AoA vs. Card College

[AceOfSpades2662]

Hi,
So Christmas is near and I have been thinking about getting some books. I have heard Art of Astonishment is a great series of books and has so many incredible tricks, sleights and everything. I have also heard Card College is amazing also. Just want to hear your opinion on the two sets of books.
Your opinion is appreciated,
Thanks and Happy Holidays,
Michael

 

[maxrob22]

Card College= Everything Cards, with lots of sleights, tricks, and essays.

Art of Astonishment= Basically Paul Harris's brain on paper. Great Read, dont own it but have read my freinds. Awsome

 

[smith_cj]

What are you looking for?

Card College is like an encyclopedia of information on card magic. It has explinations for sleights used in card magic and also includes various routines throughout the book.

Paul Harris' books are, as put by maxrob22, Paul Harris on paper. He's a very creative force to say the least. The routines in his books range from semi-beginner to advanced. Some are impromptu...some invovle gimmicks and making things to make the tricks happen.

Card College is going to be a good card resource.

AoA has many tricks in various fields but will take you sitting down and devoting the amount of time necessary to pull them off effectively.

Neither set are a buy-it-and-do-it-same-day experience.

Good luck!

 

[mystro]

i got aoa and it has some really awsome tricks on there, i still have yet to look at every single one... but the tricks i have seen are great tricks. although, most of them arent the type of thing i would like to perform...

i like to do alot of really simple and yet hugely impacting tricks, the aoa series has more of the type of thing where you just casually show someone a trick with multiple kickers and they're like whoa, that was pretty sweet...

usually the type of tricks i lean towards are the type of tricks where i do one thing and people are like WHAT THE **** THAT WAS CRAZY!!!

if that makes any sense...

in a nut shell, if you want to do lots of card magic and be a cardeteer if you will, go with card colledge.

if you want to do a wide variety of tricks with everyday objects and that sort of thing, go with aoa

both are fantastic books...

 

[AceOfSpades2662]

Thanks so far for the feedback. I'm going to think about what direction I would like to go in with my magic. I do only card magic at this point. I also do not like gimmicks. I do not like covering things up and trying to get rid of something at the end of the trick. I prefer sleight of hand magic ending clean, not gimmicked. I do love Panic though, so that's an exception. For really hard hitting tricks it's ok. I prefer not to use them though.

Thanks again, and Happy Holidays,
Michael

 

[Samuel]

I haven't read any of the Card College, so this will be biased. Paul Harris has made me love magic. The way he writes the book is amazing for one, but the effects and how he describes coming up with the material and such... It truly has given me a deeper passion for magic. Reading AoA has probably been one of the best things to happen to me magic related. I can't recommend it enough, seriously. Again, it's up to you. About the gimmick thing... Yes, a lot of his effects use them and preparation, but magic is worth that. Sure, at the end of the day, you might feel like you're better for relying purely on sleight of hand... but in my opinion, gimmicks create magic. Understanding, developing a bond with, and mastering a gimmick is just as impressive to me as mastering a sleight. In the end you should focus more on what the effect does than how it does it.

Good luck with whatever choice you make, I'm sure you'll be happy either way! Happy holidays!

Peace

 

[Eddie]

Card College will get you become a sleight nerd since it is like a dictionary for sleights. It is also like teaching yourself sleights which the order comes from easy to hard. It also teaches you some flourishes as well. I don't own AoA( I know it has some awesome effects in there) but it really is a tough choice to pick one. If you want tricks and routines go for AoA, you want to have more knowledge on sleights, Card College.

Good luck!

 

[jimboguitar]

If uou already have a base knowledge of card sleights go with AoA. If you are still learning basic sleights go with Card College first, then get AoA when you are ready.

 

[ace18]

Card College. Hands Down.

 

[J-Ham]

AOA for sure. Not only does it have awesome tricks but it is fun to read as well. Gimmicks in this book are usually very easy to set up. You also get tricks from other people than Paul Harris in his Astonishing Friends sections.

 

[Snorri]

Hard choice due to us not knowing what level you are at.
AoA is a great set of books with an strong emphasis on card magic. It is well written but not for a total newbie at cards. He assumes you have some knowledge of card magic.

Card college is like a text book onm card sleights but after each section that teaches you a sleight they give you at least two tricks for them. They will both teach you how to do card magic well.

Do you want three large books or 5 medium sized books?

I own them both but have gotten alot more use out of the Harris book. I have been doing magic a long time though and knew many of the sleights in the Card college books and was getting them more for reference than to leanr new tricks from.
Hope that helps,
Snorri