Hi! I hope you're doing well :) in a previous ask you said that "I only buy language learning books from there" (talking about Amazon) and I was wondering if you could recommend some good ones? Sorry if you've been asked this before! Thanks in advance!
I have recommended some books before, but those were my favorite books. I think I should just list all the books I have liked/used instead to give you a broader view. I categorized the books by the CEFR guidelines/ Test of Russian as a Foreign Language I put a * by my favorites since this is a lot.
For Beginners (A1 Level or complete beginners)
The New Penguin Russian Course *: I used to own this before giving it away, but it was very beginner friendly. I think this is the best book to start learning Russian since it is not expensive, it does a good job of explaining grammar and includes exercises with answers.
10,000 Words in Frequency Dictionary: This is a nice beginner dictionary since it shows the words in context.
Russian Grammar Quickstudy Sheet: Not a book, but it is great as a reference sheet.
For A2 Level (You know cases and verb tenses)
Schaum’s Outlines of Russian Grammar *: It explains the grammar you need to pass the A2 level without going beyond the details you need. It is very well organized and has exercises. 10/10 would use again.
Big Silver Book of Russian Verbs: A great book for learning how to conjugate verbs. This includes exercises and how to use the verbs.
Schaum’s Outlines of Russian Vocabulary: A great vocab book. It doesn’t have stress marks, which makes it a bit difficult to learn pronunciation. It teaches through themes and exercises.
Ultimate Russian Advanced: The title says advanced but it is really B1-B2 grammar. It does a good job at presenting you with texts to learn from, as well as providing phrases and their meaning and usage in everyday language.
A Comprehensive Russian Grammar *: My favorite grammar book. It explains so many grammar details in depth and is the best reference book.
Russian Verbs of Motion (Stilman) *: At 78 pages, it is very handy when learning the verbs of motion. It provides how to form them, their prefix usage, charts to remember them by, as well as colloquial usage of the verbs.
Russian Stories: A Dual-Language Book *: You should definitely use it not only to improve your reading comprehension but also because it introduces you to some great Russian writers. It includes notes, stress marks, reading questions, and a glossary.
Short Stories of the 20th Century: A Dual-Language Book: Similar to the above but with different stories. I had to include it since I adore Russian 20th C literature and this introduces you to great authors that are not as known as in the previous book.
Using Russian: A Guide to Contemporary Usage *: Goes very in depth with the grammar and when you should use certain constructions, as well as how they would be translated.
Roots of the Russian Language: I am currently using this book to improve my vocabulary. By learning roots, it is easier to infer what the words mean in Russian, especially when dealing with verbs.
Russian Translation: Theory & Practice *: This is a great book to know how to translate texts between the languages, as well as different nuances in translation.
TORFL C1 Level: PDF file with practice tests for the TORFL. This is more for those that want to take the test, than for those learning for fun.
Novels in Russian! Honestly, this is the best way to continually improve. I suggest starting with authors like Хармс and Гоголь and working your way up to Булгаков, Пелевин, and other modern writers.
The links to the books are either on Amazon or PDF files. I suggest you buy a copy of the books since it makes it easier to learn from.