@Pefferie,

I'm almost embarrassed to admit that, yes I was including semantically oriented mnemonic devices in my statement about mnemonic devices along with phonetic ones. I've always found them to be a disservice in the long run. Creating stories around the characters, while fun and interesting can actually have adverse affects. Like I mentioned before, it can actually obscure either the meaning or the pronunciation.

In my mind it's much better to simply learn the characters by their components. What does each component mean? What's the pronunciation? What is the meaning when they are combined into a certain character? Finally, what is the form of the combination? In my mind the direct way is the best way.

Although, like I said, at the end of the day it comes down to how each individual learns.

Yes, using books and study guides to help shave years and years and countless hours of frustration from an already arduous (although extremely intriguing and rewarding) task is why we are all here on Popup Chinese.