This book series is controversial - people either love it or hate it - but "Remembering the Kanji" by James Heisig is what I would recommend to start seriously studying kanji. I've worked with the first volume on and off, and when I was doing the exercises every day I could feel my grasp of kanji growing.

I know someone, a fellow American, who sat down and worked with Remembering the Kanji for six months straight, and now she can read almost anything in Japanese. I mean, she studied Japanese before that and knew the basics already, but RTK was what put her over the top for kanji comprehension.

how about Shiro Alice? it's a mix of Alice in Wonderland and Snow White.

I only buy digital, so there are no problems with going out of print.

I'll almost always buy new volumes of series I'm reading as they come out. The exception is that I've sometimes (not often) waited to buy something when I know it's part 1 of a 2-3 part story arc. Then I might decide to wait until that arc is closer to being fully released.

Physical books are great. I love them. I've got a whole bunch of books in physical form, and I like the way books feel in the hand.

That being said... physical space being a thing I'm not necessarily in possession of in great amounts, and given the easy availability of both data storage space and the lower price (especially for TTRPG volumes, which are often more than half the price), I prefer digital. Buying extra space for digital books is as easy as getting an external hard drive or a new SD card. It's really nice. Really, really nice. Even if I do need to swap to a bigger SD card on my phone to keep growing my library, because I have so many digital books that I've had to remove other apps to keep all my stuff on my phone.

@TheGrimLich Not that much, he regularly screws up at the start but generally, he makes it up by the end, making the people he bothered a constellation or a god.
He wasn't revered as the savior god by the greek for nothing.

The joke works with any thunder god anyway, but I doubt there any major mythology where the gods aren't massive a**hole at times, from Babylonian to Christian it's kind of a constant.

yea, I'm torn
for physicals - I've restricted my purchases to what I'm going to have as part of my 'permanent' collection, and there's only so much space (and $$) I have one collection of books in my living room, most leather bound (or have the look of leather bound) a lot of classic sci fi/fantasy, some limited editions, signed by author etc. A second collection is in my office (and is about to get purged) hardcover book club editions, mass market paperbacks etc. I have about 2x what I want to keep. (and that will give me space to add more LN physicals of which I only have a few)

That being said - I like the cover art to invoke the 'spirit' of the story dark/somber or light/humorous - I especially like when a series has cover art that themselves have a theme over the series of volumes (introductions of characters, or featured character on each volume doing something that relates to previous/next-- like the art has its own arc)- Shomin Sample, does this well as does Rokojouma. I'm not such a purist that cover art...needs to be on the cover, I'd buy leather(ette) bound Bookworm editions that had minimalist cover/spine art (like just Rozemynes crest) as long as all the art was inside

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This is the default background color.
for anyone having eye strain problems, I strongly suggest changing the site skin.

Sad day, I didn't know Sol Press had such a rep. I hope they turn things around. I'm still waiting on the physical copies of the first three volumes.

Wow... This was pretty informative. I didn't know I could buy DRM Free ebooks from here at 7 us$

@Clarabelle Yes, bookstoron has done single-volume requests.

@Kalessin I considered doing the relay service routine, but the cost is prohibitive for the "whim" nature of my purchasing untranslated books.

I do still check out otakumode.com for things I don't see on Amazon, since they handle dealing with the Japanese side. But I haven't bought books from them in a long time...

That you for your service on the front lines!

Stay safe and stay healthy!

Yes, I would. Besides books written in french (my mother tongue), I’m often buying english and german books. I even started buying chinese books, although I’m still having difficulties reading them.

@GHDpro I think that the face to face would only involve new publishers. Considering how cautious Japan is of a mass outbreak, I would think that any of the publishers would be amenable to phone or video conferences if Sam has already established a working relationship.

At least I would hope they would.

@SomeOldGuy ☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻

@Claire-Lilly I cannot find anything to verify a general change to the 22-Euros-duty-free regulation. That said, there are still differences for member countries, and, as a citizen of the USA uninvolved in international trade, I'm really not familiar with any of the specifics. There is a list of national tax websites maintained by the European Commission, so your best bet is to double check the info from there.

As for shipping from China becoming more expensive, that's less of a rule and more of a side effect. The Covid-19 outbreak began in China and was initially mismanaged, leading to the rapid spread of the illness. Since there is still a considerable risk involved in shipping, and both mitigating that risk and compensating people who deal with it cost a fair amount, the price of shipping goes up. Whether this will affect shipping from other countries will come down to how well they manage their own containment. Japan's reputation for healthcare and management is top notch, but every situation is different. Given the proximity to the origin point and the regional risks, it's probably safe to assume at least moderate increases.