Best Textbooks/books to be proficient in Japanese

[flyffmex]

I recently got enough money to buy a lot of textbooks (300$+) and i was wondering what textbooks would work best for me. Iv'e used the lessons here to learn all hiragana and most katakana but i would like reading material and practice to freshen up my memory and skill in writing them. I don't get bored of grinding that easily and am committed to learning Japanese so hardcore/hard text books would work for me ( gotta get my moneys worth ya know D: ) So yea the titles of the books and the provider would be nice ( If they are sold at the http://www.thejapanshop.com/ that would be great tho :O )

[phreadom]

Welcome to TJP!

I know some of the more popular textbooks are the Genki series, Japanese For Everyone, Minna no Nihongo, etc. I'll let some of the more proficient learners/speakers pipe in with their opinions on the matter.

(I've also switched your "native language" profile setting as I'm pretty sure you don't speak Japanese natively if you're here asking for information on textbooks to learn Japanese.)

[SomeCallMeChris]

I would generally recommend Heisig's Remembering the Kanji (volume 1), and the Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar (and if you want to get ahead, the Intermediate and Advanced.) I also find a electronic dictionary immensely valuable, but that would take up $200 of your $300 right there, and if you have 24/7 internet access it's not as important (as long as you don't mind being tethered to the internet even when you're reading paper books.)

Oh, yes - I used an old edition of Japanese for Everyone and didn't like it; I don't know if the new edition is any better. Genki sounds good but I didn't actually use it so I don't know.

[phreadom]

I wrote up a review of Japanese for Everyone and Genki (first edition) volume 1.

http://thejapanesepage.com/forum/viewto ... 15&t=14983

It should give you a bit of an idea... but nothing like getting your hands on it unfortunately.