I think seeing all the “minimal effort” votes kind of turned me off from joining a book club for a while as well >_<
I thought if something that seemed really hard for me was minimal effort to most of the people voting, it meant that I wasn’t ready to start reading yet.
So I agree with the idea of making an option for more advanced readers!
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Awesome, thank you so much! I really like that. It’s nice and clear, and it’s also encouraging to see how many experienced readers might be helping out/commenting.
Also, some of these nominations look really fun. I hadn’t heard of a bunch of them before.
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I’ve been lurking around here for a while just reading through comments and nominations. Looked through a few of the finished ABBC books as well.
Although my grammar is still pretty weak, I think I’m about ready to take the dive!
Thank you so much for the gentle nudge and for agreeing to change the polls with an option for more advanced readers! I’m also one of those who were intimidated by the results, so this is really helpful!
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I just watched the first two minutes of this and this is hilarious!! 
I’m also quite surprised how much I understood without subs. To be fair, it was a pretty simple conversation with her mom, but still made me feel good! 
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The results of the poll are in favor of allowing it as a nomination. As I mentioned, I personally don’t want more than 2 of my own nominations in the running at any given point, so I won’t be nominating it, but if anybody else wants to see it in the next poll, they are free to get a nomination post up for it! 
When I first tried out the ABBC with Takagi-san, my grammar knowledge was a half-hearted attempt to get through Genki that failed because textbooks cannot hold my interest, some Japanese Ammo with Misa videos, and a hodgepodge of random bits I had picked up on my own while trying to read things by myself (discovering along the way that just because something has furigana, doesn’t mean it’s going to immediately be easy!) Pretty much all of my grammar since then has been learned from reading and asking questions or looking things up.
All that is to say, I just want to encourage you that even if you start out reading a little weak in grammar, you’ll be able to get there! Reading at first will always be a bit of a big bite, and it will feel less like reading and more like putting together a puzzle at first, but ultimately, it’s worth the struggle. The satisfaction from being able to understand something you didn’t before, and the gains in learning as you begin to recognize grammar patterns more and more until they become second nature just can’t be beat!
I’m glad we were able to come up with something that will make things better for everyone!
As I said, this club is intended to help beginners get a leg up in reading; if beginners are getting intimidated away, the club is failing in its goal, and I want to do everything I can to correct that! I’m so pleased to see so many people speaking up and coming up with ideas for improvement. A club lives and dies by it’s participation, and it is unfortunately very easy to lose track of what it felt like at the start of one’s journey once you’re a few years in, so feedback from those who the club is intended to serve is invaluable!
Looking forward to having you in the club!
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I know, right? It was already really funny in the manga, but hearing the voices takes it to a whole other level. And it’s so well done too!
And man, since making the nomination post, I’m getting more and more excited about reading Ruri Dragon. If it doesn’t win, I’ll probably just start reading it on my own immediately after the poll closes. 
Nice, grats! Simple or not, that’s always a great feeling.
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If you plan on reading it either way it’s currently like $10 on manga republic (at least for the US and this includes the shipping!) Ruri Dragon The voice over of the totally unbothered teacher really sold me on it
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I’m a bit far from the US, but thanks!
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Oh sorry! They ship world wide but the price varies by location. Thanks for introducing me to such a cute manga!
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I hope everyone is looking forward to the selection poll tomorrow!
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It’s Time To Vote For The Next Book!
If you are interested in reading along with the Absolute Beginner Book Club, then please feel free to vote in this poll!
The list of options is below. The titles are hyperlinked to their respective nomination posts, which contains more information about the book as well as some sample pages.
The difficulty rating is based on feedback from folks looking at those sample pages, and so is very approximate! A score of 3 is considered to be “just right” for the club, with higher scores being a touch more difficult, and lower scores being easier, but since it is approximate, keep in mind that the scores may not be exact!
You have up to 3 votes, which can be changed up until the poll closes. I will keep the poll open until January 7th, one week from now.
The intended start date for the next book is February 18th, 2023.
| Book Title | Description | Difficulty Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 福娘童話集 | Lucky Princess Fairy Tale Collection | 3.2 |
| こぐまのクーク物語 春と夏 | Kuuku the Bear Cub’s Story, Spring and Summer | 2.9 |
| 日本の昔ばなし | Japanese Folk Tales Collection Vol 1 (Issun-boshi and other stories) | 2.4 |
| もしかしたら名探偵 | Detective Milky Sugiyama | 2.4 |
| １０分で読めるこわい話1年生 | 10 minute reader - Scary stories (1st grade reader) | 3.0 |
Manga
| Manga Title | Description | Difficulty Rating |
|---|---|---|
| あたしンち | My Family | 3.1 |
| Wanted | Short stories from the creator of One Piece | 3.5 |
| こばと | Kobato | 3.5 |
| あしょんでよッ ~うちの犬ログ | Let’s Plaaay - Our Dog, Log | 2.6 |
| 可愛いだけじゃない式守さん | Miss Shikimori is not just cute | 2.9 |
| 藤本タツキ短編集 17-21 | Fujimoto Tatsuki Short Story Collection 17-21 | 2.3 |
| ふだつきのキョーコちゃん | Fudatsuki no Kyoko-chan | 2.4 |
| ちいさな森のオオカミちゃん | Ookami-chan of the Small Forest | 1.8 |
| ホリミヤ | Horimiya | 2.8 |
| スラムダンク | SLAM DUNK | ??? (Poll not public - Majority “I don’t know”) |
| ルリドラゴン | Ruri Dragon | 2.4 |
| ギャルと恐竜 | Gal & Dino | 2.5 |
Book Poll 9
- Lucky Princess Fairy Tale Collection (3.2)
- Kuuku the Bear Cub’s Story, Spring and Summer (2.9)
- Japanese Folk Tales Collection Vol 1 (Issun-boshi and other stories) (2.4)
- Detective Milky Sugiyama (2.4)
- 10 Minute Reader - Scary Stories (1st Grade Reader) (3.0)
- My Family (3.1)
- Wanted (3.5)
- Kobato (3.5)
- Let’s Plaaay - Our Dog, Log (2.6)
- Miss Shikimori is Not Just Cute (2.9)
- Fujimoto Tatsuki Short Story Collection 17-21 (2.3)
- Fudatsuki no Kyoko-chan (2.4)
- Ookami-chan of the Small Forest (1.8)
- Horimiya (2.8)
- SLAM DUNK (???)
- Ruri Dragon (2.4)
- Gal & Dino (2.5)
0 voters
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Just a reminder, that today will be the day the poll closes! I’ll close it before I head out for the night!
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Whew, Ruri Dragon doing well. More votes than any two other books added together, aside from the specific pair of 2nd and 3rd place.
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Definitely! I’m loving how lively this poll has been!
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I’m more surprised by our little wolf working her way up through the poll. In the beginning almost nobody voted for Ookami-chan, and at least right now it’s on second place after a hard fight! 
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There are lots of things I’d like to read in the nominations at the moment, so it was quite tough to choose which 3 to vote for!
I’ll be really happy if it ends up being Ruri next, and then Ookami-chan since they are only 1-2 volumes long and I’m pretty overloaded with book clubs at the moment, but I just can’t stop myself from joining more 
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You’ll probably also be able to fit Ookami-chan in pretty easily due to the lower difficulty, if Natively’s L14 is to be believed.
Which also makes it a really great pick for first-time readers, I think! We’re kinda missing an Absolute Beginners Is Still Too Hard For Me Book Club.
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And with that, the polls have finished!
Our two victors are:
Ruri Dragon, to be followed by Ookami-chan of the Small Forest!
Thanks, everyone, for your participation!
@TobiasW, would you be able to run the Ruri Dragon book club when it is set to begin?
And @ChristopherFritz, are you good to run the Ookami-chan club afterwards?
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I’d be delighted!
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I have to remember not to nominate things due to the requirement of work.
Of course!
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