I just finished writing out flash cards as recommended by the author. I also wrote out a card for each example sentence. So now I have a HUGE bundle of flash cards & the challenge will be to STUDY them. I really liked this book & it helped me. You should memorize Hiragana & Katakana first. (I made myself an awesome chart). That way, you can focus on the vocabulary & sentences in this book. I think the process of converting Romaji to Hiragana gets your brain working in that mode. Is there a Vol 2? I couldn't find it.