Tag: reading japanese

Tenkaradodon: A book review

On By Stefanie WhatIn reading1 Comment

After reading a novel geared more toward university students and up, my book club friend and I opted to try for a book more aimed for younger audiences. Having a craving for school-related shenanigans, we picked up this book: てんからどどん　by 魚住直子。

Meet Karin, a middle school girl who has a bunch of friends, a family who loves bad jokes, and who loves to speak her mind. In some cases, too much; her friends are on her case about comparing people to things. Why, though? Pigs are cute, right? What’s the big deal?

Meet Riko, a middle school girl who barely speaks in class. It’s true the lack of socializing has done wonders for her grades, but being alone has done a number on her self-esteem. She eats snacks for comfort, and as the school trip approaches, she desperately posts a message on the internet: “Someone please come kill me. I don’t want to endure this trip alone.”

The story follows these two girls as they board an elevator at the same time, and something magical happens that will forever change how they see the world around them.

This is a fun tale; picture Freaky Friday in a middle school setting and that’s what you’ll get. There are some darker subjects touched upon in this book- depression, loneliness, one’s “place” in a family-but there are some lighter, fun parts too. Karin takes the unusual situation they’re in very well, and considers it a great opportunity to change; Riko, not having any other ideas, follows along and is grateful for it.

For the most part, it’s set in their school, where their classmates notice something strange is up with the two girls but don’t know what. The reader gets to see each girl’s life, including interactions with their families. Despite the darker themes, it ends on a happy, hopeful note, albeit an abrupt one. I’m starting to wonder if that’s just a writing style choice in Japanese, as I experienced that in my previous read too.

In short:
Geared toward: Junior high schoolers and up. Some kanji, but lots of furigana and casual language.
Level required to read this book: I think you can comfortably read this at N3. I didn’t have to look anything up to understand and enjoy the book, but at N3 or lower you probably will need to.
Good for study: Speaking-wise, sure, it’s got great casual speaking and wordplay. If you’re looking for vocabulary for the JLPT, maybe not.
Length of time to read it: I didn’t keep track, honestly, because I was busy wondering what was going to happen next.
Read it again: Maybe. It’s enjoyable, but I’d prefer to see if the writer has published any other works.

Book-buying in another language

On By Stefanie WhatIn GeneralLeave a comment

…is, all things considered, very similar to purchasing a book in your native tongue.

All right, so, you’ve gotten enough vocabulary, grammar and determination to try reading in your second language of choice. What’s your first step? How do you survive without coming away with a book that a) you don’t understand or, even worse, b) don’t like?

There are some simple things you can do to help yourself out.

  1. Look online for recommendations. Before you even go to the bookstore, think of what you enjoy reading and put your favorite search engine to good use. Let’s say that I’m looking for good Light Novels in Japanese. Well, I could search “recommended Light Novels” in English, or maybe, “ライトノベルおすすめ” or maybe “ライトノベル人気”. Have an author you hear is good? Search for their name on your favorite book or shopping website and see what comes up.
  2. Know what section of the bookstore your novel will be in. I don’t mean look up a map of your bookstore before you go, but make sure you know what the name of the section is. Is it general fiction? A self-help book? An exercise guide? Knowing what category your book falls into will help you (and potentially the staff!) in finding something relevant to your interests.
  3. Look for a cool cover. Okay I know that sounds silly; insert saying about books, judging by their covers, etc., but I fully admit to being drawn to a cool cover. Let yourself have fun choosing books in whatever way works for you once you’re at the bookstore.
  4. Can you read the title? Now you’ve got a book in your hand. Can you read and understand it without having to look anything up? This is a pretty good measure for your level versus what you’re challenging yourself with.
  5. Can you read the first page? This part is a little more flexible. Read the first page. How long does it take you? Can you do it without looking anything up, or can you see a couple words you need to check? At this point, keep in mind that you do not need to understand 100% of what you see on that page. It’s totally fine to notice some things that don’t make sense- that happens in our native languages too, right? What should concern you is if you crack it open and only understand about 50% or less of what you see. If you get around 75% or so of what you’re reading, awesome, you’re at a good level for yourself.

Another possibility is the question “can you read the blurb inside the cover/on the back of the book”, which is a fair enough gauge too, but I find that reading the first page is a great way to see if you like the writing style, as well.

These are just some ways to find what you need in a bookstore; if you  have more ideas, please do share them!

Natural reading practice for Japanese

On By Stefanie WhatIn japan2 Comments

I’ve been in Japan long enough to have taken the JLPT multiple times; in December 2015 I came away with (barely!) passing the N2. Upon discovering this, students of English end up asking me what my secret is. How do I study?

The honest answer? ….I don’t. I am terrible at studying. I get into ruts where I won’t touch a textbook for months.

What I do do, however, is play.

I’m a bookworm at heart; in America I’ve got multiple boxes of childhood books I hope I’ll never lose. Since my time in Japan I’ve gotten well over a hundred books on my Kindle and multiple bookshelves worth of books, despite my efforts not to buy too many physical paperbacks. I have memories of spending my days at summer day camp in fifth grade curled up in a corner reading Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series.

It’s only natural that, upon coming to Japan, I had a goal in mind language-wise: to become literate in the native language.

As I said, I don’t go to textbooks for practicing reading (unless I have a test or am really stumped about a grammar point). Here are some of the things I have done to practice my reading.

  1. NHK’s Easy News. For those of you wanting to read current events and practice reading short essays, this is a good bet. All of the kanji have furigana and are easy to look up, the stories are short and simple, and many of the stories have audio you can listen to while you read. They also have an app version of the site for Android gadgets.
  2. 児童書、 or children’s books. The kids here have to learn how to read all of those crazy kanji too, y’know! Walking into a bookstore or library, the staff should be able to help point you to the right corner. Go for elementary school books if you want to get a feel for your actual level. If you’re N3 or higher, you should be able to tackle a junior high school level book. Many foreign books have been translated into Japanese, from Matilda to Lord of the Rings, so you can start off with something familiar to you before you dive into something entirely new.
  3. Comic books. If you enjoy reading manga or western comics, this is a great place to start. You get the pictures, of course, to help you with the context of whatever’s going on, and just like with regular books there’s a crazy amount of options out there depending on your interests/reading levels. I was working on the new Sailor Moon when I was around N4 level, but I feel like as long as you have a grasp on hiragana and katakana you should be able to settle in and work your way through. Please do note that for more “adult” comics they won’t use furigana as much, though, so check your comic before you buy/borrow! Again, starting with a series you’re already familiar with can help a lot.

If you’re actively studying Japanese in school, ask your teacher(s) if they have more resources to check out. I recall struggling through the Hiragana Times when I was in university and it helping me, as well.

Best of luck in reading!