Welcome To TMW Novel Club!
Welcome to TMW Novel Club! I'm azumi, the leader of the Novel Club.
If you are reading this, chances are you are looking for ways to get started on reading. This page provides some resources for how to get started and some of the activities that we have.
I believe most people came here from TMW, but if you don't know what TMW is: it's a japanese learning community created by shoui. Join the community here: https://discord.gg/tmw
How to obtain books suited for your level:
You can use TMW's #book-sharing channel, and look for books by entering the keyword of the book you are looking for. You will need the 'Student' rank or above to gain access to the channel. for more info check quiz-rank-info!
Tsubasa Bunko: Easier Alternatives for Beginners (N3-N5).
While it might be a bit harder to get started on reading books at this level, there are some easier alternatives that can help you to start building the habit of reading, and will definitely help you tremendously as you continue studying Japanese.
Tsubasa Bunko is a 'dumbed down' version of current novels. They will use easier sentence structures and provide Furigana (Pronunciations) for more Kanji. They have a light green cover for easier recognition.
Natively
Natively is a books platform where users can rank books based on its difficulty, according to JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) Level. Natively can help to give you an estimate of a book's difficulty before deciding to read it or not.
❗It's important to note however, it's hard to put an absolute definition on a book's difficulty, and ultimately if you are interested in a book the book's 'user-defined' level should never deter you from reading it.
Kuri's Spreadsheet: Media based on difficulty
TMW's long time member Kuri has made a google sheet assigning difficulty to Japanese medias, including Novels. Difficulties are ranged from 'Very Easy' to 'Hell'.
Softwares to read books:
Ttsu Reader
Ttsu reader is a web app, and is the most popular reader amongst Novel Club members.
You can import epub (The most common file format for eBooks) from your local devices, track your reading speed, and has highly customizable settings like changing fonts, adjusting size & more.
Apple Books:
The natively books app for iOS and Mac devices is a good choice where you can also import epub from your local devices. You can also use your Apple Pencil to highlight words quickly.
Track your progress!
Bookmeter:
Bookmeter is a tracking website most popular amongst members. It functions a bit like MAL or Anilist, where you can add books to 'Wish to Read', 'Reading', 'Read', etc.
You can also write reviews, like comments, and provide stats like your reading speed, authors, etc.
Fellow member @Avratzz has made a reading ranking sheet for Novel Club members who use Bookmeter. You can ping him with your Bookmeter username to get your name on there.
TMW Novel Club Activities
Now that you've started reading and got everything set, it's time to introduce some of the activities we've been holding!
Monthly Novels & Point System:
Novel Club will choose 2 Monthly Novels every month, and upon finishing them, you can gain points. Read more and climb the leaderboard rankings!
https://note.com/tmw_novel_club/n/na23e3072911b
Townhall:
Townhall is an event held irregularly (once every week or two) where members gather together to read books.
(We are writing another article to explain this in more detail. Stay tuned!)
Readathon:
Readathon is a monthly event where members read as much as possible during the span of 24 hours.
(We are writing another article to explain this in more detail. Stay tuned!)
That's about it!
Thank you for reading this and I hope this helps! If you still got more questions, please ping @azumi in #novel-club. Bye for now 👋