Why do I like it ?
It's set out very clearly
Plenty of examples
Lovely wacky cartoony dialogues to show some of the grammar
Plenty of exercises.
Part 1 is for relative beginners.
Part 2 visits most of it again in a more advanced form for "improvers" as some call them.
Very readable !
What more do you want?
It's not cheap on Amazon, but luckily I got my copy for £2.95 from an Oxfam Bookshop !!
Here's the 2nd recommendation ... I got this for £1.99 (!!...¡¡) in a charity shop.
It's Spanish Grammar in Context by Juan Kattán-Ibarra and Angela Howkins.
Let's say you're looking at the chapter on the preterite ... it starts with a piece of authentic Spanish writing in which the preterite features quite a bit ... it then explains what the preterite is and when you need to use it, and refers to the text examples to show how it is used in practice. I find this a very useful and practical way to get grammar across meaningfully.This is followed by a good and instructive selection of questions.
So ..... I realise that different books suit different people, but these two certainly tick a lot of boxes for me, and I am not a natural grammar-learning person!
OK ... that's the serious stuff ... now here's a rather beautiful bit of music ...
Here's the terrific Russian Red/Lourdes Hernandez singing the Magnetic Fields' song " Todas mis Palabras" ... lovely stuff ......
como una mariposa en una flor
y aunque te puedo asegurar
nunca te pude enamorar
me prometiste tu amor
pero los dos sabemos la verdad
y se que te arrepentirás
pero jamás te quedarás
[Coro]
Ni por todo el té de China
ni aunque te cante esta canción
y recorra la Argentina
o te dé mi corazón
ni aunque escriba para ti
mil canciones más de amor
ya no se que puedo hacer
si hasta me quede sin voz.
Ahora que me quiero morir
me dices que no eres tú soy yo
y se que te arrepentirás
pero jamás te quedarás
[Coro]
Ni por todo el té de China
ni aunque te cante esta canción
y recorra la Argentina
o te dé mi corazón
ni aunque escriba para ti
mil canciones más de amor
ya no se que puedo hacer
si hasta me quede sin voz.
Ya no se que más hacer
si esta historia se acabó.
..and here, free at the point of use, is a words video of it ....