Yeah, there are 71 free and legal N5 graded readers here:
https://learnnatively.com/search/jpn/books/?type=-textbook&tags=free&sort=level_asc&series=all_volumes&exclude_library=1
The are all from Tadoku Books. The same that @skullclutter also linked to, but I find this list easier wrt. overview. Plus you can check off read books and they’ll disappear from the list.
So just keep taking the first one, because it’s sorted by difficulty.
I would say I’m doing about half of that. My Bunpro reviews everyday, cramming the content that I don’t have a firm grasp on, then some listening practice. Ideally I add some reading to that soon.
There is something to say for length of exposure, adjacent to amount of exposure. Obviously now we don’t have as much time as we used to, but my guess is that the longer period of time you put in consistent effort, the less time you need to put in total.
That sounds like a lazy man’s excuse (perhaps I am one) but I have been grinding daily since Summer so at least I practice what I preach.
Thanks for your reply and tips! I am definitely passing the mock tests that I’ve been taking. Hoping for the best this December.
It’s just under 2 months away and I’m realizing I’m definitely not going to finish all the Bunpro content for the N3 exam if I stick to my current pace. I’m going to be just over halfway through the grammar deck and somewhere? on the vocab deck. A little worried, but I got some supplementary books focused on the N3 exam to work through on the side so I don’t just overload my SRS to catch up.
I mean, I’m going to overload it a little bit. But it is what it is.
Don’t worry that much on the BunPro side of things. I did the N3 with around 90% of the grammar and the N2 with ~70% of the grammar and passed both. The grammar component is not that big on the exam, so I’d suggest you to rather read as that involves a bigger part of the test.
My N3 JLPT reading practice is going pretty rough currently. The texts are just nothing like what I’m used to reading and often it requires knowing the definition of one single word in the text to know the answer.
For example I didn’t know the word ぐっすり in one question so I couldn’t answer. I know it now! 
Unfortunately, that’s often the case in the JLPT. It’s just luck whether you know that word to understand the whole article. Often it’s a relatively obscure animal or plant that they go on about, for some reason. I’m sure they do it on purpose, to see if you can work out what’s going on from surrounding words, etc. In that situation at least, I recommend mentally substituting something like “weird animal/plant” in your head. But it definitely makes for a pretty horrific exam experience when you have no idea what’s going on and yet need to try and understand it and answer questions about it and keep reading at lightning speed!
My best bet is do as you say and substitute the word or try and narrow it down to a 50/50 on questions I’m completely lost on.
@AshuRage said it perfectly. The grammar and vocab are good to know if you want to get a perfect score, but the JLPT often throws in red herrings from JLPT levels above what you’re studying on purpose to trip you up.
In that sense, even if you memorize all the vocab and grammar required for your level, you’ll still come across things you might not know.
I took the N2 in July and passed and my best advice is to REALLY focus on reading practice. The reading sections are most likely going to be the make it or break it factor in passing.
Sorry for rambling so long, but with all that said, take a deep breath. You got this 
I was originally going to take the N4 this December, but my tutor told me she thinks my skill level is closer to N3 so I’ll be practicing to take that Spring/Summer of '25. From the practice reading for N3 it seems like she’s right, I’m able to go through most of it with >90% comprehension.
Looking forward to it!
Starting to really worry that I’m not going to be ready for the N5 
I can’t keep up with all the reviews from Bunpro and Wanikani, let alone adding new content to get through the vocab deck to a reasonable level by December…
I don’t have any advice or comfort words to give you. But, don’t forget to take care of yourself! Like that Latin phrase says: mens sana in corpore sano (a healthy mind in a healthy body). Stressing over it and forgetting to keep your body and mind healthy will only delay your learning
Started studying Japanese seriously in Summer 2023 and I’ll try the N4 exam in December!
I hope it will go well \o/
(Also this is my first time writing in the community, hello \o/)
One month to go, ladies and gents 
Took a mock N2 exam on easyjapanese.net today. It seems very similar to the official mock exam I took from the JLPT. I’m not sure if it’s shorter than normal or 日本語パワードリル took my speed to the next level, but I had ~20 minutes out of 155 to spare.
The good: I got 131/180. I don’t have the breakdown of reading/grammar but the overall score was 79/120. Listening was 52/60.
The bad: There were 2 reading passages (I think medium) that I didn’t understand at all. Like zero. Missed 4 questions thanks to that.
If I really will have that much time to spare, I think I can go back and fix some of the reading problems I got wrong.
Feeling just a little more confident now. But maybe I just took an overly easy practice exam haha.
I got my test voucher today so it’s reeeeeeeeal now omg
sorta feeling the same - will keep doing my bunpro, not add to my wanikani, and keep reading/reviewing what i can - i won’t get 100% but I’m just shooting to get over the line 
I hadn’t heard of that book before. What kinds of drills are inside: vocab, grammar, short/medium/long reading comprehension texts, even listening?
I also used that one this summer for the N2. https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/松浦-真理子/dp/4872177835/ref=sr_1_3
To be honest, it was way more difficult than the actual test. But I was glad that it was that way. Studying now for the N1 the same way, highly recommend it.
P.S. if you write your answers on a different paper, you can retake the Powerdrill lessons and see how you improve your score.