好きな日本語の本は何ですか。

[Atsuko]

Please write either in English or Japanese.

[[deleted user]]

私はマンガをよむのが好きです。

But, I'm still a beginner, so I read the English translations. I would like to read more adult fiction, too, so I hope to get some suggestions from the group.

[Atsuko]

Jeannette さん
コメントをありがとうございます！

好きなマンガはなんですか。どのマンガをよみましたか。

We are planning to develop a list of Japanese books for Japanese learners including adult fiction. So, please keep us posted!

[[deleted user]]

These are my current series, Atsuko さん: (how is your name written?)

Twin Spica, Volume: 01
Bunny Drop 1
Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 1

I enjoy a good story, a little romance, and not much violence or sex. :)

One of my top favorites is:

From Far Away, Volume 1

[[deleted user]]

I would also love recommendations for Japanese-language films, not necessarily anime, although I do enjoy watch anime.

[図書館屋 Sharon the Librarian]

Jeannette,
Thank you for the manga recommendations. I have read almost none except for Haikara-san ga toru (set in Meiji/Taisho period) and Asakiyumemishi (the genji story).

Personally, one of my earliest favorites was さとうさとる's　コロボックル stories. It is like the Borrowers but the korobokkuru have Ainu characteristics. A few years ago I read through all of the Uehashi Nahoko Moribito books as well as the Toshokan senso series.

Right now I am reading R.D.G. red data girl. It is about a young girl raised in a remote Shinto shrine.

[図書館屋 Sharon the Librarian]

Two movies that I have seen recently that I really liked and have manga are 星守る犬 (Hoshi mamoru inu) and ちょんまげぷりん (purin samurai). The first one is sad - I actually cried on the airplane watching it - about a man and his dog. The second one is a time slip and a samurai comes into the 20th century, and tries to adapt to contemporary Japan.

[[deleted user]]

Thanks, Sharon, for the manga, and the movie recommendations. I will look for them.

My family really enjoyed でんしゃおとこ.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0456121/

We saw a movie on a trans-Atlantic flight called "April Bride" -- a real weeper! (A girl with cancer movie)

I would really like to see うさぎドロップ because I love the manga & the anime, and I would love to see more from Ken'ichi Matsuyama.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1672214/

(This is a recent release, not yet on dvd.)

[図書館屋 Sharon the Librarian]

Densha Otoko is an interesting example - there is a novel, a manga, and a movie. I think the tie-ins are helpful for language learning.

Another one that Atsuko and I have looked at is ホームレス中学生. Novel, simplified novel, manga, and a movie. Lots of options for language learning.

[[deleted user]]

I managed to find a cover photo for this book on the publisher's website. :)

[Atsuko]

Hi Jeannette and Sharon,

Thank you for the interesting thread!

星守る犬 sounds great since many students love 犬。There is a famous story about a man and his dog called "Hachi", and my students really like the "Hachi" story (you can cry, too) in the original version. There is an American version of "Hachi" movie starred by Richard Gere.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1028532/

Shall we dance? is also a very popular movie, and there is a remake version by Richard Gere. It is interesting to see Japanese v.s. American version to compare.

P.S. わたしのなまえは、「温子（あつこ）」です。

[[deleted user]]

ありがとうございます温子さん！　温子さんは、「Richard Gere」が 好きですか。^.^

I have heard of both of Gere's movies, and did not realize they have Japanese counterparts. I have the Japanese version of Shall We Dance in my netflix queue.

[[deleted user]]

I have invited a few people to this group, and I hope they post soon.

I would love to know a little bit more about the two of you, and why you formed this group. Maybe you could start an "Introductions" thread?

[Atsuko]

Jeannetteさん

Thank you for inviting your friends to this group! Yes, we should start an "Introduction" thread soon ^^

わたしは、リチャード・ギアはハンサムだと思います。好きでもきらいでもありませんよ :D

[Annick]

Hi! New person here!　I've been studying Japanese for quite a few years now, I recently went to Japan and bought several books :-D!

赤川次郎の本が結構好きです。　彼の本は読みやすくて、本当に楽しいですよ。
I quite like Akagawa Jirou's books. They're easy, fun reads. One of his series is now being turned into a drama. I regret not buying the first book in Japan, will probably still buy it soon... :).

If you like short stories, then you should check out　星新一 (Hoshi Shinichi)。　彼のストリーは短くて、読みやすいです。特に「気まぐれロボット」という本は初心者にいい本です。 His stories are short and easy to read, especially his book 'Kimagure Robotto'.

吉本バナナの本も読んだけど・・・あまり好きじゃないんです。 I love some of Yoshimoto Banana's stories, but most of them don't appeal to me at all. I either love her stories or don't care for them at all, haha.

Anyway, I hope this helps someone! :-)

[図書館屋 Sharon the Librarian]

Hi Annick!
Welcome to the group. 楽読会へようこそ！

I hadn't read any Hoshi Shinichi until I started working with Japanese language students at the University. They are popular and easy to read. Akagawa Jiro is great and fun. In school many professors used/use Yoshimoto Banana because her writing style is very easy to understand.

Try Ekuni Kaori 江國香織. She also has a clean writing style but writes on very different topics than Banana.

Personally I read children's/YA fantasy fiction. One of my first favorites was 佐藤さとる.

[Annick]

Hi Sharon!

Thanks for the recommendations! Ekuni Kaori's books seem interesting so I'll try hers when I get the chance!

I also want to recommend カラフル (Colorful), written by　森絵都 (Mori Eto). It's a fairly easy read and it touches on topics like suicide and bullying without being overly depressing. There's an animated movie too.

[Atsuko]

Hi Annickさん

本の紹介を書いてくれてありがとうございます！私は、温子です。今、アメリカで日本語を教えています。

赤川次郎の本は、読みやすいですね。ミステリーもおもしろいと思います。私も星新一が好きで、ショートショートを読みましたよ。でも、気まぐれロボットは読んだことがないので、夏休みに読んでみようと思います。吉本ばななは、私もあまり好きじゃないんです。少しゆっくりしていて、夢の中にいるような気がします。

Thanks for your recommendations! It is very helpful to read. I would like to read カラフル and watch アニメの映画! By the way, what books did you buy from Japan?

[Annick]

温子さん、こんにちは!

日本語を教えるのは楽しいですか。 My teacher says she really enjoys it so I'm wondering if you do too.

Here's the list of books I bought in Japan:

三毛猫の恋占い
三毛猫ホームズの四捨五入 - 赤川次郎
三毛猫ホームズの大改装(リニユーアル) - 赤川次郎
僕とおじいちゃんと魔法の塔 volume 1-4 - 香月 日輪
名のないシシャ - 山田 悠介
植物図鑑 - 有川 浩
ZOO 1 - 乙一
秘密の花園 - 三浦 しをん
君はポラリス - 三浦 しをん
神の子どもたちはみな踊る - 村上 春樹
探偵ガリレオ - 東野 圭吾
予知夢 - 東野 圭吾
心霊探偵八雲〈1〉赤い瞳は知っている　- 神永 学
ラン - 森 絵都
つきのふね - 森 絵都

Some were recommendations by other people, others I bought because I was interested in checking out the authors/stories. I know there are some books that are still too hard for me to read right now, but that's okay, will keep those for later.^^

I regret NOT buying certain books in Japan. I will probably order those soon because I still really would like to read them, haha!

[Atsuko]

Annickさん

Annick（アンニック？)さんの先生とおなじで、私も日本語を教えるのは、とても楽しいですよ。昨日、期末試験が終わりました。今日から、私の学生に会えないので、少しさびしいです。

日本でたくさん本を買ったんですね。また、本を読んだら、感想（かんそう）を教えてくださいね。

たくさん日本語の本が読めるので、すごいなと思っています。それで、質問です。Annickさんは、どのくらい日本語を勉強しているんですか。漢字はどのくらい知っていますか。今とっている日本語のクラスのレベルは、どのくらいですか。

たくさん質問を聞いてごめんなさいね。
時間がある時に、お返事ください＾＾

[Annick]

アニクもいいですよ。 Some people write アニック too. And others prefer to say アニー/アンニー. 今日はアントワープの「日本語を話そう会」に行きました。 I think a certain lady called me 'Anni'. This has happened to me before, Japanese people seem to like to shorten my name to Anni, I wonder why... Not that I mind though!

夜間学校で六年間、日本語を勉強しています。今年は六年生になりましたけど、六年生が少ないので、今年は最後です・・・　とてもさびしいです!　もっと日本語を勉強したくて、大学で日本語を勉強しようと思います。 I think that grammar wise (what I've learnt in class), I should be around level N3 (日本語能力試験), reading wise, probably around N2.

本を読むのが大好きで、たくさん漢字を勉強しました(自習)。　たぶん１４００~１５００字を知っています。 でも最近は忙しくて、あまり読みません・・・

[Atsuko]

アニーさん

お返事をありがとう！
夜間学校で６年間も日本語を勉強しているんですね。じゃあ、ずいぶん文法（ぶんぽう）も知っているんでしょうね。漢字は自分で１５００字ぐらい勉強したというのには、おどろきました。１５００字ぐらい知っていると、たいていの日本語の本やマンガが読めると思います。

大学で日本語が勉強できるといいですね。ぜひ、勉強を続けていってください＾＾！！

[Julia]

Jeanette, I found that, while some manga are rather difficult, shoujo manga and the likes tend to be easy reads even for beginners, as most of them have furigana over the kanji.

I also like to read Yoshimoto Banana's novels or short stories in Japanese. They're quite easy reads, too, for someone like me whose kanji abilities are... let's say not on the same level as my speaking and listening abilities. *cough*

[Annick]

My problem is that I don't like Yoshimoto Banana's stories much. There's one that I loved but most just didn't appeal to me.

[図書館屋 Sharon the Librarian]

I have not gotten back here for a while. I now have a room full of books - particularly short story collections - that are perfect for you guys. Annick - tell me who you like or what kind of stuff (horror, fantasy, SF, humor) and I'll post some recommendations. You can borrow them through interlibrary loan - or read the first 10-15 pages online.

Sharon

[Annick]

I like everything, except for horror (although I do like Otsuichi!). I like fantasy the most though :).

[図書館屋 Sharon the Librarian]

Annick, Have you tried Wataya Risa 綿矢りさ　or Kanehara Hitomi 金原ひとみ　Kawakami　Hiromi　川上弘美 or some of the other more contemporary women writers? If you don't like Yoshimoto Banana (and I must say I don't) try Ekuni Kaori 江國香織 instead. Very pretty Japanese and nice stories. She has done some wonderful short stories, some picture books, and of course novels.

[Julia]

I'm a little wary of recommending Kawakami Hiromi to someone who doesn't like Yoshimoto. They're different, of course, but they do have rather similar aspects, too, and unfortunately Annick didn't elaborate on what bothers her about Banana's stories.

I guess Murakami Haruki has some short stories that are easier to read than his monstrous novels, but not as easy as Yoshimoto or Hoshi Shin'ichi.
Wataya Risa... I personally did not like writing, at least what I've come across this far.
If you like more extrem stuff, how about Kanehara Hitomi? I've never read her in Japanese (she's too intense for my liking), but I can't imagine her prose to be very elaborate.

Maybe try 携帯novels, or online stories? Those are fairly easy to read and used to be quite popular two or three years ago. A few were turned into dramas as well, like 恋空 or　赤い糸. Of course, the prose is rather simple than beautiful, and the two examples I mentioned above are very, well, dramatic.

[Annick]

I just don't care for Yoshimoto's characters, I can't relate to them (most of the time) but I do enjoy the way she describes feelings & scenes. I read some of Murakami's short stories but I had the same problem with his characters.

I've read a bit of 恋空, I didn't like it at all :-/.

I will definitely try Ekuni Kaori when I get the chance.

[Julia]

I see what you mean. I've read a LOT of Yoshimoto's books, and while I love Kitchen and its characters, most of the other ones are too different from me to relate to, at least in terms of their love lives. Banana does describe feelings and "world truths" very well, but why on earth does almost every female protagonist in her stories have to have an affair with an older/married guy?
Maybe you will like Kawakami Hiromi, then. 先生の鞄 also has the older guy topic, but another book about some Mr. Nakano (don't remember the full title) doesn't and I really enjoyed it. It has a similar feel to Yoshimoto's books, but without the whole occult themes.

As for Murakami, I totally agree. He's a great writer, but his characters - who are all the same in like every book - seem too detached to relate to.

And yeah, I haven't read 恋空 neither have I watched the drama/movie, but it seems to be rather... overdone. Same for 赤い糸.

I have Miyabe Miyuki on my to-read list, maybe look her up?
I also really like Higashino Keigo, but I don't think I could read his books in Japanese. The TV shows made of them are fine, but as I said, my speaking and listening skills are way better than my kanji abilities...

[Annick]

I have some Miyabe Miyuki books lying around but I haven't gotten around to them yet.

My friend recommended ガールズ・ブルー to me a while ago so I gave it a read. I quite liked it.

I started reading いま、会いにゆきます but it seemed kind of predictable so I've put it aside for a while. Will hopefully pick it back up later.

今は赤川次郎の本を読んでいます。やっぱり赤川さんの本が好きなんです。w