Can I interest you in <Cooking With Wild Game>? I’m not sure if I mentioned it here already, but that’s the one I always recommend someone coming from Bookworm. The plot itself is very different, but the core elements are all the same:
Non-op MC that builds connections based on their earth knowledge (shampoo and books for Myne, cooking techniques and recipes for Asuta). No special power, no isekai cheat skills, nothing except what they know.
slow-paced story that focuses on individuals and their relationships more than big world-changing plot devices. (gaining the trust and help of MC’s peers instead of “and then the demon lord stole the princess”)
a class divide at the core of the plot (commoners vs. nobles vs. archdukes in Bookworm and forrest people vs. town people vs. nobles in Wild Game)
a cast of supporting characters that is as interesting to read about as the main cast. Even more so than in Bookworm.
The stakes are starting very low, but MC’s actions are ripples growing to involve ever larger plot points.
I highly recommend it to everyone who isn’t looking for fast-paced action.
If you’re looking for something funny, I recommend <Tearmoon Empire>, which isn’t as good anymore since the translator change, but man, those first 8 (or was it 9?) volumes sure had some of the wittiest prose I’ve read in light novels.
Looking for something with an interesting premise? <Zilbagias the Demon Prince: How the Seventh Prince Brought Down the Kingdom> would be my pick there. The basic premise is that a hero who goes on a suicide mission to kill the demon lord is killed in said mission by said demon lord. The fates are cruel, though, and the hero gets reincarnated as the 7th son of the demon lord. He is now set to destroy the demon kingdom from the inside. Which is already unique enough, but to make things more interesting, it turns out that many of those demons are genuinely likable. To the point where I’m rooting more for the demons than for the humans as a reader. And the psyche of MC is fucking torn to shreds. MC has to come to terms with questions like “do I kill those human POWs to make my own standing inside the demon hierarchy stronger?”. And those are just the simple ones. It’s extremely dark, which isn’t normally my kind of tea, but the premise keeps me looking forward to every new volume. I need to know how this will resolve at the end.
For fluffy, I like <By the Grace of the Gods> (got one anime season a few years back but the adaptation was only okay-ish) and <The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects> (currently airing, the first episode was a bit rushed, and exposition got hamfisted). Both have this nice low-stakes comfy feel with the MC’s building something up from nothing and doing some adventuring on the side as a change of pace. Grace of Gods did fall off in the last couple of volumes, but Frontier Lord is still going strong.
If you want something non-light novel (tsk…) but still very much in the same style, then you could give Robert Asprin’s Myth Adventures Series a go as a palate cleanser.
That series was not for me. There was a similar series that I read at roughly the same time and I liked that one better. Something like Ultimate Last Boss Queen or something, like that IIRC.
Weakest tamer
The frist 1-2 volumes were entertaining enough but then I lost interest completely during the 3rd. Not bad, but couldn’t hold my attention.
Spice and Wolf
A classic. The Holo figurine on my shelf is smugly suggesting that you have better taste than me. Well, not really, but I can almost hear her comment anyway.
Can I interest you in <Cooking With Wild Game>? I’m not sure if I mentioned it here already, but that’s the one I always recommend someone coming from Bookworm. The plot itself is very different, but the core elements are all the same:
I highly recommend it to everyone who isn’t looking for fast-paced action.
If you’re looking for something funny, I recommend <Tearmoon Empire>, which isn’t as good anymore since the translator change, but man, those first 8 (or was it 9?) volumes sure had some of the wittiest prose I’ve read in light novels.
Looking for something with an interesting premise? <Zilbagias the Demon Prince: How the Seventh Prince Brought Down the Kingdom> would be my pick there. The basic premise is that a hero who goes on a suicide mission to kill the demon lord is killed in said mission by said demon lord. The fates are cruel, though, and the hero gets reincarnated as the 7th son of the demon lord. He is now set to destroy the demon kingdom from the inside. Which is already unique enough, but to make things more interesting, it turns out that many of those demons are genuinely likable. To the point where I’m rooting more for the demons than for the humans as a reader. And the psyche of MC is fucking torn to shreds. MC has to come to terms with questions like “do I kill those human POWs to make my own standing inside the demon hierarchy stronger?”. And those are just the simple ones. It’s extremely dark, which isn’t normally my kind of tea, but the premise keeps me looking forward to every new volume. I need to know how this will resolve at the end.
For fluffy, I like <By the Grace of the Gods> (got one anime season a few years back but the adaptation was only okay-ish) and <The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects> (currently airing, the first episode was a bit rushed, and exposition got hamfisted). Both have this nice low-stakes comfy feel with the MC’s building something up from nothing and doing some adventuring on the side as a change of pace. Grace of Gods did fall off in the last couple of volumes, but Frontier Lord is still going strong.
If you want something non-light novel (tsk…) but still very much in the same style, then you could give Robert Asprin’s Myth Adventures Series a go as a palate cleanser.
Will have to retry Cooking With Wild Game. I tried the 1st volume after Death March but just didn’t click.
I know you have compared them to be similar for slow paced.
Some of the ones I was thinking of:
She professed herself the pupil
Weakest tamer
Playing death games
Spice and Wolf
That series was not for me. There was a similar series that I read at roughly the same time and I liked that one better. Something like Ultimate Last Boss Queen or something, like that IIRC.
The frist 1-2 volumes were entertaining enough but then I lost interest completely during the 3rd. Not bad, but couldn’t hold my attention.
A classic. The Holo figurine on my shelf is smugly suggesting that you have better taste than me. Well, not really, but I can almost hear her comment anyway.