love the thought of having a virtual session with the viewers 👍

[@davidlamarca899]

Real words...Im totally agree with you about the reading process and how to study with books👏👌👌

[@EruditeMagic]

🙌👍

[@e.s.andrews1702]

To be honest I'm not against learning from video, but for me nothing will ever be better than a book. In my case im 100% self taught from books only. I Wouldn't have it any other way.

[@EruditeMagic]

It's a great way to be. Good for you!

[@Davlavi]

Different mediums bring different perspectives.

[@EruditeMagic]

True

[@tommarquette9706]

Having a bound folio on a single subject allow a library to breathe.

[@EruditeMagic]

Yup! There are a number of books that cover one topic, and they're some of my go-to references when I want to research that specific thing.

[@StoneColdMagic]

I don’t wanna derail the conversation but I’d be curious to hear everyone’s feedback on the following. I’ve never understood the appeal of the multiple selection routine (MSR). I’ve seen tons of versions including ones that people have said “watch so and so’s version and you’ll see why MSR’s are awesome.” I watched them and … nothing. I just don’t get it. Anybody have any thoughts on what the appeal is for MSR?

[@EruditeMagic]

I'd love to hear this conversation!

[@eliyahuw]

There's nothing particularly special about the multiple selection routine the same way there's nothing particularly special about any other genre of card trick. It's just another card trick. The only thing that matters is what you do with it. I've been doing a MSR in most medium sized shows for years and it kills, but it's not the trick inherently, it's the stuff I do with it. I sometimes do a shorter version where I only find one card and it gets almost the same reaction. I still prefer doing three people because it plays bigger on stage.

[@StoneColdMagic]

@@eliyahuw - I get that, but what is it that draws magicians to it. So many magicians just love this routine. I may be cynical. :) For example, I also don't get the appeal of "three-fly" or ACR, etc.

[@eliyahuw]

@@StoneColdMagic It doesn't really surprise me that these routines leave you a little stone cold. 😁 I assume you are referring to close-up, the answer for parlor is different, but it's a great way to get everyone involved and invested.

[@Sprogster]

Most MSR's are too drawn out. A fun one (that is not) is John Guastaferro's "Mini Mental".

[@jonahberg9280]

Are you gonna review very hush hush by john bannon

[@EruditeMagic]

Probably not - the buzz has come and gone, and I didn't procure it in time. But we'll see 🤷‍♂️

[@ScottRSmith1964]

It’s so great to have your show back on. I’ve been on the fence about this book, but I’ll buy it now! Thank you! Have a great day!

[@EruditeMagic]

You, too, Scott! Enjoy

[@eliyahuw]

I was one of the people who posted publicly that this should have been a download. You fundamentally misunderstood my point and I believe the point of everyone else who posted that this should have been a download. I, just like you and the rest of your viewership, prefer books to videos nine times out of ten. That being said, not every minor idea, even if it's a good one, needs to be a book. This is fundamentally a $10-$15 idea. It could have been a $10-$15 book, but I am aware that publishing a proper hardcover book costs monsey. That's why I suggested making it a video, but obviously it didn't need to be a bideo. Had this been a chapter in a book, I would have been delighted with it. However, the ideas in this book, while good, are not particularly revolutionary, and there was no need to make them a separate hardcover book at $1 per small page. I understand that a good trick that you will do regularly is worth a lot of money, but there is a major flaw with this trick, namely that after you find a number of cards in impressive ways people are likely to want to replace the cards themselves or shuffle the deck, that would kill the trick. You can refuse to let them do so and just move on with audience management, but it's weak. You could also just do a few phases, but at that rate, there are no shortage of much better tricks you could be doing.

[@EruditeMagic]

I guess it depends - I paid $25 + shipping for Steve Beam's staple-bound thoughts on this subject [with far fewer pages]. Your opinion about the value doesn't seem to hold with my experience. 🤷‍♂️

[@eliyahuw]

@@EruditeMagic I paid $35 knowing the length and the subject matter. You're missing my point again. See the last paragraph. My point was that this trick simply isn't a good enough value to justify such a high price tag so cheaper methods of distribution would be appropriate.

[@EruditeMagic]

I don't think I missed anything. 😄

[@eliyahuw]

@@EruditeMagic Between all of my books, videos, and downloads, I'm sure I own over 1,000 tricks that are better than encore. Should every single one of them have been an individual hardcover book costing $35? I think we'd both have to agree that would be crazy.

[@jerryRp90x]

Love stage by stage

[@twatmunro]

I only picked it up recently so I haven't finished yet, but what I've read so far has been outstanding.

[@jerryRp90x]

@@twatmunro yes, I'm the same, I've reread several chapters, taking my time

[@EruditeMagic]

Great book - glad you're enjoying!

[@Sprogster]

This could have been offered in a less expensive written format, either softback or even spiral bound. Publishing a hardcover for 36 pages is just... stupid.

[@EruditeMagic]

Offering a name-calling opinion as fact is just... silly 😄

[@Jim_S.]

I like the idea of a multiple selection routine, but I rarely find myself performing for that many people at once, so it would be a lot of effort to learn (and maintain) a routine that I would not use much. I get that they are modular, but the appeal of a multiple selection is getting lots of spectators involved and each phase building. A two-phase multiple selection would be pretty lame... This book looks great for a different performer than me, though.

[@EruditeMagic]

I'm not a huge MSR proponent, either. As I've indicated in other videos, finding a selected card is not my first choice for a card trick. But, there's still some great thinking in this one.

[@jonahberg9280]

Do you the Orion books by Phedon Bilek if do will you do a review on them

[@EruditeMagic]

I do not own it, so no plans to review

[@Ambo100]

Do you use librarything or have photos of your book collection? I would be really curious to see what you have.

[@EruditeMagic]

I don't use any 3rd party apps, but I have shown quite a bit of video of my collection, and I did a video series a few years ago when I moved: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aZfQZqx9jsaWpq8

[@donunicycle]

I almost always prefer to learn from books. One ☝️ f the exceptions was Francis Tabary’s rope routine: video was much easier to learn from. Glad you’re back, Jeff

[@EruditeMagic]

Thanks, Don! Good to be back 👍

[@twatmunro]

Yeah, Richard Sanders Fibre Optic is another. It's one of the few DVD's I own that is so much better than any of the routines I've read in books. I wonder if it's a rope magic thing? There's something about knots that doesn't lend itself to 2d drawings/photographs.