📚📚 Read every day challenge - Spring 2022 🌸 🌱

homer
Heh, I’m only reading this one book though - aren’t most of you bouncing around to different books?

Chatting with Daisoujou bout low energy days

I kind of wonder if it might be a mental help to have an easier fallback item for days when you’re low energy? I have said before to you I think that I suspect you’d find books like スマホを落としただけなのに or おやすみ、夢なき子 to be something of a cakewalk compared to the screenshots and vocab you’re posting from these games. They both also seem content-wise something you’d enjoy. For myself I usually read manga when I’m especially low energy, because 30 pages of manga isn’t nearly as much text content as 30 pages of a book but it gives a similar feeling of “yes, I have accomplished reading today” but books are a) cheaper per hour b) easier for lookups if you get digital.

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Day 12

なぜ?どうして?かがくのお話1年生: 35% → 40%

Read a story about why rabbits have long ears and half of a story about why elephants have long noses. Completing only 5% of book per day is frustrating (even though it’s better than not reading at all), but I didn’t feel like reading today (spent a big part of the day procrastinating 200 wanikani reviews :frowning_face: ).

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pocketcat response

Yeah I’m sure you’re right. Part of what’s kept me wanting to specifically read the VN every day is that I have by far the best setup for sentence mining with it, though I could potentially achieve something similar if I read an ebook or something on the PC. That would depend on the format and I’ve not looked into it too much because I’ve defaulted to VNs for mining and then I have the kindle. But I’m sure it could be worked out.

In addition to that though, more stuff that doesn’t use the computer screen would definitely be appreciated given the aforementioned health issue. The Kindle actually seems fine because whatever their screens are made out of are far less harsh on the eyes.

On that note, I’m only going to be gone a couple days, but I mentioned being out of town soon, and I’ve been thinking about what I want to do in that time. I still have the current book club book, but I’ll probably get beyond that in my time. Was definitely considering if I might want to pick up スマホを落としただけなのに or something…

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Reply to Daisoujou

Could even hold off on mining for those low energy days. Be kind to yourself, ya know? Japanese is always gonna be there, and just letting it wash over you rather than SRSing on days when you’re being walloped by life might be more of a relief than you’d expect. I mentioned here the other day that I’ve stopped adding new cards to my main SRS decks and it’s been a needed relief during a busy time at work.

You know all of this of course, but sometimes I need being reminded of things, so hoping that’s the case for you as well.

Ah, e-ink. I wonder if a blue light filter running for reading apps might help as well :thinking: I don’t think either book I recc’d is available on American kindle, but I don’t know if that’s an issue for you as I know there are ways to purchase them from America (but I don’t use kindle so not the person to ask)

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April 12th!

I started Volume 8 of Yotsuba today, and read the first chapter (Chapter 49). The panel where she unknowingly smashes the bag of pears into the ground, and then the final page of her trying to hide the damage were both pretty funny. :grin:

In other Yotsuba news, a gift my husband bought me arrived today.


She’s so cute :blush:

(Home Post)

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Once more

Yeah, I’m just very stubborn, haha. Part of the issue is everyone has low energy days and that’ll just happen but if we’re talking specifically the low energy days caused by my inflammation flareups or whatever they are, they kinda ebb and flow. Hence times when I go “oh I’m trying something new, hopefully I’m getting better!” then I’m back a little later feeling terrible. That’ll end up lasting for a week or longer. And there’s of course logic to just taking care of oneself, but at the same time, when I don’t stubbornly fight through it I’m going to be more annoyed at feeling like I’ve reached a point where it’s genuinely preventing me from doing things. Tough situation all around, though I’ll admit to knowingly not always doing the wisest things, heh.

A while back I actually switched f.lux on my PC to be always on, and it was probably for the best, but still seems to at least not be enough. I’m still experimenting with lighting, settings, whatever I can, but I dunno.

It took some struggling, but I managed to get mine set to Japan and it’s worked to purchase things, so no problem there :slightly_smiling_face:

Oh I’m jealous; that’s so good!

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Home post

Day 11:

日本語: I read a fair amount of ミニスカ宇宙海賊 and a bit of 鋼の錬金術師.

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.

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Summary Post

April 12
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun

Vocabulary
  • 視認 = しにん confirm by sight, sighting. Context was 視認範囲, the area of vision where you are spotted by enemies. Not good, rings the alarm.
  • 姿勢 = しせい posture, stance.
  • 手裏剣 = しゅりけん shuriken!!! How cool is it to see it actually written in kanji!?
  • 回収 = かいしゅう recovery, retrieval.
  • 疾走 = しっそう sprint, dash.
  • 唯一 = ゆいいつ only, sole.
  • 樽 = たる barrel, cask.
  • 射撃 = しゃげき shooting, firing.

Started Shadow Tactics today cause why not. Though for sure I won’t be understanding everything: the game is set in feudal Japan and there’s a lot of samurai, ninja and old-men talk, so yeah, not a chance. But it’s fine, the game alone is fun and I can at least get what’s going on or what I have to do. I was tired today and wasn’t looking forward to starting something new, so I’m not sure how long I will be playing this one. I miss the Switch already ;-; .

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:cherry_blossom::cherry_blossom::cherry_blossom:
\huge\color{ #AAF6FF}\mathrm{☘️Day 12 ☘️}
:cherry_blossom::cherry_blossom::cherry_blossom:

\small \color{ #AAF6FF}\mathrm{★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★}

Today I translated 1 page of よつばと!but I read and transcribed 11 (before being interrupted by a offer of alcohol which derailed my late night studying:p).

\small \color{ #AAF6FF}\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:

responses

I’ve been Rickrolled so many times on this forum I decided to start doing it myself. I always listen to the whole song tho, I like it:p

The trick in my experience is not to go on a celebratory spending spree after deliberately abstaining for a period of time, I find that part harder than the lent period :sweat_smile: Good luck :+1:

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I think there was someone who created a script that uses a template that can be automatically updated but I didn’t save it because it looked too complicated to my non-tech savvy brain. I think it was in this thread. Perhaps, search the thread or the API forums for it?

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Summary Post

Day 12: April 12th
What did I read?: ふしぎ駄菓子屋銭天堂 Vol 2
How much did I read?: 16 pages(!)
How long did it take me?: 54 min

Felt much more alert today lol. Reading this felt so…smooth??? Like I was just…reading it?? With ease?? I don’t usually feel like that with Japanese (and never with an actual book), so that was very cool.

I finished this chapter today - I love how the first thing Sanae does with her new fortune-telling instrument is get it to tell her the answers to her math homework :joy: The utter mundaneness of her inquiries kills me xD Like, you’ve got this tool that will tell you, accurately, whatever you want to know, and this is what you come up with :joy: Anyway, the chapter ending was rather abrupt :flushed:

Favorite word of today: 百発百中 (ひゃっぱつひゃくちゅう) - always hitting the bull’s-eye; infallible

More words
  • 有頂天 (うちょうてん) - ecstasy
  • ずくめ - entirely; completely; all; nothing but
  • どぎまぎ - flurried; flustered; upset; nervous; embarrassed
  • ぶかぶか - too large (clothing); baggy; loose-fitting
  • よみがえる - to be recalled (e.g. memories); to be brought back
  • とりかこむ - to surround; to crowd around
  • 見せびらかす - to show off; to flaunt
  • 向きになる - to become serious; to take something seriously (joke, teasing); to become irritated or angry (usu. at something trivial); to get worked up​
  • 勾玉 (まがたま) - comma-shaped bead from prehistoric Japan, usually made of jade​
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I love these police stories! They are hilarious.
I only read 6 pages today. I probably could finish this book tonight, but I am in the track of the severe storms in the S. E. U.S., so I have to go put up my tornado safe space.

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Oof, stay safe! I grew up in tornado alley and I hated it. I finally moved away from tornados last fall but my final summer I was out walking home with groceries when the sirens went off. Quite scary :sweat_smile: :grimacing:

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Thanks! I have everything I could possibly need for safety except a basement. Now it depends on the storm. Last week a tornado came right down my street, but luckily it didn’t touch down. That should be enough for this year!

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First time doing this, I am unsure how to add myself to the username board so I’ll just post this here for now and hope I have done this part correctly at least. I am going to try read a news article or something along those lines everyday. Really excited for improvement.

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
[/quote]
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Looks good! Though you have one insignificant hanging quote tag, not that it matters much! If you’d like, you should be able to hit edit at the bottom right of the list post to add yourself.

@pocketcat Well, you got me, on a whim I just got スマホを落としただけなのに and its audiobook. Not 100% sure how soon I’ll start it, but it might not be too long. Despite some missed words, even in pure audio, the preview given on audiobook.jp sounds reasonable enough for my level. Thanks!

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㋃12 – Day 12

  • ジョジョの奇妙な冒険

146-end (185ish?)
Whoot! Volume 2 finished!! It was a lot of fun to see the kind of changes they made manga to anime.

Some I found interesting
  • The whole knife thing kinda cracked me up. In the manga, it seemed like Jonathan was searching for what he wanted to say, but in the anime, they play it off like he’s making a bunch of different statements about the knife.

  • Joseph classic “run for it!” strategy seems to have a predecessor with Jonathan yelling it at Speedwagon after he throws him lol

  • Speedwagon is goofier than I thought- jumping out of a… car… while injured and then scaling a building

  • Erina is kind of a jerk, wow. What a rude nurse.

  • Jonathan is less polite than I thought lol. “Erina, you got big!” Bro, broooooo…

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April 12
Stayed up too late last night, so didn’t feel so great today. Gonna head to bed after I post this and do some reviews.

Met with my tutor and went over the corrections she made to my essay. I didn’t fully understand it all, but we got through it :sweat_smile: I’ll take more time tomorrow to read through her edits and compare notes. There didn’t seem to be as many as I feared though, which is nice. Mostly it was word change suggestions to be more natural. That’s what I get for blindly guessing from a dictionary though, makes sense.

Read the remaining two level-one readers. Both about Japan in the fall.

Progress on Tadoku graded readers
44 / 44 level-zeros
12 / 12 level-ones
x /10 level-twos
x / 18 level-threes

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sorry, audiobook.jp struggles that I don't have anywhere to post

@pocketcat Hey actually, I got the files for that audiobook and there’s a very headache inducing high pitched whining in the background, like a mosquito tone kinda thing. The preview on the website is definitely clear, but I’ve tried downloading the files straight and playing them on my PC and my phone, and then also getting their phone app and download and playing them through that. All of them seem to have this sound. I… don’t suppose you’ve ever encountered this?

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Thoughts on audiobook issue

Just pulled up my audio files and if I listen for it there is some sort of ‘whine’ like sound behind the audio. I never noticed it before though and quickly tune it out if not listening for it, so my guess is
a) I’m just delightfully oblivious to it
b) The audio mixing on your devices is different than mine and it’s amping up that background noise
c) I think when you download you get a choice of audio quality? TBH I never understand what difference was meant by the 倍速一括ダウンロード vs 通常一括ダウンロード options but I always go with whatever button is green

If a or b you might be able to tweak the settings on your audio player to tone it down. It’s weird that it’s not present at all in the preview clip though :thinking: Also weird that I’m literally relistening to this book the past week or so and never noticed it. :exploding_head:

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