📚📚 Read every day challenge - Spring 2022 🌸 🌱

Japanese Language Reading
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Day 9 :heavy_check_mark: :cat2:

三毛猫ホームズの推理 ~32% to 36%, halfway through chapter 2.3

Back to Holmes! And finally at the point where I could read some of @pocketcat’s past spoilers.

RIght? She looks exactly like the classic seemingly innocent and very desirable beauty that is actually behind it all. But then she’s being quite open with Katayama (apart from that thing they kept hinting at with Morisaki) and, as you say, the cat seems to like her. I guess we’ll see.

I think it works. She was horny, she had a really bad day, she had already heard about the casual prostitution thing and she was feeling reckless. Apparently the guy looks deceptively safe, so she lowered the defenses she initially put up. And she had a couple of drinks, and it’s explicitly said that she couldn’t hold her alcohol. Still, amazing skill from the part of the killer to do the deed without even a muffled scream from her to alert the rest of the students.
So apparently the killer can’t be from within the university, or the girls would recognize him. Is it the case that we haven’t met him yet? Come on, I need to have someone to suspect!

It was hilarious. I love Holmes. If I didn’t know she’s the protagonist of about a million more books, I’d suspect she’s behind it all. She’s easily the cleverest and most manipulative of them all.

Seriously? :smiley_cat: I had no idea cats actually did that, I’ve never seen it before. So jealous!

And one minor gripe about the way the main character is handled: It seems to me like Katayama’s aversion to women and blood has been entirely forgotten, and now we’ve found another way to gently laugh at his expense, with some minor physical comedy at the end of every scene (books and volley balls attacking him come to mind). He seemed perfectly functional around dead bodies and girl students, which felt out of character to me.

Words and phrases

泣き面に蜂 - making matters worse, adding insult to injury
当てつける - to do something in order to spite someone, to have a dig at
命中 - direct hit
痺れる - to become numb
寄ってたかって - in a crowd, ganging up
手のひらを返す - to do an about-face
とやかく言う - to find fault with, to say all kinds of things about
心当たりがある - to have an idea, to have a clue

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A bit about story

What a way to leave us on such a cliffhanger.

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三毛猫ホームズ
Read to the end of chapter 2.4

I am uncertain whether or not we just got some clues about the girls’ killer. Is this a red herring? I’m trying to remember back to when this character was first described (there are so many)… I flipped back to previous sections with him and there are some things which are potentially suspicious.

Place name
世田谷（せたがや）A nice suburban part of Tokyo, not far from the crowded Yamanote area

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Day 10 - April 10

  • 美少年探偵団 1 - 17,33% → 17,47%
  • 無職転生 ～異世界行ったら本気だす～ 1 - 11,78% → 11,78%
  • キノの旅-the Beautiful World- 1 - 39,02% → 39,02%

Still having Covid, so I only read a little and that’s OK :heart:

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Yes, that’s it! :+1:

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And so another reading week is about to come to a close.
Short daily updates are in my home post.

At the beginning of this week, I started a new Aoitori Bunko book titled 好きって言って！（１） カレは秘密の王子さま！？. I finished the book just a couple moments ago.

Some no spoiler thoughts on 好きって言って！（１） カレは秘密の王子さま！？

This part of the synopsis: “A secret that even himself doesn’t know… and he’s going to disappear in two more days if we don’t fulfill the promise made to some monsters!?” was what made me buy the book. I wanted to know what the secret was and why one of the main characters was going to disappear.

Although the secret and reason did not disappoint, the solution the main characters embarked on to solve the issue felt a bit too… childish for me. Understandably the book is targeted at elementary school students so the theme won’t be too dark. Still, it’s a pity since I thought it had a good starting premise. The heroine is also a rather lovely character.

Unfortunately, I likely won’t be continuing this series.

It’s difficult to read much during the weekdays cause of work. But the challenge is really pushing me to read at least one chapter of something per day. I really enjoy being able to binge read during the weekends.

I’m eyeing 探偵チームＫＺ事件ノート next. I see almost 80 volumes in this series listed on Aoitori Bunko site. Might end up going down a rabbit hole if the first volume is interesting…

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Day 10 - Calendar

Finished 夜カフェ today :partying_face:
It’s my second Japanese book to finish. In the end it turned out a little different then I expected it to be (which is a good sign). Overall I did like the book and it was an okay read for me. I had troubles at the beginning, but the further the book continued, the easier I was able to read it. At first I thought I would continue with volume 2 right after, but for now I want to switch to a physical book again. Personally I just like physical books better than ebooks.
Next up will be 魔女の宅急便 which I have lying around here for some time now. I actually started it once some months ago, but it was too hard to read. But I think it will be doable now.

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Only read two pages of 三毛猫ホームズの推理 last night. I had a very busy day, got home late, had to make dinner and didn’t have much energy left after that. I need to finish the book by next Saturday though (since I won’t be able to go to the library after that until May) so today I will probably jam a lot of reading in to catch up and then some.

Spoiler replies

I suppose but I just have trouble putting myself in that mindset. Being a somewhat reckless drunk 20 something myself at one point that’s still beyond even what my idiot self would have done :sweat_smile:
But yeah, IIRC the way he was described in the first scene also heavily implied the girls didn’t know him. I’m open to him being one of the guys working on the buildings but also I feel like his expensive coat was mentioned twice? So that feels like some kind of clue.


Agree with all of this. He seems totally chill around 雪子 now, unfazed by seeing a dead body, and generally just calm under pressure. Like it makes the story go smoother, but it makes the opening description feel cheap.

Ohh do tell. All I’ve got is the coat thing I mentioned above.

Yes! They’re also called ‘pirate cats’. :pirate_flag: Googling around there was a cute little photo competition with shoulder cats (and other animals…:joy: )

Congrats!

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Day 8 :love_letter:

I spent most of the day reading それでも歩は寄せてくる. Lots of chores had to be abandoned for the sake of it, can’t be helped though. The story actually develops (!) I wasn’t expecting that and I’m all enthralled. It had so many precious moments so far that I’ve lost count. :heart:

I’m halfway through the fourth book still a whole volume behind the book club but I definitely made incredible progress today.

At the moment I’m totally exhausted, my head’s heavy, and my brain is in shutdown mode. Note to self, [in goofy’s voice] don’t do it again like that.

:pleading_face::point_right: :point_left:

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４月10日 - Day 10
Calendar

I took a break from 博士の愛した数式 and read an article: ｢価格転嫁｣ができない日本企業の語らざる本音 to expand my vocabulary related to economics. I’m not very knowledgeable about the topic, so beside learning Japanese I had an opportunity to educate myself in this area too. :laughing: Encountering words I learned recently on WK in a different context was also satisfying.

New vocab

値上げ - price increase
同様に - identically; similarly
上昇 - rising; ascending
供給 - supplies
需要（じゅよう） - demand; request
原材料 - raw materials
中間財 - intermediate goods
最終財 - final goods
縮小（しゅくしょう） - reduction; curtailment
バブル崩壊 （ほうかい）- collapse of bubble economy
金融市場 - financial market
不動産市場 - real estate market
家計 - household economy
金融政策 - monetary policy
財政（ざいせい）政策 - fiscal policy

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:tiger2: :books: Tanuki Den (aka Homepost): Date 20220410 :cherry_blossom: :raccoon:

Tanuki Scroll X: げんこつのほうび :onion:

Read today’s folktale, from Niigata prefecture!

Where a lord is looking for an interesting rare thing, turns out the thing that captures his interest the most is a huge turnip.

:seedling: Japanese found in the tall grass :seedling:

New Things

お触れ「おふれ」ー Official notice; proclamation issued by the shogunate to the general people (Edo era)
ちっとも ー Not at all; not a bit; not in the least. Mega-rare kanji form: 些とも, never seen that kanji before.
荷車「にぐるま」ー Cart; wagon

New Kanji form!
蕪「かぶ」ー Turnip. Also can be read as: かぶら; かぶな.

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4月10日 ~ Day 10/ Back to Home

Usually I just wait for 3 days to pass to get access to the three parts that make up a chapter, but this chapter was intriguing so I used points to get access to the remaining parts immediately.

絶叫学級 転生 5 (page 105 of 168)

The most interesting part was the protagonist being a college student versus the normal ES/JHS/HS or children protagonists. The rest of the chapter was literally just o_0 I slightly regret using my points lol

授業 21「追われる者」単語

光景 こうけい scene; spectacle; sight; view
よそる to serve; to dish up; to dish out
弱気 よわき timid; weak-kneed; fainthearted
からかう to tease; to make fun of; to poke fun at; to make a crack about; to chaff; to kid; to joke; to banter; to pull someone’s leg
いい様にする いいようにする to do as one wishes; to act as one wills
けなげ 健気 admirable; commendable; praiseworthy; laudable; brave; heroic; noble; courageous
通報 つうほう report; notification; tip; bulletin
借主 かりぬし tenant; lessee; renter

Yay, way to go! :slight_smile:

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Yay! That’s what we like to hear! It might help to read things you’re really interested in. That way, even if the level is a little on the advanced side for you, at least you have the motivation to read it making it feel less intimidating.

For me, 佐賀のがばいおばあちゃん is a bit past my level, but I know it’s the kind of material I want to read so I push through it when I have time. Plus, the added challenge means I’ll be able to work through more books at that level a little more easily.

If you write your favorite genres (detective fiction, nonfiction, etc.) or interests (Japanese history, animals, etc.), I’m sure someone can help you out!

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April 10th!

I finished the second chapter of 夜カフェ today, reading about 10 pages.

Grammar-wise I was able to read it without much difficulty, but I still had to look up quite a bit of vocabulary. I can feel my reading getting a little smoother each week though as I’m adjusting to reading prose instead of just manga though :slight_smile:

(Home Post)

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Today I finished 🐉🐉🐉 極主夫道 3巻 • The Way of the House Husband, Volume 3 (read three chapters + three bonus chapters – ~60 pages).

I won’t continue with the other volumes of this manga because it’s not really my thing. The characters are kinda nice (I did get a little attached to them over time) and I like all the cooking, but the gags and the drawing style don’t really do it for me.

I wanted to finish it now (a little ahead of the book club) because I want to move on to デスノート ・ Death Note 📓 Vol. 2 :slightly_smiling_face:

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There’s even a pocket cat in there! :thinking: :grin:

Of course they are. It was my first thought: why is this cat pretending to be a parrot on a pirate’s shoulder? :parrot: :pirate_flag:

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Day 10

なぜ?どうして?かがくのお話1年生: 25% → 31%

Read a story about 野口のぐち英世ひでよ, a Japanese bacteriologist who discovered the agent of syphilis. I found it charming how the story mostly talked about his motivation to help others by becoming a doctor, because of the surgeon who helped him restore his badly burned hand.

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Read chapter 7 of 夜カフェ today, and since I calculated that I’ll almost definitely finish it in less than two weeks, I went ahead and ordered the next one. I don’t know if I’ll want to keep reading immediately, but I want to be prepared just in case!

Also, last night I picked up それでも歩は寄せてくる again. There was an 運動会 that I was avoiding reading (because the language suddenly became much more difficult for me), but I got through it, and remembered again how cute and sweet and fun this manga is.

replies

Ooh, I’m glad to hear that!

Congratulations! And thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Thanks for the review of this book! It makes me definitely want to read it. You also sent me on a browsing spree through aoitori, and now I’m not sure what to order next because there are just so many options! Werewolves …? Fairies …? Fox girls who hang out at the library …? Cinderella and the mean butler …? :rofl: And the list goes on.

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The first complete week is down: Homepost 10/61

Was a bit more lazy than I wanted this weekend but whatever. Still read every day.
What I did the last week:

  • Week 3 for Yoru Cafe BBC
  • Week 5+6 for Happiness ABBC
  • Week 1 for Saga IBC
  • Around half a volume of Slam Dunk (6¹/₂/20 volumes down)
  • 6 Nhk Easy articles
  • Some cross reading from the Freebees thread to see if theres something interesting I would like to add ( それは霊の仕業です seemed fun&ecchi)
  • Started Chapter 8 of Tobira (this is where I didn’t do as much as I would have liked)

Next week I want to basically continue exactly the same. Especially Week 2 for Saga IBC is next on my agenda. With easter coming up I’ll see how much time I can actually dedicate to other reading material since I’m going to visit my family over the weekend.

See you next week for an update then :smiley:

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:seedling::sunflower::seedling:
\huge\color{ #A3E4D7}\mathrm{🌻Day 10🌻}
:seedling::sunflower::seedling:

\small \color{ #A3E4D7}\mathrm{★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★}

Today I translated 11 pages of よつばと！Otherwise I had a very lazy day today :upside_down_face:

\small \color{ #A3E4D7}\mathrm{★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★}

Tooltip

The flowers above the “Day #” links to my post for the previous day, and the flowers below link to the next day, except for the latest day ofc, they link somewhere special :wink:

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