Thanks! The ones I recommended (except Yotsuba) have a slightly higher reading level than I expected. They put Yotsuba at N4, which makes sense from what I’ve read of it. It was a little beyond my reading level at the time, but I’m willing to give it another go.
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For the curious, this one had a book club as well. Like Yotsuba, it was BBC as it predated the ABBC. If I remember right (from when I watched season one of the anime in Japanese forever ago), there’s some dialect, which would up the difficulty.
Nichijou also appeared in the BBC.
CITY was nominated somewhere, but I don’t think it ever won. It lacks furigana, but the text density doesn’t seem to be too bad.
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Also the fact that it’s a yonkoma (or yonkoma-like? I can’t remember) upped the density.
にゃんぱす！
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Thank you again for your help. I’ll make sure to join it 
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I mean, you make a very compelling argument by just mentioning the person in my icon 
(I can’t wait to meet him in the manga 
). So I guess I’ll join the book club, since I’m gonna need all the help I can get 
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Thank you again for your immense help It means a lot to me
I shall follow the steps and join the book club and see how things go
I shall consider this too
I mean, that would sums up the situation at some point for sure 
I think this would be the current struggle. To find that indeed.
I’ll try and see how things work out and plan depending on that
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As someone who started doing the book clubs fairly recently, I wouldn’t mind reruns of older book club picks. Being in the club while it’s going on is a different experience from going back and looking at old threads. Some of the BBC picks are level 20-22 so they might be OK to do (if they have furigana).
Anyway I was looking for picks and this one might be nice: 海が走るエンドロール | L23
The level is a bit high but it has full furigana. If people think that’s OK I can do a nom post.
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That’s unfortunately just out of the decided range for the ABBC:
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good to know, thanks! maybe I’ll pitch it for BBC sometime.
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If I want to nominate Yotsuba, is there a form I need to submit anywhere, or is posting here good enough? Going by the discussion above, it should be fine to nominate given that the last book club thread for it was over 7 years ago.
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Hey!
In the home post, click on ‘proposal template’
Then you can copy/paste the template and add all the information.
For yotsuba, one consideration might be that it is only available physically and does not have a digital version, which could lower access for learners, so make sure to include any considerations like that in the nomination post to help people decide.
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Mm I don’t really know many beginner books, because Gal and Dino is one of the first native content I’m reading.
I started 事情を知らない転校生がグイグイくる on November, but read like 1 or 2 chapters and paused it to start the ABBC. It might be a good title for the club (Natively says it´s level 18), but I dunno if it has been nomitaed before. Also, I’d rather see what else will people nominate 
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よつばと！
Summary
While most people find the world mundane, five-year-old Yotsuba Koiwai sees it as a treasure trove of amazing bustle and wonderful places to explore. When she and her adoptive father, Yousuke, move to a new city, the energetic young girl naturally sets out to investigate the neighborhood on her own.
After a few incidents at the local park, the Koiwais become acquainted with their neighbors, the Ayase family. Their three daughters—mischievous college student Asagi, responsible high school student Fuuka, and kindhearted grade school student Ena—eventually all take a liking to Yotsuba and join in on her antics, despite their sheer ridicule.
From learning how to use a swing to figuring out how to stop global warming with air conditioners, Yotsuba’s ability to infallibly find fun in everything, both amazes and annoys the people around her. Along with Yousuke, the Ayases, and friends she makes along the way, Yotsuba embarks on daily adventures, each one a step in her quest to enjoy the simple things in life.
Availability
Amazon JP: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4048690663
Amazon US: Amazon.com: Yotsuba& Volume 1 (Japan Import): 9784048690669: KIYOHIKO, AZUMA: Books
Publisher site - chapter previews: よつばと！ | 書籍 | 月刊コミック電撃大王公式サイト
There are other store pages on the learnnatively page.
Natively Level: 17
Full Furigana: Yes
Personal Opinion
Yotsubato is a classic slice-of-life manga about a curious child named Yotsuba who gets into all sorts of shenanigans and learns new things every day. Since the story is framed from the perspective of a young child with a straightforward attitude, it’s relatively easy to understand compared to other slice-of-life manga.
Pros and Cons for the Book Club
Pros
- Relatively simple vocabulary.
- Dialog is all light-hearted conversation.
- Light on kanji, contains full furigana.
- Chapters are independent, so you don’t have to read one chapter to understand the next.
Cons
- Some characters speak with casual slang that can be hard to understand at first.
- While light kanji can be a benefit, it can also make kana-only words harder to understand.
- Only select chapters are available in a digital format (officially, at least)
Pictures
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Thanks, I’ve added it to the nomination list! 
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Is it okay to nominate something if I haven’t read it in full myself? I’m reading a bit of はなにあらし and it seems about right so far. I’ve read it before in English so I don’t think there would be any unexpected jumps in difficulty. There are enough useful Natively reviews that I think I could perhaps put together a nomination post with pros and cons in the proper format.
I suppose I could enlist the help of someone who’s read it, or finish reading it myself before nominating… thoughts?
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Mm, looking at chapter 3 I might ask someone for a second opinion. I personally don’t think it’s too risque but Idk if it’d be the right fit for the book club??
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I see @Jintor and @javerend have read it, maybe they have a view on whether it’s a good fit for the club.
It’s fine if you nominate even if you haven’t read it completely, as long as you are happy to lead the club! And leading clubs is fun 
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Enjoyed this series immensely, but I also remember not being super blown away by the first few volumes. Not a huge deal if you’re going to read the whole series quickly, but at abbc pace that could be more of a concern. It really builds though, and by the last 5-6 it was definitely one of my favorite things I read last year.
Language difficulty was quite low, but there are going to be some literature words and references (the characters are members of a book club). Volumes are short (160ish pages), the series is also complete with a nice ending.
I’d say it’s definitely within range of the club, maybe not the easiest thing under the sun, but the abbc has certainly done harder things successfully for new readers.
(If you have very keen eyes in a later volume you’ll also actually spot where I got the idea to do speed up listening practice 
)
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Agree 100%. I was pretty on the fence about continuing after the first volume too, but by volume 4 was absolutely hooked.
While I don’t remember what specifically happens in chapter 3 and I only have the first one digitally so it’s not super easy to flip though, there’s absolutely nothing in the whole series that I would consider to be a problem for the ABBC, personally.
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That’s fair, and good points. I remember the series just “vibing” for awhile before the plot really goes anywhere. I might try to work my way through the rest of the volume before I nominate it for sure.
There’s nothing anywhere near explicit, but the third chapter starts in the locker room where the girls are changing for P.E. class. The girls are in their bras talking, but Chidori is embarrassed about changing her shirt because of her size (p36-43). It’s honestly quite innocent, but perhaps my engrained American prudishness is showing… 
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