We have a thread about “what video games you’ve been playing lately”, but I looked around and realized we don’t have one for books! I’d thought it’d be fun to get one started!
Whether it’s a manga/comic/doujin, novel, magazine or anything inbetween - what have you been reading lately? Whether it’s in Japanese or your native language, please feel free to share.
Do you wanna get some authentic Japanese reading material, but don’t know where to get some without breaking the bank? Below are some resources to help you!
[details=Summary] Amazon.jp100円 ー OO円↑ Physical and ebooks Furigana Books Available.
(Ships internationally for most manga and novels. This only applies to products shipped directly from Amazon. )
Google Play Books (JP)0円ー3,000円 Ebooks only Furigana Books Available.
(An absolutely terrific resource! Offering tons of newly released books/manga. There are also loads of sales every week, some of which include tooons of free manga. To access the Japanese Google Play store, you’ll either have to get a proxy or (do what I do) change the location of your gmail account. It’s a bit of a difficult process to find, but you can change your location to a Japanese address. Once you do that, no matter what country you’re in, you can access the Japanese Google Play Store.)
Comico / (Free but with a “pay to read more” system) App/Website No Furigana
(A webcomic/fanfiction app and website. Series like Nanbaka and ReLife originally came from this app. Unfortunately there is a bit of a paywall put in place. You can read some chapters free, but you’ll have to wait for your tickets to recharge before you can continue reading, or buy more tickets if you’re impatient.)
OtakuMode $5.99 - $000↑ Physical and ebooks Furigana Books Available
(Unlike the previous options, if you feel uncomfortable buying something only in Japanese, this website is entirely in English. The prices are fairly reasonable, and OtakuMode gives away coupons like nobodies business so you can usually save quite a bit. Unfortunately though, like the name implies your limited to Manga, light novels and fashion/otaku magazines.)[/details]
Know any other good resources? Feel free to share them and I’ll add them to this list!
I’ve been getting into LitRPG recently. Normally I read mostly Science Fiction (primarily Military), Fantasy (mainly High), and classics, and I guess LitRPG is a mix of the first two. Of course the prose isn’t as good as more developed genres, just as with Military Science Fiction, but the plot devices manage to get me hooked every time. Usually the MC is either super lucky, or is handed everything without much effort, which isn’t great, but I can enjoy OP characters as well. If anyone has any LitRPG recommendations I’d gladly take them.
(psst, add an extra blank row over your summary)
edit: oh, maybe I should mention that LitRPG is a genre of fiction in which the MC is basically playing a game, usually living inside of it. Kind of like SAO but for books.
I’ve been spending the last year reading a ton of manga, but now I feel like my Japanese is at the point where I can finally handle novels.
Personally I’m not that into reading fiction, but I really like reading self improvement books. lol. So I’ve been reading these two!
Books on manner and how to improve your speaking. 滑舌よくするという本。
I not only want to improve my pronunciation, but I want to get better at HOW I speak and present myself. With these being the first novels I`ve read, I can’t help but be so surprised about how encouraging these books are?? Especially with how Rie-san writes. It literally feels like she’s patting me on the head and letting me know that I can do it no matter what, and to keep trying. It’s really nice. lol
Just finished Mistborn by Sanderson. Have to wait until I see my friend again to borrow the next one.
Japanese reading
I’m suuuuper slowly making my way through a novelization of the manga オレンジ (which was also made into a movie recently). It’s not super hard to read but I am so slow because usually when I get home from work I just play around on my computer all evening and don’t read
Duuuuuuuuuuuude. Have you read The Stormlight Archive? It’s amazing. You think Mistborn is good? Stormlight is 10x better. Sanderson writes the best magic systems, love all of his works.
No I haven’t read it yet. The only books of his I have read are the first two Mistborn books. I am re-reading now in the hopes of finishing the series. I wonder if any of my friends have his other books…
I do enjoy his magic system in Mistborn and I know he’s really good at writing them. So I will have to check The Stormlight Archive out.
Does it have a main female protagonist?
Recently finished:
Neal Stephenson - Seveneves
–I love Neal S.–
Orson Scott Card:
Seventh Son - Red Prophet
– I am on-again off-again with Card, but he does understand some things.
Re-reading American Gods. I like Neil Gaiman’s books a lot, although American Gods isn’t one of my favorites. But since the movie is coming I decided to read it again, because I can’t remember the ending.
I’ve noticed this too. Music and movies too, but no books. Was just too lazy to ever bother starting a thread about it. Glad you have though!
I usually read a few things at once so I always have something to fit my mood. Currently I have:
Non-fiction: Why the West Rules ~ For Now, Ian Morris - Only half way through but absolutely fascinating book.
and
A Cook’s Tour, Anthony Bourdain - Not as good as Kitchen Confidential but still interesting. Most surprising thing is what a great out-and-out writer Bourdain is. I could actually do with less of him eating and more of him just writing essays about where he travels.
Fiction: Arcadia, Iain Pears - Incredible book. I knew nothing about this when I bought it. Just liked the cover and it was cheaper than most other English books in Kinokuniya. I’m amazed how good it’s been.
Japanese (easy): 月読幽の死の脱出ゲーム：爆発寸前！Kids’ book about a boy and his friends trapped on a train that’s going to explode. Has furigana and is nice and simple to read. Can understand 90+% and I mainly read it to reinforce common grammar structures. Although, I actually genuinely find these types of book entertaining.
Japanese (medium): 世界にひとつだけの本 This podcast has been recommended a few times in the forums and this is a book containing around twenty of those stories. Some are easy, some difficult, but since they’re only 5-6 pages long, it’s good for really trying to get everything out of the ones you can read.
Japanese (hard): イン・ザ・ミソスープ Slightly too tough for me but I’ve read it in English so can follow the story even when I get a bit lost with the Japanese. My first ‘real’ novel and I’m quite pleased with how much I can understand. Recommended as a first novel since it’s written in casual speech and, while the kanji might trip you up, the grammar is generally okay to follow. Also, it’s just an absolutely fantastic book. Definitely Murakami (Ryu)'s best.
Started reading Throne of Glass-series by Sarah J. Maas. Really liked the first book so can’t wait to get some more time to continue reading the second one
Seveneves was really good. Haven’t read a lot by Neil Stephenson, but I definitely plan to do so, I’m always hearing about how good his books are.
By Orson Scott Card I’ve only read the Ender’s game series, which is quite amazing tbh, but I have no intention of reading any of his other works, he’s a weird dude.
HYPE!! I’m a Sanderson fan too. He’s my favorite. I’ve read everything he’s written except Legion, Snapshot and the Rithmatist. (I’ll get to them…)
Hmm, while the writing quality of the Stormlight books is… richer, I wouldn’t necessarily say the books themselves are better than Mistborn. I honestly can’t pick one between Mistborn and Stormlight Archive.
Also, have you tried The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss, or the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan? They’re series worth looking into if you’re a fan of fantasy books.
I haven’t read the Rithmatist (and don’t plan to), but I’ve read most of his other books. They’re all amazing. I definitely think Stormlight is way better than Mistborn, though. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Kingkiller is probably my favourite fantasy series. Rothfuss has the best prose I’ve ever seen. You know, Sanderson writes great stories, but his prose is lacking, Rothfuss takes a long time to write his books, but they have amazing plot and prose.
I’ve read everything by Sanderson, except The Rithmatist and The Reckoners series’. He really does have the best magic systems out there right now; very rule oriented and never too OP.
I’m about 3/4 of the way through “The Killer of Little Shepherds” by Douglas Starr. It’s about the serial killer Joseph Vacher and how early forensic science techniques were used to solve his case. Super interesting, though it’s taking forever to get through due to lack of time.
Also, I finished Frankenstein and Jekyll & Hyde for school. They were alright, but I really have trouble enjoying older texts. Same reason why I could never get into Shakespeare. I would definitely give them a read regardless, as it’s interesting to see how the actual stories play out rather than the interpretations/allusions given by modern works.
English
Slowly plowing through Gardens of The Moon by Steven Erikson.
Japanese
Reading a bit of Konosuba ranobe (I’m on page 13 rn, lol), a bit of Soul Eater and Shingeki no Kyojin (already watched the anime of this one, and am up to date with the manga in English) when I can find the time.
I also finished watching Mouryou no Hako recently, and I want to try reading the novel sometime. At my current level, it’s probably going to be impossible though.
早くうまくなりたい！！！
100円 ー OO円↑ 
Furigana Books Available.
/ 
(Free but with a “pay to read more” system) 
App/Website 
No Furigana
