Instead of memorizing vocabulary words, work your way through an actual well-written novel. Even novices can follow along as each individual English paragraph is paired with the corresponding German paragraph. It won't be an easy project, but you'll learn a lot.
Learn German with Bilingual Books
Charles Dickens, Leo Tolstoy, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Voltaire, Joseph Karl von Eichendorff, William Shakespeare, Charlotte Bronte, Gustave Flaubert, Wilhelm Busch, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe, Victor Hugo, Niccolo Machiavelli, Hans Theodor Storm, Heinrich Hoffmann
book
The Struwwelpeter or Merry Stories and Funny Pictures (HD) : Optimized for color digital readers (HD)
Heinrich Hoffmann
book
Den store Bastian
Heinrich Hoffmann
audiobookbook
Struwwelpeter: Merry Stories and Funny Pictures
Heinrich Hoffmann
book