DVDs or Books?
Posted: April 23rd, 2009, 7:15 pm
Confession: I'm a bit of a book snob.
I won't go so far to say that my wife and I are book "collectors". Or bibliophiles. But we do have at least two leather-bound books a week coming from Easton Press....we do own multiple copies of the Lord of the Rings in various formats....and both our nightstands are overflowing to the floor with whatever we're reading, recently read or am going to read.
With that said, magic has become really dangerous. Because there's a very clear overlap of two of my hobbies. If I already bought lots of books before....my renewed interest in magic has created even MORE opportunity for me to buy books.
There's been a near-weekly parade of FedEx and UPS trucks coming to bring me something new to read (and to just own). The "Revelation" book by Vernon is magnificent. I got "Wisdom of Solomon" today and will enjoy getting into that this weekend. "The Lost Notebooks of John Northern Hilliard" arrived this week (thank you, Richard). I've got tons of reading to do and am looking forward to it!
With all that said...there are some effects I've bought lately in the form of DVDs. Some are quite good and I've been pleased. Others wind up being someone else's classic effect repackaged with rock music, snazzy graphics and the annoying "street" look that seems to have taken over the industry while I've been on hiatus. :)
But, ultimately, they provide what I wanted when I whipped out my credit card: the explanation of an effect I wanted to learn.
So, all this leads to the point of the thread. When I walk into my office, what do I really like seeing? Shelves full of classic books by the masters explaining lots of effects and handlings? Or a shelf of DVDs, each one mostly a one-trick pony for explaining an effect that's usually written up in a book somewhere already?
I wouldn't really call myself a traditionalist. Maybe I am. But I definitely love the look and feel of a book.
Of course, no one can argue that a well-shot DVD is a much better teaching tool than reading the words slowly, moving the fingers to the appropriate pages and trying to decipher photographs all at the same time. So, there are definitely some advantages to DVD, there.
I suppose the solution is inevitable: both my book library and my DVD library is growing and will continue to grow.
I just can't get enough of the books. :)
How about you?
I won't go so far to say that my wife and I are book "collectors". Or bibliophiles. But we do have at least two leather-bound books a week coming from Easton Press....we do own multiple copies of the Lord of the Rings in various formats....and both our nightstands are overflowing to the floor with whatever we're reading, recently read or am going to read.
With that said, magic has become really dangerous. Because there's a very clear overlap of two of my hobbies. If I already bought lots of books before....my renewed interest in magic has created even MORE opportunity for me to buy books.
There's been a near-weekly parade of FedEx and UPS trucks coming to bring me something new to read (and to just own). The "Revelation" book by Vernon is magnificent. I got "Wisdom of Solomon" today and will enjoy getting into that this weekend. "The Lost Notebooks of John Northern Hilliard" arrived this week (thank you, Richard). I've got tons of reading to do and am looking forward to it!
With all that said...there are some effects I've bought lately in the form of DVDs. Some are quite good and I've been pleased. Others wind up being someone else's classic effect repackaged with rock music, snazzy graphics and the annoying "street" look that seems to have taken over the industry while I've been on hiatus. :)
But, ultimately, they provide what I wanted when I whipped out my credit card: the explanation of an effect I wanted to learn.
So, all this leads to the point of the thread. When I walk into my office, what do I really like seeing? Shelves full of classic books by the masters explaining lots of effects and handlings? Or a shelf of DVDs, each one mostly a one-trick pony for explaining an effect that's usually written up in a book somewhere already?
I wouldn't really call myself a traditionalist. Maybe I am. But I definitely love the look and feel of a book.
Of course, no one can argue that a well-shot DVD is a much better teaching tool than reading the words slowly, moving the fingers to the appropriate pages and trying to decipher photographs all at the same time. So, there are definitely some advantages to DVD, there.
I suppose the solution is inevitable: both my book library and my DVD library is growing and will continue to grow.
I just can't get enough of the books. :)
How about you?