Questions on Kanji readings

[Sava]

Hiya there, iv been reading over this site for a few weeks now but only just got around to registering on the site

Im comfortable with Hiragana (not really Katakana....just cant get round to it yet ) but i quite enjoy learning Kanji - or at least the meanings. Since my spoken japanese isnt that great yet, i dont really enjoy learning the readings purely because they are harder to remember if i dont speak it!

My question then really is, in two days iv got to the stage where i can tell you the meanings of 100 kanji (using flashcards) but not their readings. Is there any point in me learning the meanings but not the readings? Obviously to be able to read japanese i would have to know the readings, but wont it be easier for me to know the readings if i continue to improve my spoken japanese?

I just dont want to waste any time if i dont have to ...

Just a quick question as well, im using the Pimsleur course (got all 90 tracks, up to 22 now) and wondered if anyone had completed it before, how advanced it gets and where to go after Pimsleur...?

Thanks for reading

[Harisenbon]

You should idealy learn the reading, writing and meaning of each kanji.

The reading will help you learn how to speak and pronounce new words or kanji that you've never seen before.

The meanings will help you to understand new words if you see them, and to help memorize the meanings of more words.

Writing will help you not seem like an idgit when you write a letter to someone. (I use a computer every day at work so I've forgotten how to write any kanji over 10 strokes. It's embarassing when someone asks me to write a shopping list.)