This is by far the best book I’ve read (in Japanese) that was interesting, helped me understand Japanese culture more, taught me a lot of new words, and validated my reading ability. It has helpful furigana too but not completely riddled with it, so it feels like a REAL book and not a study guide.
There are useful translations of vocabulary at the end of each chapter in case you don’t want to reference a dictionary so that was nice too! But they don’t cover every word that you might not know so hence my highlights. It’s also nice that you can see how these vocabulary words that we learn on WaniKani are used in conjunction with other words (Example from the picture 例1. 恥をかく) or in actual idioms, phrases, aphorisms, etc.
I started reading this book when I was about N4-N3 level but I’d say this book is around N3-N2 level so as I progressed through Wanikani, it became easier to read. I spent less time highlighting and more time really enjoying the book.
Hope you guys can check it out!
P.S… I’d love some Japanese Novel recommendations if you’d have any
Thanks for the recommendation. I love that your book looks actually used. Like an old friend that has value
I put it on my “to consider” pile. Maybe I’ll get it as well. It was apparently published in 2021 so is relatively new, actually.
For novel recommendations, I recommend you take a look into the book club threads (intermediate/advanced). You can browse through the books the clubs have already read and see which of the books were liked and what people generally thought of them. Just be careful to not spoil yourself too much if you are sensitive to spoilers.
I’ve not read too much in Japanese yet but if you have favorite genres, or can specify what you like in books (e.g. strong characters, strong story, interesting premise, elegant writing style, poems, short stories, epics) somebody might be able to help you better.
I also haven’t read much in Japanese because I take so long to read when I don’t understand a passage. I will say though that Kindle is very good for this! With it’s built-in translations and dictionaries. Maybe you can give it a try if you (or anyone reading this) struggle with that too!
I will say though that Kindle is very good for this! With it’s built-in translations and dictionaries. Maybe you can give it a try if you (or anyone reading this) struggle with that too!