My goal has always been to become more proficient at reading (and writing to some extent) because I love literature. Every guide I look at talks about how I should be able to become relatively "fluent in Japanese" by 2-3 years of study. Most guides seem to focus on conversation, as this is what most people seem to want first.
However, to learn the 常用漢字 Japanese people take about 9 years from elementary school to junior high. This long period is enough to just be able to widely read everyday topics in newspapers, mangas, and books etc. I know that people say "well you should be able to learn faster as an adult because most Japanese people learn kanji through rote memorization, an inefficient technique", but I have no idea what this means in terms of time.
Though I can read basic manga now with some lookups I still feel like the climb to being literate versus being proficient in speaking is a much longer road.
Does anyone have any experience or advice or resources they could share on this?
by investoroma