Kanji Study aids

[leonl]

These are the kanji books I plan on using with Itmj Suggestions, Hints, Ideas are welcome as always

A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters (Tuttle Language Library) (Paperback)
http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Writing-Kanji-Kana-Self-Study/dp/0804835055/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t
http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Writing-Kanji-Kana-Self-Study/dp/0804835055/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_i

[Sairana]

You can save yourself some money and just get THIS BOOK instead of those two.

The handbook is by the same authors, Hadamitzky and Spahn. It contains the exact same information as the workbooks, PLUS 284 jinmei-you kanji used in names. It includes the stroke orders, the radicals, and even a handwritten version for each kanji.

What the workbooks have that the handbook doesn't: practice space.

I love the handbook, so if you're really into the workbooks I'd say go ahead and get them. The content is definitely not the issue. But the handbook is soo much better as a reference. When I want to look up the stroke order of a kanji, I can use one of three look-up methods (radical, stroke number, or reading). With the workbooks, you will have to search both to find the one you want.

If you get the handbook, you can also pick up a 99 cent pack of 1/4" graph paper to practice in. Use a 2x2 grid for practicing it larger, then each individual square to practice smaller (that's what the workbook squares are, too, anyway).

The downside: Both the handbook and workbooks only include the official jouyou kanji. There's many very common kanji (誰 comes to mind) that are not currently in the jouyou list. But this isn't really a huge obstacle.

[furrykef]

If you get the handbook, you can also pick up a 99 cent pack of 1/4" graph paper to practice in.

Or perhaps even better, print your own. They even have traditional Japanese writing grids if you want 'em, but usually I just use a standard grid.

[yukamina]

I always figured it was cheaper and easier to buy a cheap notebook than to print stuff out yourself.

[furrykef]

If you print your own, though, you have more control over the size of the grid and how it looks on the paper. (For example, I prefer a dot grid to a line grid.) That may seem pretty minor, but if you're going to be doing it a lot, it's nice to have it exactly the way you want it.