Why aren't there any books?

[Bryant_Tsu]

I've been poking around magic sites to get ideas on what I may be interested after I purchase my camera (yeah, I know it's a bad habit). I noticed that all of these sites (D&D, Ellusionist, Murphy's, and Penguin to name a few) all sell books, but not theory11. Why is that? I am definitely considering a book (doesn't matter what kind) as my next magic purchase, just to test the waters and see if I like book learning. I do agree that books are more cost effective per trick and can still hold just as good, or even better knowledge/methods than single tricks. Why not have a collection of Jason England's favorite table sleights, or some magic from Blake Vogt, or Wayne Houchin? I understand that a producing/selling books isn't cheap, but from what I've seen there is definitely a market for it.

Has theory11 considered producing books? I'm sure they have the right connections to make it happen. Is anyone else waiting or hoping for a book release?

 

[WyattSB]

I feel like there is just not a big market for Theory11 produced books. There is little market for magic books anyway compared to non magic books, which tends to make them more expensive. For Theory11 to start producing books from scratch I think would undoubtedly be even more expensive again for the customer, while potentially not offering anything over already existing magic books.
Could be cool, but meh.

 

[Lyle Borders]

Hey guys,

We don't advertise or suggest that theory11 be the only source for your education and advancement in magic. Much the opposite - we actually published a free video with Jason England, one of the most well read historians in magic, specifically called What To Read. I'd highly recommend that you check this video out. Learn absolutely everything you can in magic, even magic you don't think you will use. The more you know, the more power you have at your disposal!

Why doesn't theory11 produce magic books? We only do what we do best, which is video production and design, but we absolutely encourage - in every sense of the word - having a thorough, comprehensive study of magic texts, past and present. Books are essential. They aren't our bread and butter as far as a store, but as magicians we should all be very familiar with the books dealing with our chosen fields in magic.

// L

 

[ChrisWiens]

I invest most of my money in books. I see no point in buying one trick DVDs or tricks I rarely use when I could get a good book with hundreds of ideas, effects, sleights, tips for the same money.
Books aren't dead, many new books are available, more than a normal person could study.
I'm a huge fan of Andi Gladwin and Joshua Jay's Vanishing inc. shop, because they are producing high quality books (their latest effort "Blomberg Laboratories" is superb) although they would make more money with DVDs. They just love books, as do I.
Kaufman and Hermetic Press are also constantly publishing new quality books (hopefully Kaufman will publish the Jennings books in the coming years), and I hope that they don't stop anytime soon.
E-books however are the most inexpensive form to publish new material, by far. You just need a market platform for publishing. The problem is the decrease in quality since everybody can do it and there's no quality management.
I don't want to plug the "Green Monster" forum, but there's a section "Books, Pamphlets & Lecture Notes" which is a gold mine for magicians looking for books, old or new.

 

[Josh Burch]

Theory11 does offer at least 2 PDFs on the Wire.

Imaginary Ball by Matt Mello http://www.theory11.com/wire/matthew-mello/imaginary-ball/
Get Gigs and Keep Clients by William Draven http://www.theory11.com/wire/william-draven/get-gigs-keep-clients/

 

[Projeet]

I don't know why but I just can't learn from books. I have trouble concentrating and learning while just sitting there and looking at words. Watching a video gives me a good visual and makes it a lot easier for me.

 

[Tower of Lunatic Meat]

I some cases (rare cases, albeit), video does work better then books in regards to tutorials.
'Raise Rise' is a card trick that was printed. However, according to Richard Kaufman and Ray Kosby, two notable names in magic, 'Raise Rise' is nearly impossible to learn from print. So there you go.

However, the best secrets in magic are kept in books.

 

[WyattSB]

I some cases (rare cases, albeit), video does work better then books in regards to tutorials.
'Raise Rise' is a card trick that was printed. However, according to Richard Kaufman and Ray Kosby, two notable names in magic, 'Raise Rise' is nearly impossible to learn from print. So there you go.

However, the best secrets in magic are kept in books.

Whereas, in some cases, learning from a book can be easier. It all depends.

 

[RealityOne]

Simply put, it is a matter of what works for you based on what you want to accomplish. I prefer books most of the time, but some material is only available on video. Also, you can get a better sense of performance on video. However, whenever somone on a video uses a sleight, I still go back to Card College and learn it from there. I also tend to research the history of sleights and routines and look at as many versions as possible so I can decide which parts work best for me.

 

[Fox13]

Books used to be more handy than DVDs since you could bring them with you anywhere while learning.

The days, tablets allow you to have both books and videos with you at all times.

I still have a preference for books (PDFs/ePUBs please), they get into much more finger and move details. A video helps understanding what is should look like, books are not always very clear on the spectator's point-of-view.