# Finally, beginning to read books **URL:** \ **Category:** Reading\ **Created:** [August 1, 2020, 7:52am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/finally-beginning-to-read-books/45167 "2020-08-01T07:52:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Imro\_0512](https://cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/f/d/fd4c154120954695f788402f3bcf4e616499bc2d.png) [@Imro\_0512](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Imro_0512)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 7:52am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/finally-beginning-to-read-books/45167/1 "2020-08-01T07:52:07Z")
I’d like to know some beginner stories. I saw the wanikani repository; there are quite a lot of books,but most of them are books on Amazon. Also few suggestions were to read news, but, news isn’t that catchy for me i’m afraid. Anyone knows books, or even short stories? I know a fair amount of kanji, but still I’d wanna start from the lower level. Hopefully download a pdf and read it. Anyone knows good sites/ books? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![tkyk](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/tkyk/32/514732_2.png) [@tkyk](https://community.wanikani.com/u/tkyk)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 8:13am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/finally-beginning-to-read-books/45167/2 "2020-08-01T08:13:57Z")
You can try searching for graded readers online. There’s quite a few free resources avaliable, like those on [this list](https://teamjapanese.com/free-websites-japanese-reading-practice-every-level/). You can also try the content on [Satori Reader](https://www.satorireader.com/articles). My personal favorite option is to **join a book club** here on the forums. The Absolute Beginner’s Book Club is about to start reading レンタルおにいちゃん in just a week, take a look at the [book’s home thread](https://community.wanikani.com/t/44659) if you’re interested. ---
**Author:** ![IgorTheGreat](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/igorthegreat/32/348079_2.png) [@IgorTheGreat](https://community.wanikani.com/u/IgorTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 8:41am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/finally-beginning-to-read-books/45167/3 "2020-08-01T08:41:58Z")
As far as short stories i would recomment this app > > > Learn Japanese by reading stories using easy grammar and vocabulary... There are a few stories here with the most being $5. It also comes with the first 3 pages free of a story with the rest being purchasable for $3. This is for Android though and im not sure about a Apple version ---
**Author:** ![NicoleIsEnough](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/nicoleisenough/32/87285_2.png) [@NicoleIsEnough](https://community.wanikani.com/u/NicoleIsEnough)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 8:49am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/finally-beginning-to-read-books/45167/4 "2020-08-01T08:49:32Z")
Yay Book Clubs 😀 The [Beginner Book Club](https://community.wanikani.com/t/x/19766) will also vote on their next book soon! @Imro_0512 you can have a look at the current proposals (mostly Manga though) and rate their difficulties based on some sample pages. ---
**Author:** ![Pep95](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/pep95/32/280870_2.png) [@Pep95](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Pep95)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 10:03am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/finally-beginning-to-read-books/45167/5 "2020-08-01T10:03:04Z")
For super beginners, try this: > [@Picture Book Challenge 2020!](https://community.wanikani.com/t/picture-book-challenge-2020/40836): > > Hello fellow crabigators! The challenge has begun! It’s never too late to start, so read on for more information! Do you know about the [EhonNavi](https://www.ehonnavi.net/) website and their HUGE, BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL library of Japanese children’s books that one can read IN FULL, FOR FREE?! Apologies for the caps, but I am hella excited about this resource. The only catch being that you can only read each book once. The website organizes the books by age group (0 - 12 and adult) based on, from what I can tell, self-repo… ---
**Author:** ![Starker](https://cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/f/d/fd4c154120954695f788402f3bcf4e616499bc2d.png) [@Starker](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Starker)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 10:23am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/finally-beginning-to-read-books/45167/6 "2020-08-01T10:23:24Z")
The site [Hukumusume](http://hukumusume.com/douwa/) has Japanese fairy tales and folk stories that are fairly short and also kind of important to understand the culture, as some of them get referenced a lot in the media. For example, here’s the story about Momotarou: [桃太郎　＜福娘童話集　きょうの日本昔話＞](http://hukumusume.com/douwa/pc/jap/08/01.htm) and here’s the story about Urashima Tarou: [浦島太郎　＜福娘童話集　きょうの日本昔話＞](http://hukumusume.com/douwa/pc/jap/07/01.htm) ---
**Author:** ![tugboatcaptain](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/tugboatcaptain/32/765907_2.png) [@tugboatcaptain](https://community.wanikani.com/u/tugboatcaptain)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 10:48am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/finally-beginning-to-read-books/45167/7 "2020-08-01T10:48:51Z")
You can try the Satori reader app. If you’re looking for more graded reader style ebooks, I’d recommend the basic/beginner stuff from > **[Learn Japanese with The Japan Shop](https://www.thejapanshop.com/)** > > The Japan Shop produces the monthly digital magazine, Makoto, in addition to readers, lessons, and other books and eBooks for learners of Japanese. It has a growing library of money-saving digital materials (eBook, PDF, & Audio) for beginner and... Their website might not look like much, but I’ve come to think of them like a virtual mom & pop store. They’re obviously no design or marketing professionals, but as a beginner I really like the content they offer. I’m not sure any of this beginner stuff is supposed to be _really_ interesting… It’s all just a crutch until we’re advanced enough for what we really want to read about. ---
**Author:** ![Radish8](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/radish8/32/206088_2.png) [@Radish8](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Radish8)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 10:56am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/finally-beginning-to-read-books/45167/8 "2020-08-01T10:56:05Z")
This thread has a “Free Online Resources” section, which might be of interest: > [@Resources for Starting to Read Japanese Content](https://community.wanikani.com/t/x/31644): > > [Reading] This thread brings together resources and advice for helping people to get started with reading. If you know of any great tips or resources, please share them! You can also let me know if anything needs updating, like if any of the links go out of date for example. Reading Advice and Support Toolsplay_button Where to Startplay_button Buying Booksplay_button Kanji Lookupplay_button Online Readersplay_button FloFloplay_button Book Clubs Sources of Reading Materialplay_button Graded Readersplay_button Bilingual Books and Parallel Textsplay_button S… In particular, if you’re very specifically looking for PDFs to download, there are [these free graded readers](https://tadoku.org/japanese/en/free-books-en/) available from Tadoku Supporters. ---
**Author:** ![davids68](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/davids68/32/297928_2.png) [@davids68](https://community.wanikani.com/u/davids68)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 11:08am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/finally-beginning-to-read-books/45167/9 "2020-08-01T11:08:35Z")
> [@IgorTheGreat](#): > > This is for Android though and im not sure about a Apple version Also a fan of these (and other) graded readers. This set is available in the App Store. ---
**Author:** ![Imro\_0512](https://cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/f/d/fd4c154120954695f788402f3bcf4e616499bc2d.png) [@Imro\_0512](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Imro_0512)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 2:25pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/finally-beginning-to-read-books/45167/10 "2020-08-01T14:25:23Z")
Thanks all; I’d like to know a couple of things. Satori reader… is it graded? Or some pattern? I did try using it although, it just showed a list of some categories; like news, culture and sorts. Is there any order or is it pick randomly and start readin? Also, book club; do we have to buy the books? ---
**Author:** ![seanblue](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/seanblue/32/579844_2.png) [@seanblue](https://community.wanikani.com/u/seanblue)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 2:40pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/finally-beginning-to-read-books/45167/11 "2020-08-01T14:40:31Z")
> [@Imro\_0512](#): > > Also, book club; do we have to buy the books? Yes, you have to purchase the books. They generally cannot be acquired for free legally. There are usually physical and digital options available across a variety of stores, and they don’t cost that much (especially digitally since you avoid shipping costs). ---
**Author:** ![Imro\_0512](https://cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/f/d/fd4c154120954695f788402f3bcf4e616499bc2d.png) [@Imro\_0512](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Imro_0512)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 2:46pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/finally-beginning-to-read-books/45167/12 "2020-08-01T14:46:07Z")
Then , sadly it’s beyond my boundary. I am still a student.☹ ---
**Author:** ![Imro\_0512](https://cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/f/d/fd4c154120954695f788402f3bcf4e616499bc2d.png) [@Imro\_0512](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Imro_0512)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 2:49pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/finally-beginning-to-read-books/45167/13 "2020-08-01T14:49:22Z")
Thank you very much, けど、do you happen to know ones which aren’t paid.? I don’t have any requirements like good interface or GUI or pleasing for eyes. As long as it’s an open source, I’m happy to use it. Or pdfs as well. ---
**Author:** ![seanblue](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/seanblue/32/579844_2.png) [@seanblue](https://community.wanikani.com/u/seanblue)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 3:01pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/finally-beginning-to-read-books/45167/14 "2020-08-01T15:01:32Z")
Sometimes manga go on sale and you can “buy” them for free, so keep an eye out for that. Books going on sale is rarer unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![ygarcia](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/ygarcia/32/323863_2.png) [@ygarcia](https://community.wanikani.com/u/ygarcia)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 6:10pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/finally-beginning-to-read-books/45167/15 "2020-08-01T18:10:17Z")
My teacher shared this website with me. It is on Japanese culture and each topic has very short passage to accompany the picture. [[Topic 1 | Life nad Culture Snap! 生活と文化スナップ | まるごと＋　日本のことばと文化　初級2（A2) | まるごと＋　日本のことばと文化　初級2（A2)](https://a2-2.marugotoweb.jp/ja/snap/topics/1.php)]([http://Life](http://Life) and Culture Snap!) You can always look up kanji you do not know as they have the furigana. Also joining a book club is great! ---
**Author:** ![darkness\_rising](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/darkness_rising/32/312966_2.png) [@darkness\_rising](https://community.wanikani.com/u/darkness_rising)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 7:15pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/finally-beginning-to-read-books/45167/16 "2020-08-01T19:15:01Z")
You can sign up to get free access to some graded readers till the end of the month here: [https://www.ask-books.com/mau/yomulimited](https://www.ask-books.com/mau/yomulimited) ---
**Author:** ![beckswithspecks](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/beckswithspecks/32/324982_2.png) [@beckswithspecks](https://community.wanikani.com/u/beckswithspecks)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 7:54pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/finally-beginning-to-read-books/45167/17 "2020-08-01T19:54:57Z")
Matcha is a Japan travel site and has articles in easy japanese > **[MATCHA - やさしい日本語](https://matcha-jp.com/easy)** > > MATCHA「やさしい日本語」は　初級の　日本語で　読むことが　できます。漢字に　全部　ふりがなが　あります。日本のことを　日本語で　読みませんか。 ---
**Author:** ![IgorTheGreat](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/igorthegreat/32/348079_2.png) [@IgorTheGreat](https://community.wanikani.com/u/IgorTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 10:02pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/finally-beginning-to-read-books/45167/18 "2020-08-01T22:02:57Z")
No sadly other than the sample story which comes partially free ---
**Author:** ![NicoleIsEnough](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/nicoleisenough/32/87285_2.png) [@NicoleIsEnough](https://community.wanikani.com/u/NicoleIsEnough)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2020, 4:41pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/finally-beginning-to-read-books/45167/19 "2020-08-11T16:41:27Z")
There is a large collection of free books which is called Aozora; it’s like Project Gutenberg in case you know that, they make old books publicly available. The drawback is of course that you may come across really old books, and that does not only refer to the language being used but also to the kanji and kana. But it does not apply to all of them, so you can just avoid those that look weird to you XD Also, there is no grading system or anything, but recently somebody ordered those books by WK level: > [@Here, Have a List of Aozora Books by WK Level](https://community.wanikani.com/t/x/45124): > > Hello! I’m always looking for things to do that are not work on my thesis, so the other day I wrote a script to take all of the books on Aozora Bunko and sort them by WK level. Here’s the result! For each book on Aozora, it tells you at what WK level you can read 80, 85, 90, and 95% of the unique kanji. (If people would be interested in a list that looks at percent of all kanji rather than unique kanji, I can probably make that happen too.) I hope this is useful! Link below. [List of Books](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ekawaler/AozoraWK/master/Aozora_By_Unique_WK_Kanji.tsv) Fee… BTW the index of the books is here: [総合インデックス](https://www.aozora.gr.jp/index_pages/index_top.html) (these are the alphabet groups for authors and books) Maybe you’ll find something interesting!