When should I start reading Japanese books? What kinds of books should I read at a beginner’s level?
So first, just start with simple word recognition (flashcards, reviewing familiar sentences and patterns in kana). The best way to know how well you can recognize kana is to check how well and quickly you can write it. You’ll notice that recognizing it would seem easy at first, but if you’re at a loss when it comes to recalling how to write it, you don’t really know your kana. This is the foundation of reading in Japanese. Get it down.
Though kana is the most basic of basic Japanese character recognition, you’ll need a good vocabulary bank, or have memorized several hundred words, and basic grammar or else you won’t be able to understand simple stories. Because of this, it can be really hard at first. It just takes practice!
Your progression in Japanese will depend on your ability to make sense of language, and ofcourse, your motivation! How motivated are you to learn Japanese?
Japanese Levels
There are many intermediate textbooks on the market, but closer to the intermediate standards are Tobira, An Integrated Approach, and even harder, Authentic Japanese: Progressing from Intermediate to Advanced (titles have been shortened). If you get through 2 of these intermediate ones, You should be on N2. Maybe knocking on the door of N1.
To me, N1 does not mean advanced, but it's the signifier that you're at a place where you can study Japanese with zero English, and make sense without too many explanations. You’re ready to step into "real" Japanese.
Once again, these tests only require a 60%-70% passing score. And there’s no oral exam! That alone tells you that these scores aren’t the most reliable measurements, but they give you a general idea of levels.
The speaking part of Japanese is a hurdle for learners, thus, i.m.o. becomes a hurdle for internalizing what you've learned and apply it quickly to reading. The ability to listen, speak, and use correct grammar on the spot will test how quickly you can recall the grammar you’ve studied.
One of the best advice that I received when I first started learning was “memorize as many words as you can.” You’ll realize that even when your grammar isn’t in place, you can understand or express a lot with key words.
To tell you the truth, I began studying and writing kanji over a year after I studied and conversed in Japanese. The reason was because I began living in Japan before I began to really study, so I found it a necessity to spend more time studying grammar and conversation than reading and writing. If you would like to learn more about this situation and how reading and writing comes to play, it’ll be in a different article.
Now, to the books.
First, any books with pictures is a good place to start.
Children’s Picture Books (Vocabulary in the hundreds)
This is good for the very beginning Japanese learner who can automatically identify kana and have basic vocabulary and grammar. These stories can be completed within a relatively short time frame, and a good way to practice reading and re-reading for fluency practice.
The good thing is that it's mostly kana. The bad thing is also that it's mostly kana. Japanese has relatively few sounds in the language, so a lot of words sound alike, making it hard for early readers to figure out where new words begin sometimes. That's why it's good to learn kanji early on.
Children and Tween Novels (Vocabulary past 1,000; preferably 1,500+)
Manga General
Children’s Manga (Vocabulary past 1,000; preferably 1,500+)
In Ascending Difficulty Levels: Shoujo Manga, Shounen (Teens), Jousei, Seinen (Adults) (Vocabulary in the thousands)
Jousei and Seinen are harder to read. Elementary and maybe middle school kanji are expected to be known by the reader, thus, do not have furigana. Harder high school kanji will have furigana.
Manga dialogue tends to be quite casual and often do not follow the regular grammar and vocabulary patterns taught in Japanese textbooks. Any sci-fi or fantasy settings are expected to be slightly harder to comprend due to specific vocabulary.