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    General Reading Recommendation Thread (Not Series License Requests)

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Light Novel Discussion
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    • Rahul BalagganR
      Rahul Balaggan Staff
      last edited by

      @russellfruck

      Hello,

      I moved your post into the general recommendation topic.

      You may want to look at the this topic, as similar requests for recommendations have been made in here.

      Sorry but J-Novel Club does not publicly comment on any potential licensing decision or acquisitions.
      J-Novel Club, Future Volume Release Schedule
      Manga FAQ
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      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • hopebestmanH
        hopebestman @russellfruck
        last edited by

        @russellfruck i can advise seirei gensouki, soudoki and lazy dungeon master. Also its not the same but for bookworm, Realist hero also fine choice.

        8 parts, 8 weeks to read a book, than binge read the same book within' 2 hours again.

        Myne: Did we deceived him?
        Ferdinand: Indeed we did.
        Myne: *surprised myneface

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        • Lily GardenL
          Lily Garden Member @russellfruck
          last edited by Lily Garden

          @russellfruck I would like to second @hopebestman recommendation of Lazy Dungeon Master. It's translated by quof if sweetens the rec

          Also I would wholeheartedly recommend Tearmoon Empire which not only well written and hilarious but has great heart and continues to get better with each volume

          “There’s always a story. It’s all stories, really. The sun coming up every day is a story. Everything’s got a story in it. Change the story, change the world.” ― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky

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          • H
            HarmlessDave Premium Member @Franziska Nagel
            last edited by

            @franziska-nagel said in General Reading Recommendation Thread (Not Series License Requests):

            @russellfruck

            Chill slice of life:

            • By the Grace of the Gods (currently 8 Volumes)
            • Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear (currently 7 Volumes)
              Big scale nation building and international politics:
            • How a realist hero rebuilt the kingdom (currrently 12 Volumes)
              Adventuring:
            • Didn't I say to make my abilities average next time (currently 12 Volumes)

            @lily-garden said in General Reading Recommendation Thread (Not Series License Requests):

            @russellfruck I would like to second @hopebestman recommendation of Lazy Dungeon Master. It's translated by quof if sweetens the rec

            Also I would wholeheartedly recommend Tearmoon Empire which not only well written and hilarious but has great heart and continues to get better with each volume

            I agree with these (I haven't read Tearmoon Empire, I'll try it next time it's on catch up).

            For chill slice of life with occasional demon lords, I'm also fond of Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody.

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            • bongioneB
              bongione Premium Member @russellfruck
              last edited by bongione

              @russellfruck , in addition to many good suggestions above, one series I recently enjoyed a lot is Cooking with Wild Game. It's very chilled, wholesome and entertaining.

              I initially skipped it because the title did not entice me, but similarly as with Bookworm I grew fond of it as I read it.

              13 volumes are published and the pre-pubs for volume 14 are coming out currently.

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              • R
                RobD Member
                last edited by

                My favourite light novels are (from very good down to good):
                Campfire cooking in another world
                Overlord
                Lazy Dungeon Master
                Death March to the parallel world
                Outer Ragna
                Defeating the demon lord's a cinch
                Der Werwolf: Annals of Veight
                So I'm a spider, so what
                Konosuba
                Combatants will be dispatched
                The hero is overpowered but overly cautious
                The eminence in shadow
                Log Horizon
                That time I reincarnated as a slime
                Demon Lord, Retry
                The great cleric
                Her majesty's swarm
                Skeleton knight in another world
                Tearmoon Empire
                Solo leveling
                Trapped in a dating sim

                I've read these light novel series more than once, because I like them so much.
                I'm so happy people write series like these!
                The top 3 novels/series, I've read 3 times or more because I think those are the very best, but really, I think all of the series in this list are good and enjoyable to read.

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                • H
                  HarmlessDave Premium Member @RobD
                  last edited by

                  @robd said in General Reading Recommendation Thread (Not Series License Requests):

                  Defeating the demon lord's a cinch

                  That was a fun one, though it seems to be stalled or cancelled :( . Also, the editing on the last volume was a bit ragged, with either some continuity errors or botched translations. It was still fun despite that.

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                  • S
                    strangeattractor Premium Member @unknownmat
                    last edited by

                    @unknownmat said in General Reading Recommendation Thread (Not Series License Requests):

                    Please recommend series that are well-written. I'm not looking for a particular genre or style. My focus here is on works that are competently constructed.

                    In addition to some of the J-Novel Club series that other people have already recommended, such as Tearmoon Empire and How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, there are some light novels from other publishers that I think are well-constructed.

                    I've Been Killing Slimes For 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level by Kisetsu Morita is one of my favourites. It's not to everyone's taste, but for a slice of life series of fluff where nothing too bad happens, it's great. It usually makes me laugh. It's not realistic, but it is absurd in directions that I like.

                    Interspecies Reviewers only has one volume out. It is a collection of erotic short stories that is better constructed than a lot of others in the genre, though that is a low bar to be sure. Again, not to everyone's taste, but I enjoyed it.

                    Reinventing the Meta at the VRMMO Academy by Hayaken isn't that good for characters, but is good at evoking the feeling of playing a game and messing around with different concepts of character builds and optimizing stats and combat styles.

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                    • R
                      RobD Member @HarmlessDave
                      last edited by

                      @harmlessdave
                      That last volume... the one that takes place under(/above) water.
                      I don't really remember errors in the text or continuity errors... but it's a great episode. It took me a re-read before I could fully appreciate its over-the-top weirdness. Now I can only look back on it with a smile.

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                      • M
                        Moonpie Member @unknownmat
                        last edited by

                        @unknownmat obviously answering this very late, but the two series that I love due to the writing are Otherside Picnic and Dahlia in Bloom.

                        Dahlia is new to JNC so you can read all of volume 1. Cozy world with snappy dialogue, it's quickly become a favourite of mine.

                        Otherside has sharply observed characters and the author manages to give the supernatural plot a really distinct groundedness. An underappreciated gem.

                        In both series, I think it helps that the main characters are a little older than your standard shonen fare.

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                        • A
                          Axehand Member
                          last edited by

                          Apothecary Diaries deals with a young girl using her brain in a difficult situation. It plays out in a more-or-less real world situation. No overpowered protagonists, otherworldly knowledge or mention of ranked adventurers.

                          Lily GardenL 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
                          • Lily GardenL
                            Lily Garden Member @Axehand
                            last edited by

                            To second @axehand recommendation,

                            the MC of Apothecary Dairies is a great character with a sharp tongue and she takes no sh*t from anyone

                            “There’s always a story. It’s all stories, really. The sun coming up every day is a story. Everything’s got a story in it. Change the story, change the world.” ― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky

                            Folker46F 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 4
                            • Folker46F
                              Folker46 @Franziska Nagel
                              last edited by

                              @franziska-nagel said in General Reading Recommendation Thread (Not Series License Requests):

                              Didn't I say to Make My Abilities Average suffers from its painfully slow pace, once Mile meets her second group of friends the story slows to a crawl, and what her friends in the Capital are going through is much more entertaining than what Mile is doing.

                              The side story with the deaf girl is interesting but the cover art lies, it's not a cute story.

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                              • Folker46F
                                Folker46
                                last edited by

                                My recommends are,

                                How Not to Summon a Demon Lord, the MC is a bit overpowered but has definite limits on how much MP he can spend, and he keeps running into enemies that push him to his limits. What I like most is that he has a mental illness, knows it, and as the story progresses, he slowly gets a handle on it. The LNs are well written.

                                Goblin Slayer, just an overall good read.

                                The Sorcerer King of Destruction and the Golem of the Barbarian Queen, a dead series but an interesting concept, it mostly suffers from a lack of world building but I find it a pretty well written series, it's just too bad it died just as it was getting better.

                                Mushoku Tensei is a pretty good series and even though I don't like the MC, he's kind of a scum bag, he does have his moments when he shines, and the supporting characters are well written.

                                Sword Art Online Alternate Gun Gale Online, is just awesome if you're into guns.

                                The Saga of Tanya the Evil, is a very good read but it is not really a LN, very dense and full of info but I really enjoy reading about Tanya's adventures in military life.

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                                • Folker46F
                                  Folker46 @Lily Garden
                                  last edited by

                                  @lily-garden Started reading it and it's pretty good but I know I've seen something like it before. There was a Asian tv show about life in the Chinese Imperial harem. The themes and events are pretty close.

                                  poisonedbiteP 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                                  • poisonedbiteP
                                    poisonedbite @Folker46
                                    last edited by poisonedbite

                                    @folker46 said in General Reading Recommendation Thread (Not Series License Requests):

                                    @lily-garden Started reading it and it's pretty good but I know I've seen something like it before. There was a Asian tv show about life in the Chinese Imperial harem. The themes and events are pretty close.

                                    I think you're thinking of The Story of Saiunkoku. They're...rather similar.

                                    Folker46F 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                                    • Folker46F
                                      Folker46 @poisonedbite
                                      last edited by Folker46

                                      @poisonedbite No, it was live action. There are a lot of live action stories about the harems and I didn't see one that looked similar so maybe I'm misremembering, it was a long time ago.

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                                      • BookManiaReaderB
                                        BookManiaReader Premium Member
                                        last edited by

                                        I am currently reading Mobuseka. The full name is The World Otome Games is Tough for mobs. It's funny as hell. It's not a J novel club series but it us still. Good read.

                                        I am also into Demon Lord Retry. But volume 8 is taking forever for it to be licensed and translated.

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                                        • H
                                          HarmlessDave Premium Member @BookManiaReader
                                          last edited by

                                          @bookmaniareader said in General Reading Recommendation Thread (Not Series License Requests):

                                          I am currently reading Mobuseka. The full name is The World Otome Games is Tough for mobs. It's funny as hell. It's not a J novel club series but it us still. Good read.

                                          Yes, it's pretty good, I'm looking forward to volume 6 in June.

                                          For those who are missing Woof Woof Story now that it has ended:

                                          Even Dogs Go to Other Worlds: Life in Another World with My Beloved Hound, Vol. 1 -- ordinary guy and his pet dog get isekai'd, and the dog becomes a fenrir, but is still a sweet and loyal little doggy at heart. Harmless slice of life fun.

                                          I’d Rather Have a Cat than a Harem! Reincarnated into the World of an Otome Game as a Cat-loving Villainess Vol.1 -- a low-stress villainess story where she avoids her fate by adopting a cat. Mostly harmless slice of life.

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                                          • U
                                            unknownmat Premium Member @Lily Garden
                                            last edited by

                                            @Crimson-Wise said in General Reading Recommendation Thread (Not Series License Requests):

                                            Altina the Sword Princess - a more conventional fantasy military story. The author knows where he's going, and is able to use use comedy and clichés when it's appropriate. It's quite fun to read.

                                            @Lily-Garden said in General Reading Recommendation Thread (Not Series License Requests):

                                            also, I would like to second the recommendations for Faraway Paladin and Altina

                                            Well, after more than a year I finally got around to reading Altina. I wanted to thank you guys for the suggestion. It was indeed well-written - exactly what I'd been looking for. Although it shifted perspective a few different times, I never found myself bored or skipping through chapters because equally enjoyed reading about Regis, Altina, Bastion and Elize, Eddie and Felicia, and Latreille. The world was well constructed, the characters were believable, the political intrigue felt - err intriguing, and the battle scenes were a joy to read.

                                            Thanks a lot!

                                            Lily GardenL 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
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