I've only finished around 500 of RTK, and I don't think I'll really start anything major until I actually finish. However, next week, I'm going to be visiting NYC, and they have a Kinokuniya there. Seeing as all the bookstores in my place really are lacking in Japanese self-study materials, it would be a good opportunity to get something without massive shipping fees..

Okay, so I asked around and many people seem to really like Japanese Sentence Patterns for Effective Communication. But, apparently Kodansha closed down or something, and those books are really hard to find now! I think I'm looking for something like a grammar..guide? Dictionary? Something for the ultra-noobie. Any recommendations that're still in print?

Japanese Sentence Patterns for .... is still in stock at Amazon for only 12 dollars.

http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Sentence-...munication

Ooh.. some people said that they couldn't find it though.. http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?tid=9304

Maybe something as backup then?
Uh.. would a grammar guide be the first thing you guys would buy? I know there's Tae Kim's but I saw some posts about confusion or something went wrong in it. Would a dictionary be better?

It's definitely in stock right now so if you really want it I'd get it now while it's available.

pandorageass Wrote:Ooh.. some people said that they couldn't find it though.. http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?tid=9304

Maybe something as backup then?
Uh.. would a grammar guide be the first thing you guys would buy? I know there's Tae Kim's but I saw some posts about confusion or something went wrong in it. Would a dictionary be better?

How do you plan on studying Japanese?

Just using grammar guides is a bad idea IMO. Grammar guides are best to have as a reference and/or as a supplement to something else, like a textbook. Kinokuniya will have all the major Japanese textbooks in stock. I recommend Genki. You should be able to flip through it and others at the store.

I don't know what your budget is but you might also look into a "Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar". It's pretty pricy but it's easily the best reference grammar book for Japanese.

Oh sorry! I didn't refresh~
Yeah, I've heard loads of great things about Genki! I was just hesitant about asking about that since their website doesn't say they have it. But they are THE bookshop so yeah.. they should have it..
I'll go take a look at Genki when I visit.
Everything is so pricey man ;A;

What happened is that Kodansha International closed down to make room for Kodansha USA. The difference is that the presses are now in the US instead of Japan, which was quite upsetting for a lot of people in Japan.

There was a recent time period where these books could only be found through used stores, and they did get quite expensive. It appears that Kodansha USA started publishing them a few months ago. I managed to get a copy of Basic Connections that says it was published in 2012, when I checked only two months ago I couldn't find it anywhere reasonable.

So it appears that the out of print status was just temporary.

Thank you, that makes a lot of sense now.
I still think JSPEC would probably be a great thing to have, but I think Kitakitsune also makes sense and I really should get something that covers a bit more.. especially since I'm pretty much alone with this other than all of you guys on this wonderful forum and Lang-8.

It's reassuring to know that I can get it later if I scrap more cash up, though.

=A= Alright, Genki I (the textbook only).

Thanks for all your help!