I’ve gotta go in a few minutes and I’ve having trouble finding it, but the grunts refer to the old man/head as おや (specifically not 親分 oddly). Yakuza heir sounds odd to me still, but oh well
3 Likes
Sun Dec 24 
ジャム屋さん - ep 18
This one felt a bit easy, which is a nice change.
Mon Dec 25 ジャム屋さん - half of ep 19 
(I picked it up again at some point in the week but got immediately called away)
Fri Dec 29 ジャム屋さん - rest of ep 19 
Thank you!!
You too? I was afraid my eyes were declining in my old age!
It does, congrats!
15 Likes
12月29日金曜日
ホリミヤ, vol. 1, the last pages for the 4th week of the past ABBC session.
I’m glad these few pages were easier than the others of this section, because I’ve spent a lot of time on a total of 10 pages and I was a little depressed, saying to myself I would never been able to catch up with the ABBC on this manga 
I know this manga is hard to read for beginners and that the end of my journey isn’t here yet, but I want to enjoy this little victory tonight 
Thanks ! 
16 Likes
Dec 29, Fri of Week 14 of Fall Q4 2023 
-
STEINS;GATE (VN) Ch.6
-
いちばんやさしい世界史の本 (22-24%)
-
あなたも殺人犯になれる! Ch.17-19 (53-61%)
Words of the day
- ほとぼりが冷める = heat dies down. The first part can be written 熱り.
- 足止めを食う = to be forced to stay
- 念には念を入れる = to make absolutely sure
- 思いの外 = unexpectedly; surprisingly
- 鬼子母神 = Hariti - Wikipedia
- 宦官 = eunuch official. The first Kanji is also mainly eunuch, as an official historically.
- 素焼き = unglazed pottery
- 賦役 = slave labor service; forced labor
- 匈奴 = Xiongnu - Wikipedia. Whom 万里の長城 were defending from, in the area of Mongolia.
- 焚書坑儒 = burning of the books (and burying of the scholars)
- 篆書 = Seal script - Wikipedia. After 甲骨文字
and simplified into 隷書. - 歴訪 = rounds of calls (visits)
- 論語 = Analects - Wikipedia, the Sayings of Confucius (孔子). One of 四書五経.
- 道教 = Taoism - Wikipedia
- 富国強兵 = enrich the country, strengthen the army. Japan later on took after China.
- 官学 = government school
- 大月氏 = Greater Yuezhi - Wikipedia. A historical group of people from central Asia.
- シチュー = stew. Why do I think situational comedy?
- 留置場 = detention cell, for temporary detention of suspects. Probably similar to 留置所.
- 遠大 = ambitious; far-reaching
Book highlights
項羽 = ฌ้อปาอ๋อง - วิกิพีเดีย (เซี่ยงอวี่)
劉邦 = จักรพรรดิฮั่นไท่จู่ - วิกิพีเดีย (หลิว ปัง)
武帝 = จักรพรรดิฮั่นอู่ - วิกิพีเดีย
張騫 = Zhang Qian - Wikipedia
陳勝・呉広の乱 = Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprising - Wikipedia
呉楚七国の乱 = Rebellion of the Seven States - Wikipedia (+ Wu Kingdom (Han dynasty) - Wikipedia + Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) - Wikipedia)
13 Likes
home post
12月29日
 |
Title | How much read today | Currently at | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
奥日光 | 2 episodes | 13/62 | — |
 |
舞妓さんちのまかないさん | 3 chapters | 78/261 | — |
And I’m back home so happy to have time to read again!
16 Likes
Home post // Dec 29 
・サイレント・ウイッチ IV -after- (82% → 100%)
Wuiii, another book finished. Last one for this year
Amount of lookups has been relatively close for all the volumes, tho it’s a shame I didn’t think of it before the first volume. Would probably be way higher based on my experience with how new series always brings with it a new set of unknown vocabulary. If I go through the word lists, there will probably be a bunch of the same words.
| Volume | Lookups |
|---|---|
| 2 | 192 |
| 3 | 220 |
| 4 | 153 |
| 4.5 | 176 |
Hmm, as for my next book, I’m thinking Saikawa and Moe series, I have one book I need to catch up on from book club during summer.
19 Likes
１２月２９日
マイ・ブロークン・マリコ
滅
12 Likes
24/12 18 pages 本好きの下剋上 (finished week 11), 4 pages Spy Family
25/12 19 pages 本好きの下剋上, 7 pages おじさまと猫
26/12 21 pages 本好きの下剋上 (finished week 12 and read week 13)
27/12 2 pages 本好きの下剋上, 1 pages Spy Family
28/12 2 pages 本好きの下剋上
29/12 3 pages 本好きの下剋上
Well I did very well for 3 days then…less well.
I’ve been trying to push to finish the 本好き light novel and I think I’ll manage it by the end of the year. But with that, I’ve fallen behind on all of my manga clubs. I’m not very worried about that as I have holiday coming up (fly to Japan in a week!) so I think I’ll catch up on the flights and in transit. But I’d like to finish at least one more manga volume to reach a total of 40 books and manga (including English ones) read this year. I was aiming for 50 but definitely won’t manage that!
16 Likes
Dec 30, Sat of Week 14 of Fall Q4 2023
-
あなたも殺人犯になれる! Ch.20-22 (61-70%)
-
いちばんやさしい世界史の本 (24-26%)
Words of the day
- ドキュメント = documentary
- 猿ぐつわ = mouth gag, to stop the victim from speaking. 轡 is a mouthpiece on a horse, say 轡を並べる. Indeed, 口 + 輪.
- 随筆 = miscellaneous writing; essays. 史記 is one of those.
Book highlights
王莽 = Wang Mang - Wikipedia
新 = Xin dynasty - Wikipedia
赤眉の乱 = Red Eyebrows - Wikipedia
劉秀 = Former name (หลิว ซิ่ว) of Emperor Guangwu of Han - Wikipedia
班超 = Ban Chao - Wikipedia
甘英 = Gan Ying - Wikipedia
司馬遷 = ซือหม่า เชียน - วิกิพีเดีย
班固 = Ban Gu - Wikipedia
漢書 = ฮั่นชู - วิกิพีเดีย
蔡倫 = ไช่ หลุน - วิกิพีเดีย
曹操 = โจโฉ - วิกิพีเดีย
曹丕 = โจผี - วิกิพีเดีย
魏 = Wei (state) - Wikipedia
孫権 = ซุนกวน - วิกิพีเดีย
呉 = ง่อก๊ก - วิกิพีเดีย
劉備 = เล่าปี่ - วิกิพีเดีย
蜀 = Shu (kingdom) - Wikipedia
司馬炎 = สุมาเอี๋ยน - วิกิพีเดีย
晋 = ราชวงศ์จิ้น - วิกิพีเดีย
六朝文化 => See Six Dynasties poetry - Wikipedia
鳩摩羅什 = พระกุมารชีพ - วิกิพีเดีย
法顕 = Faxian - Wikipedia
敦煌 = Dunhuang - Wikipedia
雲崗 = Yungang Grottoes - Wikipedia
龍門 = Longmen Grottoes - Wikipedia
13 Likes
home post
12月30日
|
Title | How much read today | Currently at | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
この美術部には問題がある! | Chapter 3 2nd half | — | — |
 |
あなたも殺人犯になれる! | Chapter 19 & 20 | — | 55 new words |
|
奥日光 | 2 episodes | 17/62 | — |
|
舞妓さんちのまかないさん | 2 chapters | 80/261 | — |
 |
阪急電車 | 0.9% | 10.6% | 15 new words |
あなたも殺人犯になれる! chapter 20
Funny expression: (replaced the name of the actual person with “彼” so it’s not spoilery)
彼は床に大の字になって気絶していた
16 Likes
Home post // Dec 30
・ 夏のレプリカ Replaceable Summer (0% → 6%)
Ah, the series of philosophy, cigarettes and overly detailed description of interior (or maybe not). I remember being burnt out on this series after reading book 6 (this is book 7 for the record). I just couldn’t handle two books in one season. Book club has had a schedule of 1 book per half a year or so, but last summer we decided to read two books. And there was a reason for that. We had a suspicion that book 6 and 7 were connected with both taking place during the summer, and with the chapters being weird - one having even numbered chapters and the other having odd numbered chapters. Currently in chapter 1 excuse me, chapter 2 which is actually chapter 1, not much is revealed yet.
The Silent Witch books have had like 500 phone pages or so, while this book is 700+ phone pages? oh gosh… Anyway, reading this series has always been a big effort xD but I’m not one to stop now! We’ve scheduled the start of the next book already in March, so better get working if I wanna catch up 
17 Likes
Dec 30 and Dec 31
- Was on the road basically all day but found time to start 疑似ハーレム 3 | L19 and continue it today as well. Will probably finish it sometime today and start the new year with only 美術部 on the palette.
13 Likes
December 29th!
Today I read the final chapter of Volume 15 of Teasing Master Takagi-san.
December 30th!
Today I read 8 pages of コンビニ人間, finally reaching the end of the story.
It ended up taking me over 6 months to read it, which is rather a long time compared to the 19 weeks I was originally planning to read it in with the IBC Primer club 
But all the same, I’m proud of myself for not giving up, and I’m glad I at least managed to finish in the same year as the rest of the club (ギリギリですよね 
)
18 Likes
Hooray! 
12 Likes
Always amazing to see the end of a book/project that has been done regularly over a long time.
12 Likes
 |
Book | Pages |
|---|---|---|
 |
ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 1 | L30 | 8 - 36 |
|
Book | Pages |
|---|---|---|
 |
季節を愉しむ366日 L30?? | December 19 |
|
Book | Pages |
|---|---|---|
|
季節を愉しむ366日 L30?? | Jan 1 |
 |
trash | 113-145 (end) |
14 Likes
Dec 31, Sun of Week 14 of Fall Q4 2023
-
いちばんやさしい世界史の本 end Ch.2 (26-28%)
-
あなたも殺人犯になれる! Ch.23-24 (70-76%)
-
DIJG : に限って
Words of the day
- 破天荒 = unprecedented
- 談論 = a discourse (e.g. on politics)
- 埴輪 = Haniwa - Wikipedia. Compared as the Japanese version of 兵馬俑.
- 死者に鞭打つ = speaking ill of the dead. Probably similar to De mortuis nil nisi bonum - Wikipedia
- 前途ある = have prospects; promising
- 感電 = electrocution
Reading Every Day Challenge of Q4 2023 - Summary
As for completed ones, 25 manga, 1 LN, 1 practical, 2 VN.
- Manga
- ゆるキャン△ Vol.6-12 + Vol.15
- NARUTO Vol.1-16 (waiting for the club)
- DEATH NOTE Vol.10-11 (along with the club)
- (Light) novels
- 夏と花火と私の死体 (from 15%)
- 狼と香辛料 Vol.1 (30-51%) Yeah, maybe later.
- あなたも殺人犯になれる! (0-76%)
- Practical books
- 超ビジュアル!日本の歴史大事典
- いちばんやさしい世界史の本 (5-28%)
- Visual novels
- Fatal Twelve (just after 1/2 way)
- -ATRI- (maybe after 50%)
- STEINS;GATE (0-Ch.6)
- Textbooks / references
- a Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar (21-39%)
13 Likes
12月31日日曜日
Shikimori-san’s not just a cutie chapters 3 and 4 for this ABBC week.
Nothing yesterday because… life 
See you on the next topic for my first full reading every day challenge
14 Likes
Home post // Dec 31 
・ 夏のレプリカ Replaceable Summer (6% → 15%)
Last day of the year! Finished chapter 2 which is actually chapter 1. I’m pretty happy with that even if it is relatively low percentage compared to reading Silent Witch. Done challenge!
I wish everyone a Happy New Year! 
13 Likes
December 31st!
Just a little read today, 2 chapters of 可愛いだけじゃない式守さん with the ABBC. I think I expended the remains of this years reading power yesterday so I took it easy today.
This book is a great pick for the ABBC I think - I like the super short chapters, if an offshoot doesn’t happen for this club I might carry on with it anyway so I can use it for the days where I need something short and sweet.
End of Challenge Summary: 100%
Books Completed
- Behind the Supermarket, Smoking with You - Volume 2
- Shadows House - Volume 13
- Teasing Master Takagi-san - Volume 15
- Convenience Store Woman
4 books completed this month, which is lower than usual, but thats because I devoted a lot of my reading time this month to getting to the end of コンビニ人間 - I’m really happy to have finished it, its the first novel aimed at adults that I’ve finished, and is the hardest thing I’ve managed to read so far (even though it took me over 6 months to do it )
Overall, I read 38 manga and 1 novel this year in Japanese. Lower than last year, but I think I challenged myself, and read a lot of stuff that was more difficult this year compared to last year.
2023 was a tough year for me personally, and life has felt a bit bleak at times - but being a part of these challenges has brought me a huge amount of joy. Thank you all for the support, encouragement, recommendations and inspiration.
Lets do it all again in 2024 
19 Likes