What are good reading practices for beginners?

Hey all!

Lived in Japan a couple of times, but now am deciding to take literacy seriously.

What are some recommendations for reading for absolute beginners?

I just picked up DQ11s on switch because it has furigana and Japanese voice actors. Also I do watch Japanese Netflix with Japanese subtitles.

What are your recommendations? It can be anything from blogs, to books, to games.

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ASK Graded readers are good.

Free graded readers are also available here:

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Graded Readers was where I started, but they can be pretty pricey. I ended up only getting one of them, but it was still great for the time that I needed it :slight_smile:

NHK Easy is a nice free one, and it has furigana if you’re looking for it. (There are also extensions to remove the furigana for when you’re ready for that.)

If you’re into manga, I 100% recommend checking some out. Many of them have furigana, and there are a lot of reading groups and threads on here for some already :smiley:

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You may be able to access graded readers for free from the library, or a Japanese culture centre if you’re in an urban area.

If not, you could put out a gift request to rellies :wink:

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You could join a WK bookclub! There are books at all levels.

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Must recommend Yotsuba! Besides being a charming comic in it’s own right (this from someone who doesn’t really care to read manga much), seeing the world from a five-year-old’s perspective is perfect for where I am (and presumably you are) at. Sometimes the main character even asks for the definitions of things she doesn’t understand!
You’ll glean some cultural knowledge along the way too (like about kotatsu’s or matsuri’s) given the everyday setting of the story.

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