Vote for the next book - now!
Can I vote?
If you are interested in joining the next book club we run, you can - and should - vote!
Please look open the details “Snapshot of current proposals” below for more details on each option, including links to sample pages which will help you gauge the difficulty.
Snapshot of current proposals
Manga - ココロのプログラム
ココロのプログラム
A boy, Kyu, meets a robot girl, Ichiko.
During summer vacation, Ichiko, a robot girl who looks just like a human, comes to live with Kyu Usami, who lives with his mother. Kyu becomes attracted to her as she learns about her “heart.” And Ai, a childhood friend who has feelings for Kyu. Feelings that grow little by little and become intertwined…
Physical: Amazon JP | CD Japan
Digital: Kindle | Bookwalker
Difficulty: 2.00 [3 votes]
Manga - 葬送のフリーレン (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End)
葬送のフリーレン (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End)
Nomination Post
Natively - Level 25
After a ten-year odyssey, the elf mage Frieren and Sky’s band of heroes succeed in overthrowing the demon king and bringing peace to the land. As an elf with a long lifespan, Frieren continues to roam the lands. The death of a former comrade brings her pain and deep regret - regret at not having spent enough time with them. With this regret in her heart, she sets off on a journey to meet a wide variety of people and share new adventures with them.
A post-apocalyptic fantasy telling the story of how the heroes lived after their great adventure.
Physical: Amazon JP | CD Japan.
Digital: Kindle | Kobo | BookWalker.
Difficulty: 3.00 [5 votes]
Manga - ヒナのままじゃだめですか? (< 8wks)
ヒナのままじゃだめですか?
Nomination Post
Natively - Level 20
5th-grade student Hina has a secret she can’t tell anyone - she started menstruating 3 months ago. But her days of keeping it secret from her single father and her friends come to an end when one day, after class, her classmate and childhood friend Daichi notices blood on her chair… is she still a child? Or is she an adult? A serious coming of age story about a girl on the cusp of puberty.
Physical: Amazon JP | CD Japan
BookWalker | Kindle
Difficulty: 2.00 [4 votes]
Manga - 気になってる人が男じゃなかった
気になってる人が男じゃなかった
Nomination Post
Natively - Level 24
Aya is a high school student who is captivated by the mysterious “Onii-san” who works at a CD store. The real “Onii-san” is actually Mitsuki, a girl in her class with whom she had never spoken to before.
Amazon JP | CD Japan
Kindle | Kobo | Bookwalker | Twitter (free, assuming you can figure out how to navigate the posts)
Difficulty: 1.88 [8 votes]
Manga - スラムダンク (Slam Dunk)
スラムダンク (Slam Dunk)
Nomination Post
Natively - Level 24
Hanamichi Sakuragi, infamous for his temper, massive height, and fire-red hair, enrolls in Shohoku High, hoping to finally get a girlfriend and break his record of being rejected 50 consecutive times in middle school. His notoriety precedes him, however, leading to him being avoided by most students. Soon, after certain events, Hanamichi is left with two unwavering thoughts: “I hate basketball,” and “I desperately need a girlfriend.”
One day, a girl named Haruko Akagi approaches him without any knowledge of his troublemaking ways and asks him if he likes basketball. Hanamichi immediately falls head over heels in love with her, blurting out a fervent affirmative. She then leads him to the gymnasium, where she asks him if he can do a slam dunk. In an attempt to impress Haruko, he makes the leap, but overshoots, instead slamming his head straight into the blackboard. When Haruko informs the basketball team’s captain of Hanamichi’s near-inhuman physical capabilities, he slowly finds himself drawn into the camaraderie and competition of the sport he had previously held resentment for.
Physical: Amazon | Verasia EU | Manga Republic | Kinokuniya US
Physical (Kanzenban edition*): Amazon | CDJapan | Manga Republic | Verasia (EU)
* 24 volume Kanzenban (完全) - includes more color spreads and nicer overall but twice the cost (currently) compared with the other options
Digital: not available
Difficulty: 2.80 [10 votes]
Book - 雪女 (< 8wks)
雪女
Nomination Post
Natively - Level 24
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: 2.75 [8 votes]
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)
Nomination Post
Natively - Level 20
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: 2.58 [12 votes]
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)
Nomination Post
Natively - Level 22
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: 2.31 [13 votes]
Manga - 夢みる太陽 (Dreamin’ Sun)
夢みる太陽 (Dreamin’ Sun)
Nomination Post
Natively - Level 22
Shimana Kameko decides to skip school and run away from home after feeling overshadowed by her six-month-old brother and new stepmother. After leaving home, she stumbles over a man wearing a kimono who has apparently been locked out of his own house. Desperate to get back in, the man offers Shimana a place she can rent from him if she can fulfill three conditions: find the house key, tell him why she ran away, and have a dream.
Physical: Manga Republic | Amazon JP | CD Japan
Digital: Kindle | Kobo | BookWalker
Difficulty: 1.90 [10 votes]
Book - 手ぶくろを買いに/ごんぎつね 10歳までに読みたい日本名作 (Buying Mittens / Gon, the Little Fox)
手ぶくろを買いに/ごんぎつね 10歳までに読みたい日本名作 (Buying Mittens / Gon, the Little Fox)
Nomination Post
Natively - Level 22
- 手袋を買いに (Buying Mittens): When a cold winter comes to the forest, a little fox awakens one morning to the magic of a first snow-fall. His romp in the snow is cut short, however, when his cold, wet paws turn peony colored. What he needs, his mother decides, are some woolen mittens the size of his little paws. And so begins an overnight journey into the village where humans live…
- ごん狐 (Gon, the Little Fox): Gon, a mischievous little fox, loves to cause trouble… but one day realizes that one of his pranks had gone a bit too far.
- 花のき村と盗人たち (Hananoki Village and the Thieves)
- 決闘 (Duel)
- でんでんむしのかなしみ (The Sorrow of the Snail)
Physical: Amazon | CD Japan
Digital: Kindle
Difficulty: 2.38 [13 votes]
Manga - ひとりぼっちの〇〇生活 (< 8wks)
ひとりぼっちの〇〇生活
Nomination Post
Natively - Level 20
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: 2.33 [12 votes]
Manga - さよなら絵梨 (Goodbye Eri)
さよなら絵梨 (Goodbye Eri)
Nomination Post
Natively - Level 24
With his mother dying, Yuuta attempts to capture her last days on his phone. After her death, Yuuta heads to the roof of the hospital to commit suicide, but a meeting with a strange girl leads him on the path to making a movie.
Physical: Amazon | CD Japan
Digital: Kindle | Bookwalker
Difficulty: 2.50 [8 votes]
Manga - スローループ (Slow Loop) (< 8wks)
スローループ (Slow Loop)
Nomination Post
Natively - Level 28
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: 2.14 [7 votes]
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 - Level 24
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: 2.93 [14 votes]
Manga - 満月をさがして (Full Moon) (< 8wks)
満月をさがして (Full Moon)
Nomination Post
comic.pixiv
Natively - Level 24??
Twelve-year-old Mitsuki Koyama dreams of becoming a singer to reunite with her first love, Eichi Sakurai. However, she is afflicted with sarcoma (a cancerous tumor in her throat), which affects her ability to breathe well and sing loudly. Her tumor is curable only through a surgery that could damage her vocal cords. At the same time, her grandmother hates music and is completely opposed to Mitsuki’s wish to audition. Mitsuki’s dreams seem impossible to achieve, until one day she is visited by two shinigami, Takuto and Meroko, whom only she could see. Takuto and Meroko inadvertently tip Mitsuki off that she has only one year left to live.
Physical: Amazon JP | CD Japan
Digital: Kobo | BookWalker | Kindle | EbookJapan
Difficulty: 2.00 [9 votes]
Manga - 約束のネバーランド (The Promised Neverland)
約束のネバーランド (The Promised Neverland)
Nomination Post
comic.pixiv
Natively - Level 26
From IMBD: When three gifted kids at an isolated idyllic orphanage discover the secret and sinister purpose they were raised for, they look for a way to escape from their evil caretaker and lead the other children in a risky escape plan. … No child is ever overlooked, especially since they are all adopted by the age of 12.
Amazon JP
CD Japan
Rakuten Books (Kobo)
Bookwalker
Comic Pixiv
Difficulty: 2.45 [11 votes]
Manga - にじいろフォトグラフ (Rainbow-Coloured Photograph) (< 8wks)
にじいろフォトグラフ (Rainbow-Coloured Photograph)
Nomination Post
comic.pixiv
Natively - Level 20
Aoi Yamabuki is a shy high school student who’s incredibly self-conscious about her blue eyes. Living with her older sister, a popular novelist, the girls’ lives change when a young foreign girl comes to live with them.
CDJapan | Amazon JP | Kobo | BookWalker
Difficulty: 2.69 [26 votes]
Please take difficulty into account
Some people do find that reading a work they love or know already is inherently motivating, but please be realistic. Look at the samples and compare to others. Remember that both language and density contribute to difficulty.
Difficulty Scores
For most items we list two different difficulty scores. They are displayed in [] in front of the name of the book/manga. The first score is determined by the polls within the nomination posts. These polls only take previews into account and are very tightly bound to the people that give feedback in the polls and are therefore not objective measures of difficulty. The second score is the Natively level (if available), because of the rating system the ratings without ?? should be reasonably accurate, but the levels with ?? are just an initial guess that must be taken with a pinch of salt.
When will we start and how many will we pick?
We will likely begin reading on the 3rd of February, a week after we finish reading この美術部には問題がある！. If a short manga/book (expected less than 8 weeks) wins we will also read the second place option following that without holding another vote. (The short manga determination is not final since it is based on limited information and might change)
How does the vote work?
The poll will be closed on Sunday, December 17th.
You can vote for up to 5 options.
You can change your vote at any time by clicking ‘Show vote’ at the bottom.
- [2.00] ココロのプログラム [Manga]
- [3.00|Level 25] 葬送のフリーレン (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End) [Manga]
- [2.00|Level 20] ヒナのままじゃだめですか? [short Manga]
- [1.88|Level 24] 気になってる人が男じゃなかった [Manga]
- [2.80|Level 24] スラムダンク (Slam Dunk) [Manga]
- [2.75|Level 24] 雪女 [short Book]
- [2.58|Level 20] 先輩がうざい後輩の話 (My Senpai is Annoying) [short Manga]
- [2.31|Level 22] スキップとローファー (Skip and Loafer) [Manga]
- [1.90|Level 22] 夢みる太陽 (Dreamin’ Sun) [Manga]
- [2.38|Level 22] 手ぶくろを買いに/ごんぎつね 10歳までに読みたい日本名作 (Buying Mittens / Gon, the Little Fox) [Book]
- [2.33|Level 21] ひとりぼっちの〇〇生活 [short Manga]
- [2.50|Level 24] さよなら絵梨 (Goodbye Eri) [Manga]
- [2.14|Level 28] スローループ (Slow Loop) [short Manga]
- [2.93|Level 24] マグメル深海水族館 (Deep Sea Aquarium MagMell) [short Manga]
- [2.00|Level 24??] 満月をさがして (Full Moon) [short Manga]
- [2.45|Level 26] 約束のネバーランド (The Promised Neverland) [Manga]
- [2.69|Level 20] にじいろフォトグラフ (Rainbow-Coloured Photograph) [short Manga]