Helpful Books.

[Eiri_Yuki]

Alright.
I myself am trying to learn Japanese....

And i foudn these two books which are AMAZING.

Their ISBN(S) are

0-07-142119-X
Which is called Instant Japanese.
With this you basically learn the Basics FAST. You should be speaking enough japanese to survive a couple weeks in japan (If you were to go) and it takes about 6 weeks.

The next book i give 5/5 stars!!
The ISBN is
0-07-141985-3
This one is called Beginner's Japanese script.
It teaches you basic Kanji. How to Read/Write Kanji.
How to read and write Hiragana and Katakana.
Your Numbers 1-1,00,000.

These are Really Helpful books. And AMAZING for Beginners,

[jinksys]

Eiri_Yuki wrote:
The next book i give 5/5 stars!!
The ISBN is
0-07-141985-3
This one is called Beginner's Japanese script.
It teaches you basic Kanji. How to Read/Write Kanji.
How to read and write Hiragana and Katakana.
Your Numbers 1-1,00,000.

These are Really Helpful books. And AMAZING for Beginners,

Are you talking about this book?


Because it's pretty awful. It currently has 3.5 of 5 on Amazon. The author is british so her sounds for the hiragana are all wrong for those who don't speak "the queens english." If you want a book that'll teach you the script, grammar, etc, get Colloquial Japanese.

[Eiri_Yuki]

Yes thats the Book.
There is the other book i said. It comes with an Audio CD. That one has an Accent.
Ive been learning Japanese for about a month off and on and i know the Pronounciation. And they got it right In the Book your talking about. They got it right in the other one as well. When she says it it doesn't sound "Right" but its still right.

Just because of her accent. lol

[kotori]

If you have audio, that's a little better than just trying to read what pronounciations are. But still...

just be careful when you're reading about japanese pronounciation (this is more for other people who read this thread than for the OP ). Depending on where you live, your accent/dialect, etc you may not be getting the sounds correct because the author may say words completely different than you do.

[Infidel]

BJS is good as a kanji primer for someone who is intimidated by kanji. By the end of the book kanji will feel far more comfortable and the student will be able to work through a more expansive textbook without fear.

Essentially, both of the books mentioned are good primers. I'd recommend either or both for someone who is considering taking a dedicated course but isn't sure if it is worth the time and money or who will be going to Japan in the near future. It should be enough to either peak their interest or turn them off to the whole idea.

I wanted to step in and defend these books because I think it is important to keep in mind the intended purpose of a book when reviewing it.

If the reader has a bit more time on their hands, Colloquial Japanese is better. If the student has over a year of time then Genki is even better.

[hungryhotei]

I agree with everything that Infidel just said.