If it’s reading speed you’re concerned about then you should be aware that there isn’t much text, since it’s a manga, and that there are plenty of resources in this thread if you’re wondering about something, you can also just ask here if it’s not already been discussed.
It’s also worth it to note that the first two(?) chapters are available online, so you could start today if you want, and that if you order from Amazon.jp the shipping speed is very fast. You could probably get the book within a week or two at most.
I want to pitch in this book recommended for beginners, from japanese level up:
1.キッチン (Kitchen) by Yoshimoto Banana
Japanese Level: ☆☆
If you are going to dive right into a famous contemporary work of fiction, this is a great novel to begin with. The story focuses around Mikage, who was raised by her grandmother, and when she dies she loses her only blood relative. She ends up being taken in by a university classmate, Yuuichi, and his mother, who is transgendered. It is a slow, sweet, melancholy story about what it means to be a family, by blood or by choice, and about the ways food – and kitchens – bring us together. Because the focus is tightly on personal relationships and daily life, anyone who watches a lot of J-dramas probably has enough vocabulary to get started with this book.
Actually, I still don’t understand why xD First of all, people weren’t voting just once, people could vote twice on the last book. Voting twice would mean that people could vote on their 2 most favorite options. This would pretty much eliminate the paradox of choice in my opinion.
By not having limited options, the possibilities of the “okay” for most people winning would be bigger, compared to the 2 choices option. This would mean that more people could be satisfied by the okay result, but not that many would be excited. The author of the video assumes in his example that by voting once, the losing group automatically won’t agree with the final decision. He also assumes that everyone would see voting in the same way. Having people that voted once and others that voted 1+ times doesn’t mean that they all had the same reasoning on voting, simply because it isn’t a system people are used to.
Don’t get me wrong. In my group of friends, I always allow multiple votes when we’re planning to go out. However, in my case the goal is to have as many people available to go out as possible. In here, we’re deciding which book to read, which is a lot less rigorous. It’s not like people won’t be able to buy the book if the winner is one they didn’t vote for. Just my 2 cents. We can solve this with a poll though Seems fair.
よつばと isn’t a chronological story though. You should start with the first, but after that, each volume is treated as a stand-alone version that doesn’t really tie back to any of the other books.
Hi everyone!
I’d like to be added to the member list
I’ve just finished reading first chapter of よつばと! and I loved it!
I’m hoping to participate in this forum.
This actually sounds amazing. Is it a manga or actual book? I think we wanted manga and/or light novels for the beginner club, but if the vocab/grammar is simple enough, it could work.
Just my random two cents - 徒然チルドレン Tsuredure Children was a pretty funny anime last season. The manga caught my eye when I was looking よつばと!Looking like it was in line with anime. Not a strong argument, I know… But just saying
Yeah that’s a great one! Plus it’s free. There’s no furigana (even on names ) and a few characters seem to use some archaic words, but it’s not a difficult series.