So, I also feel like suggesting a manga. Not the first one I read, but still one of the earlier one. I was still (officially) under N4 when I read it. I’ve mentioned it a couple of times already on the forum and somehow felt like reading it again 
ご近所物語
Summary
幸田実果子 は、矢澤芸術学院（通称ヤザガク）の服飾デザイン科に通う高校1年生。夢はデザイナーになって自分のブランドの店を持つことで、夢の実現のために頑張っている。同じマンションのお隣さん 山口ツトム との恋愛や、彼女を取り巻く友人・知人たちの人間模様・恋模様を描く。
(The English summary on wikipedia makes no sense, have a bad translation instead:)
Koda Mikako is a first year student in the Clothing Design department of the Yazawa Art Academy (Yazagaku for short) [Nb: that’s a specialized high school, not a university]. She is working hard to accomplish her dream of becoming a designer and creating her own brand. This story depicts the relations of the friends and acquaintances who surround her, as well as her romance with Yamaguchi Tsutomu, who leaves in the same building as her.
Availability
The one I read is this one: (standard edition)
Amazon.jp
Bookwalker
However, there’s also a complete edition available, with each volume being two volumes of the standard edition… I don’t know which one would be best for the club.
Personal Opinion
As I mentioned, this is one of the first manga I could read in Japanese and I really loved it. The story is fairly straightforward and the language (and situation) very close to everyday life, which makes it a good pick for the beginner book club as well.
Pros and Cons for the Book Club
Pros
- Language isn’t too complicated
- Furigana on everything (… wait, is that a cons?)
- Story grounded in real life and easy to relate too, which makes it easier to understand what’s happening even without full comprehension.
Cons
- I dunno? Maybe the fact it’s yet another manga?
Pictures
Difficulty Poll
How much effort would you need to read this book?
- No effort at all
- Minimal effort
- Just right
- Challenging
- Impossible, even with everyone’s help
- I don’t know (please click this if you’re not voting seriously)
0 voters