Yay, that makes it worth learning about conditional formatting. 
Thank you for your contributions too! I like the fact that the way we describe the vocab differs too; we’re making a resource that helps everyone.
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We’ve started Volume 3!
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Totally & completely by chance I decided to start reading よつばと! last week then I happened to find this group! I’ve just started volume 3 and caught up to where this group is. It’s been super helpful! Mostly I can understand everything, which is super exciting! It’s the first time I’ve attempted to read for pleasure in Japanese and I’m so happy that I can enjoy and laugh out loud while reading Japanese!! I’m probably going to read ahead because I’m enjoying it so much (and the other day bought most of the series for ¥100/each at book off) but I’m gonna keep checking the reading club thread, and offer any help if I can! よろしく！
also I’ve been neglecting WK a lot recently (let my subscription lapse) but after spending so much time on this thread, I feel like I should get back on it! 頑張ります！
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hi, I’m new here and about to start reading!
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Great!
The links to the discussions for volumes one and two are at the top of this thread I believe, and we are currently on volume three. Great to have a new reader join us!
It was expensive and I really oughtn’t to have bought it, but look what I found in the Post Office today! And it was the last one! How could I resist? !
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Hi everyone! Do you think the group will read past volume 3? I’m going to order the first three Yotsuba volumes and was wondering if I should pick up 4 or 5 as well.
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That is so cool! Do you live in Japan?
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Probably, yes. 
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I hope it does! And even if it doesn’t do so right away, I guess it will at some point in the future. More to the point, if you enjoy vols 1 to 3 of よつばと！, then you’ll want vol.4 as well!
(And yes, I live in Japan)
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Get them all. D: I’d do it if I could. 
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I’m meeting a friend tomorrow to read some よつばと！together. And it got me thinking…
I don’t know how many readers here are based in Tokyo. But how about a よつばと！reading group?
We could meet in McDonald’s or something (to keep it cheap) and read together for an hour or so on a regular basis. Thoughts?
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wish i was in tokyo to do that @marcusp!
has anyone outside japan had any luck in buying the second hand copy of yotsubato from amazon? they have like the entire collection 1-13 for very cheap but it doesn’t ship to australia 
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This is the last week of Volume 3, so we should start discussing what to do about Volume 4. Perhaps we should take a break? I propose about a month or so.
As we unfortunately learned, vocabulary packs are rather time-consuming to create, and we lack insight over how useful they are. That said, having read through 3 volumes, I suspect we are well-positioned to read without as much guidance.
Thoughts?
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a month should give me enough time to get the book, but then i should get all the rest so i don’t have to wait so much after finishing it aha
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I wouldn’t mind taking a break, perhaps use it to rekindle interest in Yotsubato.
In my opinion, vocabulary packs aren’t that time-consuming to make, although they are extra work, and if it wasn’t for them, instead of having an index with everything you need, everyone would have to search for everything they don’t understand on their own, which is probably good in the long run, to be able to search for your questions regarding Japanese stuff you don’t understand; or ask a greater amount of questions. Since what the vocabulary packs do is reduce the number of questions, instead of asking for what words mean, the only questions are context, conjugation, and stuff like that, which is usually harder to find, and harder to grasp for beginners.
I also think that’s part of the current problem, at this point, most users can read without as much guidance.
But, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the reading club? Or would it become a place to discuss opinions instead of a place for asking questions?
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Indeed, I am feeling a bit fatigued after doing 2 volumes back-to-back.
If I may ask, how long does it take you to make the vocab pack? (For reference, I think it takes me about 30min to read a chapter, and 2-3 hours to construct a detailed vocabulary list (~200 entries).)
At this stage, I do think it’d be nice if the discussion expanded as well. There should still be some questions over meaning; usually there are a few places per chapter where the phrasing becomes harder than usual. I would also prefer to incorporate more Japanese writing practice into the discussion since that’s a little lacking. Alternatively, something that might be fun is to make our own omake dialogues between characters to comment on the events of each chapter.
I’d say about 2 hours total, if there’s something hard to explain.
I usually add the entries while reading the chapter. 
I understand wanting to add Japanese writing practice into the discussion, but even though it’s something I lack, it’s not really something I want to focus on, but of course it depends on the person.
And about the omake, that would also be fun.
Second-hand stuff ships from third-party sellers and they almost never offer international shipping options. Additionally, Amazon Japan currently isn’t shipping manga overseas, but is expected to resume next week: https://community.wanikani.com/t/amazon-japan-appears-to-have-temporarily-stopped-shipping-manga-internationally/30398
Unless there’s a lot of stuff you want to buy (like in the range of 90-100 volumes), eBay might be the best compromise. Sellers who list things with separate shipping costs will also often combine orders if you ask. (But keep in mind that Australia, like Canada, has strict customs checks, so try to keep your imports from straying too far outside of worksafe territory)
Otherwise, though shipping isn’t cheap, ordering new copies from Amazon Japan isn’t devastatingly expensive. To Canada, it’s 950 yen for the first book, then 350 for each additional one, and I think it’s a little cheaper to Australia, with delivery typically happening in two to three business days. Combining product and shipping cost, that’s comparable to buying Yen Press’s translated copies.
There was some grammatical stuff in volume 4 (not 3) that I didn’t know, but for the most part, it was cultural details, references, and expressions that slowed me down (or that I skipped past).
I think there’s enough depth to continue to find value in collaborative discussion (and some conversations are a little more abstract than before, like planning and options), but there are no weird new speech-patterns, nothing nearly as slang-heavy as the previously-seen movie chapter, and relatively little new vocab (except for the fishing chapter that I keep complaining about).
Establishing and continuing with a schedule is something I’d vote for anyway (even though I’m ahead), because it really seems to have helped to make regular reading part of peoples’ studies and that seems like a good habit to encourage.