I’ve read the first three volumes of Sword Art Online: Progressive (I like the world building Kawahara’s doing with this remake, and a number of the original characters are interesting. If only I could say the same for Kirito and Asuna…) I also ready the first volume of The Legend of the Galactic Heroes, which, while clearly old-fashioned in terms of prose, was engrossing in the way it presented its characters and how the interact in the geopolitics of this universe. I’ll be looking forward to reading volume 2.
Personally I have read a few from my end, from what I remember I have read:
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Taimadou Gakuen 35th Shiken Shoutai (5 Volumes before the DMCA came around, I think it came weeks before the anime even ended… which, the anime was pretty poorly adapted imo)
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Sword Art Online Series (Up to Alicazation)(From what I remember I read them through a translator that was translating them on wattpad… I know its not a good site but I did read them there, it was entertaining, better than the anime due to its explanations and world building is pretty much fine for me)
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Soshite Fumetsu no Renagne (This one was probably the more recent one that I’ve read, and I loved it after a few more volumes from my friend who gave me the translations. Pretty much what I wanted, in all honesty)
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Log Horizon (This one is better than Sword Art Online’s Novel and the second season of the adaptation personally, and I think this one is pretty well from the writing aspect towards the character aspect. Really would recommend it)
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Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance (I’ve read 3 volumes of it, and its pretty enjoyable, but I heard from Volume 4 and onward is where the actual characters get well done characterization, and the way the writer did it, from what I was told, its a bare case. It’s pretty much characterizing the characters all at once. Or at least from what I know, the main cast)
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DanMachi (This one is pretty much the “generic” one but in all honesty, its much better explained in the LN compared to the anime adaptation, and well paced for the last 2 volumes that the anime adapted which was rushed)
Other series to include:
Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut
Black Bullet
Hundred
Kagerou Daze
Ikai no Gunshi no Fairytale
Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei
Machine-Doll wa Kizutsukanai
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Alicization is the good part though! Well, for a bit.
Thought the arc was pretty good from what I’ve read personally. >-<
Personally I love Eugeo and Alice so.
With more and more Light Novels getting official translations, I thought it would be a good idea to list them, so both fans and those who are interested can enjoy the proffessional translation!
Therefore, if a series you like is getting an official release, let us know. Posting the current progress would be of little use, but if a serialization is already completed, please do mention it.
Officially translated Light Novel series:
- Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - complete. (It was already complete when I created this topic)
- Book Girl (Bungaku Shoujo) - complete
- A Certain Magical Index (To Aru Majutsu no Index) - first season serialization ongoing
- My Youth Romantic Comedy is Wrong as Expected (Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru) - ongoing
- The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria (Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria - aka Hakomari) - ongoing
- No Game No Life - ongoing
- Monogatari Series - ongoing
- Zaregoto - ongoing
Also, once the LB Bookclub is over and your lives feel empty and meaningless, you can skim through this topic and maybe find something good to read next.
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Don’t forget No Game No Life! I just ordered the first volume last night from based Yen Press.
Monogatari Series is being officially translated, going to be a while before it catches up though.
Over the years, I’ve garnered an interest in a few LN series. Some are being translated (such as Spice and Wolf, No Game no Life), while others are more obscure, meaning they may not get translated (such as Sakurasou, Inou Battle).
*single tear drips from eye *
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Zaregoto was recently picked up again officially after Del Rey’s localization failed and died many years ago. I believe Vertical is the one publishing both it and the Monogatari series, so I guess they managed to work something out with Nisio. Would be interested in getting Ningen too, so people can experience some of Nisio’s most awesome characters, but Japanese puns are gonna puncture the quality of translations.
Also, I’m really sad Yen Press never localized all the other Bungaku Shoujo stories. The main story is complete but volume wise, they only did half of what’s out there. I’ve read a few of them in Japanese, and they’re basically just as good, or even better than the main series, depending on how you feel about the heroines 
I love Nisioisin’s works, the monogatari series is kind of weak compared to his other stories tho. I have every 人間 book in Chinese, but the Zaregoto series (also in Chinese) are out of print so it’s hard to collect them, to this date I am still missing the last book ;_;
The good thing about reading his works in Chinese is that his writing is relatively well-kept in TL, second only to perhaps the original ver.
Definitely, the Zaregoto universe has some of his best characters ever. But I cri evry tiem when most of them die.
Just how multi-lingual are you guys? 
Makes me jealous.
Wait, there’s side stories? Damn, I had no idea.
I wouldn’t mind reading a side story about Miu or Nanase, though I’d probably have to reread a couple of volumes to enjoy it in full.
I’m currently dabbing into Mizuki Nomura’s other work, Hikaru ga Chikyuu ni Itakoro, and I gotta say it’s either a TL thing or that one just isn’t as enjoyable as Book Girl…
Bungaku Shoujo is definitely more enjoyable, but I personally still enjoyed Hikaru quite a bit. As I’ve stated before, Nomura’s writing is exactly the kind of romantic bait I’m a huge sucker for, so I find it really hard to not be biased. I think pacing may be a problem. Hikaru’s overall plot doesn’t really start peaking until volume 7 or 8, whereas Bungaku Shoujo is over by then. Hikaru also has a pretty different set of characters, which appeals to a different audience. The loli/imouto archetype, for example, was annoying except for the rare endearing moments, even if I still think Nomura did a good job of writing in that trope. Basically, the characters may take some time to grow attached to if their starting pointing isn’t as attractive as, say, Touko-senpai’s irresistible positvity. Hikaru being the “Touko” of his series, is a much less likable character, but I think that serves to make the character interactions more dynamic in the long run. While Bungaku Shoujo has a broken Konoha learning to accept Touko’s kindness, Hikaru involves two incompatible people forging an unlikely friendship. It’s very different, but still great.
While I could imagine one liking Bungaku Shoujo but not Hikaru (or vice versa), Hikaru still has plenty of scenes that will remind you of the former. I’ll say this though: the Hikaru series probably involves even more secrets and lying than Bungaku Shoujo. Interpret that however you want.
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Is it best to read Bungaku Shouko in order (or do you have to read it in order may be the better question)? It sounds like something worth trying out at the least even if I don’t get to it right away.
I also read back to some of the earlier posts about the Monogatari series which I was planning to start and stumbled onto Zaregoto which has the makings of something awesome without the gore details. How much does this series focus on the actual murders? It sounds like a series about everything but the murder detail honestly so I don’t get understand the English novel naming conventions (Decapitation Kubikiri and Strangulation Kubishime Romanticist).
Since it’s a been a little while on this topic, it feels nice to have truly tried a pair of light novel series.
The first series, Isekai Smartphone (which was not that expensive), just seemed to be going into a story direction that made continuing it not feel like was worth it. It’s hard to suggest that work to other Kaza members or even avid readers even if they like the premise since there are just so many other options out there to read.
Re:Zero was started as well and I must confess that I have no idea how much of it I am going to read. I’m not sure if it is going to be read it up to a certain point and have a few volumes dropped out in the middle, or it becomes such a horror show that it gets dropped entirely, or if it is worth it to read it all.
I hope everyone else is reading something that they enjoy though!
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So, I have now finished reading Hikaru. I’ve never really gotten excited about the story or gotten attached to the characters, to be honest. Maybe it’s because I’ve been mostly reading it in-between other activities, which would make it party my own fault. Or maybe it’s simply the TL quality. After all, what I loved most about Bungaku Shoujo was the author’s oldschool writing style.
Well, Shikubu is cute, Aoi actually got some character development, Kazuaki is the king of Creeps, but he said something nice to Yu in the end. I completely forgot the existence of the Volume 5 heroine right after completing it and Tojo’s scenes are surprisingly funny. Overall, I liked the comedy.
Both in Hikaru and Bungaku Shoujo, I wished the author would foreshadow important developments more. The reveal of the last boss really came out of nowhere…
Lastly, the series is supposedly based on “The Tale of Genji” and some other Japanese work. I have not read any of the referenced books before getting into Mizuki Nomura’s stories that are based on them. With Book Girl, I could still find enjoyment despite my ignoreance and I actually felt like reading the originals eventually. For example, I ended up watching a movie adaption of “Night on the Galactic Railroad.” With Hikaru, it seemed like I may have been missing some knowledge, but it kinda didn’t make me want to read the originals…
Has anyone read the Highschool DxD LNs? I unironically liked the plot of the anime and was wondering if the books “get to the point”
I’ve only watched the first season of the anime, so I only know so much about them. I have heard they focus a lot more on delivering fanservice compared to the novels though.
Having read up to just before the last arc of the LNs so far, I’d say they’re worth the read if you enjoyed the anime. The fanservice is still wildly present, but the action and plot is pretty engaging? LNs tend to give a better view of how the characters think and the reason for their actions with easier to present monologues and such when compared to anime.
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Right now, 7 volumes of No Game No Life are officially translated and available in English, with the vol. 8 translation scheduled for the end of march 2019. But does anyone know what the actual status of the original, Japanese NGNL LN is?
