Tuttle Publishing Intermediate Chinese Characters: Learn 300 Mandarin Characters and 1200 Words (Free online audio and printable flash cards) Ideal for HSK + AP Exam Prep

Both this Intermediate and the Beginner one are great books for learning characters! I love that it has thematic chapters with reading comprehension text and practice exercises in addition to the character practice. The topics mean things are organised in a logical way, and the context makes it easier to remember. It also includes stroke order, common words that use the character, and example sentences for each. I found that the intermediate is a big step up in difficulty from the beginner. I can read maybe about 400 or 500 characters/ I'm around HSK 3 or 4, and I have trouble understanding some questions in the book exercises and reading texts. I have just started this book, but I imagine that if I learn more characters as I go through the book, I may be able to go back and understand earlier chapters better. As in the first book, the font is quite small. The characters in the example sentences are a bit hard to read because they're so little, but if that's not an issue for you, there is a LOT packed onto a page. The only other thing I think could be improved is an index in the back by pinyin. Often I remember the Chinese word and want to look up the character, but they are just organised by English translation in the back. I wish it had a pinyin index of the characters, too.