本好きの下剋上~司書になるためには手段を選んでいられません~第一部「兵士の娘1」

Entertainment: your typical isekai, a story about the daily life of a girl trying to make a book, fun to an extent but there isn't an overarching plot line, plot twists, character development that woud keep you hooked so it may get boring at times, there's no satisfying conclusion either but this might not be unusual for light novels. (this is my first LN)

Language: its slice of life anime type of episodic structure makes it easy to pick vocabulary, each chapter focuses on a slightly different topic and uses some words frequently in different contexts so they are very easy to learn. some of them may not be useful for daily conversations, still i think it's a good book for learners.

in general; this series is a 'comfort series' for many language learners and i see why. give it a shot if you need something relaxing after reading heavy books.

Thoughts on the story: I went into this blind - only knowing that it was very popular but not knowing anything about the plot - and it worked out really well! The story is primarily slice of life, peppered by Myne's attempts to find and recreate books in her new world, as well as her adjusting to her new life. There were a few points where the plot moved forward in more significant ways, such as learning to read and working for Otto in the middle and meeting Otto's merchant friend at the end, as well as the very intriguing epilogue. I found Myne's adjustment to her new life compelling and more realistic than many isekai protagonists, and the world building is relatively slow but definitely interesting. I'll definitely be reading book two! 4.5 stars.

Thoughts on the Japanese used: I've read several books at or above level 30, so this was pretty easy to read, especially with the audiobook. I looked up a word every couple of pages, since there is technical vocabulary related to making books, cooking, and daily life as a commoner (i.e., sewing and weaving, hunting and gathering, etc.)

本が買えないなら、本を作ろう。でも、本をつくるにも紙がない。紙がないならば紙を作ろう。でも、紙を作るにも体力、腕力、身長、年齢、お金がない。

After book-loving Urano gets killed in an earthquake, she finds herself in an unfamiliar environment — she is now Myne, the daughter of a city guard and a textile worker, and lives with them and her big sister in a tiny apartment somewhere in a pre-industrial city. And Myne has three big problems: Her living standards are terrible, her new body is extremely weak and prone to fevers at the lightest exertion, and worst of all: there are no books to be found!

Over the course of this book, we see Myne’s attempts at improving her living standards and finding some way of making books herself. This turns out to be very challenging, as her abilities and opportunities are very limited. As a result, this first novel is essentially a slice of life story about Myne improving her environment with “inventions” like shampoo or pancakes, while attempting to create different kinds of paper substitutes. But it certainly is not going to stay this way forever…

In terms of the writing, Miya Kazuki uses relatively straight-forward grammar but a pretty big vocabulary. I had to look up words very frequently, but once I knew the words in a sentence I practically never had any issues understanding what was said, and over-all found it a very rewarding read. There is also an anime-adaptation, this volume is covered by episodes 1–6 of the first season. The anime does abbreviate or skip over some things, so the book is definitely worth reading even if you’re already watched it.