Recommended Japanese Learning Books?

Hello everyone I am an American trying to learn Japanese.The thing is I feel I'm not getting anywhere.I've tried on and off for a few months and only know some basic vocab and can read Hiragana little to no problem.All of this is due to online resources but I feel its not enough and some sites charge(which I'm not fond of)high rates.

So I figured why not buy some books.My
problem is now figuring out which books to buy that will focus on grammar,vocab,etc. for beginners.What are some great books to buy at a reasonable price?

ありがとうございます！

Of course, there are a bunch of different textbooks out there that could work for you. In college my minor was Japanese and the first couple Japanese courses used the Nakama textbooks (1 & 2). This series also has workbooks and audio. (Maybe see about getting the instructor textbook so you can check your answers as well?)

After completing Nakama 1 and 2 students were eligible to study abroad so I think they provide a good foundation. They worked pretty well for me.

Genki I and II are good books. They come with audio CDs for listening and exercise books for writing (it is possible to buy the answer book so you know if you've done the exercises correctly). They've been recently updated (within the last couple of years) so they use up-to-date language.

mytrueiimage,

Thanks for replying.I looked into the book you suggested and it seems there are two versions(one series is published in late 90's the other around 2010-12)the latter costing about $70-100 on Amazon.I may get it at a later date when funds aren't tied up haha

Thanks for the recommendation!

I highly recommend starting by learning hirigana and then katakana. Once you have those two down you have a HUGE chunk taken off your work load. I recommend using japanesepod101. Punipuni was nice, but a bit kiddish. There is also tofugu.com. YouTube also has the New York japanese society, which has GREAT videos. I am a very shy person so am very intimidated by penpals or speaking to others, but I find these methods give you just enough interaction to learn from. Once I got the basics, I found I was able to learn off of almost any basic textbook. I had made the mistake of ten years ago buying a japanese book from a barnes and noble and found that i needed a basic understand to even learn from beginner books without a teacher. I def say the internet learning and apps are the best way to go. I still use japanesepod101, their free version. Very useful stuff like how to order food,train station announcements and such. :) I know it can be tough! I hope this helps you!!

Thanks for the info everyone!