Reading Focus

[Javizy]

I've been working on the book Breaking into Japanese Literature for a couple of weeks now, and having previously read only manga, simple children's books, and the PDF's, which are written mainly through conversation, I was pretty unprepared for the way real books are laid out and the descriptive language that is used.

I figured at a place full of language experts, there's got to be someone who fancies themself as a writer. So, how realistic would it be to put together something like a short story (6-8mins of audio), maybe broken down into a suspense-filled 3-part series, as an introduction to descriptive writing?

[プチクレア]

Have you tried last year's premium lessons, especiallythe o-bon kaidan from last august ? If I remember correctly, they were based on actual written work, there's quite a lot of description in it, and they're pretty good and scary too !

I don't know the book you named, but I used to work with one called "Japanese Graded Reader" from Tuttle, which takes you from hiragana to actual newspapers article (it supposed to teach you to read, ie kanji, but there are many graded texts from all kinds of sources, including advanced litterature). You might want to give it a try too.

[Javizy]

Have you tried last year's premium lessons, especiallythe o-bon kaidan from last august ? If I remember correctly, they were based on actual written work, there's quite a lot of description in it, and they're pretty good and scary too !

I don't know the book you named, but I used to work with one called "Japanese Graded Reader" from Tuttle, which takes you from hiragana to actual newspapers article (it supposed to teach you to read, ie kanji, but there are many graded texts from all kinds of sources, including advanced litterature). You might want to give it a try too.

I have done those premium lessons, and I've been meaning to review them for a while. I thought Yoshikai's first-person narrative was pretty cool. Like you said though, they're from last August, and I can't remember when the last mukashi banashi was (probably even longer). I think it'd be nice to see the occasional storytelling format in the midst of all the dialogues, especially since it was done so well before.

The book you mentioned is on my Amazon wish list funnily enough, so I'll has to see what it's like. As for the book I mentioned, it's made up of a series of short stories by Natsume Souseki and Akutagawa Ryuunosuke that get progressively harder and more descriptive. On each double page it has the original Japanese on the top left, translation on the top right, and the bottom half has every kanji word listed with its reading and definition. There's also Exploring Japanese Literature by the same guy, which has three much longer and more difficult stories by other acclaimed authors. I'd recommend them both unless you can already read literature well without the shortcuts