Yeah, they are much thicker and easier to pick up or flip.
I also agree about spellbooks. I would prefer just cards + tokens with possibility to buy spellbooks separatly. I have about 3 to 5 active spellbooks and Getting more and more with each expansion will not change of how many spellbooks i have active at the same time
But from the other point of view, if i was a newcomer into mage wars and had just a core set, i would welcome that in the expansion i am buying is also a spellbook for that mage.
It depends