Neither of these seem incredibly useful to somebody trying to learn wizardry for the first time.  Aspiring Mage is about which schools teach which subjects and which major planets and interplanetary businesses were hiring... whenever this book was written, it looks old.  Encyclopedia Magica would have been more accurately named "an encyclopedic listing of all the magic items that were ever on sale by Trans-Spatial Resources" and for some reason it is really keen on letting you know that any kind of magical jewelry that exists comes in a version that turns into a personal riding beast.

Neither of these seem incredibly useful to somebody trying to learn wizardry for the first time.  Aspiring Mage is about which famous universities teach which subjects, and which major planets and interplanetary businesses were hiring... as of whenever this book was written, it looks old.  Encyclopedia Magica would have been more accurately named "an encyclopedic listing of all the magic items that were ever on sale by Trans-Spatial Resources" and for some reason it is really keen on letting you know that any kind of magical jewelry that exists comes in a version that turns into a personal riding beast.

Neither of these seem incredibly useful to somebody trying to learn wizardry for the first time.  Aspiring Mage is about which famous universities teach which subjects, and which major planets and interplanetary businesses were hiring... as of whenever this book was written, it looks old.  Encyclopedia Magica would have been more accurately named "an encyclopedic listing of all the magic items that were ever on sale by Trans-Spatial Resources" and for some reason it is really keen on letting you know that any kind of magical jewelry that exists comes in a version that turns into a personal virtual riding beast.