| Current (35) | Next (36) | |
|---|---|---|
| 約束のネバーランド Week 9 / 10 |
ひとりぼっちの〇〇生活 | |
| Poll Starts | ||
| Poll Ends | ||
| Club Starts | ~December 14th | |
| Club Ends | November 30th |
Now Reading: 約束のネバーランド・The Promised Neverland
Purchase Links
Amazon JP | CD Japan | Rakuten Books (Kobo) | Bookwalker | Comic Pixiv
Next ひとりぼっちの〇〇生活・ Hitoribocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu
Natively: ひとりぼっちの○○生活 1 | L21
Purchase Links
Physical: Amazon , CD Japan
Digital: Kindle, Bookwalker
Welcome to our Book Club!
In this club we choose a Japanese book together and read it following a weekly schedule. We help each other with grammar, compile a vocabulary sheet together and discuss the story.
We hope that eventually you’ll be able to take the jump to the Intermediate Book Club or Intermediate Manga Club 
If you’re interested, just grab a copy of the upcoming book (we vote ~6 weeks before finishing the current pick) and join in! You are always welcome to ask new questions in the threads of any of our previous picks as well 
Which Book Club?
This club is for those beginning to read native books and manga, not beginners to Japanese. We suggest a solid understanding of N5 grammar and at least some of N4.
Our picks vary in difficulty, roughly from relatively easy manga for teens to children’s books. The best way to judge is to look at the sample pages for a particular pick. Remember that it will be easier with everyone’s help though!
The Absolute Beginners’ Club usually tackles material aimed at younger children.
The Intermediate Book Club usually tackles books and reads faster.
The Intermediate Manga Club reads more difficult manga and also reads faster if you want a manga-focused next step up.
Previous Picks
For a subjective comparison of these picks and pointers on where you might want to start, please see the Comparison Thread.
Manga unless stated otherwise. Also browsable on Natively
We always read just the first volume of a series (sometimes we read a ‘Master’ edition which incorporates the first two volumes of an original run). Sometimes, if a particular pick was enjoyed by many people who want to continue reading it together, that pick will continue to run as a parallel offshoot, reading the subsequent volumes.
Proposed Books
Feel free to nominate something you’d like to read using the template below! Suggestions must be appropriate though; please read the guidelines.
Guidelines for Proposing Books
-
Nominate something you are ready to read
We want to maintain lively discussion throughout the club, so don’t nominate something you yourself will struggle to participate in. You also can’t rely on there being more advanced learners available to help with all questions. -
Books must be under 200 pages
This is the most we could tackle within a reasonable timeframe (ideally no more than 16 weeks), but if the book is dense even 200 pages may be too much. -
Do not nominate anything clearly NSFW
We try to maintain a wide appeal, so don’t knowingly nominate anything associated with fanservice or gore. -
Do not nominate anything difficult to procure
Picks must be readily available at online stores. If no eBook version is available please consider whether it’s still worth nominating and list this clearly as a “con”. -
Well-known works are more desirable
Guidance only: the reader pool will be much larger for well-known works, and background knowledge of the premise will make it easier for people to understand the content and help each other out. -
Fantasy and Sci-Fi are less desirable
Guidance only: fantasy and sci-fi works often use niche and esoteric vocabulary (on top of intimidating info-dumps). Series which focus on human interaction in a real-life setting tend to provide a lower barrier to entry and higher returns on time invested. -
Books that fail to score at least 15% on the last three round of voting will get automatically removed.
This approach ensures that the list remains reasonably small and dynamic.
You may nominate a removed book again, but please think about it before hand. Do you think there’s reasonable interest for that nomination?
Proposal Template
Copy this template into a new post when making a nomination.
For page samples, you can either take photos of your own copy (try to make the three additional pages ‘representative’ if possible), grab photos from the internet, or use eBook previews from e.g. Amazon, Kobo, BookWalker. Make sure the text is legible!
# Insert Title Here
Insert cover image here
Natively: [Level ??](Natively Url)
Full furigana: Yes or No## Summary
Insert summary here, taken from wherever - Wikipedia, Amazon, etc. Improve the description if you would like / feel it necessary.## Availability
Insert purchase links for physical: preferably Amazon JP and CD Japan.
Insert purchase links for digital: preferably Kindle, Kobo and BookWalker. Mention if an eBook is not available at all and list this in the cons.## Personal Opinion
Insert why you think this book would be good to read, personally and for the book club.### Pros and Cons
**Pros**
* Insert pros here.**Cons**
* Insert cons here.## Pictures
[details=“First Three Pages of Chapter One”]
Insert images here (can be photos from you or from eBook previews).
[/details]
[details=“Additional Pages”]
Insert a few more representative images here.
[/details]
List of Removed Nominations
| Book | Reason |
|---|---|
| おおかみこどもの雨と雪 | Too long (270 pages) Moved to the intermediate book club |
| キノの旅 | Too hard / long (213 pages) Moved to the intermediate book club |
| トラちゃん | Too hard |
| ご注文はうさぎですか | Too hard Misc discussion available |
| 放浪息子 | Misc discussion available |
| 日本昔ばなしアニメ絵本 18冊全巻セット | Moved to the absolute beginners’ club |
| あたしンち | Moved to the absolute beginners’ club |
| しろくまカフェ | Read by the absolute beginners’ club |
| チーズスイートホーム | Read by the absolute beginners’ club |
| ナルト | Polling results |
| ドラゴンボール | Polling results |
| 聲の形 | First volume too depressing on its own! |
| 進撃の巨人 | Polling results |
| ポレポレ日記いざ流星学園へ！ | Polling results |
| ご近所物語 | Polling results |
| スキップ・ビート！ | Polling results |
| こぐまのクーク物語 | Moved to the absolute beginners’ club |
| 北欧女子オーサが見つけた日本の不思議 | Polling results |
| 名探偵コナン | Nomination out of date |
| マギ | Polling results |
| 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Polling results |
| ラーメン大好き小泉さん | Polling results |
| 名探偵コナン | Polling results |
| ささやくように恋を唄う | Polling results |
| 熱帯魚は雪に焦がれる | Polling results |
| Scary Lessons | Polling results |
| Mashle: Magic and Muscles | Polling results |
| ひらめきはつめちゃん | Polling results |
| Ranking of Kings | Polling results |
| 妖怪ギガ | Polling results |
| ゲゲゲの鬼太郎 | Polling results |
| アオのハコ (Blue Box) | Offshoot book club |
| 5分後に笑えるどんでん返し | Polling results |
| スラムダンク (Slam Dunk) | Polling results (22) |
| にじいろフォトグラフ (Rainbow-Coloured Photograph) | Polling results (22) |
| さよなら絵梨 (Goodbye Eri) | Polling results (22) |
| Buying Mittens / Gon, the Little Fox | Polling results (23) |
| Dreamin’ Sun | Polling results (23) |
| ヒナのままじゃだめですか? | Polling results (23) |
| ココロのプログラム | Polling results (23) |
| Full Moon | Polling results (24) |
Current Proposals
See the linked nomination posts for more information, including sample pages. Also browsable on Natively. The difficulty scores come from Natively, where they are ranked by other language learners.
Last updated: 2024-10-12
Web Novel - きみと雨上がりを (After the Rain With You)
Nomination Post
Not on Natively
“The world was beautiful, but it’s become far more beautiful ever since I met you.”
Nemona, the student council president of Naranja Academy in the Paldea region, shows Anna, a girl who has just moved in as her neighbor, the way to school. During a Pokémon battle soon after they meet, Nemona sees something glimmer deep in Anna’s eyes.
The skilled novelist, Ayano Takeda, depicts the story of the two’s “Treasure Hunt” from a unique perspective.
Difficulty: Unrated
Manga - 夜の名前を呼んで
Mira, the main character, is a girl with a disease that causes darkness to seep from her body when she gets anxious. In order to cure her disease, she lives secluded deep in the forest with Rei, a kind-hearted doctor. By making jam from the stars that fall from the sky, trying to get up early to gain confidence, and cherishing each small daily detail, Mira gradually regains her former self.
However, one day, Rei’s friend, who is interested in Mira’s darkness disease, appears before the two of them, making Mira anxious…!
A healing story of an anxious patient and a kind-hearted doctor who face the wall of a disease that cannot be cured immediately.
Bookwalker
Rakuten
Amazon JP
CDJapan
Difficulty: level 22
Manga - 午后のあくび (afternoon yawning)
This is… kinda hard to describe.This is a collection of short (4 pages) stories about weird and magic stuff happening in the protagonist daily life.
We’ll meet a talking cat showing shortcuts throughout the city, an anti-sleep hat that may not work as expected, a shop that only accept acorns as currency, kanjis escaping from a book with 逃 trying to run away while 隠 and 秘 try to stay hidden…
The whole thing has a very relaxed, cosy and dreamy vibe. The drawing itself is super cute.
Bookwalker
Amazon JP
CDJapan
Ebook Japan
Website
Difficulty: level 22
Manga - 骨ドラゴンのマナ娘 (The Skull Dragon's Precious Daughter)
An abandoned girl finds her way to a dragon’s lair, and becomes raised as his daughter. Later, the girl finds she has magical aptitude and finds her way back to human civilization, under the watchful gaze of her bone dragon guardian.
Difficulty: L26
Manga - 尾守つみきと奇日常 (Tsumiki Ogami & the Strange Everyday Life)
The modern world is one of diversity, where “genjins” live together with humans. At Keiki High School, where many genjins attend, a human boy, Yutaka Shinsou, enrolls there. Yutaka, who often goes along with other people’s wishes instead of expressing his own feelings, meets a werewolf girl, Tsumiki Ogami. With Tsumiki, he has a feeling that he’ll finally be able to be himself… A new-normal story about two people’s coming-of-age!
Difficulty: L23
Manga - 現実もたまには嘘をつく (Real mo Tama ni wa Uso wo Tsuku)
Kaoru Terasaki is a gamer who’s into MMORPGs, and he’s finally meeting up with someone he’s been friends with in-game for a long while—this time, offline and in person. He’s worried that his friend will be disappointed to see Kaoru is a guy, unlike his female character in the game. But he’s the one who’s in for a surprise when, instead of another guy, his friend turns out to be a cute girl, Nanami Ousaka. On top of that, Nanami told her parents that she would be bringing a friend over—a female friend. Even worse, Nanami’s dad is the super overprotective type who won’t allow any guys near his daughter. There’s only one solution to this dilemma: Kaoru has to cross-dress as a girl!
Physical: Amazon JP | CD Japan
Digital: Kindle | Bookwalker
Difficulty: L22
Manga - 月曜日の友達 (Friends on Mondays)
How far can we fly before we have to come down? Little by little, everyone in their first year of junior high school has begun their transition into adulthood. However, Akane Mizutani finds it difficult acting mature. On an off chance, she meets Tooru Tsukino, a boy in her class with mysterious rumors surrounding him—rumors that make even Mizutani think of him as strange.
With their encounter, Mizutani finds out the truth of Tsukino and the similarly odd girl Hiki. With Mizutani and Tsukino forming a promise at the schoolyard regarding each Monday night, the story depicts the relationship and encounters with each other, the alienating idea of growing up, and the truth of one’s character.
Physical: Amazon JP | Kinokuniya JP | CD Japan
Digital: Bookwalker | eBook Japan | Honto | Amazon JP (Kindle)
Difficulty: L24-27
Manga - ルックバック (Look Back)
The overly confident Fujino and the shut-in Kyomoto couldn’t be more different, but a love of drawing manga brings these two small-town girls together. A poignant story of growing up and moving forward that only Tatsuki Fujimoto, the creator of Chainsaw Man, could have crafted.
Physical: Amazon JP | CD Japan
Digital: Free online at Shonen Jump+ | Kindle | Rakuten | Bookwalker
Difficulty: L21
Short Story - かえるくん、東京を救う (Super Frog saves Tokyo)
Nomination Post
Natively (Note: part of a larger compilation - only this story is nominated)
One day, Katagiri, an ordinary bank employee, comes back home and find a giant frog making tea in his kitchen. According to them, they have a big mission to fulfill : save Tokyo from a huge earthquake.
Difficulty: L18??
Manga - ヤマノススメ (Encouragement of Climb)
ヤマノススメ (Encouragement of Climb)
Aoi Yukimura is a quiet girl who prefers staying indoors and is afraid of heights. When she reunites with her childhood friend Hinata Kuraue, who is outgoing and loves mountaineering, they decide to climb a mountain together, in order to see a sunrise they saw together when they were younger. Along the way, they meet several other girls who are also interested in the outdoors, and begin a series of adventures on various mountains across Japan.
Difficulty: L24
Book - 雪女
雪女
Digital & free: Kindle JP | Aozora | Vertical reader
Digital & paid: Bookwalker | Kindle JP with furigana (with multiple short stories) | Kindle US (with multiple short stories)
Physical (bundled with multiple short stories): Amazon JP | AmazonUS
Audio: YouTube
Difficulty: L24
Manga - 先輩がうざい後輩の話 (My Senpai is Annoying) (< 8wks)
先輩がうざい後輩の話 (My Senpai is Annoying)
Takeda, the somewhat crude, but caring senior, and Igarashi, the junior, that can’t be honest with him. Even today, Igarashi thinks that Takeda is annoying, but in reality, she doesn’t find him all that bad, and even though there are times, when he is annoying her, she unknowingly struggles with the distance between them. Both the story of Takeda and Igarashi, and the newly drawn story of the slightly more mature(?) Kazama and Sakurai are included!
Physical: Amazon | CD Japan
Digital: Kindle | Bookwalker
Difficulty: L20
Manga - スキップとローファー (Skip and Loafer)
スキップとローファー (Skip and Loafer)
Excellent student Iwakura Mitsumi has always dreamt about leaving her small town, going to a prestigious university, and making positive change in the world. But she’s so focused on reaching her goals that she’s not prepared for the very different (and overwhelming) city life that awaits her in a Tokyo high school. Luckily, she makes fast friends with Shima Sousuke, a handsome classmate who’s as laid-back as she is over-prepared. Can this naive country girl make it big in Tokyo with Sousuke by her side?
Physical: Amazon
Digital: Kindle | Bookwalker
Difficulty: L22
Manga - ひとりぼっちの〇〇生活 (< 8wks)
ひとりぼっちの〇〇生活
Hitori Bocchi, a girl with social anxiety who has difficulty communicating with others. Before starting middle school, her friend Yawara Kai, who will be attending a different school, tells Bocchi she is breaking off their friendship until she can make friends with her entire class at her new school. Thus, Bocchi is left with the task of befriending everyone in her class before graduation.
Physical: Amazon, CD Japan
Digital: Kindle, Bookwalker
Difficulty: L21
Manga - スローループ (Slow Loop) (< 8wks)
スローループ (Slow Loop)
Since childhood, Hiyori Yamakawa has witnessed her father’s various eccentricities, but one activity she has always loved doing with him is fly fishing—a complicated yet rewarding method of catching fish. Even after his sudden death, Hiyori still visits the seaside in her spare time, savoring the joy that her father’s memento brings her.
Three years later, Hiyori’s mother decides to remarry and arranges a dinner with her fiancé, his daughter, and Hiyori to celebrate. Anxious and wanting to pass the time, Hiyori goes to her usual fishing spot when a rather energetic girl named Koharu Minagi suddenly appears before her. The two soon become acquainted, with Koharu taking an interest in fly fishing herself. However, their meeting is more than just a coincidence: Koharu turns out to be Hiyori’s future stepsibling, which is only the beginning of treasured memories the both of them will reel in as they foster their sisterhood.
Physical: Amazon | CD Japan
E-Book: Amazon | Bookwalker
Difficulty: L28
Manga - マグメル深海水族館 (Deep Sea Aquarium MagMell) (< 8wks)
マグメル深海水族館 (Deep Sea Aquarium MagMell)
Nomination Post
comic.pixiv
Natively
A tale about a modern deep-sea aquarium employee in Tokyo!What’s living in the overwhelming darkness deep within the sea? Take a glimpse into this strange world about a boy working at a deep sea aquarium.
Physical: CDJapan | AmazonJP
Digital: Kobo | Bookwalker | Kindle
Difficulty: L24
Where to Purchase Books
This section explains where to buy Japanese books in general; see the nominations above for links to purchase specific books.
Purchasing Japanese Books
Physical books:
Note that you need a separate account for each ‘instance’ of Amazon, so you won’t be able to use Amazon JP with e.g. your French Amazon account. Amazon adds an estimated customs charge to your bill which will be refunded if you don’t have to pay customs (or pay less).
CDJapan has economy shipping options which take longer to arrive but cost less.
If you can’t find an online store that will ship to you, you can use a forwarding service like Tenso or White Rabbit Express. If you live in the right place, you may also be able to find the book at a local Japanese book store such as Kinokuniya; just Google your area.
eBooks:
Sirvorn has a wonderful guide to purchasing eBooks from Amazon JP.
Historic Polls
Book Selection Polls
Winner links go to the original nominations.
- Book poll 24 - Winner: ひとりぼっちの○○生活 / Hitoribocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu
- Book poll 23 - Winner: 約束のネバーランド (The Promised Neverland)
- Book poll 22 - Winner (tie): 葬送のフリーレン / Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End and ウスズミの果て / Usuzumi no Hate
Scheduling Runoff poll - Winner: Frieren - Book poll 21 - Winner:気になってる人が男じゃなかった
- Book poll 20 - Winner: 舞妓さんちのまかないさん (Kiyo in Kyoto) and この美術部には問題がある！ (This Art Club has a Problem!)
- Book Poll 19 - Winner: スーパーの裏でヤニ吸うふたり (Behind the Supermarket, Smoking With You)
- Book Poll 18 - Winner: Rojica and Rakkasei
- Book Poll 17 - Winner: 古見さんは、コミュ症です。
- Book Poll 16 - Winner: 神さまがまちガえる and 月刊少女野崎くん
- Book Poll 15 - Winner: シャドーハウス
Runnoff Poll - Winner 耳をすませば - Book Poll 14 - Winner: 夜カフェ
- Book Poll 13 - Winner: 極主夫道 and デスノート
- Book Poll 12 - Winner: 地縛少年花子くん and 小川未明 童話集
- Book Poll 11 - Winner: 不可解なぼくのすべてを and 日常
- Book Poll 10 - Winner: シメジシミュレーション and ハイキュー！！
- Book Poll 09 - Winner (tie): ゆるキャン and フルーツバスケット
- Book Poll 08 - Winner: ふらいんぐうぃっち
Runoff Poll - Winner: 霧のむこうのふしぎな町 - Book Poll 07 - Winner: 一週間フレンズ
- Book Poll 06 - Winner: 少女終末旅行 and ふしぎ駄菓子屋 銭天堂
- Book Poll 05 - Winner: 時をかける少女
- Book Poll 04 - Winner: のんのんびより and 夏目友人帳
- Book Poll 03 - Winner: Aria the Masterpiece
- Book Poll 02 - Winner: 魔女の宅急便
- Book Poll 01 - Winner: よつばと！
Other Polls
- Poll to abolish in-thread difficulty polls and use Natively instead
- Result: Yes
- Poll on what title format we should use
- Result: Native Japanese title with English title following in brackets e.g. アオのハコ (Blue Box)
- Poll on what the threshold for removal of a nomination should be
- Result: 15%
- Poll to decide what to do when the winner is a short manga (~4-6 weeks of reading)
- Result: read first volume of winner, followed by first volume of runner-up
- Poll to decide whether book club topics should be moved to the
Readingforum subsection- Result: move everything
- Poll to decide how long “next book” polls should stay open
- Result: 1 week
- Poll to decide how many votes “next book” polls should allow per user
- Result: no limit
- Poll to decide whether to create a 2nd Book Club for beginners
- Result: yes!
