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Assessment

Which Novel Should You Read? (Since 2000)

1 sections8 questions

We score your taste on 8 axes and rank your top 30 out of 100 novels (since 2000).

An 8-question taste quiz that ranks your top 30 best-matching novels (since 2000) out of 100.

What this assessment measures

Taste profile

Your estimated taste from answers

01
Your novel taste profile
PROFILE

Your novel taste, estimated from your 8 answers.

Match ranking

Novels ranked by match

01
The Devotion of Suspect X

A mathematician's perfect crime, built to hide a neighbor's guilt.

02
The Miracles of the Namiya General Store

Letters across time connecting lives — a moving fantasy mystery.

03
The Masquerade Hotel

Chasing a serial killer hidden in a hotel — a full-blooded mystery.

04
Ryusei no Kizuna

Three siblings robbed of their parents — revenge and a firm bond.

05
Letters

An offender's family and an inescapable fate — weighty social drama.

+95 more

Example result report

Your novel taste profile

Your novel taste, estimated from your 8 answers.

Moving

100

Mystery

33

Romance

33

Fantasy & SF

33

Horror

33

Youth

33

Social

33

Humor

33

It's only a guide — it can shift with your mood.

Match ranking

Match #1

Honeybees and Distant Thunder

Moving / Youth

Riku Onda / 2016

Talents staking all on a piano competition — a moving work.

Your match60/100

Talents gather for an international piano competition, in Riku Onda's bookshop-award 2016 novel. For art lovers.

Tags

MovingYouthMusic

Highlights

・

Depiction you can hear

・

Talents clashing

・

Shimmering youth

Match #2

The Housekeeper and the Professor

Moving

Yoko Ogawa / 2003

A professor with only 80 minutes of memory, and me — a moving work.

Your match60/100

A mathematician with memory loss and his housekeeper, in Yoko Ogawa's 2003 novel. For quiet immersion.

Tags

MovingFamilyMath

Highlights

・

Eighty minutes of memory

・

The beauty of equations

・

A quiet bond

Match #3

The Lion's Snack

Moving

Ito Ogawa / 2019

Days at a hospice at life's end — a quiet, moving work.

Your match60/100

Calmly gazing at death and life, in Ito Ogawa's 2019 novel. For quiet tears.

Tags

MovingEnd of lifeHealing

Highlights

・

Days at a hospice

・

A gaze on death and life

・

A calm afterglow

Match #4

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library

Moving / Cozy

Michiko Aoyama / 2020

A librarian quietly offers one book — moving linked tales.

Your match60/100

Meeting a book changes a life, in Michiko Aoyama's 2020 novel. For a gentle push forward.

Tags

MovingHealingLinked stories

Highlights

・

Meeting a book

・

Lives quietly changed

・

Warm linked tales

Match #5

The Travelling Cat Chronicles

Moving

Hiro Arikawa / 2012

A last journey of a cat and a man — a moving story.

Your match60/100

Friendship and farewell from a cat's view, in Hiro Arikawa's 2012 novel. For gentle tears.

Tags

MovingAnimalsJourney

Highlights

・

A cat's viewpoint

・

A man-and-cat bond

・

An aching last journey

Match #6

The Long Excuse

Moving / Human drama

Miwa Nishikawa / 2015

A man's renewal after losing his wife — a quiet, moving work.

Your match60/100

Loss and renewal drawn quietly, in Miwa Nishikawa's 2015 novel. For slow immersion.

Tags

MovingHuman dramaLoss

Highlights

・

Renewal after loss

・

Connection with others

・

A quiet salvation

Match #7

The Miracles of the Namiya General Store

Moving / Mystery

Keigo Higashino / 2012

Letters across time connecting lives — a moving fantasy mystery.

Your match58/100

A general store where letters of worry arrive across time, in Keigo Higashino's 2012 novel. Deft structure and heartwarming miracles, for gentle tears.

Tags

MovingMysteryFantasy

Highlights

・

Letters across time

・

Deftly connecting structure

・

Heartwarming miracles

Match #8

Letters

Moving / Social

Keigo Higashino / 2003

An offender's family and an inescapable fate — weighty social drama.

Your match58/100

A younger brother lives facing prejudice because his brother committed murder, in Keigo Higashino's 2003 novel. For sturdy reflection.

Tags

SocialMovingFamily

Highlights

・

The shadow crime leaves

・

Days facing prejudice

・

A brothers' bond

Match #9

Tsunagu

Moving / Fantasy

Mizuki Tsujimura / 2010

An envoy who lets you meet the dead once — moving linked tales.

Your match58/100

An envoy who arranges reunions with the dead, in Mizuki Tsujimura's 2010 novel. For gentle tears.

Tags

MovingFantasyStories

Highlights

・

A reunion with the dead

・

Lingering linked tales

・

Questions of life and death

Match #10

Lonely Castle in the Mirror

Moving / Fantasy

Mizuki Tsujimura / 2017

Seven meet in a castle beyond the mirror — a moving fantasy.

Your match58/100

Kids who stopped attending school gather in a castle in the mirror, in Tsujimura's bookshop-award 2017 novel. For deep tears.

Tags

MovingFantasyYouth

Highlights

・

A castle in the mirror

・

A bond of seven

・

A moving truth

Match #11

The Eternal Zero

Moving / Social

Naoki Hyakuta / 2006

The truth of a kamikaze, left by a grandfather — moving social fiction.

Your match58/100

War and family drawn with weight, in Naoki Hyakuta's 2006 bestseller. For deep tears.

Tags

MovingSocialWar

Highlights

・

The truth of a kamikaze

・

Feelings passed to family

・

Weighty war depiction

Match #12

The Eighth Day

Moving / Social

Mitsuyo Kakuta / 2007

The meaning of days with a kidnapped child — an aching, moving work.

Your match58/100

Motherhood and sin drawn with ache, in Mitsuyo Kakuta's 2007 novel. For deep tears.

Tags

MovingSocialMotherhood

Highlights

・

Between motherhood and sin

・

An aching flight

・

A quietly affecting afterglow

Match #13

Ryusei Wagon

Moving / Fantasy

Kiyoshi Shigematsu / 2002

Redoing life in a car driven by the dead — a moving fantasy.

Your match58/100

Family renewal through a strange premise, in Kiyoshi Shigematsu's 2002 novel. For quiet tears.

Tags

MovingFantasyFamily

Highlights

・

A car driven by the dead

・

A family's renewal

・

A quietly affecting tale

Match #14

And So the Baton Is Passed

Moving

Maiko Seo / 2018

A girl raised by four parents — a moving story.

Your match58/100

A complex family drawn warmly, in Maiko Seo's bookshop-award 2018 novel. For gentle tears.

Tags

MovingFamilyYouth

Highlights

・

Days with four parents

・

A warm shape of family

・

A moving truth

Match #15

Whales of 52 Hertz

Moving / Social

Sonoko Machida / 2020

A story of hearing an unreachable voice — a moving social work.

Your match58/100

The renewal of those carrying solitude and abuse, in Sonoko Machida's bookshop-award 2020 novel. For deep tears.

Tags

MovingSocialRenewal

Highlights

・

An unreachable voice

・

Renewal from solitude

・

A moving connection

Match #16

I Had the Same Dream Again

Moving / Youth

Yoru Sumino / 2016

A girl searches for what happiness is — a moving youth work.

Your match58/100

A girl grows through varied encounters, in Yoru Sumino's 2016 novel. For gentle tears.

Tags

MovingYouthGrowth

Highlights

・

A search for happiness

・

Vivid encounters

・

A moving truth

Match #17

Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad

Moving

Lily Franky / 2005

A loving remembrance of days with mother — an autobiographical moving work.

Your match58/100

Spelling out love for a mother, in Lily Franky's 2005 bestseller. For deep tears.

Tags

MovingFamilyMemoir

Highlights

・

A love for one's mother

・

Moving to the city, and loss

・

A moving remembrance

Match #18

The Precision of Death

Moving / Fantasy

Kotaro Isaka / 2005

A death god gazes at human life — chic linked stories.

Your match56/100

A reaper meets the humans he investigates, in Kotaro Isaka's 2005 linked-story collection. For chic emotion.

Tags

MovingFantasyStories

Highlights

・

A cool reaper's view

・

Deeply human people

・

Resonant linked tales

Match #19

I Want to Eat Your Pancreas

Moving / Romance

Yoru Sumino / 2015

A limited life and special days with her — an aching youth romance.

Your match56/100

A dying girl and a reserved boy, in Yoru Sumino's 2015 debut. A fresh bond and a bittersweet end, for tears.

Tags

RomanceMovingYouth

Highlights

・

A fresh bond

・

Limited time

・

A bittersweet ending

Match #20

The Wandering Moon

Moving / Social

Yuu Nagira / 2019

Two from a kidnapping case meet again — a moving social work.

Your match56/100

Two who stay close amid prejudice, in Yuu Nagira's bookshop-award 2019 novel. For deep thought.

Tags

MovingSocialReunion

Highlights

・

Society's prejudice

・

Two who stay close

・

A moving bond

Match #21

Goodbye Debussy

Mystery / Moving

Shichiri Nakayama / 2010

A girl aiming to be a pianist and a shocking truth — a moving mystery.

Your match56/100

Music fused with deduction, in Shichiri Nakayama's 2010 debut. For surprise and emotion.

Tags

MysteryMovingMusic

Highlights

・

Music meets mystery

・

A shocking twist

・

A moving growth

Match #22

If Cats Disappeared from the World

Moving / Romance

Genki Kawamura / 2012

What vanishes in exchange for life — an aching, moving work.

Your match56/100

Questioning the meaning of loss, in Genki Kawamura's 2012 novel. For quiet tears.

Tags

MovingRomanceFantasy

Highlights

・

The meaning of what vanishes

・

In exchange for life

・

An aching question

Match #23

Like Stars, You and I

Moving / Romance

Yuu Nagira / 2022

A long love story of two who met on an island — a moving romance.

Your match54/100

Two who bear family and social burdens, in Yuu Nagira's bookshop-award 2022 novel. For slow tears.

Tags

MovingRomanceSocial

Highlights

・

A meeting on an island

・

A love bearing burdens

・

A long-time story

Match #24

Your Name. (Novel)

Romance / Fantasy

Makoto Shinkai / 2016

Two who swap bodies, bound by fate — Shinkai's romance fantasy.

Your match54/100

The hit film novelized by its director, 2016. Beautiful scenery and a fated love, for visuals and love.

Tags

RomanceFantasyMoving

Highlights

・

A body-swap tale

・

A fated love

・

Beautiful scenery

Match #25

The Wind Blows Strong

Youth / Sports

Shion Miura / 2006

Ten misfits aiming for the Hakone relay — a hot youth ensemble.

Your match52/100

Near-amateur students take on the Hakone relay, in Shion Miura's 2006 novel. For getting fired up.

Tags

YouthMovingSports

Highlights

・

A bid for the Hakone relay

・

Ten runners' growth

・

A moving run

Match #26

Saraba!

Moving / Human drama

Kanako Nishi / 2014

An epic tracing one man's life — asking the meaning of living.

Your match52/100

Asking life's meaning through one man's history, in Kanako Nishi's Naoki-winning 2014 novel. For deep reading.

Tags

MovingHuman dramaEpic

Highlights

・

A life-spanning structure

・

Questions of meaning

・

Rich character work

Match #27

Shitamachi Rocket

Workplace / Moving

Jun Ikeido / 2010

A small factory's pride takes on space — an exhilarating workplace novel.

Your match52/100

A factory staking all on tech and pride, in Jun Ikeido's Naoki-winning 2010 novel. For getting fired up.

Tags

WorkplaceMovingTurnaround

Highlights

・

A small factory's grit

・

Pride in technology

・

An exhilarating reversal

Match #28

Riku-oh

Workplace / Moving

Jun Ikeido / 2016

An old tabi maker takes on running shoes — a moving workplace novel.

Your match52/100

A traditional firm's challenge, in Jun Ikeido's 2016 novel. For an upbeat read.

Tags

WorkplaceMovingChallenge

Highlights

・

A traditional firm's bid

・

Pride in craft

・

A moving reversal

Match #29

Hankyu Densha

Moving / Ensemble

Hiro Arikawa / 2008

A single train line connecting people — a warm ensemble.

Your match52/100

Passengers' small stories cross, in Hiro Arikawa's 2008 novel. For soothing comfort.

Tags

MovingRomanceEnsemble

Highlights

・

Encounters on a train

・

Small stories crossing

・

A warm afterglow

Match #30

The Restaurant of Love Regained

Moving / Cozy

Ito Ogawa / 2008

A voiceless daughter heals people with food — a cozy moving work.

Your match52/100

Renewal through food, in Ito Ogawa's 2008 debut. For soothing comfort.

Tags

MovingHealingFood

Highlights

・

Healing through cooking

・

A mother-daughter renewal

・

A warm afterglow

Who it's for

Anyone deciding what novel to read next by mood.

Prerequisites

No prior knowledge needed. 8 questions, about two minutes.

What the result looks like

We compute the match for all 100 novels and show your top 30 by match.

FAQ

How many questions is it?

Eight. You can answer in about two minutes on gut feel.

How many titles is it choosing from?

A pool of 100 novels since 2000 — talked-about works and classics — ranked to give you the best-matching top 30.

Is the result free?

Yes — no sign-up, free to the result.

How is the match decided?

From your answers on 8 taste axes (moving, mystery, romance, fantasy/SF, horror, youth, social, humor), each title is scored and ranked highest-first.

This assessment has 1 sections and 8 questions.

Once you start, you cannot change the language. Switch beforehand if needed.