ヤッホー! I was going to put this in my study log but I figured it might be useful to make it so that more people can see it. In this post, I talk about my reading journey in Japanese. I want to encourage others to read a lot and offer an individual perspective on what 100 books read looks like, as well as how I got here. It’s a slightly edited repost.
What’s my Japanese background?
Please see the home post of my study log: https://community.wanikani.com/t/nihongolearner19s-multilingual-study-log-n2-and-beyond/62887
Where can I find a list of what you read?
Disclaimer: I read a lot of books from a few series that I love and now I’m reading a wider variety of standalone novels. You don’t need to copy what I read to achieve success; reading anything will help you make progress.
Natively: https://learnnatively.com/user/NihongoLearner19/jpn/
Bookmeter: https://bookmeter.com/users/1375375
Why did I bother to read 100 books in Japanese?
I love to read. I learned Japanese because I wanted to read untranslated manga and maybe some light novels and poetry. I discovered that reading in the original language was way better than a lot of translations, and that the light novel versions of a lot of manga were available that weren’t translated into English, so I ended up reading quite a few light novels in the end. The breakdown is 57 light novels, 31 novels, 7 nonfiction prose books, and 2 children’s books. I’ve also read 218 volumes of manga. (There are also 20-odd books I didn’t finish, some of which I’ve included in Bookmeter to reach my full count of 104 books.)
How many pages did I read?
I read 31,515 pages.
How are my reading abilities now?
I can read novels, light novels, and manga without errors in comprehension and with minimal lookups (~1 per every 15-20 pages for more difficult books). Poetry is still demanding, although it also requires further thought and consideration in English, my native language. Academic books and articles are doable with lookups for academic jargon.
I know a fair amount of idioms, can understand the nuance of different words, gendered speech styles, and levels of keigo, and can read for fun with very few issues. If I encounter a word I don’t know, I can usually guess the meaning from the kanji used and sometimes the reading as well.
While manga is a distinct format with its own stylistic challenges, it’s generally smooth sailing for me. Light novels are quite easy. Novels vary depending on the year published and the degree of literariness. For example, I recently read お探し物は図書室まで (What You’re Looking For is in the Library) by 青山 美智子 (Aoyama Michiko) and it was a very smooth read. In contrast, reading Natsume Sōseki on Sōseki Project feels approachable but not quite as easy. With the gloss, it’s less a matter of vocabulary and more one of sociocultural background information from the time period the works were written.
How long did this take?
I read 2 books in 2021, 10 in 2022, 26 in 2023, and 34 in 2024. As I write this in September 2025, I’ve read 31 books so far this year.
How did I approach reading (intensive vs. extensive, etc.)? What technologies and tools did I use?
I used my Kindle, the built-in Japanese-English dictionary, and the monolingual (J-J) dictionary. I also used physical books and the Jisho app. I had Satori Reader for about a month (~January 2021). I used some free Tadoku graded readers before that. I listened to a lot of audiobooks while I read long light novel series, in particular, which was helpful for simultaneously improving my listening skills. This method helped reinforce readings of words passively. I also made extensive use of Natively.
As for the reading itself, at the beginning it was decoding. I looked up every word and grammar structure that I didn’t know. It was very slow. I made the mistake of not reading every day (in fact, I probably had points where I wasn’t reading every week or even month), so it took me six months to finish my first novel. In retrospect, I should have chosen something lower level, with full furigana, and made sure to read a few pages every day. It adds up, even if it’s only 3-5 pages per day.
In general, even after moving past the decoding stage, I primarily read intensively, looking up most words I didn’t know. This lasted until I learned the words or could guess the meaning from context and didn’t have to read extensively any more. It definitely took at least 10,000 pages - maybe 20,000? But now I can read general fiction and literary fiction very comfortably.
Honestly, I have a high tolerance for looking words up, even in physical books, so this approach worked for me. It will not work for everyone. For Korean, I’m reading a lot more level-appropriate material (middle grade and YA novels with the occasional light novel equivalent novel thrown in). It’s a lot easier and I’ve made more consistent progress, since I also made the effort to read every day. Crucially, I can read more every day because the material is easier. This is all to say: It doesn’t matter what you read. 10,000 pages gets you far either way. However, reading easier stuff is going to get you there faster. (And yes, I didn’t really do this with Japanese, because Natively didn’t exist in 2020, or I didn’t know about it, so I went for harder stuff I knew that I liked. This isn’t wrong, but it was very, very slow.)
When did I feel like I saw sudden increases in my reading ability?
Books 1-2: I was decoding, not reading
Books 3-10: I knew most of the basic vocab and things felt a lot easier; I built a reading habit
Books 11-30: I felt quite confident with light novels but less so with literary fiction; I did lots of reading along with audiobooks
Books 31-50: I felt confident with modern literary fiction in addition to light novels
Books 51-100: I diversified my reading to different registers and genres; late 19th/early 20th century fiction became possible, but required some scaffolding for historical context and some kanbun knowledge
Notes on my use of “confident” above
Confidence is very subjective and it varies as you improve. I definitely don’t mean it in the same way both times I use it above. Reading my tenth book, I was happy to realize that I knew a lot of the common words and could get the gist of what was happening in the story. Reading my thirtieth book, I was starting to pay more attention to details. Reading my fiftieth book, I paid more attention to nuance in word choice. These days, I find myself examining how various elements like gendered speech, tone, and word choice work together to make up different characters and writing styles. That is to say, my level of confidence was in different aspects of reading, which is more complex than people give it credit for. As you gain experience with one aspect, you move on to another one you may have deliberately neglected before, or one that you may not have been able to notice before.
What advice would I give to others who want to do the same thing?
- Build a habit of reading every day. Even 5 pages a day will get you somewhere way faster than 30 pages once a month.
- Read narrowly at the beginning. Stick to one author or series for the first few books, perhaps something that you’ve already read in another language and are familiar with.
- Read widely as you progress, particularly after the 10,000 page mark. Read popular fiction, fantasy, romance, literary fiction, manga, poetry, nonfiction, historical fiction - literally whatever floats your boat. This will help expand your reading range, as well as your vocabulary.
- Don’t be afraid to quit reading a book that’s too hard or simply too boring. It’s better to switch to something that you’re actually interested in picking up even if it means not finishing the book you’ve started.
- Keep a working list of different books you’re interested in. Read the Kindle samples to find one that works for your level and reading tastes. Use sites like Natively to find books at your level and see other learners’ reviews.
- Listen to audiobooks as you read. This helps with reinforcing correct pronunciation and readings for kanji, as well as improving your passive listening skills.
- Set little goals. Start with 1 book, then 3, then 10, then 20 and so on. Even if you eventually plan to read more than this, it takes time to build up reading skills and stamina. Setting huge goals will often feel demotivating.
Would I recommend doing this?
If you like to read, 100%! It was a fun long-term project for me, and I am by no means done. There are many more books for me to read.
More seriously, this takes time, but it’s more than worth it if you want to gain linguistic and cultural knowledge. Reading was essential for me to build a large passive vocabulary. This knowledge transferred over to listening and I’ve been able to convert some of it to speaking as well.
Thank you for reading! Feel free to ask questions and I will do my best to answer them.
