spainlinx0

Currently I am reading the John Rain series of books that are set in modern day Japan after seeing a recommendation in a thread here. I really enjoy them, and have always been interested in the Japanese culture. Are there any books that people would recommend in that setting? I don't know if I have a preference for modern day versus historical Japan, but I also enjoyed a few of the Clavell books back when I was in HS.

If you even have some good nonfiction reading I would be interested in that as well.

And to add another wrinkle to this thread, and I'm not sure this forum is the best place to ask, but what is the best CD or online program to learn Japanese? I took a year of Japanese in college a few years back, but most of that is lost to me now. Having just started a new job I don't have the time to take classes again, and was hoping that there would be something I could do on CD that could give me a pretty decent knowledge of Japanese as long as I put in the effort.

Premise

Musashi.

outer-edge

Also, if want a more fantasy-based historical series, I'd recommend "Tales of the Otori," by Lian Hearn. The books are really just a fast, fun read. The only thing fantasy about the books though is the abilities of the Tribe members (of which the main character is one) which is basically like a super-ninja. Otherwise, the books are very much feudal Japan with warlords, battles, under-handed deals, etc. The books never say it is Japan, but the author admits Japan is the model for his world, which is only a few counties of a larger country that is rarely talked about.

DoomsDave

I picked up Speed Tribes by Karl Taro Greenfeld many years back for a few bucks. A thoroughly enjoyable and easy read. Basically a collection of short stories dealing with various modern-day (well, the 90's) Japanese sub-cultures.

djmont

A non-fiction book I really enjoyed about an American baseball player who played for several years in Japan: Slugging It Out in Japan: An American Major Leaguer in the Tokyo Outfield by Warren Cromartie. Pete Hamill's Tokyo Sketches is supposed to be good, but I haven't read it. There was also an excellent book I read about a young American businessman who goes to work in Japan -- might have been a dot.com type guy -- but damned if I can find the title.

Fiction: You've read Eisler already...James Clavell (of course), Trevanian's Shibumi, I.J. Parker's historical mystery series which began with Rashomon Gate, Dale Furutani's Samurai Mystery series (first one was Death at the Crossroads), Michael Crichton's Rising Sun (an excellent snapshot of how American viewed Japan at a certain point in time).

There's plenty of great historical stuff, too.

wendersfan

Ransom, Jay McInerney's follow-up to Bright Lights, Big City.

SiberianLlama

Another great book about baseball in Japan vs the US is You've Got To Have Wa. I'm actually living in japan now, and besides being interesting as a fan of baseball, the book really does a good job at describing how Japanese culture influences how they play the game. A very interesting and funny read.

Also, if you're interested in Japan-based fantasy, you should check out Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurst's Empire Trilogy. It doesn't take place in Japan, but the world they create, is pretty much a mirror image of Japanese feudal society. It kind of ties in with Feists excellent if vanilla Riftwar Saga but can be read alone.

mljones99

Rosetta Stone maybe? It is a little pricey but its a great program from what I have seen of it.

Breakfast with Girls

Dogs and Demons: Tales From the Dark Side of Modern Japan is an interesting non-fiction book, but be aware that it presents a harsh opinion on what it deems the "self-destructive" or "hollow" nature of modern Japanese culture.

TimeandTide

Battle Royale.

Excellent flick, too.

greydt

Do you work in NYC? I know you said you don't want to take classes, but the Japanese language classes at the Japan Society are pretty good (they're located on 47th street, btwn 1st and 2nd ave). I've been doing it after work for the past 3 months and just started level 3 this week.

Price is good: ($430 for the 2x/week class 37 hour course, or $210 for the 1x week 18.5 hour course), and actually going to class gives a good motivation to constantly push on learning (well, at least for me). Been having a fun time with it, and you learn cultural bits through the whole thing.

spainlinx0

I actually work in Edison (when I'm in my office, I'm an auditor), and I stay at my girlfriend's in central jersey at night. I would love to take a live class, but I would have no time to spend with her, and that's why I was hoping people could recommend a good self-learning study. I'm also hoping my library will have it so I don't have to shell out hundreds for one either. That may be a little too much to hope for though.

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I have added the titles to my bookbag at my library.

JonFMerz

The next installment of my hard boiled supernatural noir Lawson Vampire series - THE KENSEI - takes place in Japan. The book will be out around November 27th. If you've never sampled Lawson before, you can do so now for free by checking out THE COURIER over at the Lawson Vampire MySpace Page.

Also, I just turned in the manuscript for one of the two books I'm writing for Harlequin/Gold Eagle's new action series Rogue Angel. Tentatively titled "Thunderbolt of the Ninja," it also takes place in Japan. I believe it's set for release next summer.

rkndkn

I love the Nicholas Linnear series by Eric Van Lustbader. It starts with "The Ninja" and has several sequels. I've read the "Rain" series, too, and think it would appeal to the same kind of reader. (Though Lustbader is quite a bit more sexually explicit.)

Cardiac161

If you are interested in non-fiction, then I highly recommed ""Shutting Out the Sun" which is about the present social crisis facing Japan such as the high suicide rate, the very low birthrate, the one-million "hikikomoris" (teens who refuse to face the outside world), depression, the harsh conformity rule etc.

parkourking

There are alot of books about the days of geishas and the way women were viewed in historical Japan which give a good view on the country in those times. Apparantly Jananese is the hardest (commonly used) language for an English speaker to learn so good luck!

dugan

Snakes and Earrings wasn't too bad.