Hi All,

Aozora Bunko provides a huge reading resources but I'm a bit concerned that as all of the material is copyright-free it is necessarily a bit old. Is there any reason to be concerned about this? Should I simply opt for buying cheap paperbacks of short stories instead of, say, dealing with language differences of dated Japanese that might not be in use anymore? I'm not sure to what extent the "old" Japanese really differs from the new, and what the associated learning curve for reading such language might be.

Also, considering how large Aozora is and how ignorant I am of early 20th century Japanese authors, does anyone have a good suggested author list (something other than Natsume Souseki) or some particular favorite stories?

Thanks!

I think it's much more important to enjoy reading than make sure it's something you want to sound like when you talk/write. You might get a funny look from an outdated phrase, but they'll understand you, and you can always look up the modern equivalent later, if that ever happens.

I agree with the requirement of having enjoyable material, hence a request for the recommendations as I'm not too familiar with the Aozora selection of authors -- have any favorites?

It really depends on your level. If you have experience reading already, you'll be able to judge most of the differences and just enjoy the writing. I'm sure you can watch anime without sounding like a thug, and talk to women without sounding feminine, so there's no reason you can't read some prewar literature without sounding like Winston Churchill. If you're just learning to read, the differences in kanji usage/readings and outdated writing styles probably aren't ideal.

Miyazawa Kenji? He wrote a lot of children's stories which are pretty easy yet entertaining.

Thanks for the Miyazawa recommendation.

Am I the only one that feels like Aozora is overwhelming in its selection offering? Are there any parts of the site that give statistics on the hits that various authors get or stories to kind of sort things by popularity? In the end, reading any of these stories will be good practice and I'll learn some new vocabulary and grammar, but it would be nice to get that and walk away with a nice story in my mind.

Ｉ　don't know about popularity, but this site sorts them by genre. I linked to the childrens' lit section, because they are usually easier, but you can go to the main site via a link on the bottom if you want.