One way to tell if occult book is a good one...

It's not the only way, just saying, but I think it is the way to quite likely recognize book that has a value. The method is simple: read the book and then ask how does it feel when you finish it? Did you understand all and feel good? Or did it feel hard, not understandable or confusing?

Here is the unpleasant fact: If you want to learn, you read a book and you feel that you understood everything, then you've learned nothing.

I like to compare with book of math exercises. The book offers you to learn math, but you find that you count and the book says that it's wrong. You get emotional, but you have to try again and again... until eventually you can count all stuff in the book correct. It took you time, multiple reads and a lot of practice, but at first it was very not understandable.

The point is simple: if you read and understand everything, you know that the book cannot teach you anything. It can feel good and make you feel like great magus, but it's an illusion that can only sell well. If you read book and find yourself facing something that you just do not get, then maybe that is the book to keep and study more deeply.

 

[Angelkesfarl]

Thank you for this offer and for sharing your evaluative expertise. When I read a book, I divide it into three sections: what I know with firm knowledge, I match against it—if the information aligns with mine, then it is correct. For what I doubt, I observe whether it offers a new perspective or broadens my horizons with something new to "test." Finally, the highly obscure matters; here, I isolate them and examine if they have a counterpart or if their laws are intellectually acceptable or cited from others. It is an arduous task, which is why I pay close attention to the author's background, life, and reputation before accepting the risk of reading a new book. However, after many long years of study, it has become very, very difficult to find a new piece of information or a challenge that captures my attention. Thank you, and have a happy day for you and everyone.

 

[rice candy]

It's not the only way, just saying, but I think it is the way to quite likely recognize book that has a value. The method is simple: read the book and then ask how does it feel when you finish it? Did you understand all and feel good? Or did it feel hard, not understandable or confusing?

Here is the unpleasant fact: If you want to learn, you read a book and you feel that you understood everything, then you've learned nothing.

I like to compare with book of math exercises. The book offers you to learn math, but you find that you count and the book says that it's wrong. You get emotional, but you have to try again and again... until eventually you can count all stuff in the book correct. It took you time, multiple reads and a lot of practice, but at first it was very not understandable.

The point is simple: if you read and understand everything, you know that the book cannot teach you anything. It can feel good and make you feel like great magus, but it's an illusion that can only sell well. If you read book and find yourself facing something that you just do not get, then maybe that is the book to keep and study more deeply.

I feel that this is especially important for grimoires. Reading grimoires only one time and casting one spell isn't enough of an indicator. But there are history-adjacent occult books that probably don't need to be re-read multiple times unless it's being cited in some capacity. Anyway, thanks for sharing!