talkmagic.co.uk

A great tip that was given to me years ago was if you are trying to learn min the picture are now facing the same way you are, it makes it a lot easier to grasp.
I hope ths helps any younger members or beginners.

I'm sorry but I've reread tyour post again and again but I can't make it coherant!! Is it just me? Sorry,

I'm not sure what happened to the first post but half the text is missing???

what I meant to say was. when you look at pictures of hand carrying out moves in magic books its sometimes hard to get to grips with the picture as normally the picture has the hands facing you.

If you turn the book around the hands are facing the same way as yours and it's easier to follow the moves, I hope thats clearer.

That's better cheers

Great tip aswell, but how do you read the words?

set up an elaborate system of mirrors spanning across the table to the opposite side and hey presto.

Good tip thanks.

yeah book magic book illustrations can be so tricky to read (pardon the pun hehe)i suppose explaiing something practical in words must be soo hard to do. like trying to describe how to change a tyre in a book. - and imagine that with no pictures yikes lol maybe its how magic eye pictures were devoled. - from poorly illustrated magic books
when in confuddled. by pictures i often drink lots and squint. till it begins to make sense or ive passed out - not advocateing the use of alcohol hic lol.
all da best. schpeak to yas soon.
Paul (disappears in a puff of smoke..cough)

Yes, books are still a graat medium for learning. It helps if you have a mentor or a group so you can discuss what you've read or tried. By this I mean over the years I've noticed that if you give the same book to five different people, you will usually get five different interpretations of what they thought the author was tring to convey.

That being said, I learned strictly from books as a young teen up and into my mid 20's. It's fun, wouldn't trade it, but it's a hard way. As a beginner, you never know if you have bought the right book or even a book withing your capabilities.

Another good tip for working out of a book (credit Milt Kort with this little gem of an idea):

Use a small sheet of glass to lay across the book. It will allow you to read the book, keep your place and hold the book open (hands free for working on your sleights) all at the same time. Also, if you're one of those guys that likes to eat or snack while reading, it will keep the crumbs (or soda) off the pages and the glass cleans up easy enough.

Mike.

Mike you have to be kidding lol

Seriously, think about it...What's the biggest problem you have with learning from a book? The pages keep closing, especially toward the front or the back because you need to have your hands free while you work on a particular sleight. With the sheet of glass, you take care of that problem and can easily read the book, all while working with your hands. Good stuff!

Mike.

Ok Ok lol your not kidding.

Actually I rarely if ever use books to learn a new sleight, since I find it much easier from a DVD or more often in the flesh with a real person.

However there are special stands designed to do just what your saying and sold for use in kitchens, since that is the more common situation, ie following a recipe which therefore requires you use both hands to cook. Of course you still might fall foul of the crumbs

i think books are usefull for getting an general outline of how to do it
but when it comes to mastering videos and dvds are so much more easier.

Michael Jay wrote:Another good tip for working out of a book (credit Milt Kort with this little gem of an idea):

Use a small sheet of glass to lay across the book. It will allow you to read the book, keep your place and hold the book open (hands free for working on your sleights) all at the same time. Also, if you're one of those guys that likes to eat or snack while reading, it will keep the crumbs (or soda) off the pages and the glass cleans up easy enough.

Mike.

great tip-one of those'why didn't I think of that?' ones..cheers

Why don't Dover et al publish their books in spiral-bound format? This is done with a few balloon-modelling books I own and leaves your hands free cos the book always lays open...

If Dover start doing this, I want 15%...