When I first started learning Japanese, having come to the realization that I could now read whatever niche titles caught my eye, I kind of went nuts buying books. 10 years later, with a better grasp on my tastes, I now have about 450 books in my backlog that I would never buy today - but having spent money on them I feel obligated to read them, so over the past few months I've been chipping away at the pile. Reading in general is my favourite activity, and I want to believe that every book has something you can take away from it... but man there is some BAD stuff out there.

Z.O.E Dolores,i
This was v good - who knew an alcoholic trucker trying to reconnect with his estranged children would make such a fun protagonist. Of course dolly stole the show for me, she's hilarious and adorable and her love of middle-aged men is unrivalled.

くまクマ熊ベアー / Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear
I usually see this recommended as a first novel to Japanese learners, but if I had started with this I think I would’ve permanently given up. The “writing” is just a collection of one line sentences matter-of-factly stating whatever is happening in the scene, and the characters are so lacking in personality they all read like the same person with a different name.

If you’re just starting out learning jp, my suggestion would be to just stick with whatever interests you. Anything you try to read for the first year is going to feel like repeatedly slamming your head against a brick wall anyway, so might as well pick content that inspires you to keep going.

エクセル♥サーガ / Excel Saga
This was v good, the humour was right up my alley and Mitsuishi did a great job as Excel. The animation is pretty jank outside of a few episodes but it adds to the chaos in its own way. I was surprised to learn the stuff with Pedro was anime-only? What on earth is the manga about then...

I watched the poemy spin-off after but didn't enjoy that one as much. I admire the capacity of Kobayashi's lungs but found her constant shouting grating.

でたとこプリンセス / Detatoko Princess
Was fun. I wish this could've been a TV series though, because I was just warming up to the characters when it ended. Would like to check out the manga at some point.