Another question would be how many magic books have you read ?

Or rather, out of how many [number] books you own, how many [number] have you read?

I've read about 300. ANd thoroughly studied around 50.

About 80 actual books. Plus about a 60 e-books (love those llepub sales...). If we count magazines including digital subscriptions a few thousand...(thats mostly a Genii subscription that includes over 800 back issues and the digital Sphinx from Lybrary.com has almost as many...

About 80 very carefully chosen books.

Hi Jefferson,
Your list would be very useful to beginners (and others).
I really think that a one hundred books list is a far more interesting thing than an only desert book answer.

Personally, I have a 300 books list, carefully chosen and organized (order, themes) : basics, technique, theories, masters, répertoire for different venues…

Just doing the list took me 60 hours of work, research and thinking.

"He who dies with the most toys..............WINS!"

The number of books in itself means nothing to me. Their contents only have importance. It is not a collection drive. Maybe a knowledge drive. To achieve a high level of proficiency in conceiving and showing convincing and meaningful magic, we need a huge background not only in our field but in a lot of other matters too.
And again, a huge library is only a tool. But a wonderful and necessary one. In no way it is a toy.

As magic in a artful expression is not a game.

I have about 35 books and 50 or so e-books. My magic DVD collection on the other hand, is getting up to near 200.


Brian

My books and dvds are reaching divorce levels.
I have to hide everything that comes in!
Its not the buying that's the problem, its the storage space!

I cant help myself!
I recently bought a huge swath of the magazine Abracadabra in hardback, 68 volumes. Vol 26 to 89. from an estate.
The estate had a complete set but the rest of the collection was individual 24page issues. Too much trouble to store
and access.

I am now on a quest to finish off the set!

I haven't counted in a long time. In my office I have 105 unique titles, but I've got several boxes of books in storage still from my last move. I am working on building up a nice working library. Currently severely lack in shelving and space, though. Told the wife that when we move (which will hopefully be in the next few months) we need to dedicate a room to a library.

I can't remember the ratio of books in storage that I have not yet read, but I do have a "To Read" shelf with about 20 books now I think. The rest, in my office, I have read cover-to-cover.

That is exactly what I'm thinking when L&L runs a DVD sale.


Brian

I probably have 150 or so. I have read most of them, I have studied 10 or so.

Only around 60, not counting booklets, but they are all quality books (Neo Magic Artistry, The Books of Wonder, Greater Magic...).

I am glad to know I am not alone in my quest to accumulate quality magic books and booklets. I have about 60+ books that are frequently mentioned on the Café as having quality material in them. My problem is having the time to digest and absorb at least one item from each book. If I think about it too much it gets overwhelming. But I can't stop myself from buying books that get good reviews on the Café and other places. I feel like I am missing out if I don't get the book and see for myself. So I continue to buy and accumulate, telling myself I will get to them one day.

For now, it makes for a lovely library of reference when I see items come up in posts everywhere in the Café.

Hondo,
I feel the exact same thing about books. I'm always afraid to miss something. But the overall quantity of informations is overwhelming indeed. So I'm very methodical and take one book after another, studying them thoroughly. With a good method, it is faster than when I started more than 20 years ago. A huge number of hours is still needed to advance in this wonderful art.
And sometimes, as now, when I need to conceive a new trick, I'm riffling through a lot of books, searching for the best method or more ideas for the effect I have in mind. In this regard, a good library at my disposal is essential.

Another tricky behavior : when you read too much at once, there is a tendance to miss a lot of things and to loose the audience's perception.