📚📚 Read every day challenge - Spring 2022 🌸 🌱

This is my first time joining the every day challenge. My goal is to read 5-30 mins per day in Japanese. I want to avoid falling behind SRS (basically Anki) because of reading too much, so I’m setting the minimum reading time to 5 mins. I am always bad at writing down reactions, but I’ll try to force my self to write something down (Maybe twice per week).

Goals :dart:

  • Intermedia Reading Club 佐賀のがばいばあちゃん
  • Finish the rest of the stories in 本陣殺人事件
  • 12歳までに読みたい名作100
  • 宮沢賢治 一気に読める

Progress :paw_prints:

  • 佐賀のがばいばあちゃん (29%. ~Chapter 4)
  • 本陣殺人事件 (90%)
  • 12歳までに読みたい名作100(p32)
  • 宮沢賢治 一気に読める (0%)
Apr
01 02 03
04 05 06 07 08 09 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30
May
01
02 03 04 05 06 07 08
09 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31
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:tulip: April 1st :tulip: Home
Since it was Friday I had the free time to read (and write) quite a bit.
Read: マグメル深海水族館
Finished Prologue (16 pages)
Time: 7 minutes
I’m excited to keep reading this one. I find the concept of an aquarium where you could go all the way to the deep sea and actually see the creature there in their native habitat super interesting (and kind of terrifying.) Seems like I’ll get a lot of katakana practice with all of the different creature’s names introduced. Also I really love the art especially in pages with all of the different creatures.

Fishies

New Vocab

無脊椎動物 invertebrate
ダイオウイカ Giant Squid
潜む to lurk; to be concealed
吊るす to hang
生息 living; inhabiting

Giant Squid fact

Each chapter seems to provide some facts about the creatures featured so I decided I’ll try and roughly translate one for fun.
Giant Squid
Body size: About 6-14m
Habitat depth: a few hundred - 1000m
In the largest class of the world’s invertebrates, it’s huge eye can grow to as large of a diameter as 30 cm.
It was nice to come along a lot of words I learned recently on WaniKani here (巨大,眼,直径).

Read: ジャックジャンヌ ー夏劇ー
Started short story 1 “only one life” (8 pages)
Time: 44 minutes
Oh boy reading a light novel really is different, especially a paperback one. It took me a long time to look up words I didn’t know. It seems like what’s holding me back here the most is vocab. This light novel has short stories about each of the main characters from the game Jack Jeanne (one of my favorite games) and so far seems like a really interesting deeper look into each of the characters. Definitely a difficult read for me but I love the story enough to push through. Plus Sui Ishida’s illustrations are another bonus.

Illustration

New vocab

Way too much to include it all so just my favorites and ones that use kanji I’ve learned here
うだつの上がらない lacking potential for advancement
際立つ to be prominent
一線を描する to draw a line (between)
至宝 greatest treasure; pride (of)
鮮烈 vivid; striking
混迷 turmoil; chaos
佇む to stand (still) a while; to loiter
大手企業 big corporation; major firm
一対 pair; couple would not have been able to figure out the reading of this one
押し花 pressed flower
空回り going round in circles; going nowhere

Interesting details

It was interesting to see the word つとめる using the specific contexts for the different kanji in the same passage, 勤める referring to working at a company and 務める referring to playing a role.

Also I really liked the way this line was written,
まるで花が開くようにー
「…はーい、オッケー!」
満開の花をそのまま押し花にでもしそうな勢いで、パンと大きく手を打つ音が響いた。
showing the transition from the beginning where they were acting out roles back to their actual selves.

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I read 三毛猫ホームズ up to Chapter 1, part 1. This section had plenty of new words for me (def. more than the prologue), and they mostly don’t look high-frequency. I added them to a folder in my dictionary but won’t study them unless they show up again.

I was going along, mentally grumbling about all the new words I was encountering, and then

at the very end of the section... (spoiler inside)

The place he took the taxi to was Fuchu?! :scream: :scream: :scream:

No wonder the taxi driver was complaining about how his taxes are being used! Where is the police station? I don’t recall it being mentioned, so I was assuming it was somewhere in Yamanote-area Tokyo. Fuchu is really far away. And this book is from the '80s, when taxis were much more expensive than they are now. I totally understand the taxi driver’s feelings. I’d be outraged too if my taxes were being spent like this.

赤川 definitely saved that for the end for extra impact :rofl:

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This thread is so hard to keep up with, and the challenge has only just started! :astonished:

Ah, don’t be. On second thought, adding the same cards multiple times is still reviewing of sorts, right? I do somehow magically remember several of my previously added cards, so I’m sure it still somehow works :grin:

What are the odds that we’d run across the same word on the same day in different books, and decide to share it? :rofl:

I missed this before. Hope you get well soon!

In my experience the difficulty goes up a bit after the prologue, but so does the fun. I really like his style of writing so far.

Yeah, that didn’t work out. I read another 1% to 7%, but then I also realized that I hadn’t read to the end of the chapter before anyway, so at least I’m caught up with myself. I can allow myself to take it a little slower from here on.

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三毛猫ホームズ related

I found that scene hilarious :rofl:
I don’t think the location of the police station is mentioned, and as I’m not very familiar with Japan’s geography I didn’t pay much attention to place names, but it Fuchu really is far away from where he started off then that’s even funnier. :grinning:

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polv’s home post of Q2 of 2022 :cherry_blossom: (Next: Q3 of 2022 :sunny:)

I am going to share my reading goals this time. Also, this is my first time joining the every day challenge. I don’t totally plan to read every day, although I do plan to “read for the sake of learning the way of Japanese language” 2-3 days per week, and write the progress weekly.

An ultimate goal is to be able to read Japanese Wikipedia (which is also pretty much the way I developed English reading skills in school).

四月
第1週目 01 02 :writing_hand: 03
第2週目 04 05 06 :white_check_mark: 07 08 09 10
第3週目 11 12 13 14 15 :white_check_mark: 16 17
第4週目 18 :writing_hand: 19 20 21 22 23 :books: 24 :white_check_mark:
第5週目 25 :writing_hand: 26 27 28 29 :books: 30
五月
第5週目 01 :writing_hand:
第6週目 02 03 :white_check_mark: 04 :white_check_mark: 05 06 07 08 :books:
第7週目 09 :writing_hand: 10 11 12 13 14 :books: 15 :white_check_mark:
第8週目 16 :writing_hand: 17 :white_check_mark: 18 :white_check_mark: 19 20 21 22 :books:
第9週目 23 :writing_hand: 24 25 26 27 28 :books: 29
第10週目 30 :writing_hand: 31
六月
第10週目 01 :white_check_mark: 02 03 04 :books: 05
第11週目 06 :writing_hand: 07 :white_check_mark: 08 09 10 11 12 :books:
第12週目 13 14 :writing_hand: 15 16 17 :books: 18 19
第13週目 20 21 :writing_hand: 22 23 24 25 26 :books:
第1週目 27 :writing_hand: 28 :memo: 29 :memo: 30 :memo:

I like the idea of weekly count. It seems that trunklayer started the idea.

Although and works, the color is not strongly noticeable. Also, it pretty much limits to only two icons. (It’s pretty cool that I can click on without editing, though.)

For some reasons, I can’t find anyone putting up a June calendar. It’s not too hard to be commited for 3 months, I think.

Let me make weekly progresses, ok?

Progresses :dart:
  • Committed
    • (2/12) Death Note - all volumes (1-12), also for discussion.
    • (2/10) Happiness - all volumes (1-10), whether or not the discussion is ongoing.
      • Though, I can’t be sure how thorough I will read, after the discussion has died down.
      • So, it would probably end quickly then, maybe with vocabulary lists from earlier chapters.
    • (66%) Night Cafe Vol.1
      • This is different from other choices, that it is in full text (light novel) format (with some illustrations).
      • This one actually requires some effort on my part, although I somewhat adapted to it. I think I can finish Vol. 1, at least; but maybe with bad comprehension - and could be hard to continue on to the next volumes by myself.
    • (2/4) JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 2 - Battle Tendency
      • I bought the Monochrome Version, and there are 4 volumes. (I think there are exactly the same number of chapters in Colored Version, but more volumes.)
      • I don’t have that much problem understanding colloquial written Japanese, so I really want to finish the series.
      • Whether I will continue part 1, 3-6 is, I haven’t decided yet; but I seriously consider it.
  • Potential
    • (2/13 = 1+13) Yuru Camp
      • Although I started on (and bought) Vol. 13, and it isn’t really a stressful read; it is a reading without Furigana, as well as I will always try to read signs and place names, that aren’t really in the dialogue.
      • I will also take time to research about real places in Japan. This much is pretty normal when remembered the time I’ve been in Japan - there were both solo travels (exchange student’s free time) and travels with friends.
Some other things
  • Somewhat failed
    • それでも歩は寄せてくる
      • I pretty much dropped out of it because of Shogi terms.
      • It can be said that I am not really interested in it, but it is just an excuse.
  • Some things I might consider
    • I don’t give Wotakoi Manga just yet.
    • I have bought 時をかける少女 (Light Novel), but I don’t feel I am at the level to read it yet.
      • Still, it might be just some 杞憂.
      • I might reconsider, as I might be able to learn more from relying on the text, rather on the pictures (in mangas).
    • Some kinds of medical series. Might be はたらく細胞.
    • Some kinds of novels that are in fad.
    • Some kinds of non-fiction or philosophy books, rather than Wiki or interlinked (website) format.
  • Some things I find interesting, but haven’t consider just yet.

Previous progresses :paw_prints:
  • Death Note (15/108)
  • 呪術廻戦 0 (Last chapter (ch.4) + pending discussion)
    • I read this series with moderate effort, with more efforts when it is some long handwritten text.
    • Some words are indeed made-up, but the meaning can be found, when I find references to some actual words.
  • Happiness (1/10)
    • I have finished the first volume, but I don’t feel the pressure to continue yet.
    • I feel that the series is interesting, and the reading is not too difficult; so I decided to buy all the volumes.
    • I am waiting for the discussion week-by-week.
  • Night Cafe Vol.1 Ch.2
    • I am continuing on with the discussion. It has just started Ch.2 as of Sat 2 Apr 2022.
    • I am thinking of, what is the best learning strategy.
    • I am considering reading ahead, but it may also be counterproductive; as it can be both time-consuming, and I don’t really understand enough.
  • JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 2 (2.1/4)
    • I am on the beginning of Vol. 2/4 where JoJo met Caesar (descendant of Zeppelli), and he has introduced himself.
    • It is pretty much on hold now, but probably no longer. It was on hold, because I focused more on other things that can have discussions. But then, actually I don’t care - I can take note by myself (by blogging that I haven’t revealed to the public yet).
  • Yuru Camp Vol. 13 (2/7)
    • Will reread for more clarity, and for discussion.
  • I am also considering listening to easy YouTube channels, for better grammar understanding and activating my listening skills; but I pretty much haven’t started.
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I’d love to read your JoJo blogging if you post it :smiley:

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Whoaaaaa the cover of this looks beautiful! :star_struck: This sounds awesome anyone from the last challenge knows my love for sea creatures LOL, I’m 100% adding this to my list.

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I hope this will motivate me. And hopefully, this will develop into a habit. :crossed_fingers:

Books

夜カフェ
娘じゃなくて私が好きなの⁈ (Vol 1.)

Apr
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May
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Also, please help. How do I add checkboxes? Edit: Thank you @windupbird !

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For empty checkboxes, type [ ] (but with no spaces in between the brackets)
To check the checkbox, you can put an “x” between the brackets ^^

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April 1st & 2nd :cherry_blossom: :cat2: :cherry_blossom:

Home post

Yesterday was so busy I didn’t have time to make a post, so I will summarize both day 1 and day 2 of my reading practice here :3 It took me a long time and I understood very little, however I feel like progress has been made. Going from nearly no reading to reading for around 1h daily is rather exhausting, but it feels good to know that if only I keep going it will get easier.

Day 1 :cat2:

I panicked, because I realized I didn’t have a reading list ready. So I scoured some sites and came across this 吾輩は猫である by 夏目漱石. It caught my interest because (surprise surprise) it is cat themed. Issue is, that once I opened the book I realized this is way way way above my current ability. But I decided to give it a go anyways, since I (for some reason) kind of enjoy painstaikingly reading something sentence by sentence until it clicks one day. Also, after the very wise and poetic words of @pocketcat about perusing reading materials, I won’t feel guilty about dropping this.
It was also very helpful to have an English version of it opened up while trying to read reading.

I’ve only managed to get through the first few sentences (writing this stuff out is incredibly time consuming :sweat_smile:), however I can’t say I didn’t enjoy the process. So far I have learnt that Cat, whose name we don’t know yet, has no idea where it was born and it had heard rumours that humans eat and boil cats.

Here’s a lil bit of what I’ve managed to do (there’s another half a page):

Day 2 :cat2: :cherry_blossom:

I decided to stick with the cat theme but do something a little (seemingly) easier: this article 「西炯子と大ちゃん」 - ネコメンタリー 猫も、杓子(しゃくし)も。 - NHK about mangaka 西炯子 and her cat 大ちゃん. I struggled a lot with the lack of kanji in some places - while I am getting better at recognizing words, a long row of just hiragana can get confusing. Nevertheless, I managed to get the gist of it - will probably return to it again to re-read it. Also, this is really helping me improve my ability to read katakana, which I suck at.

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Day 2 :slight_smile:
柿 (かき)
image
It looks like a tomato but it’s a…

Japanese persimmon

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… and apparently you can feed them to elephants as I read in 象のトンキー!

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You can also eat them yourself. They are super delicious.

Your handwriting is easy to read except for one Kana that for the live of me I can’t make out. In day1
生まれたかと?と見当がつかぬ。What character is that ?

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Thanks! I’ll keep an eye out for them here (Germany), I’ve never tried one!

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Yeah, you can get them in the standard supermarkets (Edeka, Rewe and stuff) and they are indeed very sweet and delicious. You can eat them with the skin.

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Very minor reading yesterday - I was watching a movie and was so engrossed I almost went too late for reading. I got 14 pages of the third story in 遅刻してきた幽霊. It’s also seeming a bit predictable, but I will see where it takes me. Then I read 14 pages of ミステリと言う勿れ volume 3 in bed. The dialect some of the characters is using is rough. I’m getting the gist but I’m sure I’m missing details here and there.

I’m headed to the library today, so hopefully they have 三毛猫ホームズ and I can read the spoilers others have posted shortly! :pray:

Edit: re persimmons - I love them but have a very mild allergy to them :sob: delicious but painful

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Thanks everyone for the kind words. Very strongly recommend not catching if you can! I’ve had three vaccines and I’m pretty fit but it’s completely wiped me out.

Managed to finish the second story in ぼくは王さま today and start the third one.

Good words today:
草むしり weeding
ゼンマイ clockwork

I mentioned that I wanted to start practicing my German again so I’ve been used my enforced bed rest to bingewatch Queer Eye Germany on Netflix. It’s funny but my German feels like it’s got better after 5 years of not studying it!?! I mean, obviously it hasn’t but it’s just that I now have Japanese to compare it to :joy: I think that when I was studying German I focused on the 10% I couldn’t understand whereas now I’m happy with a bit more ambiguity.

I’ve just finished watching the March Comes In Like A Lion anime which I absolutely adored and I’ve seen that manga continues beyond the anime so that’s very much on my reading list. Seriously considering buying one of the shogi games for my switch to help with learning some of the vocab.

Reading Japanese every day is basically an excuse to see everyone else’s cute pics, this did not disappoint, thank you.

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My First Challenge! So excited to participate!
Currently reading:
君の膵臓をたべたい side by side with the English version for the first read :wink:
Genki 2 読み書き編 --the part at the back of the book because I actually made it through the book with my fabulous italki teacher Elly. I completed this section thanks to the reading challenge.

Apr
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May
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Finished the 感動的な話 “I Want to Eat Your Pancreas” (I was already on the 2nd book when I started the challenge). Working on saving the vocabulary now on a quick second read. (Haha, that didn’t happen. Worked on saving the vocab list but it’s just another list I’m supposed to learn…)

My Tech discovery yesterday: Gboard keyboard app for iphone. So much easier to toggle back and forth from English to hiragana/kanji–I set the Japanese keyboard to the QWRTY layout–it also has a quick access to Gtranslation right there and Japanese emojis and GIFS.

Continuing Satori 壁の穴 Hole in the Wall on Satori Reader. (Follow up:Didn’t do much reading of this during the challenge. )

Reading the 小説: 名前は Only read first few chapters during the challenge. This is pretty labor intensive–lots of descriptive vocabulary and internal dialog so too much to look up for now.
Listened to, translated, and read lots of podcasts during this challenge.
Stayed stuck on the same level of WK during this challenge because I was devoting my study time to reading.
Signed up for and enjoyed a month of Kindle Unlimited on Amazon Japan. Not going to keep it yet because the manga words can’t be transcribed easily on Kindle. Easier to work with short stories.
Most of my reading was focused on the 読み書き編section of Genki 2 which I was almost able to finish in the 2 months of this challenge with 2 days a week of iTalki time with my teacher. It was extremely helpful and got me to demonstrate my comprehension more with questions about the text.
Just found the Tofugu article about Graded Readers here: so I will be focusing on trying to level up my reading this way after the challenge.

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Cut it into equal pieces and wrap it with cheese and 生ハム or salty bacon/ham and you’ve got an appetizer… that you’ll probably eat all by yourself.

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