100%, I know sometimes it might seem like I’m constantly pushing full steam ahead with Japanese, but if I start reading and I’m really not feeling it or my brain isn’t up for it, I always stop! Even if that means there’s a slight setback like missing 4 days of the advent 
Today’s 朝 brought me much joy. Not only was the story entertaining to read, and not too hard, but on top of it you had running sentences that fit the contents so well:
いや、大酒を飲むのは、毎夜の事であって、なにも珍らしい事ではないけれども、その日、仕事場からの帰りに、駅のところで久し振りの友人と逢い、さっそく私のなじみのおでんやに案内して大いに飲み、そろそろ酒が苦痛になりかけて来た時に、雑誌社の
編輯者 が、たぶんここだろうと思った、と言ってウイスキー持参であらわれ、その編輯者の相手をしてまたそのウイスキーを一本飲みつくして、こりゃもう吐くのではなかろうか、どうなるのだろう、と自分ながら、そらおそろしくなって来て、さすがにもう、このへんでよそうと思っても、こんどは友人が、席をあらためて僕にこれからおごらせてくれ、と言い出し、電車に乗って、その友人のなじみの小料理屋にひっぱって行かれ、そこでまた日本酒を飲み、やっとその友人、編輯者の両人とわかれた時には、私はもう、歩けないくらいに酔っていた。
That is one sentence. You can basically feel how he’s descending into his drunken state while reading that one sentence. Masterful 
As an added bonus, the story also had a good amount of onomatopoeia that I didn’t know.
That story is for sure my highlight so far. I learned today that I need to read more 太宰治.
In a curious coincidence, today’s mystery calendar entry (恐怖) also features somebody descending into a drunken state…
(Also more evidence that people in the first half of the twentieth century thought of 汽車 and 電車 as two distinct categories.)
I read today’s prevetted story, 朝
Baby’s first Dazai! I thought he had a lively and evocative writing style, and this piece fit in with what Wikipedia tells me about his writing style being naturalistic and semi-autobiographical.
I read 恐怖 with this 朗読:
I liked it, and it was surprisingly easy to read! I wonder if Tanizaki himself had any fears that inspired this, or if he just knew of people who did. It’s interesting to think that these days I know people afraid of flying, but no one afraid of trains.
I skimmed over the wiki entry for 或る女 and it sounds interesting (and free 
). I will definitely be reading the Day 5 story. So many unexpected connections… Aozora-ception indeed.
Work was total ass today. I don’t think I’ll finish today’s pre-vetted pick, since it is pretty long 
.
I think I’ll keep on reading the stories tomorrow as well and lag behind by a day until the weekend, where I can hopefully catch up.
I read 桜桃 today by Dazai and used this 朗読:
Oof, I started out thinking this was fiction and then realized it was nonfiction written in a fiction-like style. I didn’t realize Dazai had a son.
Tsushima Masaki was born on 10 August 1944, the only son and middle child of Tsushima Shūji (Dazai Osamu) and Ishihara Michiko. He had Down syndrome. He died from pneumonia in February 1960 at the age of 15.
(source)
So I guess I now have two Aozora stories talking about mental disabilities in older Japan.
I have mixed feelings on this piece, but it’s very human and food for thought I suppose.
Finished the big 山の別荘の少年 one from yesterday now. I liked it quite a lot. Each story had some “magical” element and some “did this really happen” at the end.
The stories cover all the seasons, starting with spring then summer, autumn and winter.
Each having a decent amount of season appropriate flair and language.
The language level overall is manageable and a decent amount of onomatopoeia can be learned. Would recommend for people with a little bit of time.
Looking forward to my second 太宰 tomorrow.
I read 道程 by 高村光太郎 with this 朗読
I admit the sudden shift to inspiring music at the end had me laughing out loud. This poem is also quite the contrast of father/son relationships compared to yesterday’s piece. That said, I don’t think this is about his literal father (though I could be wrong, but my impression was backed up by googling some 考察 since this again is a famous work).
I read Day 12 of the pre-vetted calendar 赤い蝋燭. It was easy to read, except for learning the kanji for some of the animals I did not know. I liked the whole feel of the story as a children’s tale, more so than Day 2’s 一房の葡萄.
I also looked into the author 新美南吉(Niimi Nankichi). I didn’t know anything about him until this story. He is apparently sometimes known as the Hans Christian Andersen of Japan. His most popular story Gon, the Fox is included in Grade 4 textbooks.
more gossip about Niimi Nankichi
He lost his mother when he was four and then got sort of abandoned with his maternal grandparents when his dad (Watanabe Tazo) re-married. His dad was not supportive of his writing career at all (Niimi called his father stingy and said his stepmother abused him).
The other fact that stood out was that his parents named him ‘Shohachi’ after his dead older brother! I recall Salvador Dali was named in a similar manner and it really messed Dali up! I wonder if this background was partly why Nankichi dropped his given & surname (Shohachi Watanabe) and adopted a pen name composed of his mother’s maiden name (Niimi) and Nankichi.
As for why he chose Nankichi (南吉）I found an interesting explanation on the Q&A page of Handa city’s Niimi Nankichi museum website.
The Q&A answers very important questions like “How tall is Nankichi and how much did he weigh?” (166.5cm, 48.2 kg) and “What was Nankichi’s favorite food?” (Youkan). 
Why Nankichi?
The Q: どうして"新美南吉"というペンネームにしたの？
The A: …「南吉」については、どういう理由でつけられたのか、はっきりはわかっていません。(A: possibly a play on the name Minako, a childhood friend for whom he had a long time crush)
ただ、「新美南吉」というペンネームを使う前、「新美弥那鬼」（にいみみなき）というペンネームを使っていた時期があります。「みなき」の「みな」が「みなみ（南）」につながり、それを音読みにして「なん（南）」に転じたとすると、「南吉」の「南」は方角ではなく、訓読みの「みなみ」の方により意味がこめられていると考えられます。
ペンネームを使いだした中学生時代、新美南吉は幼馴染みの木本咸子（みなこ）さんに恋い焦がれていましたから、もしかすると自分のペンネームの中に初恋の女性の名前をしのばせたのかもしれません。その後使い続けた「新美南吉（にいみなんきち）」の中にも「みな」が隠されていますので、おそらくそうなのではないかと新美南吉記念館では考えています。
Until this Aozora Advent and looking into the authors of the early 1900s, I was unaware of how many lives were touched by tuberculosis in the late 19th, first half of the 20th century in Japan. Niimi died of it in 1943, and Day 2 author Arishima’s wife died of it in 1916. The epidemic coincided with the spread of the textile industry (with cramped conditions). Victims/families were often socially shunned. I was shocked to learn tuberculosis was the number one cause of death in Japan until 1950.
Here is the link to the funny Q&A of the Handa museum on Niimi Nankichi.
Just FYI that story is the selection for tomorrow.
oh cool, I didn’t realize that! I cherry-picked the short-easy 赤い蝋燭 after a 10-day hiatus.
Finished 待つ. It was interesting to say the least. More abstract then the last story I read of 太宰 here. It was also written in an interesting style with many repetitions. Wasn’t too hard language wise but I think the story is ripe for interpretation.
Loneliness? Loss? Hmm maybe I have to look into it a little.
Since 赤い蠟燭 was so short, I finished it as well. All caught up again.
Truest children story I’ve read on aozora so far. Would have loved it as a kid, a nice bedtime story with hopefully nice illustrations in bookform. My mom read similar stuff to me for sure.
I read 小さき者へ by 有島武郎 with this 朗読:
Today’s piece actually went into quite a bit of detail about her death/the impact on the family.
And also I did not realize I somehow chose 3 works about parent/child relationships in a row! What a coincidence for the mystery calendar.
I am learning so much already just from the three stories I’ve read so far. I plan to read all of the pre-vetted ones however long it takes me. (Edit: i see 小さき者へ is on the other calendar, but I would like to read that too) I love @pocketcat university!
I’m still reading セロ弾きのゴーシュ and enjoying it, especially the reader in the 朗読。The cat’s voice is so cute 
It’s slow going for me and I have quite a bit yet to cover, so I also started the easier and shorter ごんぎつね that’s on the pre-vetted calendar today. I’m not yet done but here is an interesting article I found about something mentioned. A women was applying おはぐろ (お歯黒), and I wanted to know if that is literally what it sounds like. This article says yes, women really did used to paint their teeth black and shave their eyebrows
Yikes
Wow…super interesting custom.
Today’s mystery pick was 薔薇夫人 by 江戸川乱歩 and I listened with this 朗読:
Oh gosh I was so frustrated when I realized this was an unfinished piece of writing! I can kind of sense where the story is going but it’s not wrapped and it could be going a totally different direction and I’ll never know 
I love Ranpo’s work but I admit this one felt a bit different than his others stories I’ve read. It didn’t have the slightly goofy over dramatic style that I love from him. That said, it is probably easier to read (for most learners) than his other adult works as a result.
Haha, thank you! I’m always glad to get more people in Aozora and learning a bit about Japanese history 
Read ごんぎつね.
Surprisingly difficult read. Many old-timey words (火縄銃, 百姓), Buddhist words (お経, 木魚, 位牌) and most annoying of all, all the plant and fish names I didn’t know. I had to google a ton to be able to imagine the story half decently.
Personally I liked the last story of the author more. But I suppose it is not bad to know his most famous work as well. Can’t say much about the storyline. Didn’t impress me overall.