Ascendance of a Bookworm

Description

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A bookworm who had finally found a job as a librarian at a university was sadly killed shortly after graduating from college.

She was reborn as Myne, the daughter of a soldier in a world where the literacy rate is low and books were scarce. No matter how much she wanted to read, there were no books around. What is a bookworm to do without any books? Make them, of course.

Her goal is to become a librarian! So that she may once again live surrounded by books, she must start by making them herself.

Associated Names
One entry per line
Ascendence of a Bookworm: I'll Stop at Nothing to Become a Librarian
El Ratón de Biblioteca
Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen
La Petite Faiseuse de Livres
愛書的下克上
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~
책벌레의 하극상
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Tensei Shoujo no Rirekisho (12)
Common Sense of a Duke’s Daughter (7)
Release that Witch (7)
I’ll Live My Second Life! (5)
Parallel World Pharmacy (3)
Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? (3)
Recommendation Lists
  1. enjoyed my time
  2. ALLJP+
  3. Novels that are not romance focused
  4. The novel whose adaptation made me come here
  5. Isekai Fantasy | #1

Latest Release

Date Group Release
08/15/23 Trollcity Translations drama cd 6
05/18/23 Trollcity Translations drama cd 5
02/12/23 Trollcity Translations ss: tuuli's pov
09/16/22 Trollcity Translations ss: benno's pov
09/08/22 Trollcity Translations drama cd 4
06/08/22 Trollcity Translations ss: rozemyne’s pov
05/06/22 Trollcity Translations drama cd 3
03/19/22 Trollcity Translations ss: ferdinand's pov
10/20/21 Trollcity Translations bluray ss
09/28/21 Trollcity Translations drama cd 2
05/01/21 New Moon Translations v6c7
05/01/21 New Moon Translations v6c6
04/18/19 Infinite Novel... c103
04/04/19 Infinite Novel... c102
03/21/19 Infinite Novel... c101
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xg2x
xg2x rated it
December 19, 2020
Status: p3v2
Isekai novel where the MC isn't trying to recreate Japanese food and culture..?

Count me in bro.

Heck, they didn't even 'bow' to each other, which is very Japanese, and something so typically ignored with other isekai-author. I mean, you go to another world where the culture is identical to western, or sometimes extremely unique one of a kind, but they bow to each others like it's normal, and sometimes even fold their legs when sitting (seiza)..???? This small detail is very pleasing, author's clearly didn't took half measure when creating this... more>> 'world'.

So yeah, when you got the little details on the nail, there's no need to tell the about the big one, though there's unsatisfying part [for me personally], all in all reading this is very pleasing to the mind. <<less
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Nightenviel
Nightenviel rated it
October 5, 2017
Status: c55
Better than what I anticipated, I was gonna drop this one due the reviews of the MC being spoiled and what-not but that actually changes in time, And personally I actually like how the MC acts because its somehow more realistic and different to the usual "know it alls" which was somehow a breath of fresh air to me-

Yes the MC is selfish sometimes but that's what makes her fleshed out imo. There still isn't alot to say since there's still very few chapters but all I can say is... more>> I definitely recommend it if you enjoy some slice of life but with also some bits of seriousness and depth added here and there.

Cant wait for more, Tried reading via Google translate but gave up. <<less
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Raestloz
Raestloz rated it
October 16, 2022
Status: v21
A masterpiece of isekai genre. This is a must read for everyone who wants to see what a good isekai novel should look like. 5 out of 5 is insulting, this should've been 6 out of 5

THE WORLD:

The story begins with a generic "I died and reincarnated into medieval European society". Myne is a sickly 5 year old and her modern memories allows her to recreate modern inventions that proves to be revolutionary in such technologically backwards society!

So far so generic, the next thing is anything but. Ascendance of a... more>> Bookworm is set in a beautifully and meticulously crafted world, with worldbuilding so amazing I can't believe it can be done

A lot of novels use exposition dumps: walls and walls of text that explains the current situation to provide insight into why a particular character is reacting the way they do. Ascendance of A Bookworm utilizes Myne's sickly disposition and young age to explain the world in a believable and realistic way: she asks questions and others explain.

This does not happen in a generic "I don't know about things, let me ask a lot of questions about various things!", Myne finds herself in a naturally occurring situation in which normal people would understand what's being discussed, but her being a sickly young commoner child naturally does not, thus she raises a question, ending up with an explanation that slowly builds the world. For example, as a kid Myne understands the concept of days: day ends when the sun sets and day begins when the sun rises, she simply does not know the names of the days. Thus when scheduling an appointment Myne naturally asks about the name of the days

But the beauty of Ascendance of A Bookworm, is it does not overexplain itself. Each worldbuilding explanation is contained within itself, one explanation at a time, yet they fit together to form a cohesive world. While magic in the world is treated as The Force is in the original Star Wars (that is, "it exists, just accept it and don't think too much about it, we don't know how it works either"), there is consistent logic and reason when interacting with it. It's a beautiful world that for over 20 volumes simply refuses to contradict itself, a feat not even Star Wars managed to accomplish.

A lot of novels overexplain things. For example, they may explain how a city looks like, why it looks that way, and its history in an exposition dump. It is a mistake that many a new storyteller makes, there is never any reason to overcomplicate things by explaining things that have no relations to the story. For example: at some point Myne asks about money, and the novel explains how the currency works; its appearance on the other hand is inconsequential and therefore not explained. This keeps the story moving while still providing necessary context

The world does not revolve around Myne and we are continually reminded of this. As Myne ascends the social strata she continues, she finds herself in more situations that demands explanations, yet these explanations are not overbearing. They're always concise, swift, context appropriate, and only pertains the current situation nothing more nothing less, delivered in dialogues that flows naturally and allows each character to shine.

THE CHARACTERS:

The main characters are very memorable. They have personality that stays consistent throughout the story but also allows for growth in ways that do not change who they are at the core. Supporting characters are less fortunate but not a cause for concern, they are mere supporting characters after all and time spent on developing supporting characters are better spent on progressing the story.

Indeed, Ascendance of A Bookworm is pretty unusual in that it stays faithfully in its perspective of being Myne: a sickly young child. Some novels will shift perspective into one of the stronger characters to show the action packed battle even when the main character didn't participate. In this novel, Myne is often told to "stay put" and "not get involved" while the adults finish their jobs. Quite a few times, all we get is Myne sitting around waiting and the adults come knocking to tell her "it's over". It is a very realistic take on what kids generally do, although by no means does it alter the gravity of the situation. More often than not, the real meat is not in the battle, but the aftermath.

Finally, while the story necessitates a dark background for characters, it does not define them. Quite a few novels use dark backgrounds (such as, say, broken home or abusive partners) and use it as an excuse to write a one dimensional character that is simply that background personified. Characters start out with a personality shaped by their background, but grows at their own pace, in a believable manner.

THE STORY:
There is much to be learned from this novel. Too many times, isekai starts with an ideal situation: one where someone's ideas are readily accepted and implemented, without any problems aside from thinking it up and skipping straight to "it's ready, let's do it"

Ascendance of a Bookworm explores the socioeconomic and political impact of "good ideas", which other novels generally waive over or skip entirely. Accomplishments of a Duke's Daughter for example only has the heroine thinking up a good idea, meeting with exceptionally gifted people who can "smooth out resistance", make a few speeches to conveniently convince everyone else and then it gets implemented with no repercussions. Meanwhile revolutionary products are tossed up as "Try to make it" and then it skips directly to "we marketed it and it's a huge success"

In this novel, even a mere novel idea has repercussions: how the customers will react, how the merchants will react, how the nobles will react, even how the neighbors will react are all considered and used to further the story, a testament to the adage "the pathway to Hell is paved with good intentions"

The beauty of this novel, is that the world does not revolve around Myne, and while Myne is blessed with competent friends, they're nowhere near the best. Indeed, the story takes place in a location that can only be described as "meh" by the world's standards. Part of the story is how Myne elevate everyone around her, but the world progresses without her, and as I said quite a few times a chapter starts with "now that that business has been taken care of offscreen..."

But the best part of the story is how much it makes sense. Things are consistent throughout the story, and the things that Myne did offhandedly are eventually explained, sometimes even forming an integral part of the conflict to come.

Unlike many other novels where each arc seem to have little to do with each other as if the author stopped at the end of an arc and then started thinking about something new, each arc in Ascendance of A Bookworm flows smoothly into the next, the interactions and situations happening naturally. As it turns out, the author explained that she already had a general outline of the entire story before even writing the first volume, allowing her to maintain an unbroken flow as the story transitions to the next arc

At the end of each volume are side stories explaining the events from a different character's perspective. Quite a few novels such as "My Daughter Left The Nest and Became an S Rank Adventurer" or "If It's For My Daughter I'll Even Defeat A Demon Lord" use side stories for inconsequential daily life musings, sometimes even inserted right in the middle of the volume for no apparent reason. Ascendance of A Bookworm uses side stories to explain everything leading to the referenced event (usually ones which Myne has no knowledge of and the adults sweep them with "that's taken care of"), they're useful to further understand the story, but can be safely ignored.

In a way, they're like MCU's post credit scenes, and I love reading them

CONCLUSION:

Ascendance of A Bookworm is a masterpiece that deserves the title of "must read". It's an incredible example of how to write a competent character with understandable flaws, consistent world, believable conflicts, and at a reasonable pace to create an enchanting story that always leaves you wanting to know more <<less
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bloggbigg
bloggbigg rated it
November 29, 2021
Status: --
  • Warning: this review is based on some novel and some (possibly different) anime knowledge. I honestly don't there's much different- but feel free to let me know if I'm mistaken in regards to the novel version.
I started out loving this series, thinking of it's potential and the possibilities of where the story could go. Very quickly I learned that the author has the unique ability to take a story to low places after accidentally working to a high point. This story becomes more a stone for honing the reader's disappointment... more>> to a sharp edge, than any stretch of the 'MC progressing positively' in this dumb 'backdrop to the MCs desire' style world.

The Good:

  • Many secondary characters are somewhat likeable.
The BAD:

  • The MC is a nonsense plot puppet.
    1. She is old enough to not be an idiot who acts like a child, but refuses. Japanese authors love to do this 'acts like they're drawn' BS. I know that to some degree she must pretend to 'not be reincarnated'- but that has nothing to do with her brain dead goals and choices.
    2. Her goal is nonsense and s*upid 'plot fulfilling' tripe. People like certain genres of books- not 'any book will do'. I suppose in desperation one would be less picky- 'fair enough'...
      Spoiler

      But that doesn't mean that you'll join a the nearest church (where they act like jerks) just to get your hands of some random bible

      [collapse]
    3. No planned plotting. Constant pointless meandering.
      Spoiler

      All her effort to make her own book was a complete waste of time. We still don't know if she was even capable as a writer or had any ideas for books (as if just anyone can pull that off...). Nope, author just layers failure on top of failure, then 'tired of this'/'finally got a new idea' ('Yeah, churches have books!') & author moves on to the next thing.

      [collapse]
    4. Her 'disease' is handled in a manner being representative of the authors laziness (to the degree of it being nonsense).
      Spoiler

      Being able to use magic without the knowledge of any spells is a death sentence- that pretty much means that unsupported bloodlines are a self-culling group. That's bad enough- but the profit potential of these desperate (to not die) kids should be undeniable- but instead they leave them to die, or acquire overpriced trinkets to decide their power of they can afford it. No one thinks of sharing a 'do nothing' spell to at least save their lives until they can be properly exploited as a valuable resource?

      [collapse]
    5. MC has no conviction, no real direction, just doing 'whatever' despite supposedly being older, wiser, and with memories from another world? How disappointing can your behavior be? Let's find out next episode!
  • All other characters are shallow plot puppets who mostly embody some crass stereotype. Disappointing 'loving' family. Wasted potential in successive other 'experimental' (for the author) relationships.
  • The world is some knock-off of 'medieval, except for that weird thing I feel like changing' (in a way that is completely not thought through).
    Spoiler

    The church being as dumb as if is, and not seeing the connection to 'commoners with this power' and 'using the power to make more bountiful crops'... One guy or even ten can be that dumb- but not forever. Why pretend this is the first time anyone's seem this issue? How long has this church been around? Easy- the author hasn't thought it through.

    [collapse]
  • How the church treats people is dumb in general (no 'goodwill' needed for donations?) - but 'whatever'.
  • I stopped caring about the story around here.
    Spoiler

    Meine's 'power up face slap' to the church leader was more plot convenient nonsense I just had to laugh at.

    [collapse]
The different:

  • That explosive growth plant- 'trombe' (or whatever). No one cares much about 'strategic weapons' (really- it almost is) growing wild... Definitely don't need to research the flammability of the paper made with it or anything... Ah. well- that's it. How dumb an MC can be despite any advantage of knowledge or experience? You got me...
Anyway- it's a 'turn your brain off' read with a very slow pace.

Some like it. I just got irritated... <<less
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MCJTee
MCJTee rated it
May 20, 2019
Status: c96
I have read the reviews and frankly, I can understand where those who gave it really low stars are coming from but I also understand where they fall short.

First things first, this novel is not an action isekai. It's not full of surprises or epic battles or OP powers that most people who read Isekai novels tend to read.

This is a SLOW BURN novel. It isn't like the raging fire that most of its kind typically are. BUT it pays off in the long run, which I believe deters a... more>> lot of readers. A lot of them would like to have the payoff really early, and although that might work out in some, it won't here.

Spoiler

When our MC and his friend finally learns how to make marketable paper, it isn't after about 50 chapters after that were they are able to devise a proper system of mass producing the paper withe relatively cheap labor. Plus this cheap labor was only possible because the MC applied to become a priestess in a church, which would not have been desireable because of so many other circumstances along the way that you feel like, "Good thing they carefully worldbuilt the environment where she lives in because without it, it would've been messy"

[collapse]

Also, a rebuttal: MC is annoying and selfish? Ok, so is that in anyway, unrealistic of a person to react when said person was reincarnated into a dying girls body with a frail body and a deadly "disease"
Spoiler

not actually a disease, she suffers from too much mana inside hwr body which burns her up

[collapse]
??? Also did you perhaps missed that one line that says her personalty and emotional capacity also adapted to her age that she felt she was as if a child again but with her original mental faculty?

How is it unrealistic for a kid, to not throw a tantrum?

Oh wait you think throwing a tantrum only because of books is unreasonable even for a child? Even if that child's only safeguard from being devoured by her sickness is her strong will to be able to read books? Likee seriously the only thing keeping her alive is her will and desire for books?

She dumb as hell even though she has read a lot of books? Excuse me can you recall every book you have read? Excuse me did you read chapter 90-something where she said that she tends to just read the book and sometimes let the contents whizz by her as she continues on.

Or do you mean to say that it is unreasonable for an MC to be a bookworm, who by definition is someone who reads a lot of books, but not smart?

Like not all bookworms are smart. Not all smart people are bookworms. It's a venn diagram not a circle.

tl;dr Really good really slow burn webnovel you can read lightly, not too much action, no epic battles or OP abilities, good worldbuilding but again the author takes so much time to build the story around first before continuing the plot <<less
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KanadeTenshi
KanadeTenshi rated it
June 6, 2018
Status: Completed
The world building of this novel is absolutely phenomenal. The original WN has more than 600 chapters, and I literally could not stop until I got through them all. And this is from someone who drops series left and right.

The translation is also of top quality.

This series is definitely one of the most memorable that I've ever read, among CN and JP and KR all combined.
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Raizel_Scarlet
Raizel_Scarlet rated it
June 11, 2020
Status: Completed
I've seen some 1 star reviews and I have to say, If you haven't finish reading the whole thing and rated it based on the fact you don't like the main character, that's your right but don't discourage others.

I also don't like how the protagonist act in the beginning of the novel but the more I ponder about it the more it makes sense. The fact that I read the whole thing and thinks a little makes it so heart-warming cause I could see the character development of Maine.

... more>>
Spoiler

If you take some time to think about it, it will make a whole lot of sense. In the beginning, Motosu Urano, a 22 years old woman died from an earthquake buried in her library full of books. She then wakes up and realized that she had been reborn into a 5 years old from some medieval time like a fantasy. The fact that she looks for the thing that she loves the most- book is a coping mechanism. If you read throughout he whole story, every time things got so bad, Maine will read a book to calm herself. Almost like escaping from reality. The time where she got separated from her family and plunges into the noble society, her monologues suggest that she assuring herself from all anxiety and scary feelings by thinking that she will get to read more books.

[collapse]

The character development of the characters are believable and reasonable. It feels so smooth and not forced at all. The characters feel alive and the world building is simply fantastic. Every little detail in the novel fascinates me as it makes a lot of sense in that world setting. The final CP is simply perfect. It has all elements of seriousness, politics, comedy, slice of life and a little romance. Its so moe.

In short, I suggest anyone who like some good world-building, good character development, good story telling, good plot and simply a good book to read this masterpiece. <<less
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Diskat
Diskat rated it
October 5, 2018
Status: c73
A potentially good fic brought down by the ever dense, somewhat idiotic protagonist. Indeed, I agree with the others. The protagonist is not a bookworm, but a book fetishist. A true bookworm should care not about the medium, but the contents. All the chapters I have read so far appears that what she wants are books, the contents itself don't matter. And whenever she encounters a book, she forgets everything else and tries her hardest to get to it. It's not endearing at all.

... more>>
Spoiler

I was also irritated by her disease. I wonder why everyone is ignoring the elephant solution in the room. A disease that is caused by too much mana? The only solution is to marry a noble or to buy usage of a tool? Why not you just use your mana!? Nobody explained why you couldn't do it, and apparently it wasn't until this chapter that the novel properly explained that the protagonist didn't even know she had mana.


I've pretty much given up on this novel simply because it wasn't explained properly in time.
[collapse]
<<less
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Ichigakuren
Ichigakuren
July 9, 2017
Status: --
First of all, it's not for kids looking for harem OP MC Isekai series, so, before you start giving it a bad score after reading, please consider your self first. Thanks.

Now then, it's great, that's it. It's a niche read, really. But an MC that's struggling with every day, and the resolutions that comes with it, the very feeling of 'living a life' is here, and in all honesty, it's refreshing to read. With all those OP MC World Saving Isekai Protagonists out there, and some others, this is, like,... more>> a palate cleanser.

So if you appreciate a good slice of life (and if you're poor, like me, it hits home) do give it a read. If you're looking for action Isekai, I'd suggest everything else. <<less
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mordicus18
mordicus18 rated it
February 21, 2020
Status: c128
I dont know how I could read till chapter 128 but I did... and each time the MC spoke or thought I wanted to b*tchslap her... she is obviously a selfish self centered person with a book fetish. She doesn't really care about her family, if their was a choice between a book or them, she would choose the book. There are some good things she did for others but it s always followed by her selfish attitude about books, she isn't even doing all those business to help improve... more>> the family condition but to make book (book she will wrote not book with new informations, so I dont get why she is obsessed with books) <<less
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Treviisolion
Treviisolion rated it
October 25, 2019
Status: c127
This novel while probably not for everyone has been quite well done. A few things to get out of the way, first if you like action in your isekai’s you’re in the wrong place, second this is indeed isekai if you absolutely can’t stand them then move on, if you are okay with isekai that are good then you may enjoy this. Third, when this talks about ascendance it appears to refer to her social status (at the very least I see no indication that becoming the god of books... more>> is a possibility) and with that said, I must also warn that the protagonist is not arrogant, so if you like the face-slapping genre, this is also not for you. While Maïne does not lack self-confidence and is willing to fight when needed, she like most Japanese prefer to settle things peacefully, don’t mistake tolerance for weakness. Finally, the main character is a bibliophile, she loves to read and doesn’t appear to care much for what it is that she reads, while it does appear she has some weak preferences, when given the choice between no reading and reading dull material it appears she will almost always go with reading. It is her raison d’etre and shapes the story in two ways. First the story is more or less told by following along Maïne’s quest to be surrounded by books she can read all day long, information is presented as Maïne learns it and she tends only to learn what she deems necessary to accomplish that goal, and second it greatly affects the plot. To most people entertainment is a secondary or tertiary goal to be accomplished when primary goals such as survival and secondary goals (if it is not a secondary goal) such as raising a family are being fulfilled. As mentioned reading is her raison d’etre, as such survival is necessary only so long as it leads to more reading. Making money is pointless if it takes her away from reading. If you don’t like these kind of narrow-driven protagonists then this may not be for you, though I will note that while she is a bit obsessed it has never been to the point that I’ve thought no one like her could reasonably exist or be someone so rare I’d never meet them in my life, so decide as yoh like.

As an example of her weirdness
Spoiler

at one point Maïne the main character has become a pretty wealthy merchant apprentice who has started a new paper industry and is already wealthy enough she can probably buy a book or two should she be able to procure them. That said she has a terminal disease with a year expectancy so when she discovers that the temple has a library and that only priestesses can use it, she immediately offers to throw everything away in order to get the chance to read, only backing out when others point out that she likely wouldn’t become high-ranked enough to read within her life expectancy.

[collapse]

Assuming all the above hasn’t turned you away I would highly recommend it, especially if you enjoy medieval economic and political plights of protagonists. Maïne (pronounced like English ‘mine’) was a Japanese young woman who transmigrated (for those unfamiliar with the term, instead of reincarnating/being reborn as a new person in a new world, she instead took over the body of another individual who also died aka Maïne, along with all their memories, though considering Maïne’s age and lack of knowledge or personal connections it’s not much different from a traditional rebirth reincarnation) into the body of a frail five-six year old city guardsman daughter who had just died of a fever (cause of fever initially unknown) and was brought back by the power of transmigration (body is basically where it was just prior to Maïne losing consciousness for what presumably would have been her last time). As a modern adult she is relatively unhappy with having been put in a (from our perspective) poor family where hygiene is practically nonexistant, along with having to deal with a frail young girl’s body, but like the Bibliophile she is, decides that she can endure as long as she has books. When it quickly dawns on her that average townspeople don’t read, and that books, and even paper are far too expensive for a commoner to ever have in their life, she determines that she’s going to make books no matter what it takes and also works on improving her quality of life through such methods such as creating simple shampoo in order to make her time without books more bearable. Though she has the knowledge and much of the mindset of a modern Japanese woman, it appears that she is greatly influenced by her body as she often acts very impulsive in obtaining her goals, lacking a lot of the caution adults tend to build up, and acting very selfish at times despite being relatively charitable and patient and helping once she is able to take a step back or is reminded of things outside of her raison d’etre.

The pace, especially at the beginning, can be fairly slow, but her achievements quite rewarding when they finally arrive. The first translator also did a wonderful job, though reading on the iPhone tumblr app was a bit of a pain. In terms of worldbuilding, the author has done a well-done job for a webnovel writer, being somewhat better than even the average published fantasy writer. In particular when you get to the Temple, you can tell that their religious myths have actually determined quite a bit of the Temple worker’s manners and decoration with symbolism that fits very well with the creation myth presented. On the economics side, it feels decent, but not outstanding, as it uses a base 10 copper, silver, gold mixed metal coinage system that has never actually been in use outside of fantasy worlds, but at the very least the prices appear to be reasonable and hold up decently to actual calculations. The guild system is very well done and matches historical Western Europe fairly well, so for worldbuilding on average I’d probably give a B+ to A-, beyond average, but definitely not perfect. The characters themselves have been written quite well, Maïne very often comes across as a energetic child who often drags everyone along with her and her antics can be quite amusing when you consider how they must look to others. The other characters tend to also be well-written and also feel just as believable as Maïne, and though most characters end up scolding her a decent amount of the time, they all have their own ways of doing so that fit their character. Overall I’d give it a solid A, it’s not spectacular but it does appear to be relatively flawless. As for the writing itself, while this is harder to grade as the translator can greatly impact what this is in English, I’d have to say it is pretty well written for those who enjoy more economic-driven isekai. While it did not have me on emotional rollercoasters as some novels do, nor keep me at the edge of my seat in suspense, the slow and steady pace of progress and Maïne’s journey to create and read books was incredibly engaging, and kept me reading through the night. Another solid A from me. Overall I’d highly recommend this for anyone who for example liked Holo and Spice. <<less
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renenzant rated it
February 26, 2019
Status: Completed
This is one of my favorite novel.

At first, the MC seems selfish and childish, but she gradually change.

... more>>
Spoiler

It doesn’t take that long either, after she started meeting the merchant and has a clear goal of making her book, she has become much better.

I think the reason she acts so childish was due to depressed by her death when she was at the peak of her dream, which is becoming a librarian. She is obsessed with books, yet in the world she is transmigrated to, commoner doesn’t even know how to read, incredibly expensive paper, and on top of that, she has an extremely frail body which drop sick everytime she walks too far.

and after the story progressed some, she said she was really sorry that she hasn’t done any filial duty for her mother and leaving her behind.

Under that kind of mind state, it’s great that she can raise her spirit again and again as she fights to fulfill her dream once more.

[collapse]

The world building, the characters, and the relationships are something that I could say as beautiful.

There isn’t much romance (if can be said any at all), and yet the bonds between friendship and family that the characters have are beautiful enough that it could replace any romantic story.

There are also many funny scenes. The things the MC made are all interesting too.

Spoiler

Some of the time skip are maddening to me, since usually that means a new arc of the story, while I still really like how it was before anything changed.

But that’s also shows a realistic world where the culture and politics made the MC goes where she down want to, become someone she doesn’t want, and yet she doesn’t lose her dream and ambition.

I cried a few times reading this novel.

Spoiler

don’t worry, even though many trials, this novel ends happily :)

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At first I read the manga, but since the story is getting more and more interesting, I search for the translation, and after getting stuck waiting for the next chapters, I finally finish it all with google translate. <<less
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heishiken
heishiken rated it
March 1, 2016
Status: --
Not quiete sure about this Story yet, it irks me that the MC is so s*upid and freaks out over things that a Person that lived for 22 Years (think that was former age) should not.
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hose246
hose246 rated it
June 29, 2022
Status: c36
This is a very detailed and well-written slice of life fantasy novel.

First off, if you're looking for fighting and face slapping or whatever power fantasy MCs do, then this isn't the right place for you. This novel focuses more on the "living" aspect than the "fighting" aspect of a fantasy world.

The author took his time to build up the details of the world, to the point where it's impossible to find any plot-holes. How the world functions are also neatly detailed by the author, to the point where it actually... more>> seem very close to reality. The author gives enough information on what you need to know, letting you understand what is happening without you being extremely confused. The introduction of this information are not dumped on you all at the same time, instead, the author chooses when to give you this information to make you understand what is happening.

The protagonist isn't perfect, she makes faults, shows and are driven by her emotions, worries, and have goals she wants to reach. All the characters develop slowly, their personality don't suddenly go 180 degrees after some dramatic event or something. Instead, the author takes his/her time to slowly develop the character through the slice of life aspects, especially the main character. Due to this, the author eliminates the flaw of general slice of life novels where the contents are extremely skippable.

One thing that stands out the most is that the main protagonist actually has a goal she wants to reach. Having a goal makes the reader wants to continue reading the book, because you can see that there is going to be an end the novel instead of just being a generic fantasy slice of life copy-paste novel where it might be easier to see the bottom of the void than getting a glimpse at its ending.

Because of how thorough the world building it, it really makes you feel like you're reading another world from another person's POV.

This novel is heavily recommended, but not if you're looking for some action are epic stuffs. This novel is mostly a chill and slice of life novel, with some occasional drama mixed in to spice up the stuff. Keep in mind this is a slice of life novel, not an action one. <<less
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Bibliofille
Bibliofille rated it
January 6, 2020
Status: --
It really is a fantastic series, with a lot of misconceptions from those who...
a.) do not fully comprehend the native language, and/or the culture of the writer as things are lost in translation.
b.) aren't far enough in the novel to appreciate it...
c.) have ethical/technical gripes with it that really aren't related to it's quality of writing.
d.) read the raw web-novel version instead of the fleshed out and edited light novel edition. (which, let me tell you as an avid LN reader, it makes a world of... more>> difference).

I'm not saying the novel has no flaws. It's full of it, and some criticisms really are irrefutable, but...
I've made notes of some of the commentaries that get repeated by the readers here, and this is what I have to say...
Spoiler

You don't need to like the protagonist to enjoy the novel. It's a very rare GEM in the isekai world where plenty of stories are only about revenge or power-building up. It's like reading/watching the Medieval Modern History segments on YT where you get all the nitty gritty setting details about how people actually live in the old days. It's a sub-genre of "information-high" isekais, where enjoyment might purely be for slowburn world-building. It's not the same as slice of life. To those who say it's like the rest of the rabble...I've read over 5000 isekai titles in every sort of language I can, and I can confidently say it's really not. There are similar premises and qualities in other novels, but the essence and purpose is totally different.

Getting finicky over the translation title of Honzuki. Bookworm/book-fetishist, does it really matter? If you want the literal translation, it's (revolution of the) "book-lover" which you can take either way.

Don't stay for the romance. It's not that kind of series. The author does a great job of explaining and developing interpersonal relationships. Moreover, although Myne does get married later on... it's purely platonic. Yes people, platonic relationships are a thing. Not everything needs to be romanticized nor does age-gap always needs to be demonized. Context is important. No, her husband is not a lolicon. She would've been forced to marry or be engaged by the society one way or another. It may be morally wrong for our modern society, but marrying or being engaged at a younger age in their world is also probably a normal thing if you consider the living standards and life expectancy of the people. Sometimes marriage was also just purely political, like in Freida's case. Just think back to the middle-ages.

Is Myne a 20 year old or a 5 year old? This is a spoiler which gets explained later on the novel; and so there is a reason why she acts like a little child with a lot of adult knowledge. The circumstance is a bit more complex, to say a 20 year old soul took over the body of a 5 year old is inaccurate. Nevertheless there is a reason why she acts the way she does. And to add to the topic...

"The heroine is insufferable... ly s*upid, and childish---"
She's insufferable, but she also is indeed suffering. She's also still physically an actual child. Just because you have the memories of an old soul, doesn't mean your physical and neurological developments will have caught up, and it's something not many people think about. There's also a psychological phenomenon called "role-bias", which is a scenario in which people, when given a specific role, tend to modify themselves into fitting and fulfilling that role. A famous one is the cop-inmate case study. I'm sure if something like... you transmigrate into the body of a cat, trust me, you will start behaving like one. The author also states that you are meant to dislike Myne at the start of the series. She was meant to be dislikeable. She's so realistically a POS trouble-making child that it's refreshingly different and accurate. And not only does she grow and learn from her mistakes, she's also being forced to readapt to not 1, but 3 new and different cultures simultaneously. If I were in her shoes I would probably implode from all the external and internal pressure.

This last one is a side-gripe but someone once wrote that "Myne reads a ton of books, why is she not a genius?"
....................Y'know, just because you read a lot, doesn't mean you're going to remember everything you've read. Myne says so herself, that she's actually a very average person, and even Ferdinand has accidentally overstated her mental abilities based on his first impressions. Moreover the things she's been making aren't crazy fancy inventions, they're very common home-ec skills (which by the way---kind of isn't a thing in North American culture, but is in Asia... you are taught in school a variety of life skills outside of typical education).

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catory
catory rated it
April 26, 2019
Status: c103
It's honestly astonishing to me personally that there's such debate over whether or not the main character is a self centered unlikable protagonist, because this series is probably one of the isekai that has had the most care bar none I've ever seen put into a light novel setting. It's a fantasy medieval Europe that actually addresses the realities of actually, y'know, living in medieval Europe! Just the setting details that go into something as relatively inconsequential as, say, bathing, are stunning. And information is doled out in a reasonable... more>> manner and pace, given where the protagonist is born??

Like, man, if you want an isekai where the MC is dropped into a fantasy world where they know everything and instantly gets cool powers and all the ladies (or dudes), or a ~realistic~ protag (which mostly just means they're down with slaughter if it means they get their way lbr) then... those stories are a literally a dime a dozen. But I've never read anything quite like this novel before. I slammed through all 103 chapters translated in one sitting and I don't regret a thing. <<less
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PianoConspiracy
PianoConspiracy rated it
September 24, 2021
Status: v6c7
First things first, I strongly recommend reading the official translations of this novel. While some of the people who translated this are quite good, others are... rough to say the least. A lot of nuance and character motivation is lost when the translation is poor. This is especially important for this novel as that is basically the entire story, so either head to J-novel to get it or find a friend who has an account on j-novel and kindly compiled it into an epub or pdf for you *wink wink*.

Now... more>> on to the story and characters themselves. It starts off slow: a story about a book otaku reincarnated into the body of a sickly commoner girl and doing their best to bring books to their new world starting from the bare basics like paper and ink. If you are familiar with Tamora Pierce's Young Adult novels the formula is very similar: Slow and gradual improvement in their life circumstances through hard work, fantasy elements that aren't overwhelmingly the main focus, and a large insight into the day to day lives of people in the world. The biggest thing that matches between the two of them are the fact that characters have motivations and act upon them independently of the main character.

Often the trap that online serial novels fall into is that they show the perspective of the main character and no one else matters. The friends, family, followers, and enemies would show up for flavor but you are never really given a true reason for what they are doing, or really move past a 2-d cutout or caricature of a person (isekai are notorious for this, especially the wish fulfillment ones and wuxia ones). This novel nimbly hops over this trap and goes further. Characters interact with each other, have positive and negative quirks and motivations. Good people have bad aspects. Bad guys have good aspects. People grow and change or don't and suffer the consequences. Everyone feels 3D and it really drives home the difference between this and a lot of other novels on this site.

And its not all slow world building either, here and there there will be meaningful action as problems come to a high point that require resolution, but it not the main focus of the story. At the end of the day the main character is a child, even if she does learn to use magic.

Strongly recommend the read. <<less
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plainbricks
plainbricks rated it
September 24, 2021
Status: Completed
This is one of my fave of all time (I read the official Chinese translated light novel version, although near the end I read the unofficial translated webnovel). There are over 600 chapters, not including the side stories and spin off!

I love all the characters including the MC who gets so much hate here from people who didn't made it to half of the series. : (She gets so much character growth.

... more>>
Spoiler

she's a 5 year with sudden 22 years worth of memories! how do you expect a 5 year old to behave!

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The plot is slow, yes, but it's realistic. Other heroines invent goods almost immediately but that's not possible at all. the story really starts picking up midseries and all plot holes get fixed.

I also cried during the final quarter of the series so hard. The romance is glacial as hell but when it finally hits though... <<less
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rndmsmmrflng
rndmsmmrflng rated it
September 13, 2020
Status: Completed
To be honest, I didn't expect to love this. I'm only writing this review right now although I've finished the web novel since last week of Aug. So my feels have calmed down.

I started with the anime then proceeded to the LN (until P3V2). Since I can't wait anymore I decided to read the WN and rely on MTL. It was hard adjusting to the MTL but I was so immersed with the story so I forced myself to get used to it. Fortunately, I was able to understand the... more>> flow and 80% of the translated content.

Okay here it goes:

I love everything about it. Every. Thing. I love Myne's character and her ideas. She's so fun to follow! For me, the drama and comedy was balanced. There were parts where I can't help but cry and lots of laughter that followed. I love Ferdinand and the way he cherished the important 'people' around him in his own way. I love how it turned out and how it ended. Looking back, I initially cringed at the spoiler I happen to read but as I go along the story and understand how it went to that point I kind of feel like it was okay/fine or it was not a terrible thing at all.

I love the details around the Gods and although im not really the religious type, I find their 'prayers' and the 'divine' parts beautifully written.

One of the things that frustrates me is having to rely on MTL to finish the WN. There were parts where that I don't get (which is expected). I'm also dying to see illustrations!

I will definitely reread once the LN finishes! <<less
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saix2
saix2 rated it
May 28, 2020
Status: c677
Warning

If you read this because you think the first person you met or socialize is the one, then this is not for you...

... more>>
Spoiler

Sorry Lutz Shippers -clearly from the start and during Mark's PoV (Part 1) she already given the hint of his future (it was planned from the beginning he is a side character), if you didn't read that and choose to ignore then you are the kind of impatient reader who clearly only loves fantasizing what looks good in the eyes...

And now I saw some crybabies asking why Ferdinand (High Priest) is the Ml? Sure you won't understand since you choose to ignore the plot... Stated in the beginning about her mana and devouring... On whatever angles you look impossible for a side character like Lutz to overcome... How blind as a shippers are you all???

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As clearly stated in the beginning MC is a shut-in originally before being isekaid on her current world... She started as an annoying character but she gradually develop over time... Entering other social circles (commoner, merchants, temple, aristocrat)... And by experiencing and comparing it all first hand she grows up as a better character and affects mostly those around her resulting to the betterment of her surroundings...

Off course you won't agree with me since you are still on that chapter stuck asking yourself whether you will continue or not because you heard the endgame... Well try it... I am now on the rereading phase for the official light novel translation and already supported the series by subscribing and buying the digital copies... And I assure you that time and money is not wasted.... ? <<less
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