Which "Remembering Hanzi" will you buy?

[foodtarget]

After hearing about "Remembering Hanzi" from the so-named thread, I looked at the samples and read some more opinions about Remembering the Kanji, and I am now thoroughly excited and anxiously awaiting the release of the first book. The only thing I can't decide is, which version should I buy? *I'm not trying to start a debate about the relative superiority of traditional/simplified, I'm sure there are threads for that elsewhere*

At school in America, we learned simplified exclusively, and I am now studying in mainland China (learning simplified, of course). Also, I plan to take the HSK this June and October, so it seems logical to purchase Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

On the other hand, I studied Japanese for a few years, before I started Chinese, so my first exposure to Hanzi was the slightly simplified but otherwise mostly traditional Japanese sort. I have continued to learn the traditional versions of simplified characters that I encounter in Chinese class, just out of curiosity. Also, I'm considering studying in Taiwan or HK in a year or so. And last but not least, I just like the way traditional look, my totally subjective personal opinion.

I guess I could buy both, but that seems a little redundant, and as a poor American college student suffering from the weak dollar, I don't have loads of "yuanage" to be throwing around. Other than the obvious fact that one is in traditional and the other in simplified, is there any difference between the books, like the characters included or their ordering?

So is anyone else having a similar personal debate? I'm interested in hearing the decisions others have made and their reasons...

[Luobot]

I think that you shouldn't need to make this choice. You want both simplified and traditional in one book. You don't want to buy two versions of mostly the same book just because they were too cheap to include the differences in one book. From what I've heard, the book is more notable for what it doesn't have (for example, pinyin pronunciation) than for what it does have. Other books that use stories to assist memory (designed from the start for Mandarin rather than Japanese) have been mentioned in other threads, are already available now, and also get some good reviews.

If you insist on this book, then get the traditional, on the theory that simplified is easier to learn once you know traditional, and then you hopefully won't need to buy the simplified version.

[renzhe]

I voted neither. I've almost reached the 2,500 character mark, so there is little point in getting this. If I were just starting, I'd probably consider getting the simplified one.

[KONDDE]

In fact my wish was to solve my simplified problem and to buy just only simplified version only,

but...

I think there are a lot of good material to read just in putunghua wich traditional are in fact used. I am trying to donwload some manhua from internet but until now I never attempt to get some manhua in simplified version, a lot of good manga copies come from japan and it were produced in Taiwan. Since is putunghua ok I can download.

My chinese teacher always say that I need to know and read Traditional, writte in Simplified.

Everyone (western) who plains to start learn chinese start from simplified, but when you start to know something and want some material to read will see how dificult is to obtain simplified versions from what are you looking for...

I think it is becouse my teacher awayls stress me to read traditional.