Favorite Top 5 Novels

[Mystes]

Light novel only? Or Western one is included?

For Light novel :

1. Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu
2. To aru majutsu no Index
3. Ben-to
4. Utsuro no Hako no Maria
5. A tie between Ookami to Koushinryou and monogatari series by nisiOisin.

There's a few potential one such as Rakuin no Monsho and Kami-sama no Memochou that I haven't read far enough to judge. Surprisingly, the series I'm translating doesn't even make the top 5

If western novel is included :

1. And Then There Were None
2. Curtain
3. Murder of Roger Ackroyd
4. Sleeping Murder
5. ABC Murder

I know, I'm such an Agatha Christie's fanboy .

I see that you joined IS just for fun.

Also, I only read Murder of Roger Ackroyd and the ABC Murder. I must say that the Murder or Ackroyd was kinda unfair since that the narrator...well...you know...

[kuroi_shinigami]

Well, I like reading IS as a light read, but I don't like it that much to put it in top 5 . I mean, there's nothing original there, just the same harem-comedy with a touch of mecha battle. The reason I choose it to translate is because there's a lot of dialogue in there and it's always easier to translate dialogue than an exposition(unlike Index for example. I will be stressed out if I have to translate the exposition there). Understanding is one thing, but translating require you to form a sentence which tends to get harder the longer the sentence is, and exposition tends to have longer sentences than dialogue .


And about the Murder of Roger Ackroyd, the end is what makes the novel great. It is the first time I read a novel who take that approach, that's why I like it so much. It's the same with And Then There Were None and Curtain .

[Teh_ping]

Personal top 5:

1. Hakomari
2. Baka Test
3. Katanagatari
4. Bungaku Shoujo
5. Fate/Zero

[larethian]

Well, I've procrastinated; it's hard to pick just 5. So for now, I'll settle for the following not in order of ranking.

Haruhi
Hakomari
Daiden (entire DYD series in fact)
Index
Baka Test

[EusthEnoptEron]

Oh well, I'll throw in some, too:

- Hakomari
- Sora no Kanata
- Haganai (especially the earlier ones)
- OreImo (especially the earlier ones)
- Mh... maybe Hantsuki? (Because it's got a special place in my collection)

[ShadowZeroHeart]

Oh well, I'll throw in some, too:

- Hakomari
- Sora no Kanata
- Haganai (especially the earlier ones)
- OreImo (especially the earlier ones)
- Mh... maybe Hantsuki? (Because it's got a special place in my collection)

Hmm... Interesting... Mind if I ask what "Sora no Kanata" and "Haganai" are about? For some reason I don't think I have read them before, and seeing how high they are on your list, I am kinda interested.

[Kadi]

Let's see... *copies Eusth* (note that I can't read well enough myself, so I'm mostly limited to translated LNs). The order may or may not be serious.

1) Half Prince
2) MariMite (YAY!)
3) Bakemonogatari
4) DYD
5) Aru hi bakudan ga ochitekite

Haven't read enough of Fate/Zero and Kara no Kyoukai yet, but once I do, they might replace DYD and Bakemonogatari.

Eternal last: Hakomari. Damn, Kasu (protagonist) is so friggin' useless, being last and then some is too good for this novel, no, this waste of paper.

Mind if I ask what "Sora no Kanata" and "Haganai" are about? For some reason I don't think I have read them before, and seeing how high they are on your list, I am kinda interested.

Haganai = Boku ha tomodachi ga sukunai./I have few/not enough friends => Wiki/teaser. Topic: Nothing. Guy hanging around with eccentric girls. And a trap, I think. Because they had no friends beforehand. They do eccentric stuff. No end.
Sora no Kanata... saaa, dunno.

[EusthEnoptEron]

Hmm... Interesting... Mind if I ask what "Sora no Kanata" and "Haganai" are about? For some reason I don't think I have read them before, and seeing how high they are on your list, I am kinda interested.

As for Sora no Kanata:
First off, there are no real illustrations save for some nicely drawn landscapes and interiors. The story revolves around the female smith "Sora" who produces the finest armors and other protective tools in her quite well-hidden shop. However, she only sells her goods to those who agree to three rules:
1. You must set Regis (the town she lives in) as your home and the place you return to.
2. You must try your best to return to this town.
3. As soon as you return, visit me and tell me about your adventure.

In exchange, she refunds one third of the price to the ones that return. She does this because she can't live under the sun, but wants to help them out on their journeys and wait for them. (well, there's more to it, but I suck at writing summaries)

I liked it because it deals quite well with several viewpoints, though the reader always remains in her shop. You see the threads come together there (because there's also a protagonist and a story going on) and can hear about what happened in an indirect way. Also, there's romanceee~

Spoiler for cover:

Spoiler! :

[larethian]

Let's see... *copies Eusth* (note that I can't read well enough myself, so I'm mostly limited to translated LNs). The order may or may not be serious.

1) Half Prince
2) MariMite (YAY!)
3) Bakemonogatari
4) DYD
5) Aru hi bakudan ga ochitekite

Haven't read enough of Fate/Zero and Kara no Kyoukai yet, but once I do, they might replace DYD and Bakemonogatari.

Eternal last: Hakomari. Damn, Kasu (protagonist) is so friggin' useless, being last and then some is too good for this novel, no, this waste of paper.

Mind if I ask what "Sora no Kanata" and "Haganai" are about? For some reason I don't think I have read them before, and seeing how high they are on your list, I am kinda interested.

Haganai = Boku ha tomodachi ga sukunai./I have few/not enough friends => Wiki/teaser. Topic: Nothing. Guy hanging around with eccentric girls. And a trap, I think. Because they had no friends beforehand. They do eccentric stuff. No end.
Sora no Kanata... saaa, dunno.

*peers at Hakomari's editor list*.

being an old-school fan of Fate/Stay Night VN, well yeah, Fate/Zero is an awesome prequel. But Daiden is epic, much more than denyuuden, I just haven't gotten to it yet .

[kuroi_shinigami]

Wait, aru hi bakudan is already translated? To English or another language? I heard that it's quite a touching collection of short story so I'm tempted to read it, though I can't find it in my local kinokuniya ><.

[Kadi]

*text*

*peers at Hakomari's editor list*.

being an old-school fan of Fate/Stay Night VN, well yeah, Fate/Zero is an awesome prequel. But Daiden is epic, much more than denyuuden, I just haven't gotten to it yet .

True (for F/Z). Although the best Fate franchise would be Kaleid Liner Prisma Ilya... "Fate meets magical girl", and it goes WTF. Pretty damn hilarious.
I didn't particularly differentiate between Daiden and DYD, but the style is nice. Especially how Ryner just starts screaming every now and then.

Wait, aru hi bakudan is already translated? To English or another language? I heard that it's quite a touching collection of short story so I'm tempted to read it, though I can't find it in my local kinokuniya ><.

Touching it is. And funny. And no, it's not translated yet, from what I know. Actually, the only reason I mentioned is because I'm waiting for A Certain Overzealous Recruiter to ask me if I want to translate it... although I've only read the first one and a half stories myself.

[Teh_ping]

You know, it took me a long time before I realised that Marimite--Maria-sama ga Miteru...

[Mystes]

You know, it took me a long time before I realised that Marimite--Maria-sama ga Miteru...

And I just realised it.

[Kadi]

Really? I've known it for as long as I can think... well, that's a lie, but I realized it rather quickly. After I couldn't figure out the meaning behind Mary-Might...

[Imoutolover]

1. Zaregoto/Ningen Series
2. Genesis Series (Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon)
3. Kamisama no Memochou
4. Monogatari Series
5. Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria or Regios