Show me your books!

Japanese Language Reading
#121
  1. I was already a high level when I found them
  2. They are one of the easier mangas to read for me, cause I already know the “lingo” :crazy_face: (a lot of the “series specific words” stay same in English, or just heard so many times in the Anime that I knew them)
  3. I have only read a few, was esaier for each one though.
  4. I did one in a sit dow. A few hours, maybe 3?
  5. I… don’t =P (even when I should, not my style)
  6. Kept reading, hoped to get it through context (Also, i dual read with the English version, a chapter at a time)
  7. My grammar knowledge is bloody awful! Still enjoyable!

My tip is GO FOR IT! Wirth every penny!
Only reason I haven’t read it all yet is I’m part of so many book clubs, but it is on top of my “read on my own list” (well, Boruto first)

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#122

If you’re mostly worried about difficulty, you can also check an e-book sample. It should be long enough to help you make a decision.
(For example, Amazon and Bookwalker usually have samples.)

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#123

I also thought that and tried at Amazon but
Captureamazon
It seems the option has been disabled for some time. :frowning_face:
I don’t know about bookwalker though, I’ll try.
Thanks. :blush:

Edit : Just read the preview in Bookwalker. Loved the book and can’t wait to buy it. Thanks for the info.

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#124

Thanks for answering. I think I will buy them.
Really grateful that grammar is not necessary. I suck at grammar. I hope that I will be able to understand them as I don’t like looking stuff up in a dictionary again and again. I love the anime and have watched it soo many time, I think I should be familiar with the series specific words. Thanks again. :blush: :blush: :blush:

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#125

Reading is a great way to internalise grammar! The more you see it being used, and the more you understand from context, the easier it is to learn. I put off reading for so long because I didn’t believe I was ready, and I really wish I’d just gone for it earlier.

Re: looking things up, I would recommend only looking up the things that pop up time and time again if you think checking everything would ruin your flow and enjoyment. If it’s popping up a lot and you still don’t understand it, give it a quick check and then carry on.

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#126

It looks like I can learn grammar from reading, not reading from grammar. I definitely prefer the former. :slightly_smiling_face:

Is as early as me (just reached level 8) fine?
Can you recommend any good online dictionaries?
Also thanks for the tips. :blush: This is a great community with wonderful people.

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#127

Honestly, I would say whenever you want to is early enough. There may be a lot you don’t understand, but if you’re reading something you know well and can infer from the manga panels etc., you’ll still get something from it. Depending on how willing you are to just not understand everything - it’ll come with time! I can’t really speak for the difficulty of Naruto though.

https://jisho.org/ is probably the best online dictionary you could use. I’ve switched to a physical J-J dictionary myself unfortunately so maybe I’m not the best help in that department, but Jisho should have you covered.

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#128

Nothing “unfortunate” about that IMHO - the less time I spend in front of a screen, the better :slight_smile:

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#129

Oh, I just meant in terms of giving online recommendations! Having a physical dictionary has been great and I couldn’t recommend it enough, saves me scrolling endlessly on Twitter when I inevitably get distracted from studying :face_with_hand_over_mouth:

#130

I hear you. I recently decided that social media get about 15 minutes from me a day, no more. Everything else to me turned out to a waste of time. :smiley: Here’s to paper dictionaries!

#131

When I was around your level, maybe early teens, the first WaniKani Book Club started.
I was so ready to read just about anything along with others (hoping their comments would help me understand more) that I jumped head first and just joined it!
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Today that Book Club is known as the Intermediate Book Club :rofl:
I was able to read about half of it before I fell too far behind and quit, understood no more than a word here and there. Yet was able to enjoy the process of it! I’m not even ready to fully read it today! But was it too early? Nah, it was still worth the experience and effort, as it was enjoyable even if I didn’t get much. The comments did help me understand what was happening in the story too.

I don’t recommend going for a book out of your league on purpose, but never back out of something you want to try cause you fear you are not ready yet. The only way to get ready is by doing, and if you can enjoy the process of reading even with lack of understanding then it is never too early (but do try to aim for something with a bit higher understanding than I did :crazy_face: )
I have since read a whole book that was above my level, Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Got a higher %, but no where near the 80% needed to feel you grasp it. Still enjoyed it enough for the effort to be worth it. I’ll probably try read it again later. I have also read most of Kiki twice, with 2 years between. Seeing the difference in understanding now from then is such a great way to measure your own improvement! I still need to read the last 3rd though :crazy_face:

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#132

I know you already decided on buying them anyway, but just for posterity I wanted to mention that for me, it’s working correctly on Amazon :sweat_smile:
I’m suspecting some problems with location (as in, you’re logged in and you have your location set for outside of Japan). In my case, it’s also working on incognito mode, so logging out/or using incognito mode should help if someone just wants to see a preview.

…And just using Bookwalker is of course another option. I’m happy at least this site worked for you! :blush:

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#133

I changed my location and it worked. Well I already read the preview but for future references, thanks for the tip. :blush: Also I think Bookwalker’s preview was a bit better because I could zoom in the pages and all. Anyways, thanks overall. Because of you guys I think I just found my first book in Japanese (Physical) which I actually wanted to read (unlike Yotsubato).

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#134

Why does that sound like me :grin:

I read Naruto’s preview and I think it is pretty good because firstly it has furigana above most of the kanji. Secondly, I think I know the storyline a bit too well which may help me. Thankyou for all your advices.

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#135

The pictures also help (The book I chose had little furigana, no picture and a complex story :rofl: Definitely better off with Naruto :wink: )

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#136

Well… I am not a teen yet. :sweat_smile:

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#137

I just scrolled through this entire thread! Your collections are amazing!

I just ordered my first round of Japanese only manga (though I also have two issues of the Shonen Jump from friends that were in Japan) and wrote my experience in the imported books through mandarake thread.

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I sadly had a pipe break the other week and had to put all of this in boxes due to the wall having water damage and needing repairs… so this picture is a little older. I’m lucky that none of my manga have damage, they were a fair bit away from the wall at the outer edge of the shelf.

I look forward to resorting everything though :muscle: I might post a new picture when I finished that!

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