Favorite books of 2024

Japanese Reading
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Well, the end of the year draws near, so I thought it would be fun to share our favorite books among those we read this year. They do not need to have been published this year, mind you, just that you read them this year.

You may also say “there’s a full month left!”, but Booklive has already published their best (selling) ranking for 2024. I will follow their categories as well, but you don’t have to!
Edit: and I will now update it!

Best shonen/seinen manga

Well, best seinen has to be https://learnnatively.com/book/3b6ff12bc7/ for me.
I really enjoyed https://learnnatively.com/book/9b5ce1509f/ (12th place on Booklive), but it feels kinda weird to put a last volume in here :sweat_smile:

For shonen manga (already breaking the Booklive template), https://learnnatively.com/book/bd48d0853c/ was my absolute favorite, BUT honorable mention to https://learnnatively.com/book/3453e74bcc/ for the strong gay undertones typical of the author; I don’t really care about the sport itself and https://learnnatively.com/book/6dd4eff80d/ (4th place on Booklive)

Best shojo/josei manga

For best josei, I would say https://learnnatively.com/book/c53e79f027/. I loved the atmosphere. It felt similar to https://learnnatively.com/book/87d475501a/, but josei (even I don’t think I make sense, don’t worry).

For best shojo, huh, none? Among new things, at least. I guess I will break my previous statement and say https://learnnatively.com/book/5bfb1c1bea/. I did enjoy https://learnnatively.com/book/7712bf3f50/, but it requires to be read in a braindead state.

LN

For 男性向け, I would say https://learnnatively.com/book/90b1f9c221/ … well, the later half of the series, at least. There’s some pretty sus content in the earlier volumes, but I guess it makes sense since the main character is underage. In latter volumes, I liked the fact that the main character (1) did get in a relationship already, (2) is revealed to be bisexual and has actual love interests of both genders (which may be relevant, since the main character is also okay with polyamory). Also, the action scenes are pretty good. If only there wasn’t so much sus stuff in earlier volumes…
I wish I could put some 本好き in here, but the series is over :sob: Booklive has https://learnnatively.com/series/77078e9a0a/ has number 1… I still need to read the last published volume.

For 女性向け, easy pick: https://learnnatively.com/book/430da6476d/ (4th place on Booklive). Fun fact, first place is https://learnnatively.com/book/f38a80a560/. I thought it was okay (and bought volume 2 as well), but not ground breaking… I wonder if something happens later? I really liked https://learnnatively.com/book/efff768580/ as well (booklive… 16th place??? That’s way too low), but it’s content I have read recently online. The editing and extra content was nice to see, but not enough to make it first place (for me).
Interestingly, I know most of the series in the top 10 of booklive in that category, but have never heard of their number 2 https://learnnatively.com/series/85cc01209d/ I guess I should check it out at some point.
Edit: instead I read the full series of https://learnnatively.com/book/ea45819d73/ and then went ahead and read the online chapters and am planning to keep up with those (the author is publishing a short section once a month)

Novels/Literature

Due to some divergence in definition between what is or is not a light novel on Booklive and here, some stuff that would count for booklive are considered LN for Natively. But oh well.
My favorite “proper” novel this year was https://learnnatively.com/book/b6d0b8b9b3/, which, despite the length, devoured in a single day. There’s been a few things I did enjoy quite a lot too, including https://learnnatively.com/book/f1c2199039/, https://learnnatively.com/book/73dea21124/, and https://learnnatively.com/book/34c6fb5357/.
Edit: https://learnnatively.com/book/2f9525c2d6/ was pretty good too! I also ended up liking https://learnnatively.com/book/89d39588b2/ quite a lot more than I expected (not sure if it counts as literature or not; it is a classic)

In terms of short story collections, I have been quite lucky this year. https://learnnatively.com/book/484312f874/, https://learnnatively.com/book/8fa55dc7a7/, https://learnnatively.com/book/d123d17f9f/ were all pretty good.

Non fiction

Err, I haven’t really read much in that category. I would default to https://learnnatively.com/book/a931dcd1f4/ since it is the only thing that is proper non fiction AND full length. Congrats on being first out of one.

“Adult” (by which Booklive means something else)

Well, I haven’t read anything 18+ aimed at men this year (or, you know, probably ever?), so that’s empty for me.

BL

Well, among the things that I can add to Natively, I would say https://learnnatively.com/series/6c882bbcc2/ was the absolute best. Also, there’s no spicy content, so I would recommend it to literally anyone, regardless of your gender or sexuality.

TL

So, I don’t think I have added any TL on Natively this year. Fun fact, I did like その天才様は偽装彼女に執着する, but Booklive is not only telling me it’s josei, no TL, it is in fact the number one shojo/josei manga over there. It was fun, but I wouldn’t go that far. I guess 淡河かれんは甘噛みするPINK (a spin off of 淡河かれんは甘噛みする that is, err, PINK, as the title implies; you know) was nice too… AND is also considered “josei” by Booklive, but whatever. My rules.

So, that’s it for me. How about everyone?

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Hmm for me I think:

Free
痴人の愛 | L41 was hilarious and culturally relevant. I’ve actually already had a chance to reference it with someone who I know read it :joy:

私の夫は冷凍庫に眠っている | L28 ok admittedly I read the published version, but it’s available for free as well with only minor differences and it was such a ride. I’m constantly trying to get people to read it

Nonfiction
母という呪縛 娘という牢獄 | L34 I wouldn’t call this an enjoyable read, but it was impactful

Horror
禁じられた遊び | L28 so cheesy, so good. I want to read more cheesy horror, it’s something that has been missing from my book life.

Crime
怒り | L35 I raved about this when I finished it. A slower burn and more a focus on character stories/development than mystery solving but ugh, so good. Hit me in the feels.

Suspense
時限病棟 | L33 it’s the second in a suspense series and the pacing is just :pinched_fingers: I read the first 200-ish pages of this in one sitting.

TL
jk my lips are sealed

Oooh this one in my backlog :eyes:

And this one in my wish list, I think I added it when you first talked about it

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Best manga: リウーを待ちながら 1, follow-ups: 死役所 1, as well as 妻、小学生になる。 10 and 11, sadly it looks like the anime tries to press 14 books into 12 episodes.

Best non-manga: コップクラフト 2, follow-ups: 狼と香辛料 2 as well as また、同じ夢を見ていた and つながりの蔵

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Apparently this one is already on my wish list :joy:

Bah, not fun. Arguably, I didn’t bring out the worst stuff from my side either, but still.

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I will divulge 2, the cream of the questionable crop :joy:

My questionable choices

I love stalker TL. Something about unhealthy relationship dynamics is just fun. But most do it badly where it’s like 'omg he’s stalking me, so :sparkles: romantic :sparkles: "
my favorite stalker manga does not lean into this trope and instead is a bit twisted:

ストーカーを撃退してくれた憧れの人は、もっとヤバいストーカーだった【おまけ描き下ろし付き】　1巻 - 楠チロ/ユラ - 女性マンガ・無料試し読みなら、電子書籍・コミックストア ブックライブ
Btw the first volume is currently free on BookLive. Just sayin’ :eyes:

And continuing in the stalker theme, a TL novel which was the only one this year where I was like “wait, this author can actually like, properly write?” Like it’s not prize winning literature, but I suspect the author just does spice on the side
幼なじみの上司に24時間監視されています　再会は溺愛のはじまり - 水城のあ/唯奈 - TL(ティーンズラブ)小説・無料試し読みなら、電子書籍・コミックストア ブックライブ

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Discussion

Oh, that’s a style that I have been avoiding, but you are selling it maybe I should give it a try, you know, for science.

FOR SCIENCE

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Real science requires a test series, not just one specimen.

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Nonfiction

General fiction

LN
I haven’t actually finished it yet, but unless the ending is terrible this goes to コップクラフト 6 | L35

Aozora Short Story
It’s between 恥 | L33 and 十二月八日 | L33, both by 太宰

Mystery
Again, I can’t quite decide. If you like long mysteries:

If you prefer shorter ones:

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Ahhh 64 is one of my favorite books ever. The writing is so gorgeous :star_struck:

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Ah, that makes complete sense. And science must be done. Although I won’t force myself if I end up not liking it

I still need to get back to that series (and a few others)

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you have captured my attention fully :eyes:

hmmm I was scrolling back through my read list for this year and I actually didn’t finish a lot of stuff, and much of what I did finish was rereads of things I’ve already read in english and don’t super want to count because of that :sweat_smile:

But for the new to me this year and mostly/entirely read in japanese:

For manga it’s probably either 宝石の国 1 | L30 or ラブ・バレット 1 MFC | L26 , one of which has one of the strongest manga endings I’ve ever read and one of which is one of the strongest manga debuts I’ve ever read, but 宝石の国 almost instantly shot up into contention for favorite manga of all time status, so I probably have to go with that one.

Books are even less contested, I finished volume one of とらドラ! | L32 and enjoyed it but really need to read more of the rest of the series to say if I really like it in LN form or not, but I fell in love with 怪人二十面相 | L28. this book was such an absolute treat to read, just a super fun 江戸川乱歩 kids mystery romp

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I haven’t read in so many fancy categories, although I finished 17 books up to now, so I will just list the 5 that I liked best:

  1. Q&A | L31 A murder mystery that unfolds itself in questions and answers.
  2. 蛇にピアス | L30 Akutagawa winner, a bit of a rough story revolving around a relationship.
  3. 月の裏側 | L33 Onda Riku. Slow horror story.
  4. 鹿の王 水底の橋 | L36 This is vol. 5 of the 鹿の王 series. Written quite some time after the four others, it wraps up part of the main story in a nice way.
  5. 不機嫌な果実 | L35 Taught me a lot about the Japanese “bubble”.

Books I’m still hoping to finish this year that should also go on this list:

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I meant to start that audiobook :see_no_evil:

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It’s been a rough year for me in terms of serious reading. For proper novels I only partly read 博士の愛した数式 | L34, stopping about halfway through. I’ll probably go back to it sometime next year. For LNs I only read more of 本好きの下剋上, and not much at that.

I have read plenty of manga though, so I’ll list some favorites from there.

Favorite manga volumes from series I started before 2024:

Favorite new manga series:

  • 君に紡ぐ傍白 | L21 (completed) - short yuri series taking place in college, in full color.
  • 乙女男子に恋する乙女 | L26 (completed) - high school girl who’s afraid of men becomes friends with a guy who tends to dress femininely.
  • 現実もたまには嘘をつく | L21 (ongoing) - high school girl hikikomori (from middle school trauma) meets up with a guy she met from online gaming. But she thought he was a girl online and told her parents she made a female friend, so naturally she forces him to crossdress when visiting her house. Quickly entered my list of top 10 manga. Also in full color.
  • 雨夜の月 1 | L24 (ongoing) - slow burn yuri manga that provides great drama and character moments. One girl is hearing impaired and has put up walls due to past emotional trauma. The other girl tries to break down those walls, but has her own issues to work through. Really love the story and character dynamics and is now in my top 10 manga.

New manga series with great potential:

  • オレが私になるまで 1 | L21 (ongoing) - only read the first volume, but I enjoyed its surprisingly serious take on the topic. I plan to read the rest of the published volumes around end of year.
  • 君は放課後インソムニア 1 | L24 (completed) - the series is completed, but I’ve only read 4/14 volumes so far. It’s a cute romance about these two high school kids with insomnia.
  • クプルムの花嫁 | L28 (ongoing) - a bit challenging for a manga since it’s about coppersmithing, but the story is nice and the characters are cute. Mostly I’m going to keep reading it because the physical copy is so nice. I’ve read 3/6 volumes, but I own the rest.
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“No no no, it makes complete sense!” :rofl:

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Well, the one data point made me feel super stressed, so maybe no more science for now :sweat_smile:

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Yes, and the literal next page has him in a skirt. :joy:

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It’s definitely darker than your usual TL/romance series :sweat_smile: which I guess is why I liked it

Sorry to hear it stressed you though! :frowning:

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I left out things I read in previous years (unless I read new volumes this year), and still wound up with too much… :sweat_smile:

Light Novels

Yuri/Class-S

  • https://learnnatively.com/series/494308d39c/ - got totally absorbed in these, due to the anime. The ensemble cast, the variety of (types of) relationships portrayed, the way the series recontextualizes and develops characters and events as it goes, the emotional intimacy, the sense of realism (in some parts), are all things I love. Ironically I don’t like the main couple that much. I’m on 6/37 rn.

Romance

Fantasy Romance

Sci-fi

Manga

My absolute favorite was https://learnnatively.com/series/a571dc5444/ . It has a really rough start, but it’s probably the best/most profound manga series I’ve read!!

Fantasy Romance

Romance

Gender-related

Yuri (but not romance)

Comedy/日常

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