Welp, just found out the scans collecting dust on my hard drive are the equivalent of 240p 
Thankfully I have volume 4 on in physical but figured the tiny furigana would be easier on PC
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This would be my first book club and while I understand basic grammatical structures I have a long way to go still.
I have begun working on the first few pages and I find myself occasionally (not for each sentence) relying on google translate and then working my way back from there. Is this an ok approach to take?
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In general, anything you use that leads to you learning and/or having fun with the language is an ok approach to take. You’re not in school and this isn’t a test; you cannot cheat. So the only two questions you have to ask yourself to find out whether it’s a good approach are: Are you learning something, and are you enjoying yourself?
In this case specifically it sounds like a great approach because you’re putting in the work to understand the answer.
Don’t tell anyone, but I’m a few years ahead of you in my reading journey and I still regularly use DeepL (and ChatGPT) for things I don’t understand.
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First post in the forums and CCS is a longtime favorite of mine - will join the club as well!
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Since it’s my birthday month, I decided I would join in for the book club! I’m only about 30% of the way through N5 so it’s going to be tough but after successfully playing an entire game demo recently, I feel confident about being able to make my through it.
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Wooo we’re birthday buddies! Happy (presumably early) birthday! I’ll be struggling alongside you haha
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I just bought the book for Kindle! I wasn’t intending to join since I’ll be in Japan by November – still, getting motivation to read for at least two months seems worth it to me. Besides, maybe I’ll end up finishing the book on my own regardless, we’ll see!
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I was marking the pages so I would know what to read to each week and when I got to the last week it didn’t line up. The total number of pages is 185 and I have the standard release (ISBN 9784-06-319743-3) so I’m slightly confused lol
Am I missing something here?
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Hello! First time for me!
I just got my purchase from BookWalker, I just need to figure out which OCR software I will use and ready for the party!
Have fun everyone!
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Hi everyone. First time in this book club and really, first time reading a manga at all. Back in the day I always assumed Cardcaptor Sakura was some kind of card game or YuGiOh thing.
My book just came in the mail today and it was much smaller than I expected, so I might have to break out a magnifying glass in addition to the readers, but I’m looking forward to seeing how much I can read after a few months of Japanese study. Ganbarou!
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Created the vocab sheet for week 1 (and the inside cover, if you want to try that), will update for future weeks as they come up:
@ChristopherFritz also has a browsable version on his site (which now supports viewing by page):
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The page numbers in the schedule are from the “refurbished” edition, which the original hardcovers and most of the digital releases use. It has one extra page per chapter with a piece of art and one with a Cerberus stamp icon, so the page numbers diverge over time from the softcover edition.
I’ve no idea what the “anniversary”/new hardcover edition does, but it’s probably something different again (as well as having the volumes packed into 9 rather than 12)
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楽しみ！ (I’m also just looking for an excuse to read shojo manga again). Waiting for the book to arrive from JP Amazon.
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I might read this, but if I do I’ll definitely be really late by the time it comes (i’ll probably get a physical copy). Quick question. If I have questions about a page or something that the book club already covered (because I’ll be late, if I do decide to participate) am I still allowed to ask them?
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Yeah! The previous week’s threads will still be open, whether you want to refer to them as guidance or ask new questions.
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Also, if the problem is just that you can’t get a physical copy in time, you can use the free bookwalker preview for the first few weeks.
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OK, I couldn’t resist anymore and started reading last night after work. Is this illegal? Sorry 
Made it to page 20 (reading without actively searching up unknowns) before I got tired. There were definitely many grammar points and vocab that I didn’t get, but overall because of a combination of being vaguely familiar with the general plot + being able to read some kanji due to my Chinese background + having pictures to help decipher the context + maybe having more passive knowledge of grammar and vocab than I thought (!), it was not a terribly difficult read! Excited to keep going + go back to make notes on the parts that I didn’t understand once the book club officially starts and everyone joins in. 
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Well, I am at page 54 already, so if this is illegal we should be punished together I guess.
I just let context/guessing cover for what I don’t know… but I will have to put more effort when the real reading starts. Most my guesswork is also regarding grammar and understanding the real meaning behind some sentences, I power read through Genki 1 and 2 during the last two months but all that “knowledge” hasn’t settled in yet. Regarding Kanji… I guess level 26 at Wanikani is paying off somehow, I think I am not having much problems in that regard.
This first 50+ pages have been very enjoyable to be honest (except for the fact that I had to use a magnifying glass to read some Kanji and some furigana here and there).
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You are both hereby sentenced to our harshest punishment: Having to wait until you can discuss what you read because the respective threads haven’t been created yet. I hope you learnt something (while reading)! 
(Glad you are so enthusiastic. Just don’t forget your questions until then!)
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Annoyed by the quality of the text in the ebook version and with a paper copy turning up from amazon.co.jp this week, I’m now in craft project mode getting this scanned so I have a digital version I don’t hate and playing with mokuro to see about OCR’ing it. Got the first 42 pages done in time to start trying to read it tomorrow.
My time, I suspect, would be better spent studying more grammar and vocabulary.
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