I've got $200+ Amazon dollars stored in my account but I don't have anything to spend it on... except for perhaps buying books related to Japanese language learning.
I've gone through the Japanese grammar and I am in the process of memorizing and hopefully not forgetting James Heisig's 2200 Kanji (as of 6th Edition) once and for all, using Anki to keep up on the reviews.
Now I want to specialize a bit more by reading books that specialize in a certain aspect of the Japanese language. I am looking for books that really focus their attention on something specific. Just one example of what I am looking for are books that cover common 四字熟語 (4 Kanji phrases/idioms). I imagine those are reasonably common so it would be the perfect thing to analyze after finishing Remembering The Kanji. I remember there is a book that has an illustration on the left page and the 4 Kanji compound on the right page with a description/explanation of it.
Other things I might be interested include the meaning/history/analysis of set Japanese phases/expressions, a detailed analysis/explanation of casual speech and its contractions/abbreviations/slang etc..., maybe even a history of the development of Kanji (Heisig mentions Kanji etymology in his introduction of RTK1).
Apart from that, I don't really know what I'm looking for when it comes to Japanese language books so I'm seeking recommendations on good Japanese learning books.
What are some interesting books that really gave you an insight into the language and improved your overall grasp/comprehension of Japanese?
What are some books that explain certain specific and important parts of the Japanese language that most average/general textbooks would not cover, or cover very little of it?
What are some books that were really helpful to you personally?
Here's the Japanese language book section of the Amazon website: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n_4?rh...=684261011
Things I am NOT particularly interested in buying at this time or don't want/need:
1) General "jack-of-all-trades" textbooks (EG. Genki, Rosetta Stone, Minna no Nihongo, Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide, etc)
2) General Japanese dictionaries
3) Hiragana/Katakana/Kanji memorizing books
4) Fictional novels/manga
5) Non-fictional books not relating to the Japanese language (EG. history)
6) General "Japanese culture" books that are intended for light reading and not relating to the learning of the Japanese language (EG. the influence of Japanese animation, the Japanese brand of cuteness/kawaisa, Japan's prostitution/pornography businesses, the impact of Yakuza on Japanese society, and other useless bullshit etc...)
7) Digital books (I want something I can hold and won't break)
8) Free stuff on the Internet (I want to get what I paid for)
I've gone through the Japanese grammar and I am in the process of memorizing and hopefully not forgetting James Heisig's 2200 Kanji (as of 6th Edition) once and for all, using Anki to keep up on the reviews.
Now I want to specialize a bit more by reading books that specialize in a certain aspect of the Japanese language. I am looking for books that really focus their attention on something specific. Just one example of what I am looking for are books that cover common 四字熟語 (4 Kanji phrases/idioms). I imagine those are reasonably common so it would be the perfect thing to analyze after finishing Remembering The Kanji. I remember there is a book that has an illustration on the left page and the 4 Kanji compound on the right page with a description/explanation of it.
Other things I might be interested include the meaning/history/analysis of set Japanese phases/expressions, a detailed analysis/explanation of casual speech and its contractions/abbreviations/slang etc..., maybe even a history of the development of Kanji (Heisig mentions Kanji etymology in his introduction of RTK1).
Apart from that, I don't really know what I'm looking for when it comes to Japanese language books so I'm seeking recommendations on good Japanese learning books.
What are some interesting books that really gave you an insight into the language and improved your overall grasp/comprehension of Japanese?
What are some books that explain certain specific and important parts of the Japanese language that most average/general textbooks would not cover, or cover very little of it?
What are some books that were really helpful to you personally?
Here's the Japanese language book section of the Amazon website: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n_4?rh...=684261011
Things I am NOT particularly interested in buying at this time or don't want/need:
1) General "jack-of-all-trades" textbooks (EG. Genki, Rosetta Stone, Minna no Nihongo, Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide, etc)
2) General Japanese dictionaries
3) Hiragana/Katakana/Kanji memorizing books
4) Fictional novels/manga
5) Non-fictional books not relating to the Japanese language (EG. history)
6) General "Japanese culture" books that are intended for light reading and not relating to the learning of the Japanese language (EG. the influence of Japanese animation, the Japanese brand of cuteness/kawaisa, Japan's prostitution/pornography businesses, the impact of Yakuza on Japanese society, and other useless bullshit etc...)
7) Digital books (I want something I can hold and won't break)
8) Free stuff on the Internet (I want to get what I paid for)
Edited: 2012-07-30, 12:08 pm