oooh, this is one I have on my to read list (along with like….every other book because I have no self control hahah). How have you been finding it?
5 Likes
I’m mostly enjoying the relationship between the main characters gradually being developed and the appreciation of maths, reflected in many parts of the book. As for the language, some parts, although not so many, were challenging for me, which combined with the rather slow-paced story made me want to take a break from it. But overall, I would recommend it.
7 Likes
The June Tanuki Den: Date 20220630 
No Longer Tanuki Progress: 59.71%
Last update before the summer challenge, hope to see everyone there!
(I’m sure I had a thought of something else too, but I’ve completely forgotten it)
Japanese found in the tall grass
Learnthings
気の毒「きのどく」ー Pitiful; unfortunate; poor // and an extension of this:
気の毒に思う「きのどくにおもう」ー To feel sorry for; to regret that
発奮「はっぷん」ー Being inspired; being stimulated
置手紙「おきてがみ」ー A letter left behind by someone who has departed; a farewell letter
当惑「とうわく」ー Bewilderment; perplexity
興覚め「きょうざめ」ー Spoiled fun; loss of interest; turn-off
懐中「かいちゅう」ー One’s pocket
心細い「こころぼそい」ー Forlorn; helpless; discouraging
溜息「ためいき」ー Sigh
鼻緒「はなお」ー Geta strap; sandal strap
Forms
露路 ＝ 路地「ろじ」(Alleyway)
20 Likes
What did I just read? 
Continuing my sampling of horror award winners, I read the first 20 or so pages of 穴らしきものに入る. (What is this obsession with holes? Either they’re everywhere or I just tend to be attracted to books that feature them)
This one is supposed to be “humorous horror”. A man realizes he can somehow enter the water hose as he’s washing his car. From then on starts his obsession with holes. Anything vaguely hole-shaped, he’ll enter it. The second hole he enters is his co-worker’s mouth as he’s eating (!), then the holes punched into a legal document at work (!!). And the list goes on. It’s super weird, yet strangely compelling. I love the absurdity and just have to know more. Horror, as I understand it, it isn’t, unless there’s a very horrific punchline at the end? It’s also super easy to read so far. I’m intrigued.
This is its very horrific cover (not):
Still undecided on what, if anything, I should choose to read from this not-quite-horror list. I’d like to start the summer challenge tomorrow with a brand new book, but I’m still not sure which one it will be. Looking at the books on Bookwalker I found there’s a 50% coin back for Kadokawa books (all of them are Kadokawa). I’m seriously tempted to get all three I sampled, but what if I end up hating them after all? Decisions, decisions… 
and it’s not like I have nothing to read if I don’t buy anything, there’s three unread books on my virtual bookshelf waiting for me.
Edit: Silly poll time! You have the unique opportunity ( 
) to vote for the book I’ll read next. The options aren’t the book titles though, but each book’s very first sentence. Which opening sentence sounds more intriguing to you? 
- よく晴れた曜日。
- たぶんこれは、一枚の写真についての物語なのだろう。
- いつの間に眠ったのだろうか。
- 私は夫とこの街に引っ越してきた。
- 皐月はいつも馬の首の中で眠っている。
- ふたつ池には、おばけが出るらしい。
0 voters
- Correction: よく晴れた日曜
18 Likes
June 30th!
It’s the last day of June, and that means I’ve read every day for 6 solid months. Feels good!
Today was a Yotsuba day. I read Chapter 78, in which Yotsuba gets her hands on some paint 
It was very cute and fun.
End of June Summary: 100%
| June | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 月 | 火 | 水 | 木 | 金 | 土 | 日 |
| 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 |
Books Completed
- Yotsuba - Volume 10-11
- Teasing Master Takagi-san - Volume 6
- Happiness - Volume 2
- Hana ni Arashi - Volume 1
Thats 5 books completed this month, bringing my total so far this year up to 26 and the time I spend reading each day is feeling more and more like fun instead of studying.
The teenage version of me who was desperate to learn Japanese but didn’t have the resources to be able to would think that this 33 year old version of me was incredibly cool, and I think thats something to celebrate. 
Thanks to everybody for keeping me motivated with your updates and encouraging words, and as always thanks to @windupbird for organising!
Onward to the Summer Challenge! 
22 Likes
June 30th
・詩的私的ジャック - Jack the Poetical Private (31% → 36%)
Finished chapter 4! 
Bob best boi!
Such timing, I came across this word for ‘fan’ 
Maybe not the term one would use to describe oneself tho
20 Likes
End of Spring Challenge
Most of April and May went by as tiny read days due to busy preparing for exams. Didn’t read every day during June, but it was kind of refreshing to take a break since the official challenge had ended already.
First time I managed to finish a book within a week: かがみの孤城（下）
Previous record was probably SAO 7 in 11 days (summer 2021).
What did I read?
| Title | Type | Progress | Finish date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 本好きの下剋上 9 | 新文芸? 
|
75% → 100% | April 5th |
| お兄ちゃんはおしまい! 2 | Manga | 0% → 100% | May 6 |
| 薬屋のひとりごと 1 | LN | 7% → 100% | May 10 |
| SPY×FAMILY 1 | Manga | 0% → 100% | May 13 |
| 薬屋のひとりごと 2 | LN | 0% → 100% | May 31 |
| かがみの孤城（下） | Book | 0% → 100% | June 10 |
| この音とまれ! 21 | Manga | 0% → 100% | June 25 |
| Sword Art Online Progressive 1 | LN | 0% → 50% | |
| 詩的私的ジャック | Book | 0% → 36% | |
| Loopers | VN | Part 1+2 of playlist |
I thought Honzuki was a light novel this whole time ??? douiukoto
Redglare’s tendencies:
- Gets more reading done the earlier in the day she starts.
- The start of a book is still the hardest part.
- Reading out loud is a sure-fire way to keep attention from wandering.
- Slow, tired days = bigger font to prevent eye strain and to reach end of pages faster
- Fast, energized days = smol font for going nyoom
- Seems like it is easier for me to read one book at a time. 没頭するのが好きなんです。
- Gets motivated by looking at personal book tracker.
- Spends way too much time on the forum
29 Likes
June 30
I would like to say that I read Japanese on this last day of the off month for the spring challenge, but unless I suddenly feel a lot more awake, it isn’t likely. I did play some Aterlier Sophie, so got some listening practice done in any case.
I’m still posting today because LAST DAY!
With today, I will have missed one day, and (see next post) I decided to take a break for 3 days during June. Feels right to take a break during the off month, and just a few days fit perfectly for me.
I wanted to once again thank everyone for their updates, encouragements, grammar help! and the interesting discussions we’ve had here.
It is due to this thread that I’m leading a book club. 
And I think without this, I wouldn’t have considered joining the VN club starting up July 15, but I will.
I’m so much more enthusiastic about reading which feels a bit weird to say from a self-proclaimed bookworm, but true nonetheless. I also feel more confident that I will eventually see the end of my current collection… well, in a couple of years perhaps.
I’ve had a great time, and I’m looking forward to starting the summer challenge with you all tomorrow! 
22 Likes
Well, got less tired and decided to peek at one of my new purchases and ended up reading the whole first chapter of ホテル・メッツァペウラへようこそ. I only meant to check out a couple of pages but before I knew it the chapter ended.
I did no look ups partly because no furigana and I was only gonna check the first few pages anyway. Probably won’t keep reading it right now since I have enough on my plate but it was a lot of fun. 
17 Likes
It’s not just you, I think using the word “bias” like that would sound weird to the majority of native English speakers too
A discussion on the k-pop fandom lexicon that literally no one asked for xD
I think this particular usage of “bias” has to have originated in the k-pop fandom, because I’ve never heard “bias” being used like that in really any other context, but I don’t think that Korean uses “bias” in the same way, I think it must have come from non-Korean k-pop fans somehow? xD I got curious and I learned (from Google) that the corresponding Korean word seems to be 최애 (choi-ae), which stands for a longer phrase that basically means “the one I love the most.” So nothing really to do with the term “bias” per se. I think the use of the term “bias” in the English-speaking part of the fandom probably comes from the idea that you’re “biased” toward that person because you like them the most. So you’re [member name]-biased. That person is your bias. You bias them. [Group name] is your bias group. “Oh you like that group too? Who’s your bias?” “Definitely X, I love him so much lsdhflsdhjkflsdlkfhjlskn” It sounds really natural to me now in a k-pop context (maybe because I’m in too deep ) but it does sound supremely weird outside of that context imo Like I don’t think I would ever use it toward a member of a Western group, and I doubt that any English speaker who isn’t tuned into k-pop (or I guess maybe j-pop) would ever use “bias” like that. (Hence why “Bob is my bias” sounds extra funny to me lmao, like is there any name that a k-pop idol is less likely to have than Bob? Bob is an elderly/middle-aged white man living in Nebraska who’s never heard the word ‘k-pop’ in all his life ) If I’m talking to non-kpoppers, I’ll usually just say “oh, he’s my favorite” or something. It’s sort of an in-group only slang kind of thing imo.
Sorry, idk if this is even interesting for anyone else to read but I’m having fun rambling about biases
Meanwhile I just realized that I forgot to ever do a summary post for this challenge, whoops
My priorities are obviously in order
12 Likes
june 30 home post
Finished off the spring challenge with 少女終末旅行１!
June/Spring 2022 Recap
Here are the all the books & Satori stories I finished these last 3 months:
| Book | Type | Completed | Apr 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| コナの大冒険 | Satori | Apr 13 | 91% |
| 極主夫道３ | Manga | Apr 17 | 20% |
| 三途の川 | Satori | April 30 | |
| 隣人 | Satori | May 2 | 42% |
| ふらいんぐうぃっち１ | Manga | May 16 | 25% |
| 極主夫道４ | Manga | June 15 | |
| ゆびさきと恋々１ | Manga | June 20 | |
| 神々のトライフォース | Manga | June 21 | 23% |
| 少女終末旅行１ | Manga | June 30 |
And not shown here are 夜カフェ (which I read quite a bit of in June) and 極主夫道５. I barely read in May, but I kind of went a bit overboard in June (is there such thing?)
Plans for Summer 2022 challenge
I wanted to start the summer challenge with completely new things other than 極主夫道５, but it looks like I’ll still be reading 夜カフェ as well. I just couldn’t finish it by today.
So here’s what I’m reading these next few months:
- 極主夫道 - continuing from this challenge
- 夜カフェ - continuing from this challenge
- Orange - July 2
- ルーパーズ - July 15
- シャドウハウス - July 16
- 時のオカリナ (manga not game) - whenever it arrives (hopefully soon!!)
As for Satori, well, I don’t know if I’ll continue reading those. I’d rather focus on these other things
See y’all tomorrow in the summer challenge thread!
19 Likes
I just found out about this. I’m excited for the idea of reading the novel in time for the movie to come out in November.
I wonder if anyone would be interested in joining me in this challenge! It’s a little longer than I expected at 384pages though … It might be a little tricky to finish in time. (384pages/80days = 5pages/day = 34pages/week)
I really need to improve my reading speed.
5 Likes
June 30 Home Post
I didn’t have a lot of time to read today, so I just read a bit of the next manga in my backlog, やがて君になる. I’m enjoying it so far! And with that it’s officially onto the summer challenge; hopefully I’ll have more time tomorrow to get off to a good start
17 Likes
I just glanced at the poll and was like, why do all the books have such weird titles? Then I read the text above it…
I think you somehow infected me with your summer-ghost-story-reading, and so I bought 宮部みゆきの江戸怪談散歩 which is 50% discounted right now on Bookwalker, and to my huge surprise it contains lots of connections to today’s Tokyo, even with pictures and maps of where the stories took place
I think I might be able to slip one or two of these short stories into my reading list for the summer challenge
I don’t think that’s weird at all because if reading is (still) too hard for you, then it can quickly become demotivating. If it’s only one book out of a bunch, it doesn’t matter too much as you can always read something else. But if your level is still so low that basically every book feels too hard and draining, then of course you will not be very motivated. It was really great to watch you jump that chasm and take on more difficult books! Just keep going, and you will keep learning faster than you think 
Which is to say, the Spring Challenge is over! Thank you very much to all your contributions, it was great fun reading them
Here is what I read during the challenge - quite a mixed bag actually. Finished three books:
沖で待つ
Flesh & Blood 1
佐賀のがばいばあちゃん from the Intermediate Book Club
One each month, to keep my bookmeter stats happy 
16 Likes
Oh good, my evil scheme is starting to work then! 
I hope you enjoy it! Let us know how it goes! I had looked at that book too, but actually the pictures and maps put me off a little. I like my ghost stories to not be connected to reality too much! 
From what I can see it’s not 50% discounted, but 50% coins back, no? It amounts to the same thing in the long run, just making sure.
Methinks that your vote was not entirely based on the opening sentence alone… Surely it must have reminded you of something?
4 Likes
確かに, it reminded me of something How’d you know? 
I’m still not sure whether that’s actually the opening sentence of what I have in mind (I thought they mentioned the move a tad later) but even so I still think it’s a great first sentence, because (a) it indicates that there are normal grown-up people in the book and (b) it feels so innocent-naive, and at the same time something dark is looming overhead. But yeah, if it’s really the first sentence of 穴, then I should probably change my vote because I said I’m not sure whether I’d recommend it.
5 Likes
It is, but don’t change it! It’s obvious you really were evaluating the first sentence only, so you played by the rules
By the way, poll maths are funny. Maybe the poll itself has an opinion on what I should read? Because otherwise I don’t see why 3 people out of 9 count as 33%, but another group of 3 people out of 9 count as 34% (sure, rounding up, but why those 3 specifically? )
10 Likes
I am guilty as well! I’m actually starting to think it might be the type of book you’re looking for, so I’d be interested what you think of it
6 Likes
June was really productive for me! I also managed to experience the “reading 100 pages of a braindead book/light novel a day”, which is a new daily record for me. I started reading ifの悲劇 and it’s been very whack so far, but somehow very easy to read. I read 40% of the book yesterday, which pushed my daily average for June above 20 pages a day!
I also finished 3 books this month:
- 島田洋七『佐賀のがばいばあちゃん』
- 柳美里『JR上野駅公園口』
- 小山田浩子『穴』
Let’s see what books I’m gonna read in July!
14 Likes
