I'm not sure that there are many, if any, "unconventional" methods of learning the material. The tried & tested method is read the books, most importantly understand what the book is saying, do the feedback questions (i.e. PPL Confuser for PPL level, its available from Transair), then after you've completed the feedback and understood your mistakes you should be ready for the exam if you got a decent mark in the feedback questions. As for the best material I've never read a Jeremy Pratt book but a lot of people say they're good books, I used the Trevor Thom books personally and found they were brilliant, very clear explainations to the level required for the exam and slightly beyond in some cases. I'd say wait until a few people have passed on their advice and gauge the reaction but I reckon most have gone through the books, completed the feedback and sat the exams.