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terryisaacs Regular user 110 Posts |
So my wife is going to buy me one of these books as a present and I get to choose which. I was hoping for some of your thoughts on which one to get. I want both and may eventually end up getting the other at a much later date so I'm not writing off the one that is not chosen but I may need to wait a long time to acquire it. I'm a hobbyist, I consider myself an intermediate card guy but love cards and always enjoy learning something new, and a beginner with coins but would love to grow in that avenue.
Some of the things I own already are Apocalypse vol. 1, Strong Magic and Designing Miracles by Ortiz, Expert Card Technique, RRTCM, Card Control by Buckley, Card College 1-5, Paperback Modern Coin Magic, The Amateurs Magician's Handbook, Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic, Art of Astonishment 1-3, I also own In the Beginning There Were Coins dvd and Jay Sankey Revolutionary Coin Magic DVD. What I think are pros for The Collected Almanac. It's big, so I will get a lot of bang for my buck. It has many contributors so there is a variety not just of tricks but thoughts and opinions on how things are done. The cons that I worry about are, that the book is so big that it will be less accessible. Meaning I'll get overwhelmed by going through trick after trick and perhaps finding it hard to find things I like just because there is so much. Pros for Impossibilia are I think the book may be more accessible due to size (like definitely less intimidating to get through it all). I don't know if this is a con or pro but one of the other reasons I consider getting over the Collected Almanac is because I am worried copies will start to get scarce and I won't be able to find a physical copy at a later date (I think it will be easier to find the Collected Almanac later). Another pro or con depending on how I like the book is, since its all pretty much Bannon if I like the stuff I may love all of it, with the inverse also being true. Anyway, just wondering if you guys had any advice on which I should get, I don't feel like I can go wrong either way but also appreciate advice.
"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
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fonda57 Inner circle chicago 3078 Posts |
I think that's a dang good present. Lots of good magic in that one.
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terryisaacs Regular user 110 Posts |
Lol, thanks fonda57. My wife has been pretty generous with me already, she purchased Al Schneider Magic for me and now I get to choose between one of these books and I'm pretty excited. She is awesome for many reasons but willing to support this hobby makes me feel special. (sorry don't want to get to emotiony here)
"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
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Feral Chorus Elite user CA 495 Posts |
I think you will find a lot of very roughly similar material between Apocalypse 1 and The Collected Almanac. They are of the same time and place and Richard Kaufman was Harry Lorayne's partner in Apocalypse for its first year. If you want more along the lines of what Apocalypse provides, then you might want to go with The Collected Almanac. On the other hand, here is your chance to start exploring Bannon's material. Either way I don't think you will be disappointed.
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Tim Cavendish Inner circle 1404 Posts |
Availability:
Collected Almanac is only available as a physical book. Impossibilia is available inexpensively as an ebook, and periodically dips down to ten bucks on sale if you keep an eye on the llepub.com site. So potentially you could enjoy both, and potentially upgrade the Bannon to the physical book if desired at some future date. Collected Almanac has a lot of variety, and it's an enjoyable chronicle of its time in magicdom thanks to the book reviews and editorial columns. The editorials are especially lively and keep it from just being a giant book of tricks. |
ThomasJ Special user Chicago 999 Posts |
Both are great books. If I had to make a choice, I'd go with The Collected Almanac. While mere size of a book shouldn't be the deciding factor, in this case there is a lot of good material in those 398 pages, so it's something to think about. Cervon's "The 5th Card" is a personal favorite.
That being said, Play it Straight Triumph is pure genius. There is a chunk of coin magic in Bannon's book, and being that I tend to focus on cards, I got more out of the Almanac. |
magicfish Inner circle 7006 Posts |
Impossibilia is wonderful as are all of John's books. It is a must own and I would never part with my copy. But against Richards Almanac there is no comparison. We're talking about years and years of contributions of elite material from the greatest exponents of Closeup ever.
My advice, get them both. I did. |
magicfish Inner circle 7006 Posts |
P.s. Don't settle for an Impossibilia e-book. Get the real thing. It is beautiful to behold.
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fonda57 Inner circle chicago 3078 Posts |
She bought you the Al Schneider book, she's a keeper
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terryisaacs Regular user 110 Posts |
Thank you guys for the thoughts! magicfish thank you for your words saying how much you love Impossibilia but that the Collected Almanac just has so much more that it is a better choice for now helps my mind. Having someone who owns both and likes both have an opinion is very helpful. Definitely would love to end up with both in the future but just trying to figure out which to pull the trigger on now.
fonda57, you're right she is definitely a keeper
"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
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Magiguy Inner circle Seattle, WA 5467 Posts |
Both are truly terrific books, but just for the sake of variety I would probably choose the Collected Almanac.
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terryisaacs Regular user 110 Posts |
Thanks guys for all the advice, I'll be getting the Collected Almanac! I appreciate all the feedback I got.
"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
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Richard Kaufman Inner circle 2532 Posts |
I think you'll enjoy it!
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Harry Lorayne 1926 - 2023 New York City 8558 Posts |
I just saw this post - and there are some things I'll never understand. A poster mentions my APOCALYPSE, Vol. 1 and then another poster advises that if you want more along the lines of what APOCALYPSE provides...and mentions other books. Now those other books are fine (particularly Richard's, who told me decades ago that he learned more about writing from me than he did from all his college professors!) ---
but am I nuts?! You have APOCALYPSE, Vol. 1 and you want stuff along those lines - for heaven's sake what could be more obvious??!! Get APOCALYPSE volumes 2, 3 and 4!!! (Sorry, I guess I am nuts.)
[email]harrylorayne@earthlink.net[/email]
http://www.harrylorayne.com http://www.harryloraynemagic.com |
Tim Cavendish Inner circle 1404 Posts |
Sometimes your books are just not under consideration.
This may be hard to understand, but it is a true fact. |
Harry Lorayne 1926 - 2023 New York City 8558 Posts |
It sure is hard to understand in this specific situation. It is MORE than obvious. I do, however, understand your coming in with your remark - quite well...also MORE than obvious.
[email]harrylorayne@earthlink.net[/email]
http://www.harrylorayne.com http://www.harryloraynemagic.com |
terryisaacs Regular user 110 Posts |
Quote:
On May 28, 2017, Harry Lorayne wrote: Hey Mr. Lorayne, I actually got lucky and got a chance to purchase the rest of Apocalypse recently! It was costly (which is of course relative) but as many have said a lifetime of magic. Looking forward to going through them over the next few years.
"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
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