I tried to get serious once in the mid 90s, with The Amateur Magician's Handbook by Henry Hay. After teaching a simple technique, it goes on to teach the classic pass as if that were the most important technique a person could learn.
Yeah. Four pages and as many grainy black & white photos just didn't click for me. Although I read further into the book, there was always that dark cloud over my head.
In the meantime I still bought a lot of cards. I picked up an occasional kit here and there, but never enjoyed the self-working tricks.
So seriously? About six months now. My wife was out of town when I started finding the new crop of video sites (T11, E, and so forth), so I treated myself to some learning tools that worked better for me. That was the only thing I had to answer for when she got back, too.