p.104-end (~155?)
It didn’t make me cry again and hopefully there won’t be any further upsetting content. Yesterday’s reading was pretty great in solidifying 任す・お任せ for me. I’ve learned that irl, if I want to say, “You’re the expert, so please do what you think best,” that I can use 任す to defer to the expert’s expertise. Very handy and I feel like it’s a social level up.
There’s so much I wanna read lol it’s difficult not to do it all at once. Or to not just read and let the rest of my studies fall to the wayside (which I definitely can’t let happen yet at this point). I also got sleepy earlier than usual today because of work this morning, so that, too, kept me from reading as much as I wanted.
I read Seed 2 of GREEN. It takes place some time after Seed 1, as Wako-chan says, “(誠さん)と初めて出会ったのは去年の秋” in the exposition, but I don’t know how long, exactly. It’s time to harvest cucumbers and tomatoes now, which is apparently late summer to early fall. She’s helping out only on the weekends now, as she has class at the culinary school she’s attending on weekdays. Since she’s 22, I assume this is her last year, though.
When she arrives at the house on Friday night, she finds Makoto already asleep, having gone to bed early as usual, so she checks his clock to see that he has the alarm set for 5 a.m. and decides to set her own for the same time. She ends up waking up at nearly 7 and finding her clock broken and with the batteries taken out. I suspect it was the grandmother’s doing. She doesn’t seem particularly charitable toward the idea of Wako learning how to properly help out around the farm, much less spending time with Makoto, and steers her toward doing other tasks. She thinks the only thing Wako is good at/for is cooking. Either she’s not actually against Wako marrying Makoto at all (just doesn’t want her getting in the way of Makoto’s work on the farm, as she definitely does as a beginner), as she’s the one who brought up that she would make a good wife, “don’t you think, Makoto? ♡” at the end of Seed 1, just against her learning to help out on the farm, or she goes back and forth between wanting and not wanting Wako around, as at the end of this chapter as well, she seems happy that the two of them are getting along and chides them not to “fight like a married couple before you’re actually married ♡”
Today I finally tried out Satori Reader, which I’d downloaded months ago but never used, and got a subscription. I read ch 1-5 of コナの大冒険. I’d assumed, since the other cat’s name is Mocha, that Kona’s name comes from Kona coffee, but nope, it comes from the district on the island of Hawai’i! (Which is the origin of the coffee name, granted, and the coffee may have influenced them choosing that name, but he was named specifically because he looks like cooled lava when he sleeps.) Anyway, I’m enjoying the story so far, and I also like that I can add to the kanji that I’ve learned on WK, though it was a little annoying constantly going back and forth between Preferences and the story lol
I only read 2 pages of 2.43 today before unfortunately getting to tired for my brain to really parse what I was reading. I left off on pg 36.
Ochi injured his right knee during practice the summer of his first year, just before Inter-High. Soon after that is when Hata-kantoku approached him about making the switch to manager. Their current manager was a third-year named Honda who was retiring after In-High regardless of whether they got a ticket to Nationals in order to focus on his studies, and he had also been a player before getting injured and becoming manager; even though Hata approached Ochi more because he has the brains to be manager than because of his injury, I’m sure Honda’s circumstances made that more difficult to believe, made it hurt more. Ochi would rather quit altogether than stay on but not as a player, until Subaru convinces him otherwise and promises to make him a manager who gets to stand at HaruKou’s center court. I’ll be reading that part tomorrow.
Ideally, I could read a full sub-chapter a day, but some of them are over a dozen pages long (this one I’ve still got 13 pages left of), and this book is at a level where much more than about 10 pages gets really difficult, so the average of 4 pages/day is good for that reason, too. I can easily read a full chapter of 夜カフェ in a day—heck, I could probably read more—but not 2.43. Much to my disappointment. And frustration. I love this series so much.
嘘くさい (うそくさい) [い-adjective] contrived; false-sounding (“That stinks of a lie!”)
馬の骨 (うまのほね) [expression, noun] [derogatory] person of doubtful origin
手に職がある (てにしょくがある) Judging by the phrases 手に職を持つ “to have a trade/vocation” and 手に職を着ける “to learn a trade/vocation,” as well as context, I’m guessing it means “there’s a trade/vocation (for you)”
Oh hey, I used Satori Reader too. I might be misinterpreting, but do you mean the feature to omit furigana from words using kanji you’ve learned? Cause if it’s that, you can actually feed it your API and have that all happen automatically.
April 3
Took it easy today and just read 4 more level-0s. Most of these I’ve read already but reading them again for completion’s sake. And I get to notice new things. For example…
I read “TKG” which is about tamago kake gohan, たまごかけごはん. 知っていますか？
There’s a page about different variations which has more difficult kanji than the rest of the story. I was excited to figure out 醤油 as しょうゆ, soy sauce, because yesterday when I was looking up the ゆ from お湯 I was also trying to figure out what the sign says above the entrance to Yubaba’s bath house.
Turns out it’s 屋油（やゆ）aka a place of oils / perfumes. I wonder if it’s because the baths are scented? Or maybe Yubaba sells perfumes on the side? I’ll have to pay closer attention next time I watch Spirited Away.
Progress on Tadoku graded readers
19 / 44 level-zeros
x / 12 level-ones
x /10 level-twos
x / 18 level-threes
April 3rd (Calendar post)
With bookclub days gone, I am concentrating my reading on my current “main” book, so my progress reports are going to be rather short until next friday.
三日間の幸福 = 9 pages (167 minutes)
Welp, no wonder it takes me around a month to finish a volume of a LN if it takes me almost 3 hours to read 10 pages >.<
Favorite phrase from today’s reading:
子供の頃、俺は自動販売機になりたかったんだ。
… wait wat?
April 3 
Home Post
Played some more VLR (as you might expect lmao), still going strong! I finished up the route I was on to a “to be continued” point anyway and a second little bit to finish off that branch, and now I’m off on a new one! Progress is being made 
Man maybe I am お人よし 
I’m too nice for this game, I get betrayed at every turn rip. Like come on ディオ, what’s your deal?? You seriously want me dead?? Brutal even for you lmao, though since that’s the “to be continued” route there may be more going on there 
idk I still feel like there’s stuff seriously up with him, but I still have no idea what so we shall see
There’s also been even more hints about time being weird, I’m very concerned about how much time has actually passed since they all got kidnapped or whatever happened. Also just thinking about what the motivation for this nonary game could possibly be? Because like 四葉 said, the perpetrators from the first two seem very unlikely for various reasons, but clearly whoever’s doing has some connection or awareness since they knew to wear a gas mask and just general thematic things, sooooo… lots to think about 
Another thing that’s interesting is the big differences between the three main routes. I’ve reached a bad end and a to be continued in each of the main branches now, and like… the dead woman isn’t always found? Where is she in the rightmost branch? Like presumably she was still killed since that’s presumably how ディオ got his bangle in all cases, but like… where is she? And the variations in クォーク’s situation, and sometimes other people dying, lots of variables to keep track of
Oof you can tell I’m in it, I had way too much to say It’s been a good time! I’m about 34 hours in right now, so it’ll be interesting to see how much longer it takes me
I also wish to become a vending machine and have a belly full of delicious and seasonally appropriate drinks
Yup, that’s what I meant, and I did add my API, but there are a bunch of kanji outside of ones that I’ve learned on here that I already know, so I had to add those to my known list manually
Day 2:
日本語: I read some of 冷たい密室と博士たち and some of 三毛猫ホームズの推理.
中国語: I read an intermediate entry on Mandarin Bean, one page of 骑士幻想夜, and a bit of 孩子最爱读的中国民间故事.
Weekly countdown to trying a page of 伯爵与妖精: 1,209 words (+ however many I study ahead from the book itself when I’m done with these ones).
There is often a subtly humorous twist in his sentences, yes. If I find the time at some point, I would like to collect a few sentences that stood out to me and post the non-spoilery ones here.
Ooh, I remember coming across this in 地球成人. To me, these kinds of expressions always feel more rewarding to learn than mere vocabulary for some reason, and they stick better too.
オブラート apparently comes from Dutch, but I’m not sure what it meant originally. Wikipedia says it was a thin wrapping for bitter medicine so that you wouldn’t feel the bad taste when swallowing it, but this sounds way too specific to have a dedicated simple word just for it. Nowadays in Japan it’s an edible thin starchy transparent wrapping, a cellophane out of rice starch basically, that is used to wrap gelatinous sweets and protect them by absorbing humidity. Oblate in English (new word for me) seems to be a geometrical term that describes a sphere squashed at the poles, probably the equivalent of oval in 3d? It’s also used for Christian individuals dedicated to religious work, apparently. TIL.
Day 3
I picked up 車井戸はなぜ軋る again from the first letter of 鶴代. There were a lot of names from the books, so I almost forgot who is whom in her letter. It has also been a while since last time I read it. I find 横溝正史’s 背景説明 pretty long before going to the exciting part. So I don’t find it very interesting so far.
鶴代は丁寧な言い方で手紙を書いていますので、敬語の勉強にもなります。
あらすじ：小野宇一郎 is trying to get the 屏風from 鶴代’s home, but 鶴>代’s grandmother rejected his request. It seems 小野 is not aware of the inflation, or he’s just being rude.
Words of the day:
屏風: びょうぶ
葛の葉：くずのは。It seems to be related to the story of 安倍晴明. Looking at its wiki, a lot of stories mentioned 葛の葉.
手許＝手元
筆が脇道に逸れたまま：Diverted from the main story
We have that word in German too (there it is Oblate), and it’s a very very thin paper-like sort-of-cookie that is nowadays mainly used as holder for special types of cookies to prevent them from sticking to the baking tray without the need of using fat:
It’s also sold under the name of “edible paper” as a children’s sweet (apparently some sugar and colors is mixed in in this variant):
And Wikipedia tells me that solicitors also use it to seal documents?!? - no idea how that works tbh…
Ah, thanks for the cookie photos! I recognize this, and I’m sure I have eaten some in the past. It’s disappointingly papery and tasteless, but edible.
Spot on 
Although I must admit when I was a child and we would bake such cookies, I could eat quite the amount of those 
I like how they melt in the mouth and then sort of disappear.
Thank you for the tip!
OMG that sounds amazing, thanks!!!
I read section 3 (chap 1) of 三毛猫ホームズの推理。 This section is only 11 pages, which was nice after the last longer one. There are some place names at the end of the last section, and the beginning of this one.
東中野（ひがしなかの） where the Katayamas live
府中市（ふちゅうし） where 羽衣女子大学 is located
調布市（ちょうふし） the city next to 府中
甲州街道（こうしゅうかいどう）a major road running east/west through Tokyo
Tokyo isn’t a city (市) in Japanese, it’s the metropolis 東京都（とうきょうと）。
都 is a special weird category, more like a prefecture than a city. 府中市 and 調布市 are both located within 東京都。
I think ‘oblaat’ is also an old-fashioned Dutch word for a Eucharist wafer, which looks a bit like a starchy wafer, just like the edible paper that @NicoleIsEnough posted about. I don’t think the word is used anymore in Dutch, but I’m not religious so I’m not sure.
Day 3 I had only a tiny bit of time to read. Was more busy than I expected, but I started the second story in booklet nr 7 of level 4 (Ask graded readers) (aka a booklet in volume 2).
So I don’t know if there is a word in Japanese for a serpentine road (when an incline/decline is too steep to go straight up or down on, and instead the path/road goes slalom like a serpent.), but this is how the story described it (梅津 is the protagonist and the road is dark for some reason and he’s walking on the road):
梅津は暗い道を、右へ、左へと曲がりながら登っています。
I thought it an interesting way to describe it, and thankfully there was a picture beside it that cemented that, yes, this was describing a serpentine road.
Also added a way to track if I did some regular (English) reading, but only if I did Japanese reading too. Maybe I’ll make a mark for if I only do English, but so far I haven’t needed it.
It is the same in Swedish, although I’m not sure we spell with double o. It is the wafer you eat during Communion.
