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学年ビリのギャルが1年で偏差値を40上げて慶應大学に現役合格した話 (aka ビリギャル) Jennifer - A new word I learned with this book was  ビリ which means "the last" or "at the bottom". This case it's a story about a gyaru (gal) who's at the bottom rank of her school, increases her scores by 40 points in 1 year and gets into Keio University . This is a true story. It's a piece of non-fiction written by the juku teacher who taught Sayaka (our gyaru) and pushed her to get her grades up and get into one of the most prestigious universities in Japan. At the start of the book we meet Sayaka in the moment she meets Tsubota ( 坪田) Sensei. He asks her some simple questions but is amazed by her creative answers. The start of the book looks at the holes in her basic knowledge and understanding of the world.  When I say lack of basic knowledge I mean very basic knowledge. Tsubota Sensei asks her to draw a map of Japan and she draws a circle. She doesn't only realize there are

Daniel - Again I thought I'd try something different and this book caught my eye while I was book shopping over the Winter break. Written by the same author as the 'Ikebukuro West Gate Park' series, this one is about four women living together in a share-house, and follows their attempts at finding love in the heart of Tokyo. I've got maybe a third left to plough through, but I've been really enjoying it so far. Although some aspects have of course been exaggerated for entertainment value, it provides an interesting look into the messy and often shallow world of group and speed dating with some comical episodes and cutting witty quips from our protagonist. The protagonist's constant clashes with the ideologies and expectations of the men surrounding her and her friends throughout the story generate a lot of food for thought on a number of social issues currently plaguing Japan. Being a very grounded slice of life novel, the language doesn't throw

Kafka - I'm currently reading v.3 of the Youjo Senki series subtitled "The Finest Hour". I am sure you are familiar with the series because of the success of the anime, but the premise is that a Japanese salaryman who views the world in a very methodical way, heavily influenced by the Chicago school of economic thought, gets pushed in front of a train by a desperate man he fired earlier that day. Before dying, he has a conversation with a mysterious being that claims to be God. This being, angered by the man's lack of faith and dispassionate demeanor, decides to reincarnate him in a low fantasy world on the brink of war in an unclear attempt to force him to change his ways. Reincarnated as an orphan in the bleakest circumstances, but with magical ability, the main character becomes Tanya Degurechaff, the youngest mage in the imperial army, where she quickly becomes, almost by accident, a war hero. The story follows the war as Tanya attempts to build a bridge to a

I was in Kinokuniya when I first noticed this book on the display for books that got awards in 2016. But I didn't actually pick it up until 2017. But I really wish I'd picked it up sooner! I didn't know what to expect when I started reading it either, just that I had a good feeling about it. And I'm glad my feeling was on the mark. It's an interesting book that starts by telling you what happens at the end, but it's never really about the end. Just like life, it's about the journey. The things the main characters experience and what they learn from them. The story was incredibly engaging and, despite how long it took me to get to the middle, I stormed through the ending. It's interesting seeing how well fleshed out the characters are and how they grow as people through the story. I also think that what helped with the flow was the fact that there are almost no character names. The protagonist is always referred to by his relationship to other