Ascendance of a Bookworm (Light Novel), Part 1 Volume 1

本好きの下剋上 ～司書になるためには手段を選んでいられません～ [Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho Ni Naru Tame Ni Shudan wo Erande iraremasen] (Novel) #1

by Miya Kazuki, You Shiina (Illustrator), Quof (Translator)

A certain college girl who's loved books ever since she was a little girl dies in an accident and is reborn in another world she knows nothing about. She is now Myne, the sickly five-year-old daughter of a poor soldier. To make things worse, the world she's been reborn in has a very low literacy rate and books mostly don't exist. She'd have to pay an enormous amount of money to buy one.

Myne resolves herself: If there aren't any books, she'll just have to make them! Her goal is to become a librarian. This story begins with her quest to make books so she can live surrounded by them!

Dive into this biblio-fantasy written for book lovers and bookworms!

Genres: Light Novel, Fantasy, Manga, Fiction, Young Adult, Graphic Novels, Slice Of Life

297 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 25, 2015

About the author

Japanese author (香月美夜)

Kazuki started writing novels when she was in her second year of junior high school. After taking an entrance exam, she entered into a national university before graduating and becoming busy with work, stopping her from writing. Once she was married and her child entered kindergarten, Kazuki had more free time, which she used to start writing again. From 2013 onwards, she started publishing her novel Ascendance of a Bookworm on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō which saw success. In 2015, she officially debuted with said series under the T.O. Books imprint.

Reviews

[Ben Gessel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing.
Among a flood of current Japanese novels about getting stuck in fantasy worlds this one really stands out. Rather than being about a lonely teenager becoming the hero he's always dreamed of being, this story is about a bookworm college graduate getting transferred into the body of a young soldier's daughter living in near-poverty in a fantastic world.

In this new world our heroine, Main (pronounced like 'mine'), has only one goal: to surround herself with books. That's right. No saving the world, no rescuing damsels in distress, she just wants lots of books. Unfortunately books are expensive things only owned by nobles, and even learning to read is something most of the people in her city will never do. So begins Main's adventures to create her own cultural revolution.

Two things make this book, and the series it starts, absolutely amazing.
One is the amount of detail the author puts into the world. Since the whole story revolves around the life of a little girl in a fantasy village, the reader spends a lot of time finding out how the world works here. It is a very realistic representation of how lower-class people may have lived during medieval times. The author doesn't pull any punches. When Main first awakens in the new world she realizes just how dirty, pestilent, uncultured and restrictive life can be. Enough detail is poured in that tiny things like Main finally being able to live in a clean environment become major victories that the reader becomes invested in.

Secondly is Main herself. Most 'alternate universe hero' stories are shameless wish-fulfillment with mary-sue main characters. Main is not a mary sue. She is incredibly human, sometimes painfully so as she acts in selfish ways that are an obvious burden on her kind family. She has her ups and downs, just as any normal person does, and it is this humanity that makes it easy for any reader to relate to her. Since the whole story is told from her perspective we see some of her more selfish, petty thoughts but we can't honestly blame her because aren't there times when we all act only in our own self-interest? She feels true and real, and never during the story did I get tired of her voice as the narrator.

The Japanese in this one is a little thick, but not too difficult. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to graduate out of the typical wish fulfillment stories that run rampant in Japanese light novels these days.

[Denise ' - ' Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mah girl really said:
( ╯°□°)╯ ┻━━┻ gimme book!

Honestly I really enjoy books with op child protagonists. This girls just a lil' crazy... like she'll literally die without a book. Makes the series all the more dramatic tho. I actually learned alot from this book, Like the way paper is made... lez just hope the facts were actually correct. If one day I get isekaied to the past ill be able to make my own manga.

[Melissa McShane]

In this story, a young woman named Urano, who is obsessed with books, dies in a freak accident and is reborn in a different world--as a sickly five-year-old named Myne. Urano/Myne takes this in stride...right up until it turns out this world has no books. Paper is prohibitively expensive, literacy is uncommon, and nobles are the only ones who ever see books. Myne, daughter of a poor soldier, is doomed never to read another book--unless she figures out how to make them.

This light novel is the basis for an anime by the same name that I loved. It's a very laid-back, low conflict story whose primary draw for me was Myne's unrelenting desire to invent the book industry. The author has done her research, and Myne tries a bunch of different techniques for book-making, all of them with our-world historical precedent. It strikes me as odd that anyone would take a five-year-old seriously, or deal with her in business as if she were an adult, but that's easy to hand-wave because the story is engaging.

I read the LN because I was curious about isekai ("different world") fantasies and how the phenomenon works in Japan. I have a friend who's very into the whole thing, and he told me about the process--that in most cases, these anime start out as webnovels, which are picked up by traditional publishers as "light novels" (more on that later), and if they're successful they get turned into manga and/or anime.

I was not deeply impressed by this book. The writing style is spare and lacks depth, and I realized at one point that all my immersion came from recalling the episodes of the anime that covered the chapter I was reading. But then I came across the Goodreads listing for the book and was stunned at how highly rated it was. While I don't take ratings as gospel truth, the reviews attached to those ratings suggested to me that instead of this book being flawed, it was a different kind of writing with different expectations, and that I was not the target audience.

About this time, my isekai-loving friend stumbled on a book about how to write webnovels and light novels. I don't remember the title, unfortunately, but he told me a lot about its content, which goes far beyond instruction into an analysis of the webnovel/light novel phenomenon. Specifically, that its audience is primarily younger readers who grew up in a very visual world and who have very little time to give to reading. They read in short bursts, maybe no more than 10 minutes at a time, and they want cinematic prose without a lot of description or subtle characterization. ("Subtle" is the wrong word, because it implies that the opposite is bad; it's more like these readers would rather be told outright that a character is evil than have it revealed indirectly.)

All this brought this light novel into focus. Everything I was dinging it for turned out to be the draw for its intended audience. So I was left very torn about how to react to the book. I don't like criticizing a book solely because it's not what I wanted it to be, but there was part of me that could see how great it would be if the author's craft was different--"great" in this case meaning "more in line with my definition of good writing." Which is why I opted for not rating it and sticking with this review.

To sum up: if you're curious about Japanese light novels, this is a really good example and has a fun story. If you're expecting stellar prose and complex storytelling, and the plot as I've described it interests you, take a look at the anime instead.

[Ashley (wickedreads)]

reincarnation manga of a grad student who just wants to read reincarnated into a world with very little access to books

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's safe to say I've read a fair amount of manga and watched a decent amount of anime, but this was my first time trying a light novel and I'm not sure I'm completely sold on the idea yet. I've seen them described as young adult novels, but I'd actually place this particular story somewhere between middle grade and young adult, even though the character is college-age (though she's in a child's body.)

Urano, a Japanese woman obsessed with reading, dies and is reborn in a sickly child's body in a fantasy world where there are no books. The whole story is basically finding out that books, paper, and ink are all too expensive and she has to find a way to make them herself. There is no conflict nor villain other than there being no books. Everyone is nice and everything is wholesome, which to me made it all so boring.

As Myne, Urano is so incredibly naive and child-like that it's a bit off-putting. Her brain is that of an adult but it's as if she's regressed along with her body, though she's portrayed as being mature and smart yet has a decidedly one-track mind. I very obviously love books but her obsession with them is borderline creepy. There is more to life than books, and I say that as an introvert who is surrounded by them and rarely goes outside lol. Also, many of the things that have proven useful to her in this new world were learned with her mom who was trying to get her to do something other than read. The snippets that were shown of her as Urano honestly made her seem selfish and insufferable with her constant need for books, and this continues in the body of a sick whiny child - not the most enjoyable person to read about.

The writing style is also so simple that the story comes off a bit dull and lifeless, and Myne's "voice" is not what you'd expect from an adult. Could be a translation issue, but I don't think it is. You could say that she's a child now so she's going to act and think differently, but she's retained many skills and knowledge of her life in Japan so I don't get why she wouldn't still be an adult on the inside. It just didn't feel as believable to me as other isekai stories.

There were a few chapters I found interesting where she taught people how to cook different foods, but that was also kind of weird because nobody really questioned how a sick five-year-old who's been bedridden most of her life suddenly knows things her parents never did. Same with the lacework she made, and the items that don't exist in this world that she's asked others to make for her. Why does no one really think any of this is strange? They just accept it and smile without really saying anything about it. This isn't Dr. Stone-level of making items in a primitive world, but surely someone should have questions.

This is a long series and I'm not sure how much I want to learn about the process of making paper and books. I wish there was more conflict, I wish there was something more adversarial than "I'm now a sick kid in a world without books, woe is me." Maybe as the series progresses the world and characters are fleshed out better, or some of the things I have problems with get resolved, but at this point I think I need to try out a different light novel series to even see if this category of books is a good fit for me.

1.75

[Colleen Corgel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good start to a fantasy novel series that is an easy going isekai. Urano is a twenty something recent grad who is looking forward to starting her career as a librarian. Before she can even begin her job, she sucked into a fantastical world and is confined in the body of 6 year old Myne. Unfortunately, this world doesn't have any books, and Myne's family is poor. Urano then sets off to find ways to make her new family, and her life better.

I enjoyed that this was a fantasy along the lines of Spice and Wolf, where the focus is more on the lines of daily lives of the people living in the world, rather than huge events. It also did a great job at highlighting the effort and the value of what is considered traditionally "women's" work. Because Myne is so ill, she is often stuck at home helping her mother do the sewing, cooking, and prepping - things that were often not thought of as valuable, but are so important. A great example is the continuing arc of Myne's quest to keep her family more hygienic. She finds a way to make a shampoo that helps her family's hair stay clean and healthy looking, when a local merchant sees the reception of the results at a festival, he tries to get the formula out of Myne, but she refuses.

I do have a couple of complaints, and the main one is that it is very hard to tell where Myne ends and Urano begins. Myne often acts and speaks much older than her six years, yet she does seem to have a crush on fellow six year old, Lutz. It is really hard to tell if this his Myne's consciousness reacting to Lutz or if its Urano (to be fair she does freak out about it when it happens, and it only happens once). I'll piggy back off of the age thing, and say that the kids in this world are extremely well spoken - there's almost no distinction between them and the adults. I'm not sure if the translation was off, or the original text had a more adult tone to it. Either way, it is distracting.

Overall, though, I enjoyed the themes and the slightly different take on isekai as a genre. It's a strong first book, and I can see why it was adapted into an animation and manga. I look forward to seeing what is coming next.

[James Tullos · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn't the worst book I've read, it's just the most boring. I get that it's meant to be different from all the other isekai trash that dominates the light novel market, and I see the appeal, I really do. However, different does not mean better, or even good.

[Korynne · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 35%.

Urano loves books so much that they’re probably a detriment to her life at this point, and she literally dies by being crushed by a book avalanche. She is then reincarnated as Myne, a poor, young, sickly girl in a world where books are extremely rare and expensive. Desperately wanting to read books and not being able to get ahold of any, Myne resolves to make books herself. She then stumbles through this world—a historical medieval version of our world where poor commoners work hard to support the rich nobles and literacy rates are very low—trying to find materials she can use to construct a book.

I want to know what happened to the original Myne. Urano took her place, but where did Myne’s soul go now that Urano’s soul is in her body? Are details like that ever explained?

This is my very first light novel. I’ve read some manga in the past (primarily Fruits Basket), but never a light novel until now. I’ve had my eye on this series ever since it first was released though. Every day at work when I’d shelve the manga, I’d want to read Ascendance of a Bookworm because it always looked like the perfect series for me as a book lover.

This story wasn’t as much about books as it was about Myne navigating this new world and learning about life there. It’s a story that focuses heavily on day-to-day life rather than on a central plot, although there is the central plot of Myne trying to make books and eventually become a librarian that runs throughout the entire series. It’s nice that there is more going on than just the main storyline, but that also made the story feel really slow to me. I just kept waiting for something interesting with books to happen, but Myne takes her time squeezing oil from fruit to make shampoo, melting bone tallow into candles, helping gather firewood for the winter, watching her father slaughter a pig, going to the market with her mom, etc. Most of this story is not actually about books. I suspect it will be more in later volumes as she ascends, but this first book was largely a set-up for the world.

The writing was a little weird to me, like it didn’t flow very well and the dialogue was super stilted. I don’t know if that’s a translation problem or what. It reads as if someone read the manga and turned it into a novel, except I think this story was a light novel before it ever became a manga. Some of the phrases and descriptions sound like they’re straight out of manga panels though. It was kind of awkward to me. One sentence goes, “I was so embarrassed . . . I decided to double facepalm.” That sounds like a panel that was then directly turned into text, but “facepalm” works better as a drawing than as a written description, so it just came out sounding awkward.

I know the protagonist is five, but this book reads really young, like a five-year-old actually wrote it. The language, dialogue, descriptions, all of it. It feels to me like something a middle-schooler would write, you know during that phase when every middle-schooler is like, “I’m going to write a book!” but they have no training on how to write and don’t know how to foreshadow or properly use any literary devices so it all turns out pretty poorly written. That sounds so mean! But it’s true with this book, unfortunately.

I was really excited to start this series, but I actually really struggled to get through it. It felt like I was reading a full-length novel—it seemed so much longer than it actually was. Eventually, I just decided to quit because I was not enjoying my time.

I’m guessing that this first book is the worst of the series, mostly a set-up for more exciting events to come actually involving books later on (as this is a pretty long series). I intended to read the whole series of light novels because the concept is super cool to me, but I think I might give the manga a chance instead and see if that works better for me. I’m assuming the manga and light novels are essentially the same story just told in different mediums. I might also try out the anime as well. I really wanted to like this story, but I’m worried future installments of the light novels will feel like this one did, and I don’t want to read like 15 books that are just mediocre when I can enjoy the same story much better in a different way.

Ultimately, I liked the concept behind story—a girl who loves books getting reincarnated into a world with no books and then creating books for the people of that world and becoming that world’s first librarian—but it took too long to take off, it was not written well, and it was not quite what I expected. I am really sad that I did not like this book as much as I expected to because I have been hyping up this series for myself for almost two years now. I am really disappointed, so I hope at least the manga or anime will live up to my expectations.

My Book Blog: Storeys of Stories

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 ⭐️
I like the premise but seems over-written and would lend better as a manga

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book. I am 100% behind Myne and her fight for books! Cute and I really want to see her succeed. 4, thank you to my friend who loaned this to me onto the next, stars!

[Bernard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here is the thing. Writing about people becoming heroes is exciting. Writing about people who want to make paper so that they can read books is not all that exciting. Reading about hair decorations on one's older sister really isn't that thrilling.

People over coming adversity is always a good thing, unless it is overdone...

Honestly, not a horrible book, but frozen syrup moves faster.

[Mistborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a first book, it's pretty decent imo. Nothing big happen but it's really interesting to see how the protagonist struggling to live in a new world. I just wish plot can be a little bit faster but i guess the author want to focus more about the daily life in the beginning to set up the foundation for another stuff coming in the next couple books. The only thing that's make me annoyed about this book was the protagonist, i mean she basically an adult reincarnated and i can understand her love with book but sometimes she overreacting too much. Compare to the others kid which really mature than their age she's just look like a spoiled kid. She even fainted after seeing a death pig bruh. Just how privilege she was? I mean I understand that Japan really rich and most people just buying meat in the supermarket but come on it's so ridiculous. But luckily it's only happened in the first half of the book and she also improve in the later half so it's okay i guess? Although i have to say that's i think most people give up on this series because of the MC not the world itself, because she's really annoyed in the beginning that's even other characters also irritated too haha.

[Justus · Rating 1 out of 5]

This Japanese light-novel was mentioned in a discussion on fantasy novels that are slice of life or comfort reads. After liking Legends & Lattes I decided to give it a shot.

It is pretty terrible.

The first thing you need to know is that this is a modern Japanese "isekai" story. Isekai stories are about someone from our world getting transported to another world, usually some kind of fantasy world. Originally they were very much adolescent male power fantasies: a boy somewhere between 15 and 19 years of age, who is generally some kind of shut-in with no real friends and somewhat estranged from their family, who is a bit of a loser with no girlfriend and nothing else going for them in life gets whisked away to another world where they have power, prestige, respect, and usually numerous pretty girls vying for their affection.

In recent years authors have made numerous twists on the formula, in some cases moving away from the adolescent male power fantasies. Ascendance of a Bookworm is about a college-aged girl who is absolutely bonkers about reading who dies suddenly but is reincarnated in the body of a 5-year old girl in a medieval-ish world.

A lot of her reactions make no sense whatsoever to a reader who isn't deeply steeped in the isekai genre. She doesn't miss her family or her friends. There is no grief at all. She doesn't even miss them. She doesn't even think about them. She doesn't wonder what happened to the 5-year old girl who's body she now inhabits. (Is the girl dead? Does that mean she killed her?)

All of that makes sense in the traditional isekai story because they are about maladjusted boys with a chip on their shoulder who think they are alone in the world. But this character is nothing like that. But having a character have to process trauma would derail the lightweight story the author wants to tell.

You just sort of have to...accept it. I did, because I've read a fair number of other isekai stories but I just wanted to point out how insane it is for anyone who isn't steeped in the genre.

So what is the story? A 20-year old girl is thrown into the body of a 5-year old child. She wants to read books but this is a medieval world where hardly anyone can read and what few books exist are extraordinarily expensive and in the hands of rich nobles. So she sets out to make her own books.

How, you might ask, can you possibly have a story about a 20-year old in a 5-year old's body? Wouldn't her family know immediately that something is up. Like when she talks like a grown person and not a 5-year old? Or when she does something that 5-year olds can't possibly know about yet? Or when she acts like a 20-year old and not a 5-year old?

This is where the everything fell down for me. Because the author completely failed to handle this in any kind of believable way. Possibly the worst scene in the book is when a 5-year old compliments her on her hair.

“You smell nice too, Myne.” Lutz smiled warmly while looking directly at me with his jade green eyes.

Oh... Oh no! Lutz has a powerful color scheme! Golden blonde hair and jade green eyes alone make him look like a super cool, handsome guy!

“Plus, you look a lot cuter now that you’re pinning your hair back and I can see your face better.”

Hyaaaah! A finishing blow! Even though he’s a little kid, I’m feeling super embarrassed! I know he’s not doing it on purpose, but goodness! Please, stop! I may be kinda old, but I’ve never experienced anything like this! I don’t know what to do!

No 20-year old reacts that way to a 5-year old. She's blushing, her heart is hammering, she's frozen in place because a 5-year flirted with her.

This isn't an isolated occurrence. It happens constantly. Is she a 20-year or a 5-year old? The author tries to have it both ways. Occasionally she pulls it off but mostly fails. It never feels like a believable 20-year old or a believable 5-year old.

Meanwhile, every interaction with her family feels fake. The very first thing she does in this world is invent washing her hair and cleaning her face. (Of course, this is complete bullshit, people in the middle ages used soap and cleaned themselves. That they didn't is a bizarre modern myth.)

Nobody in her family thinks it weird when she invents shampoo. Or when she invents scented candles. (Again, scented candles have been a thing since 500 B.C., people in the middle ages weren't stupid.) Or when she knows how to remove impurities from boiled fat. (Again, apparently people in the middle ages were stupid.) Or...you can see where this is going.

One of the shticks is that she can speak the local language but she is limited to whatever words the 5-year girl had learned. Anything the girl didn't know comes out in Japanese. So, for instance, she doesn't know the word for "paper". This is a big plot point.

“Tuuli, do you know where (paper) is sold?”

“What’d you say, Myne?”

“I said (paper)... Ah!”

Tuuli tilted her head, braid shaking, in a gesture that felt very familiar. She was making the same expression that she did when my words ended up as Japanese and she didn’t understand. I didn’t know how to say “paper” in this place’s language.

Oh no...! I should have asked that pawn stand guy what paper is! “Um, Tuuli, you don’t know what (paper) is...?”

“Sorry. I don’t. The word sounds kinda funny though.”

My shoulders slumped and I let out a heavy sigh.

Of course, the whole exchange is stupid. In reality, someone would say, "You don't know what (paper) is? What's the thing that books are made out of?" (She knows the word for books.)

This kind of thing also happens constantly. She doesn't know the local word for something so she....just...gives up. Have you ever been in a foreign country where you know the language but not fluently? That's not what anyone does. You try to explain it. You describe it. And so on.

This is a self-published book and it shows. The writing is absolutely terrible. It was really, really, really hard for me to get past that.

Some people might be okay with it. They might be interested in the vaguely Dr.STONE 1 like progression as she tries to reinvent modern book publishing from the ground up, while not actually knowing about how any of it works. (Early sections has her trying to make papyrus to write on, then decides that's way too hard....)

But it definitely wasn't for me.

[LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Urano is a Japanese college graduate who's absolutely obsessed with books and reading. Both she and her mom are thrilled when she gets a job at a library, but before she even has a chance to start, an earthquake causes Urano's book collection to fall on her and kill her. She wakes up in the body of a sickly 5-year-old child named Myne.

Although Myne's memories tell her that she loves her parents and older sister and they love her back, it's a little difficult for her to connect with them emotionally, since they feel mostly like strangers to her. Still, she tries to adjust to her life as best as possible, arranging things so that both she and her new family's cleanliness is improved and trying to make something resembling Japanese food without any of the proper ingredients, not even rice. The thing that's hardest for her to take, however, is the complete lack of books. The nobility can afford books, but poor commoners like her own family can't. Rather than succumb to despair, however, Myne/Urano (who I will refer to as Myne from here on out, although the real Myne is technically dead) decides that she will somehow make her own books.

As is the case with many, many recent light novels, I like the idea behind this series more than its execution. In the afterword, the author says they (I think the author is female, but I'm not 100% sure) refused to abridge Part 1 into a single volume, which I think was a mistake. I wish Japanese light novel publishers/editors were a bit firmer with their authors - far too many light novels are filled with self-indulgent bloat, and Ascendance of a Bookworm is no exception.

As I learned with My Next Life as a Villainess, though, I can be more forgiving of problems in light novels if aspects of them overlap with my interests. In this instance, the book got points for having a book-loving heroine, and the self-indulgent bloat was mostly focused on Myne's efforts at bookmaking. I was interested to see what she'd come up with next and how she'd manage it, considering that it took her weeks just to work up the strength to walk to the forest on her own.

But was it really necessary to go into that much detail on several of Myne's attempts to make something paper- or book-like? Probably not. Same with Myne's various food-making, cleanliness, and personal hygiene efforts. Literally every idea Myne had involved a long, multi-step process to figure out if this world even had the supplies she needed, if those supplies were accessible in some way to commoners, and then how to get those supplies and use them, considering that Myne's body was so weak that overexerting herself could result in being bedridden with a fever for multiple days.

Myne won me over at the very beginning due to her love of books. She was the sort of person who'd find a way to read whenever she could, and she didn't care about anything except making sure she continued to have access to books and reading time. It didn't bother her if other people thought she was odd. However, this single-minded focus eventually began to wear on me. For one thing, in a world like the one she ended up in, it made Myne seem immensely selfish. Her family was literally dirt poor, and she kept asking for things with barely a thought as to whether they could afford them or spare the time to get them. For another, she'd occasionally have tantrums more appropriate to her physical age than supposed mental age when things didn't go her way. Honestly, Tuuli, Myne's 6 or 7 year old sister, usually came across as more mature than Myne, whose mind was supposedly that of a college graduate.

Like many recent light novels, this was unfortunately written primarily in the first person. The author knew enough about POV to realize that different first person narrators would have different sets of knowledge (there were a couple bonus stories written from a couple non-Myne POVs), but not enough to create truly distinct voices (or maybe that was a translation issue?). Also, as with other J-Novel Club books I've read, there were several typos that really should have been caught before this made it to print - a sentence with really odd comma usage, a stray "1" at the end of a sentence, incorrect words like "first" instead of "fist," etc.

Despite my issues with this book, I'm glad I have the next one and can continue on. The end of the volume introduced a few characters and a shift in the storyline that I'm very interested in seeing play out. Although I'm sure that Myne will continue to be more focused on books than anything else, it looks like the series may add some economic aspects, similar to Spice & Wolf and Accomplishments of the Duke's Daughter. And since that may mean more appearances by one of my favorite characters in this book, a traveling merchant turned soldier named Otto (whose level of devotion to his wife makes him this series' version of Maes Hughes), I'm looking forward to it even more.

I really wish this had been the more tightly written novel it could have been, but so far this is decent.

Extras:

A folded page with full-color illustrations on both sides, black-and-white illustrations throughout, a map of the portion of the town Myne has access to, a drawing of Myne's family's home, and two bonus short stories, one from Lutz's POV and one prequel from Urano's friend Shuu's POV.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the manga better than this original light novel. Oftentimes, nothing was really happening. Which made it cozy but I'm too old and bitter to not fall asleep with stuff like this. I do like the weird little world building though and am giving it 3 stars because I did enjoy it, and got some memorable stuff out of it.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so different. I like that the goal of the main character is not to save the world, but instead to basically educate it and surround herself with books. The world building is fantastic, and all the characters are phenomenal. I think what I love most about this series so far is that everyone acts reasonably with the information they have. There is a little bit of self-centered thinking from the protagonist herself, but it usually has to deal with books.
All of the major points of contention between people in this is because one side did not have enough information, or sickness, or lack of technology to achieve the goal. Most importantly plot does not happen because people were acting stupid/petulant/crazy over whatever issue.
I also really liked the small bombshell of plot at the end, and I cannot wait for the next installment!

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick thoughts: Interesting but contrived. Overall I wanted to like this more than I did. There's a lot of impressive research and knowledge behind this and clever moments, but they're undermined by the setup, approach, and certain omissions. Ok read that could have been more. Though a strong epilogue leading into volume 2 does indicate some of my issues with this might be addressed there.

[Eressea · Rating 5 out of 5]

20230503 2nd read
為了把閱讀器裡剩下沒看的第四部劇情接上
從第一部開始重看
也太多本了吧，恐怖呦Orz
--
20200204購入KOBO版，皇冠終於想通啦~
--
20181128 借自新竹市圖

KOBO沒有獲得電子書授權
圖書館又超難借，排隊排半天總算湊齊第一部

書癡穿越到魔法風中世紀異世界
第一本還看不太出異世界的設定
不過書裡對普通平民房間的描述
好像蒙塔尤裡寫的中世紀鄉村農民住宅喔
看到這段讓我對世界觀設定很有興趣了~
是巧合還是作者有認真做功課啊?

希望第二部不要太難借到
順便提醒一下自己要把蒙塔尤看完

[Bloomingdale Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessica says: I've been on a Japanese light novel kick lately, and I feel this series is one of the best isekai series out there. The main protagonist, Myne, is obsessed with books and libraries, but being reborn as a sickly, poor commoner in a medieval, magical world leaves her struggling to obtain even one book. While the series touches on typical isekai tropes (introducing technology, food, and ideas from her own world; the main character's upward mobility; a quirky main character with extremely helpful knowledge/skill set), I feel the author's world-building, details, and slice-of-life realism make this series stand out. The setting and characters greatly expand as the series continues (the English translation is up to Volume 16 as of December 2021), and Myne is a delightful book gremlin who cares deeply about her family and fellow commoners.

Note: This is the ISBN 9781718356009, since there's also a manga version of this title with the exact same name.

[Shu Wei Chin · Rating 4 out of 5]

My bookworm girl Urano really just died from getting crushed by a bookshelf in modern day Japan, and then managed to get her soul transported to a medieval fantasy-esque world as a commoner too poor, sickly and young to even get paper or ink. I-

I love it. This is a really easy and so far, low stakes read. It is a perfect read at night when I'm already exhausted or in tandem with my more intense books. I adore our main girl, fellow book fanatic Urano, reincarnated as the adorable Myne.
Even though this is a novel, there are a few absolutely ADORABLE art spread sporadically throughout the book. Just look at how she is after finding slate and chalk!!


There are still many volumes to go, in which I'm really hoping we get some more juicy insight into Myne's sickly condition, as well as more worldbuilding and character development. Onto Volume 2!!

[Anna Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to the audio for this light novel, as they're finally being released in English! The narrator was so good, she sounded just like Myne does in the English Dub for the anime. It was a nice fun Isekai story, with a low stakes daily slice-of-life plot. I will be glad to continue this series when I need something light hearted and easy.

[Patrícia⁷ · Rating 2 out of 5]

The anime is so much better.

[Kristi Hovington · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an adorable manga/light novel about being obsessed with books, which is completely relatable to me. Very cute story.

[Niall Teasdale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this a while ago and have been putting it off reading for a couple of reasons, one of which is that the anime version of Bookworm is one of my favourites. It's kind of the antidote to generic isekai anime and I can't wait for the next season to come out. But would the book match up to my expectations...

So, a book-obsessed Japanese college student named Urano is about to graduate and start her dream job as a librarian when she's killed in an earthquake, crushed under a toppling stack of books. Her last wish is to live her next life surrounded by books, so when she wakes up in a world where the printing press has yet to be invented, she's not happy. She is, in fact, somewhat irate. To make matters worse, she's now inhabiting the body of Myne, the second daughter of a soldier and a dye worker. They're poor. Dirt poor. Her chances of ever seeing another book are about as high as her reaching the moon. And she's a sickly child, weak and barely able to walk down a flight of stairs without stopping to rest for five minutes. Apparently, when they rolled the dice for her reincarnation, she got a critical miss. She decides that if she can't buy a book, she'll make one, and thus begins her adventure.

Clearly, this is not your typical isekai. Action packed it is not. Myne is not the superpowered prodigy that's going to defeat the demon king (because there isn't one just for starters). Her aim is to survive long enough to make a book. She has some advantages being a 20-something mind in a child's body, but her disadvantages are a list so long it would fill its own book. She is alarmingly competent in areas that prove useful when stuck in a medieval world, but she screws up a lot and success does not come easy to her. She can't even read and write when she starts out (though she does get to magically understand the spoken language). Just the fact that she's not hypercompetent is a refreshing change. She actually does have a sort of superpower, but at this point in the story it's not apparent, and it also happens to be killing her, so I don't think you could describe her as OP.

The worldbuilding is excellent. A lot of thought has gone into Myne's world. In this volume, the reader can see that there are some fantastical elements to it, but Myne hasn't figured it out yet because they really aren't very overt at all. There's a radish that screams when you cut it. She's told to sear some mushrooms otherwise they'll 'dance' when she tries to cut them up. She hears about a tree with a totally weird lifecycle, and if she'd seen it, she might have figured out what kind of world she's in, but she did not. She thinks she's in a mundane medieval world and, to all intents and purposes, she is. And it's very detailed, though you'll see less of it in this volume since Myne spends a lot of time at home, too sick to really see what's outside the front door. Still, you get the feeling you could live in this world if you had to. Pray you never have to.

Differences from the anime: More detail on a bunch of stuff. There's a big chapter on cooking (because this is a light novel) which became a lot less in the TV version. Anime Myne is less obsessed with Japanese food replication. Novel Myne is, as I was worried she would be, less likeable than anime Myne. I've had this happen before. The more internal monologue you get to see, the more their characteristics make you want to slap them. Both versions are obsessed with book to a degree that exceeds reason. Anime Myne stops being quite such a selfish brat faster. Urano may have been in her twenties, but she acts like a petulant thirteen-year-old. Which I think is true in both versions, but it's just more obvious in the novel. There are a couple of bits in the book trimmed from the anime, probably for length, but it's not much. For some reason, Tulli's hair ornament is lacework in the novel and crochet in the anime. And Tulli became Turi, even in the English voicework.

Fundamentally, I may be going a little easy here because I like the anime, but this is a good read. Despite cutting off quite early in Myne's story (the first 'volume' is split into several parts), you do get a strong feeling of progression, and you're left wanting to know more. The world is complex and interesting. Even if the protagonist isn't quite as likeable as she could be, you can empathise with her, and you want to see her succeed. Technically, the end is a cliffhanger, but it doesn't feel like one; more like a natural break before the next part of the story starts.

I recommend this book, so long as you don't want sex and violence in your fiction. I'd even recommend it to people who don't necessarily like light novels or fantasy. I suppose it's a little like 'Game of Thrones' or something in that respect: at the start, there's no fantasy in this fantasy.

[Paige · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not sure light novels are for me. I love how ordinary & every day the storyline is. I love these kinds of details. But somehow it’s lacking depth. There’s idiosyncrasies that leave me scratching my head perpetually. Also am not sure I like the main characters being 5 years old. It’s a strange mix of both immature & too mature. It feels like the reincarnation into a young body serves the sole purpose of frustrating the autonomy of the protagonist of doing…anything? I mean, I can get that, I suppose…but I don’t like it. Maybe I am not the target audience? My 7 yr old would probably like this.

[TheBookishHobbit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series! It is about a young Japanese woman named Urano Motosu, who is a huge bookworm who got excepted to become a librarian! But, ironically, was crushed to death in an avalanche of books during and Earthquake. She was then reincarnated as a sickly five-year-old named Myne. Worst of all... this world has not books! Which means she must make her own!

I love this adventure and I think the reader also learns about bookmaking along the way. The characters are great and the plot moves along well. I can relate to Myne and I don't know how I would react if I were in a world without books... I would probably be on the quest to make my own too! The writing was great, especially since I'm not typically a fan of how light novels are written, however I could see everything in my mind's eye. The story was charming as well and I am excited to follow this series until the end!

[Steff Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oof, as a series overall, I was rather excited about this one and I did have quite a fun time reading it. As a "light novel," I just don't think it works as well. There's a ton of really wonky stuff filling Myne's story. Her world is incredibly strange, though this is intentional. The way she interacts with the world is definitely off, due to her being a reincarnated college student, and it's at times interesting how the family and everyone around them react to her.

I dunno. I do love the premise, but I've never been massively fond of the execution in either format. But I can say that it's done far better in the Manga.

[Cesco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book during Covid and quickly fell in love with the story and the amazing characters. What is making me come back to it after so long is that, #1 more people need to read this series since it’s so underrated and has a beautiful and unique story to tell. #2 a cozy fantasy can be enjoyed by anyone and that’s exactly what this is!
This series is great for anyone looking for cozy fantasy, found family, a wild magic system, political intrigue, stellar world building and so much more.
PS. The books are super short and are quick reads, you’ll devour the series quickly 👀

[amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

i wanted to like this... but i didn't like the main character. the premise is good. i just couldn't get into it.

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally done! This felt like the never ending book. I liked it but it was on the tedious side. I think I will stick with the manga going forward.