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!
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.
I found that a lot of my other interests have a book attached to it. The series I’m reading right now (No. 6) I learned from an anime, a Vocaloid producer (Kikuo) I listen to has a book giving more story to some of the music, a game creator (Chilla’s Art) has a couple of books compiling his games. I recommend checking if there’s any literature for things you already like!
Another thing I do is look online / at bookstores to see what’s popular in the genres I like. I bet for fantasy there’s a wide range of stuff.
How about the original series of ロードス島戦記 (Record of Lodoss War) ? I actually found the full set second-hand quite recently. It’s regarded as somewhat of a classic of the Japanese fantasy genre. You can get the reprinted 新装版 series on Amazon Japan either as a paperback or on Kindle.
Slight disagreement on this one - as someone who’s also a big fantasy reader, the initial introduction of fantasy-related vocabulary is…yeah, bit tricky. But if you’re reading a lot of fantasy then you should start getting overlapping words pretty quickly (magic, wizard/witch, etc.).
I think the same process would apply to pretty much any genre with a lot of more genre-specific language, like murder mystery or sci-fi. But it’s good to keep that sort of stuff in mind when you’re choosing what to read, if only so you’re mentally prepared for the additional hurdle.
Personally, my stance is read the stuff that will keep you interested and motivated!
Do you mind if I ask which three? It might help folks with tailoring recommendations.
Unfortunately I’m not hugely familiar with the anime examples you gave (I’ve read the first three volumes of フリーレン and I know the general premise of ダンジョン飯 but that’s about it) so I can’t necessarily compare any of my recommendations to them. I’ll write out some* recs down below, though
*Turns out by ‘some’ I meant like. An entire wall of text. Oops.
Well, you’re using one method right now! Word of mouth and talking to folks about the things they’ve read and enjoyed is a pretty good way to find new series.
Beyond that, you can usually find books lists or rec lists all over the place. I’m sure a quick google search would bring up plenty, but off the top of my head I know learnnatively has a system for book lists, librarything (the site I use for cataloguing my collection) has forums where people talk about recommendations by genre, and I think there’s stuff on goodreads too (although I don’t use it myself). If you have a physical library or store nearby that you can/want to go to, the staff may even make little recommendation displays!
And speaking of libraries or stores, another way is to just…go wander around one. If you know you like fantasy, you can go check out the fantasy aisle (physically or online) and look for something that catches your eye. For all that “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” is a good life lesson, realistically the book’s cover or spine is the first thing you’re going to notice. Don’t be afraid to just look for something that Looks CoolTM and then check the back and see if it sounds equally interesting.
Do I need more books than I already have? No. Does that stop me from just kinda wandering through the aisles at bookoff sometimes when I’m done searching for specific volumes? Absolutely not. Yes, my mother had to prevent me from buying my own personal library every time we entered Barnes and Noble when I was a child, why do you ask?
The Actual Recommendations Part
Manga Recs
I’m going to start with manga, because I’m not sure how much reading you’ve done in Japanese previously and also because I like manga, lol. Some of these I’ve read in English, some in Japanese, some in both. I’m going to try and recommend stuff that isn’t as widely popular (at least to my knowledge) rather than the Big Popular Series.
Also I don’t know if by fantasy you mean purely high fantasy or not but there’ll be kinda a mix of levels in here.
Pandora Hearts. This is a finished series and a biiiiig old favorite of mine. I’m very character-oriented in what stories catch my attention and I just love the main crew of this one so much. It’s a dark fantasy setting, and the world building is the sort where you look back at it afterwards and you can see all the little threads and hints along the way that you took for granted. Don’t ask me how many times I’ve cried over this, just know it’s ManyTM. I also recommend the same author’s current series Case Study of Vanitas if you enjoy fantasy pseudo-historical Paris and vampires.
魔男のイチ・Ichi the Witch. This is a currently ongoing series that I got into this year, and I’ve been devouring the new volumes whenever they come out. Definitely a high-fantasy feel with witches and flying brooms and whatnot, but the premise of the series revolves around magic being sentient creatures and the main character Ichi becoming the only male witch. Again, I love the main crew, and I’m very curious to see where the series will go.
D. Gray-man. Ongoing, but it’s been going for a while so there’s a backlog of stuff to read through. It’s another dark fantasy pseudo-historical setting can you guess one of my preferred genres yet lol . The premise revolves around fighting “akuma.” Again, fun crew of main characters, and some intriguing reveals about the characters/world as the series progresses.
xxxHolic. Finished, although with a sort of sequel-series that I believe is still ongoing. This one is more urban supernatural, with the main character able to see spirits and working in a wish-granting shop. Has a sort of wish-of-the-week format for a good bit, and the way the wishes and spirits are handled is always interesting. Not all the wishes are nice. NOT fully furigana’d. The mangaka, CLAMP, is actually a group of ladies with a bunch of other series too, some of which are more of a high fantasy vibe. Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle is another one of theirs that I like.
Mushishi. Older series, sort of pseudo-historical sort of supernatural. The main character goes around handling “mushishi,” which are kind of spirits kind of bugs kind of…something. It’s got a very unique atmosphere, especially regarding the mushishi. NOT fully furigana’d.
Witch Hat Atelier. Okay I’ll preface this by saying I’ve ONLY read the first volume…but the first volume really caught my attention (I have the next few volumes in the mail, nobody tell the book-buyers-rehab members). Between that and all the really, really good things I’ve heard, I’m tacking it on here. High fantasy, little girls learning magic from a twink wizard, I don’t know much about the plot beyond that (yet.) NOT fully furigana’d.
Books that moved into my head as a kid and live there rent-free
Unfortunately I haven’t read these in Japanese yet because I’m still working my way up there, but they’re all books I’ve read (and adored) in English that I hope to read in Japanese some day too. Obviously they’re all at least a few steps up in difficulty from the shounen/shoujo in the previous section, although I have to go off of the natively scores rather than personal experience for the moment.
I’ve loved the Lord of the Rings movies since I was a kid, but I know the original books can be a bit dry for folks even in English so I’m kind of afraid to think about what they’d be like in Japanese. The Hobbit, however, was written as a children’s novel and while it’s likely still more difficult than a shounen or shoujo it’d surely be much more approachable than LotR. I read it as a kid and loooooooved it. If you’re not familiar, it follows the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and a bunch of dwarves as they go reclaim their home mountain from a dragon. Very much a classic high fantasy sort of story. In Japanese they wind up as ザ・ロード・オブ・ザ・リング or 指輪の物語 and ホビット or ホビットの冒険.
Ranger’s Apprentice. This is a YA series with a pseudo-medieval setting (think fiefdoms and knights) and about a single crumb of magical stuff (there’s a creature in book one that’s definitely not a regular animal). I love the main characters because I’m a sucker for Gruff Old Man Adopts A Kid And That’s His Kid Now Goshdarnit. I also love like, cool archery stuff, which is the entire shtick of the main characters in this. In Japanese it wound up as アラルエン戦記.
Artemis Fowl. Do you like faeries? What about faeries but they’re actually really technically advanced in addition to, you know, magic? What about 12 year old criminal masterminds? If ‘yes,’ great, please join me in loving Artemis Fowl. It’s a modern setting but with the Irish fae being a thing, and it starts off with a very morally grey main pov character who does so much growing as a person over the course of the series. Good humor, good adventures, I love the main characters. Unfortunately only the first 5 books have been translated into Japanese, but they’re under アルテミス・ファウル.
I don’t know if you posted this expecting wall-of-text recommendation lists, and if you’re going for N1 maybe these aren’t the difficulty level you’re aiming for, but I will always take the excuse to talk about books so…sorry not sorry? Hopefully something here sounds interesting to you! Even if some of them are less fantasy than others
omg I also struggle with this!
But I find looking at the best sellers list helps me, and I check the synopsis of the books. Following Japanese bookstores on instagram also introduces a lot of interesting new books to me!
Following Japanese bookstores is an excellent idea!
Personally, I have a kindle with a Japanese account and I’ve let the recommendation engine take hold after reading a few things I was suggested.
“Enjoyed this book? You might like this other book for 500 yen” Don’t mind if I do.
That might be true, but since I started learning I’ve been getting a lot of connection with that type of media, starting from Frieren which I watched like 15 times and minded all the words from there, finishing that I’ve read 10 volumes of mushoku tensei (which had the worst main character so for who never learns and doesn’t think of people as human bearings, but the story is really fun). So for me right now it’s probably the easiest media to immerse.
By the way I’ve read this one, it was cute!
Thanks, I’ll check that out!
When I was 14 years old I got sucked in by the book called Harry Potter and methods of rational thinking, which is a 二次創作, and it tells a story about what if Harry was really into the science and used muggles knowledge.
Another one I’ve read so far and couldn’t stop reading because of the curiosity study is Mushoku Tensei, even if the main character is not in jail yet it was worth it.
Thanks for a lot of recommendations, I wasn’t planing on reading manga but I think I’ll try 魔男のイチ, sounds like something fun.
I though about reading Tolkien, but it I get stoped all the time, because it’s in English, and I’ll definetly get a lot of profit from reading it in it, but I don’t really want to practice my English because I want to practice Japanese So not reading for now.
That give me a good idea! I don’t use instagram, but I think I’ll find a few bookstore shop websites so I can just go there and see their new products.
I just wonder if I’ll be able to by from there, with Amazon thing didn’t go to well, I registered, bought a few books, and they blocked me, I’m still blocked
I can’t say I’ve ever ran into that issue with them and I’ve been using Kindle Japan overseas for years. Did you get a message stating why you were blocked?
Ah, that would do it. How long ago was this? You might be better off starting over with a new account if it’s been a while and they’re just not getting back to you.
Nice, took a not of that!
I forgot to write it, but I’m also looking for some less fictional things, so if you have other recommendations I’d like hear them!
Generally, I think it’s good to read a bunch of different stuff to get ready for N1
Is a modern classic in the popular science/history genre. I haven’t read the Japanese translation (from the original English), but it seems highly rated by native speakers.
When I’m studying for N1 I think I would enjoy reading it again in Japanese.
This genre of book is basically long sometimes opinionated essays about society and business and science. So, now that I think about it, it’s almost perfect N1 material.
Thought I’d chime in as I read for an hour or two a day!
One thing I find helpful is reading two books at a time (not literally at the same time, but you get the point haha). One is an “easy read” and one is a “difficult read.”
My easy reads are usually slice-of-life novels or something that just isn’t especially challenging. My personal picks over the last few months (and this has nothing to do with difficulty or books that I think would be good for someone at “x” level, purely personal preference) have been スーパーカブ, about a high school girl whose life changes after she buys a Honda Super Cub motorcycle (we did a book club on this one), and ビブリア古書堂の事件手帖, a mystery series centered around an old bookstore. Both are great because they use a lot of relatively simple, practical, and relevant Japanese. The advantage of books like these is building reading speed, which is going to be a key skill for N1.
My “difficult reads” have been things like 県庁おもてなし課, a fictional story inspired by the real-life おもてなし課 in 高知県. It uses more advanced dialogue and includes discussion about business, local government, finances, tourism, etc. Another good one is 本日は、お日柄もよく, which is about a young woman who discovers a passion for speechwriting. That one uses a lot of formal, political, and higher-level Japanese that is probably useful for something like the JLPT, but may be more difficult to come into contact with in everyday reading.
I’m not necessarily recommending either of those books specifically, but I’m using them as examples of what to look for in a good “JLPT prep/difficult read” book. The advantage of difficult reads is that they build up new vocabulary while also helping you learn to infer meanings, arguments, and themes from context, because chances are there will be some vocabulary you don’t know on the N1.
In terms of fantasy, you could definitely try Re:ゼロ. I enjoy it, but if you’re specifically focusing on JLPT N1 this December, I probably wouldn’t make fantasy your only reading material. Fantasy can use a lot of unusual, literary, abstract, or setting-specific vocabulary, so compared with contemporary fiction, some of what you learn may be less directly useful for the JLPT or daily life. That said, if fantasy is what keeps you reading consistently, then it’s still great practice.
As a side note, I’ve really been enjoying the ダンジョン飯 and ゴールデンカムイ manga over the last few months. I haven’t seen the anime version of either, but they’ve had me reading volume after volume haha. ゴールデンカムイ especially is great because it weaves in bits of real history, culture, and places from Hokkaido in the period following the Russo-Japanese War!
Thanks for a detailed post!
I don’t know if I’ll be able to use the advice about two series at a time, as I tend read everything altogether or just give up if I do not get sucked in.
This series sounds really interesting, I think I’ll try it!
As for rezero and dungeon meshi, I love them but watch as anime. Also, I started watching golden Kamui only this months!
I read the first volume and loved it. The style is beautiful, and the story is fun!
As for now I’m trying to read Log Horizon, which I started a little bit prior to making this post. It’s starting very slow, but I really like the language in which it’s written, also nothing has broken my immersion yet
I sent you a DM on Discord regarding this, since I had the same issue once, but idk if I can write that on the forums because the solution is a bit weird
(I have the next few volumes in the mail, nobody tell the book-buyers-rehab members). Between that and all the really, really good things I’ve heard, I’m tacking it on here. High fantasy, little girls learning magic from a twink wizard, I don’t know much about the plot beyond that (yet.) NOT fully furigana’d.
So not reading for now.