In this video I’m doing the mammoth recap of my 2024 reading year… which was honestly kind of unhinged: I read 87 books in Japanese. I break everything down by category (nonfiction, fiction, and manga/comics) and I talk through what I actually picked up, what hit, what surprised me, and what I’d genuinely recommend if you’re trying to build a Japanese reading habit through immersion. I start with nonfiction (including the one book I somehow forgot to mention at first), then move into fiction—where you’ll see a mix of modern lit, classics, and shorter works—and I end with manga/comics, which is such an underrated way to get tons of input without burning out. The big takeaway is that “holistic language learning” isn’t about forcing one perfect method—it’s about stacking enjoyable, sustainable input. If you want to read more in Japanese, my approach is: choose books that keep you turning pages, let your interests lead, and use recaps like this to build your next-to-read list without overthinking it.