I've tried my hand at reading a few light novels, but none of them ever really held my focus, until Bakemonogatari. I have not seen the anime yet, so I decided to start at the source material first. I was genuinely surprised by how well written this book was. The banter between characters is perfect, and he sets the pace of the conversations so well. From chuckling to laughing aloud, I didn't want the conversations to end. The characters are flawed in their own ways, at many times in very dark or deep ways, yet the author never makes it feel too depressing. The author also did a fantastic job of setting scenes, and they would play through my mind without having to put much effort in to it.

I look forward to reading the rest of this series if it continues along as great as this first volume. It also has me yearning to finally watch the anime that has been collecting dust on my shelf lol.