http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/complete
Would it be a bad idea to study this instead of using textbooks? I'm thinking of just reading through this guide then moving on to kanji from there instead of using textbooks that focus on mainly polite Japanese.
I'm reading through Elementary Japanese vol 1 and Genki I, but I have trouble remembering the majority of the information. If I can't apply it, as in write out the sentences or do other exercises, I forget. In the Elementary Japanese book, all I do is read read read. It's just continuous walls of text with no exercises except for writing out kanji. I take notes but it's still confusing since I'm getting bombarded with a shitload of information. I can understand the sentences just fine, but if I try to write something out myself I have no idea what to do. That's my main problem.