I would work through the graded readers and then simple children’s books using LearnNatively.
https://learnnatively.com/search/jpn/books/?type=-textbook&min=0&max=12&leveltag=n5&sort=level_asc
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The spreadsheets are quite nice for vocabulary. Thank you.
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This is a very good source. Lots of reading options here to keep me busy! Thanks 
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this is great, thank you!
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My Love Story!! is free on Bookwalker now through August 9 (if anyone wanted to check it out ahead of time) https://bookwalker.jp/de07c1f834-047d-4ed1-abc3-19952af41deb/
I have a spec schedule so I can get the homepage up today and then people can let me know if it looks OK
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OK - feedback appreciated! I also don’t have editing for the Google sheet
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Hello fellow Dio enjoyer!
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会社と私生活 ‐オンとオフ‐
Summary
Amita Shotaro and Hanku Akira work at the same company. At work, they’re quite professional, but in their free time, they live their lives as they want. Amita wears pretty female lolita coordinates and Hanku wears rugged punk outfits. One weekend, they run into each other. Physically. Their outfits get tangled up, and consequently their lives.
Will they figure out each other’s gender? Or better yet, identity? Will this clothing snag bring them together or tear them apart?
Availability
Natively Level: 19 (4 graders who collectively gave vol 1 4.75 stars!)
Personal Opinion
Super cute, fluffy series. It’s a gorgeous to boot.
Pros and Cons for the Book Club
Pros
- Super low density text (sometimes there are no words or only a sentence or two on a page)
- Has furigana except for stuff like short handwritten bits and text messages
- The grammar is usually pretty simple and the office speak should be easy for folks who have used a textbook before
- It’s a romance about adults and the main points of conflict aren’t about miscommunication but rather the characters working to understand each other and the natural development of their relationships
Cons
- Sometimes there are more advanced words
- Y’all might be tired of romance?
- It’s a little more expensive than the average manga
Pictures
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Well, I know what I’m gonna read soon when I want something easier. Nice!
I didn’t even know that was possible?!
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Right!? Enjoy!
I feel like the mangaka probably has a great marriage solely based on how he depicts relationships
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Dang I missed My Love Story. I didn’t work through Genki 1 fast enough. 
I’ll join yall on the next book. 
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It doesn’t start til the 6th!
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Yep and the ABBC (and all book club threads) stay up so you can always comment on them later.
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What has kept you from completing Genki 1 by now?
If it’s because you started Genki too recently and are still going through it, it doesn’t hurt to to either keep at it or try reading.
If it’s a lack of time, starting to read native material will likely require a much greater time investment.
If it’s a lack of interest/drive to complete a textbook, that’s the perfect reason to switch up methods and try to dive into reading as a learning method.
That last category is where I was for several years before I got serious about reading.
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I got hospitalized and it set me back 3 weeks. I had enough time to get through it with a lesson every two days. I did manage to keep my reviews in check while I was in.
so it’s neither of the normal stumbling blocks.
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This is true! I do have a copy of the first Card Captors! I can always do that one in the meantime
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That’s a very understandable reason. Hope everything is okay or heading in the right direction!
Regardless of where you start, each volume you complete makes the next one a little bit easier. (Especially if you read multiple volumes of one series.)
The advantage of following a completed club is that you can really tailor it to your own pace. You miss out on the push to keep moving forward with a schedule, but you can go as slowly or as quickly as works for you.
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Thank you! Evering is much better now!
Yeah! I figured I could go slow at CCS and join everyone on the next round. My local bookstore has up to volume 10 of CCS, so if I want to go faster, I can always grab the next volume. I think it’ll all work out in the end! I’m not worried, the important part is I am still trucking along even during a disruption in my normal life schedule.
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To add to this - the CCS club is still in progress!! If you do end up going fast on them, we still have over a year left on our schedule, so it’s not impossible for you to catch up! CardCaptor was my first foray into reading native material around this time last year. Highly recommend!!
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Thank you! I ended up having to buy different books because I accidentally grabbed the clear card book 1 .
But I found 1-4 on eBay for the first series for relatively cheep! I have been reviewing the vocab list and so far I know most of the words! I’m really excited to read one of my favorite series!
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