Ramblings of a Crowe

Damn. I'm trying to teach myself Japanese since I can't afford a class, an' all. I bet my pronunciation's waaay off.

I should compile a list of books I've used. My speaking skills suck, since I study alone. Reading, with the help of a dictionary is okay. I'm not anywhere close to where I want to be though. I study several hours a week. Also, having a couple of friends in Japan to talk with is a big bonus. You can find people to talk to at places like Kanji Step and what not. Keep it up! It's hard, but fun!

Have you heard of a series of books by James W. Heisig? The first one contains an ingenious method that works astoundingly well. All the books carry hefty titles (Remembering the Kanji I: A Complete Course on How Not to Forget the Meaning and Writing of Japanese Characters) but are otherwise a great help. A PDF-file containing the first 8 or so lessons is available for download, you shouldn't have much trouble locating it. Kanji are after all a bitch to remember.
The second book is where things get interesting for you; it teaches you the on-yomi as well as kun-yomi readings of the kanji learned in the fist book (2000+). (purchasing the second volume without having learned the first one is far from advised) I have heard of people who passed the JLPT using these first two tomes in addition to previous lessons. As I said before; search for the downloadable first part (250 kanji) and READ the introduction before you start. Also, useful advice from users can be found at amazon.com.
Good Luck

Hey, thanks! I think I know what you're talking about and have seen them online. I'll check them out. I need all the help I can when it comes to remembering those little buggers!