Could anyone please recommend good novels written recently (21st century)?
This seems like a silly request, but when I pick out books, I always end up with something old, and so is the language. I like classics, but it would be nice to read something more modern.
Thanks!
Most books are bunko sized. If they aren’t they usually will be in a year or two. コンビニ人間 is one of my favorites.
Noted and updated, but yeah mostly just novels then. I’m always confused why they have separate 文庫 sections in the store though, separate from 新書 for example.
Anything that you like/dislike? Otherwise I could just recommend stuff like 52ヘルツのクジラたち | L31 or other prize winners in general. (I am mentioning it because I read it recently and I liked it)
Maybe check out the Intermediate and Advanced Book Clubs. You can probably find something you would like from the lists of past books.
Themes you like (or dislike) and what reading experience you have already would be super helpful. LearnNatively is a good jumping off point for very general browsing, but if you know genres you’re into giving more personalized recommendations is possible.
I’m not sure about a particular genre, but I liked reading こころ, so maybe something like that or someone with a similar style to 夏目漱石 would be good.
Heh, giving you something similar to 漱石 but having it be a modern author is a bit tricky 
I googled who is similar to him (I haven’t read much of his work) and got 太宰 and 坂口安吾 - 太宰 has some works that were published after the war (I liked メリイクリスマス | L29 and 嘘 | L33 as short stories), so a bit more modern, but nothing I’ve read by 坂口 I’d consider modern although I loved reading 悪妻論 | L34 (short essay).
I haven’t read こころ but it’s about interpersonal relationships and feelings of guilt/regret, right? You might like 半落ち | L39 which is a much more modern book, assuming the heavy emphasis on the legal system doesn’t scare you away. ユージニア | L36 also explores people’s relationships, although it’s a much more abstract book.
A short story collection of modern authors might be useful for you so you can sample a variety of writing styles and see who clicks for you.
I have set up threads for the main literary prizes in Japan, namely The Akutagawa Prize Reading Challenge (more literary works, often more difficult to read) and The Naoki Prize Reading Challenge (rather popular literature, sometimes murder mysteries and such, but not necessarily).
You could pick out some of these books (they are published in the 6 months before the prize got awarded so you know exactly how old they are) and if you like a particular author, you could just read more of their works. And don’t forget to leave a review for the prize winners you read 
Thanks for the suggestions everyone!
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