Dear Ven Kumara and friends,

the personal opinion is that the Pali Primer is the best for a
complete beginning self-study amateur, just like myself.

However, a person with a mentor can move on a faster track, such as
Ven Narada's book. Those on a professional track can take on Gair &
Karunatillake's and use Ven Narada's book as an "assessment book".

It is also important to know how to use Pali Dictionaries, and it is
good to have a Pali Grammar book by your side. Vocabulary drills and
exercises, as mentioned by John, is important to be independent of
dictionaries when reading a Pali passage/sutta. That's why I'm glad
that Andy provides us with a list of the most common Pali words. I
think that's a good way to build up vocabulary, not just relying on
the word lists in the texts.

metta,
Yong Peng.

--- In Pali@..., Kumaara Bhikkhu <venkumara@...> wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> Presently, we have a few starter books for learning Pali:
> 1. Pali Primer, Dr. Lily de Silva
> 2. A New Course in Reading Pali, James W. Gair and W. S.
Karunatillake
> 3. An Elementary Pali Course, Ven. Narada Thera
>
> While we know that they all have their strengths and weaknesses, if
someone were to ask you which book among them is the best to start
with, which one would you recommend? And, if possible, please tell us
why as well.
>
> If you know of another book which is better than the three, please
feel free to tell us as well.
>
> peace
>
> Ven Kumâra