A bit later than normal, but I did finish reading through Cells at Work! volume 1. It was a good read. Kinda hard to place difficulty wise, because it’s easy to follow the action and knowing what’s going on, but there was just a lot of vocabulary I’m unfamiliar with. So I had to look it up and break down chapters in smaller pieces. It’s something to pick up again in the near future, manga or anime.
That makes 50 volumes worth of manga read this year. That one piece rush really made a difference. Haven’t been very good at being able to read multiple things unless it’s very different like manga and games. Between manga and books, it’s usually one or the other. My last thing on the list is Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata which I started this week. Only was able to read a few pages till now. It had always looked scary whenever I glanced upon it, but it doesn’t seem to bad now. Sitting with it for a minute it looks much cleaner and less dense than. Am I getting better at reading Japanese or is this better written, too early to tell. There is a challenge in finding good points to stop for the night when reading as there no chapters, still I think I’ll figure things out as I go along. I don’t have anything specific planned after this, so I can take till the end of the year for this.
Gaming wise, it would be nice if I can finish Pokemon Scarlet this year. I also have some shiritori puzzles left that just kinda beg to be completed. I have the time off between xmas and new years, so I can catch up on all things.
I remember reading some reviews in here that said that it’s not that interesting, but also that it’s an easy read, which is most important for my sauna pick as I’m not allowed to use my phone (i.e. my dictionary) there
So I guess I will see how it goes, in the hope that it is not too boring
覚え = a memory. From 覚える, but I confuse with 覚める (目覚める).
衣食住 = clothes - food - and shelter. The last one from 住む or 住所, but I confused with 柱.
暗然 = gloomy
手記 = memoirs
頗る = adj meaning, extremely. Sounds to me like 凄(い)振り.
Phrases
千載一遇 = a rare opportunity. It sounds to me that I usually have to publish 1000+ books before having a single chance, or read 1000+ published books first. However, JJ dict says – 「千載」は、千年、長い年月。「一遇」は、一度会うこと.
Today I finished this week’s Wild Ladies (a story both mildly funny and heartwarming) and the 4th story from my advent narration tricks book. The trick didn’t satisfy me this time - I liked the idea behind it, but I felt that the execution left something to be desired.
With this week’s book clubs taken care of (I can’t believe I’m still managing to keep up), I may dedicate the little that remains of the week to progressing with my mountain ghost stories book. It would be good if I could finish it by the end of the year, but I don’t want to rush through it just for the sake of finishing. Note to self: It would also be absolutely fine if I don’t necessarily read two different books on some days.
Card Captor Sakura volume 2 or Aria: the masterpiece volume 2 – progress report
Yesterday: Read up to page 294.of Aria: the masterpiece volume 2. Today: Read up to page 306, finished chapter 18.
Went back to the explanation a few pages ago, still didn’t understand everything, ah well.
The rest of the chapter was manageable again (except for the second honourable mention today).
Frankly, I was not that surprised to learn that Al is older than he looks, so Aika officially made a fool of herself during her parting words – hell, even Akari called her out on her ‘embarassing’ phrases.
Speaking of Al, I still need to get accustomed to identifying speech patterns and dialects. While I noticed something being off with the way he talks as it didn’t quite match his appearance, I was not aware that he’s talking ‘like an old man’ according to Aika. I suppose that only more exposure to spoken dialogue in manga, novels and books will help me when it comes to recognising and distinguishing speech patterns more reliably in the future.
@saidahgilbert
Haha, I also typed ちめん for 地面 once as of yet, so you’re not alone in your struggle.
Word or expression of the day:
一個一個 - (いっこいっこ) - one-by-one, individual
Honourable mention(s):
別れ際 - (わかれぎわ) - at parting, on parting
特殊相対性理論 - (とくしゅそうたいせいりろん) - special theory of relativity what is this monstrosity?!
I finished the first chapter since last time I posted an update. We’re going in the right direction, woo!
Also finished all my exams :3 Thankfully had my study buddy motivating me through the last few days prior to exam. Zoomies with study buddy, working together on a single shared google doc. Enjoyed that a lot actually. She’s so sweet.
Today I read chapter 39 of Shadow’s House. There is a lot of mystery at the moment so I’m looking forward to seeing what happens.
I’m planning to read Chapter 40 tomorrow.
The 6 volumes of CLAMP Premium Collection version of xxxHolic that I ordered with my TOM points a few months ago arrived today! They’re so pretty, I can’t wait to read them, or to get more (my last set of points I used on a couple little taibani figures, so it’ll be a while. Which is probably a good thing, considering how many unread books I have lmao).
I read JJK0 ch 2. Ugh, Getou shows up. I don’t remember much about him from the anime aside from that I don’t like him.
Oh yeah, and yesterday I had just done the lesson for 匹 and it showed up in the JJK chap I read, and today I had just done the lesson for 元々 and it showed up in the JJK chap I read. They’re both words I already knew, but it’s still kinda funny.
In other reading news: Yesterday while writing a fic, I used the “[adj.] as all get-out” construction, and I don’t say it—I say “[adj.] as (all) hell”—and I don’t know anyone else who does, so I was wondering where the hell I’d picked it up. Well, while reading Harm for the Holidays, I came across it, so I think I got it from Donn Cortez. Anyway, I had thought I’d started this book a little early, but even if I’ve been reading at least one chapter at a time, I haven’t been reading it every day, so I’ve only just today gotten past the halfway point. I should still finish it before xmas though, I hope. This is the longest it’s taken me to read this book, but I guess that’s not really surprising considering all the other stuff I’m doing.
Some vocab of note:
追い打ち (おいうち) [noun] additional attack on a weakened enemy; additional blow to an already unfortunate situation
Teeny tiny read today, way below my daily goal to finish out the year, but, I realized that with the holidays I’ll actually have more free time since some of my usual social activities are cancelled, so I’m now much less worried about completing on time.
So, I gave into my impulse to binge Japanese listening content. I make great progress when I don’t waffle over what to watch!
Also did my advent reading. Didn’t expect to be reading about salads, but here we are. Kind of disappointed I haven’t found any major gems, though. I feel like as I get deeper into the less read parts of Aozora they’re less read for a reason
Did you do it? Yes.
What did it cost? Everything, but especially my sleep.
Gonna be one hell of a day at work tomorrow.
Word of the Day: 溺れる - to struggle in the water or sink below (and be unable to breathe). Very amusing that the kanji used is, unsurprisingly, ‘weak to water’.
Card Captor Sakura volume 2 or Aria: the masterpiece volume 2 – progress report
Yesterday: Read up to page 306, finished chapter 18. Today: Read up to page 341, finished chapter 19.
I’ve been feeling pretty anxious for the last few hours and I don’t really know why (hopefully a good night’s sleep will put body and mind at ease again). To distract myself from that, I read a whole chapter in midst of the week for once.
Word or expression of the day:
祝う - (いわう) - to celebrate, to congratulate, to observe (a festival)
Honourable mention(s):
染まる - (そまる) - to be dyed
使い古す - (つかいふるす) - to wear out (something)
受け継ぐ - (うけつぐ) - to inherit, to succeed, to take over