Seeking book recommendations and advice on reading

Hey folks, I’m not a reader, but I want to become one (Or probably I am, and just bad at finding what I like, or sticking to it), so I wanted to ask some book recommendations, as well as advice on how to find books I like on my own.

Usually I really like fantasy (during my lifetime I’ve been sucked in by three book series and all they were in fantasy world), as well as conceptual stuff, that focuses on laws and rules of how some part of humanity works with the world.

I think a lot of people here also watch anime, and as it’s my main source of media I’d like to give some examples, so maybe people could advise something based on it?
My most favorite ones are Frieren, Sonny Boy, 異国日記, monogatari, dungeon meshi, Vinland Saga, Sayonara Lara (this season, cannot stop recommending it to everyone, as it’s so human). Recently I’ve also watched a film called The life of Chuck, which became my favourite film so far.

Wanted to ask book recommendation based on those parameters, but if you just have a book you really like, I’d like to hear about it, why you like and, where should I concentrate while reading it.

Another thing, I would like to ask is how you folks find books you like? I just cannot imagine how it’s done for now, would appreciate some tips!

I decided that I’ll make a great reading challenge before the N1 this December, so I’ll really appreciate your recommendations!

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Get the manga versions of anime you like, it makes reading it easier as you kinda already know what’s happening and can infer unknown words from that. I would also, unfortunately, say avoid too much fantasy until you’ve got a handle on reading Japanese first, you often get fantasy terminology thrown at you and it can be quite confusing.

I think the trick at first is to mostly stick to manga aimed at teenagers with furigana to reduce cognitive load (getting tired from 日本語がんばるing too hard) until you get used to it, and then start looking at harder content. Going straight to hard stuff too quickly will cause burnout even if you theoretically should be able to do it.

For me, I recommend ルリドラゴン because it’s cute, has fantasy elements, furigana, and very easy to read, natural Japanese.