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Originally Posted by BakaTensei
ahh thanks very much ^__^ I'll be sure to check them out, can never go wrong with learning too much.
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Just try not to learn too much at once or you can burn out. Having a lot of resources is good. I think it helps to kinda take it all in a little at a time. Maybe read 10 pages of one book one day (or a chapter/section) and move on to another on another day. When you're bored you can go for bigger chunks. The stuff that's in those "supplementary" books is stuff that I think would be good to keep in the back of your mind while you are studying.
While I'm sure some people disagree, I find the Genki book to be a little bit strange for adult learners in that the subject matter is a little bit adolescent. The vocabulary choices are also a bit strange. Some of the grammar is really well presented (particularly the charts that they have), but the explanation is lacking (this is where A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar comes into play). Understanding the culture is an integral part in understanding Japanese. I think it's unfair to say that a textbook should include things about this in great detail... so I shouldn't knock Genki for its lacking in this area. Fortunately you can find books on this subject on Amazon for literally under a dollar (plus S&H of course).
There was another book I encountered in college as well... it was kind of old (out of print). They had a few copies on Amazon going for astronomical prices (over a hundo). It had REALLY good explanations of grammar in it. If I can ever find out what it is I'll try to post it. I don't know about getting your hands on your own copy, but it might be at a college library or other library nearby.