Light novel recommendations for N2 prep?

Japanese Language
21

変な絵 by the same author was good too, had the same problem of eventually going a bit crazy, but I think it was slightly better overall and fits the same kind of relatively easy, engaging thriller-mystery book, definitely felt like something to get hooked on.

Both books, if possible having a physical copy is nice because of the importance of the illustrations and flicking back and forth

(Sorry for the tag for a thousandth time) @pocketcat who wrote the list soggy put also reads quite a lot of thriller/mystery stuff I believe

22

this is great info, thank you! Hahah I am at least very curious as to how the plot goes off the deep end, which is good :joy:

And I shall absolutely be lurking that list and pocketcat’s profile for guidance. I want to make reading Japanese a regular part of my lifestyle and devour Many Many books. It’s been hard getting started!

23

The good news is once you get started it’s hard to stop :slightly_smiling_face: You got this!

24

告白 was something I had a very hard time putting down and I thought the general Japanese difficulty was relatively low

25

Haha all good. I stand by everything on the list Soggy linked as good for people studying for the N2 / first adult novels. Lots of mystery, some thrillers, and at least one horror in there. I’m forever trying to get more people to read 私の夫は冷凍庫に眠っている because I think it’s junky and hilarious and good fun provided the darker themes don’t bother you.

I loved 告白 (which Vanilla mentioned) but I think it got graded by the community as somewhere in the mid-30s so it couldn’t go on my list.

That said, it’s easier to read something hard you’re engaged in than something easy that bores you, so I advise giving all the ratings a grain of salt and reading a preview off Bookwalker if a plot really speaks to you!

26

i’m just lucky im such a sucker for high school romantic crap cos there’s so much of it around haha

27

Agreed with the idea that high interest tends to be the most important variable.

One thing I will add as someone who has read a few books here and there, the first part of the book tends to be the hardest for a couple reasons. Even if you read a preview and feel like it’s a bit hard, there’s a good chance you will feel the book is easier once you get a few dozen pages in.

28

Another +1 to 変な家 and other books of the author - I was so fixated on that book that I read it in 1 week, which is the fastest I’ve ever done.

Are you familiar with Natively | Find native books, movies and tv shows at your level? You can browse based on approximate difficulty level of books. So you could check how 西の魔女が死んだ and コンビニ人間 are rated there and look for books at a similar level.

29

+1 to interest. Apothecary diaries may be the most difficult thing I’m reading but it sure feels better than some of the apparently easier but less interesting prose I’ve tried.