I use genki http://genki.japantimes.co.jp/index_en There are two volumes and I have both, it's not perfect but I think it's really good. Here is my summary Pro Well organized book each chapter has dialogue which uses the grammar points. There's a lot of vocab and exercises. Unlike japanese for busy people series, the genki books starts to introduce you to kanji early. You are not required to know how to write it but by writing te dialog in kanji it trains you right away to recognize them. Grammar points are easy to understand, with short and concise English explanation. There is kanji practice and additional reading at the end of the book sorted by chapter. The readings gradually gets more difficult and reinforce the grammar concepts introduced in the chapters Includes cd to practice pronunciation. Con The biggest problem with this textbook is that it's geared to students (both high school or college) so the dialogues and vocab is centered in that theme. The workbook doesn't provide answers. The book and workbook will set you back 80 dollars, so they are not cheap. Worth every penny though, in my opinion. I recommend it. Good luck