Read Real Japanese Essays: Contemporary Writings by Popular Authors1 free CD included

Once I read the Fiction version in this series, I jumped for the Nonfiction as quickly as possible. This little series is absolutely top-notch for those who have taken advanced Japanese classes. I can't help but repeat myself in this review: "This reader is the one I compare all others to." It goes above and beyond in every respect. It features enjoyable stories, furigana by every kanji, a dictionary wherein every term is listed, a line-by-line "literal" explanation, and in the back of the book the grammar and cultural points of each line is discussed in depth. And as icing on the cake, there's a fabulous CD wherein an actress reads each story aloud. How can it get any better than this? Frankly, I am being spoiled rotten by both of the books in this duo. It's going to be hard to go back to other readers that lack comprehensive dictionaries and feature complex kanji with no furigana. Still, don't be fooled by all the goodies it gives you -- it's not holding your hand. Furigana is only listed once, forcing you to recall it when the kanji is repeated later in the story. Any new devotees of the Japanese language will probably be bowled over -- it's definitely for the intermediate students, who will benefit most from seeing all of those grammar forms they only previously knew in textbooks. If you're a student of Japanese, you'll find this reader helpful and fun. It's definitely worth the money -- you're paying for some wonderful features that many other readers skimp on. I suggest getting the Fiction version of this set as well, as it features all of the same perks.

If you want an excellent way to listen to spoken Japanese this is it. Love this series of books.

These bilingual books are very well made. They don't simply translate each sentence, they give you a sense of the grammar behind it and let's you interpret the actual meaning by being faithful to the flexible nature of Japanese (no gender, plural, etc...). Comes with a CD to listen, and with a glossary.

I like these essays lots better than the fiction in "Breaking Into Japanese Literature." My favorite essays were: "Little White Lies" (Murakami Haruki) "On Beauty" (Yoshimoto Banana) "Thoughts On Mutability" (Hirano Keiichiro) Other essays were rather boring. Contemporary topics with plenty of relevant kanji. Clear CD. Layout is difficult to use though.

The Read Real Japanese book series is great. I love this book along with the Real Real Japanese Fiction. It's not easy to find Japanese books with furigana. I recommend this along with the fiction one. :)

I love the work that has gone into this volume that helps readers of Japanese understand cultural nuance besides vocabulary and grammatical usage. Having the CD makes this book even more precious.

Exactly what I was looking for! However, how do people read play CDs nowadays? None of the laptops at home have a CD-rom any more...wish there was online audio files.

This is very challenging, but precisely because it is, I'm learning a lot. One really nice thing is not having to lug along my Kodansha dictionary and my Kanji book. Discovering one of my favorite authors (Haruki Murakami) in the selections was a plus!

Ho scelto questo libro perchè tra i dettagli del prodotto c'è scritto: "Lingua: Inglese, Tedesco, Francese, Italiano, Spagnolo, Danese, Hindi, Cinese, Giapponese, Coreano, Gallese" Non credevo che il libro fosse tradotto in tutte queste lingue altrimenti dovrebbe avere 2000 pagine o essere scritto davvero piccolissimo, ma mi aspettavo almeno nell'audio CD di trovare qualcosa in italiano... Invece non c'è traccia dell'italiano così come tutte le altre lingue. Il libro contiene delle piccole storie degli scrittori citati, la facciata di destra della pagina è tutta in giapponese, quella di sinistra riprende le frasi della facciata destra, le divide e le traduce in inglese. Tra l'altro ad un primo sguardo sulle parti di testo in giapponese il furigana con la lettura dei kanji è presente solamente per alcuni kanji, quindi a meno che non andiate a cercare il significato di quel kanji nel contesto della frase (cosa che renderà la lettura del libro infinita visto che sono moltissimi), la lettura di quel kanji in giapponese resterà un mistero. Terrò il libro perchè spero che nel giro di 1-2 anni sarò in grado di leggerlo ma sicuramente è un libro proibitivo per una persona alle prima armi (JLPT5), diciamo che se ne può parlare per un livello JLPT3 forse...

Vale a pena viu? Super recomendo. Atualmente eu estou no intermediário, e ainda travo um pouco sim, tem vários vocabulários que não conheço, mas por ter furigana nos Kanjis, ajuda MUITO para deixar fluído. Então mesmo que tu não esteja no nível ainda, acho um ótimo investimento.

Good book for learning Japanese

Genial para aprender. Se lo recomiendo a todo el que quiera leer un japonés real y tenga un nivel intermedio.

Me gusta mucho el detalle que le da a cada frase y cómo explica parte por parte lo que va diciendo el texto original. Este libro es más recomendable para personas que estén en un nivel intermedio o que estén estudiando para la certificación N3, pues el vocabulario es complejo en cada página. Estudiantes con menos conocimientos pueden aventurarse en este libro y tener un gran desafío. Muy recomendable.