📚📚 Read every day challenge - Spring 2023 🌸🌷🌼

[MissDagger]

April 2
Home Post

ルーパーズ (Loopers) : 1/4th-1/3rd of chapter 11 read
A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar : Last section for the week

I had hoped I’d move on to some English reading this evening, but I admit defeat by now (quarter to midnight). I spent too long watching old Poirot episodes on Britbox. Really love it though. I’m a sucker for a lot of these more cozy UK crime shows.

And I read the last section of DoBJG for the week, on passive. I wonder if it’ll ever be necessary to be able to differentiate direct vs indirect passive, my guess is not. Otherwise I had nothing to say about this section, I knew it pretty well considering how much Japanese loves using the passive.

[polv]

Apr 2, Sun of Week 1 of Spring Q2 2023

• DoBJG: Characteristics of JP Grammar - 4-5. Personal Pronouns, Passive

The club’s week seems to be 1-5, so forward from 1? In the end, I decided to go with backward scheme, 5, 4. (Amount due to content.)

• うらら迷路帖 Vol.4 (37-47%)

• 残月記 : 月景石 Ch.8/3

Next chapter, last chapter, feels long and a little complex, even in listening, so next time.

At least, now, I am pretty clear on what happened.

• うたわれるもの : 二人の白皇

Words of the day

• のりのり(.) = (on-mim) in high spirits
• つんのめる(.) = to fall forward, i.e. heavy body falling down. Falling with つん on-mim, and the real verb is のめる(,) = to trip; to stumble.
• 案(あん)じる = to be anxious about; to concern about / to devise = 案(あん)ずる
• 胸(むね)の裡(うち)で = inside the chest. No Furigana, so need to check the audio. 裡(うち) probably means inside.
• 翳(かげ)り = shade; gloom; melancholy. Has Furigana. Also written 陰(かげ)り. Of course, the Kanji is 陰(かげ).
• 氾濫(はんらん) = overflowing / flood. Has Furigana. Sound similar to 反乱(はんらん) = uprising; rebel.
• 断末魔(だんまつま) = one’s dying hour. Has Furigana. Has seen before, perhaps more worth of remembering in Kana.
• 切(き)り株(かぶ) = a stump (of a tree); stubble (of wheat)
• 巨軀(きょく) = huge body = 巨躯(きょく). Has Furigana. Perhaps just alternate Kanji form.
• 手負(てお)い = wounded
• 一族郎党(いちぞくろうとう) = one’s family and followers
• 一天万乗(いってんばんじょう) = (governing; ruling) the whole realm. Has Furigana. Different latter half from 波乱万丈(はらんばんじょう).
• 一戦(いっせん)を交(まじ)える = to have a fight. Actually, no を in context.

Kanji

• 軀(ク) (躯)
  • body frame
  • ク
    • 体躯(たいく)
    • 巨躯(きょく),     痩躯(そうく)
    • 短躯(たんく),     長駆(ちょうく)
    • 病躯(びょうく),     老躯(ろうく)
  • 躯(むくろ)

[fallynleaf]

I technically started the challenge yesterday, but didn’t have time to make my summary post until now . Once again, I’ll be attempting to read in both Spanish and Japanese every day! I’m coming back over from the listen every day challenge, and I’ve kept up a successful 91 day reading/listening streak so far. Will this be the challenge that does me in? Tune in to find out, I guess!

Apr	月	火	水	木	金	土	日
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Week 16
Week 17

May	月	火	水	木	金	土	日
Week 18
Week 19
Week 20
Week 21
Week 22

= Japanese
= Japanese and Spanish

I won’t be posting every day, and will probably be late to update my calendar, but I’ll try to drop in on occasion with some wrestling photos and other stuff!

What I'm planning on reading in Spanish:

I’m currently reading Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis on my kindle! It’s going pretty well so far. The book is long enough, I think it will probably keep me occupied for the entire challenge period, but if it doesn’t, I’ll probably pick up another book on kindle to read.

What I'm planning on reading in Japanese:

Y’all probably know the drill already: my main priority is translating promos and post-match comments for Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, which is a mixture of listening and reading practice for me. They’re delivered in audio/video format, but I rely heavily on the transcripts published on shupro (週刊プロレス)'s mobile website, and occasionally on TJPW’s own website, in the case of press conferences and such.

So generally, it’s mostly reading practice that’s heavily supplemented by listening, because the transcripts often leave stuff out or get stuff wrong or have confusing typos.

In addition to that, I’m still trying to finish volume 3 of 大海原と大海原, after all this time, haha, and I’m also part of the way through 女装してめんどくさい事になってるネクラとヤンキーの両片想い 3, which I’m reading less intensively (and now greatly aided by Mokuro).

I also finally started Read Real Japanese Fiction, which I’m really enjoying so far! I had grand plans of reading each story multiple times, once on my own, then while referencing the translations on the opposite page, then a third time while referencing the notes in the back, but I totally gave up on that plan because the translation notes in the back are my favorite part of the book, and are the main reason I bought it, so I’m just reading each story very, very intensively, haha, and am reading all of the supplemental info as I go.

I’m also reading the Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar along with the club here, and am currently working through Tobira, but won’t be counting either for the purposes of this challenge.

On very busy days, I will allow myself to count the Wrestle Universe chat (which is a mixture of English-speaking and Japanese-speaking fans, with occasional Spanish-speakers, haha) and twitter and such like that.

I might also read other stuff that is not on this list! I’ll occasionally try reading wrestling articles and interviews, and sometimes I’ll read short comics on twitter or pick up random other manga if it strikes my fancy. But basically, all other reading must defer to my TJPW translation workload, which is time-sensitive and thus takes priority.

[lady_nelle]

April 2

A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar・pg 27
・Working on this week’s reading, I managed to get a good chunk of it done. The intro pages read more like a textbook, but the comments in the book club thread are hilarious.

二ノ国白き聖灰の女王・ゴロネール城へ行こう！
Session started off at the end of the 滝の回廊 section. When the boss ヌシ came out, I thought he was going to squash or eat the little monster, but he just yeets him instead. There’s still a lot of tutorial stuff, but I’m having fun.

Some interesting words:
・必殺技「ひっさつわざ」－ killer technique; special or lethal move
・退治「たいじ」ー extermination (ex. of monsters)
・変わった「かわった」ー I usually see 変わる mean “to change” but 変わった specifically can also mean “unusual” or “weird” in the context I encountered it in.

[Axazel]

毎日読解チャレンジ・2日目

今日は時間があまりなくて、テキストの代わりに日経新聞を読みました。後で知らない言葉と文法ポイントをホーム投稿に入れるつもりです😴

ホーム投稿

[lady_nelle]

Oh no, I’m being watched!
Yeah, I really like how chill it is. I don’t think I’ll have anything profound so say though
Glad you’re having a good time reading ナルト. All your hard work is paying off, keep it up!

[windupbird]

Summary post

Day 2: April 2nd
What did I read?: ペンギン・ハイウェイ
How much did I read?: 6 pages
How long did it take me?: 25 min

I should have read more today, but I had trouble sitting down and opening a book today for some reason. I’m kind of tired. Also sad that the weekend is coming to an end already

There has been a mysterious lack of penguins in this book recently (though there are plenty of other mysterious things going on ). More penguins please

[saidahgilbert]

2023-04-03T01:55:00Z

I outlined two words that has recently come up in my reviews. It was nice to see them in the wild and use them to understand the meaning of the sentence instead of relying on my memory of the plot.

@queenofthegods

Fruits Basket!

I just finished rereading that series! I thought the same thing. I’m glad romance tropes have changed since the late 90s and early 00s.

@hanpt2

What time do you usually do your reading & subsequent updates?

I usually do my reading after I do my WaniKani reviews at 8:30 pm in my time zone (see above). So it’s usually around 9:00 when I check the forums. I don’t do updates per se, I just post interesting excerpts or answer interesting questions.

[prath]

2/04/2023 Home Post Link

I was home alone yesterday (I’ve been before) but for some reason, I was wayyy too jumpy and anxious, so I didn’t have it in me to sit and write an update. But today is great, so here we goo.

I spent around 20 mins reading sentences in Kanji Study. it was fun as usual, and this time I was reading sentences that focused on the 東 and 大 kanji. I was surprised with the 大 because I found some really interesting words with it. I’ll add them later when I find the time!

[taiyousea]

taiyousea’s 花見読 home thread
→ natively → study log

April 2nd:
君の名は『まんが』 (Ch. 1 completed - 53 pages)
ナルト (Ch. 2 completed - 23 pages)

i stumbled into the manga version of 君の名は despite not having seen the movie in a few years. i was surprised by how clean the illustrations were and how accessibly easy the dialogue was - i can definitely see the ABBC reading this one in the future, i think it’s the perfect level and clarity for newer readers.

spoilers

it’s also extremely hilarious how long the prelude goes on before you understand that they’re switching bodies, because all you hear about is mitsuha’s great dream where she got to be a hot boy in tokyo and then she goes on and on repeating throughout the first chapter how she wishes she could be a boy again lmaooo

the second chapter of naruto is the konohamaru moment, which is my least favorite episode ever!!, so the story was a snooze-fest for me today. but I’m honestly in awe at how many more setting details are revealed by the art - in the anime, it’s really hard to get a grasp of the size of cities or the extent of forest environments because the animation is character-centric, so it’s such a joy to see all of the tiny little details in the main village ( ´ ▿ ` )

---

@hanpt2

Have you noticed any difference in nuance or how you’re perceiving the characters now that you’re reading it in japanese?

I’m not far enough in that i can say this across the board yet, but the characters definitely are much more richly developed, like, their personalities are far more dynamic imo? and this has nothing to do with it being in japanese lol but kishimoto has definitely shocked me with how closely he pays attention to drawing movement and expressions, it’s like getting to meet everyone for the first time all over again

some faces i liked

vs. the other manga i read today

like, don’t get me wrong, i love both of these with all my heart and soul!! but Kishimoto absolutely has a way with dynamic faces/movement that is blowing me away today

[AzusaChan]

I keep forgetting to make posts but I’ve been reading every day still for a while. I’ll try to remember to make more posts for the spring challenge

Outside of the 9-nine VN Club, I’ve been reading やがて君になる佐伯沙弥香について. I read the first chapter sometime last year but put it aside for a bit while I was focusing on VNs but I am glad I came back to it. Sayaka was easily my favorite character in the manga so its nice to have an entire series dedicated to her. I haven’t read any novels in jp before so it definitely feels like more of a challenge compared to the usual manga or VNs I read but it has been fun!

I also started reading 夏ノ終熄 last month. It’s on the shorter end for VNs (193,101 characters) and I’m at around the 160k mark. The synopsis sounded a lot more interesting than the actual VN is. I don’t think its bad but maybe a little boring. The one plus is that language is incredibly easy in it so it’s been a smooth read. The カルタグラ～ツキ狂イノ病～ remake comes out at the end of this month and I want to read that immediately, so I plan to finish 夏ノ終熄 soon and not pick up another VN until then.

[natarin]

April 2 Home Post

Played some more of Mozu’s route in BU$TAFELLOWS and oh man, I grow more and more convinced of the route order with Scarecrow last being in order of lightest to heaviest which has me so concerned for Scarecrow we’re in it now huh. It continues to be quite an experience indeed.

[WaniTsunami]

2023年4月2日
昨日は花見に行ったからあまり読めなかったけど少し読めました。ファイナルファンタジーVIIはエリスがレスキューミッションを始まりました。ベレットは静かな侵入か乱暴的なかどうか分からなかった。でも、私は静かな方法を選んだ。FFVIIRはジェシーのミッションを始まりました。前にダッツゲームを好きなので30分ぐらいプレイしました。めちゃくちゃ楽しい。FFVIIRがプレイしたらオススメです。このミニゲームは楽しいよ！。
この時は特別時だと思う。懐かしすぎる。

[meagstudies]

APRIL 02 2023
→ home post

• 999: ~1.5 scenes

Started on Zero Escape with the VN club today! I’ve read through this part in Japanese before, but it was a long time ago, so it’s cool to see how much I’ve improved since then! I wanted to read a bit more of other things today but didn’t get around to it

[softlyraining]

softlyraining’s blossoming book stack

April 2nd

NANA 1 (32% → 43%)

I had wanted to read more than I did today, but that wasn’t in the cards. Nana just bumped into her predator of an “ex” (I refuse to acknowledge him as an actual boyfriend) and I’m dying to read through their encounter.

Replies

@queenofthegods Isn’t it fascinating? I know Nana’s thing is to kind of have cruddy romantic relationships, so I’m interested in seeing how each is portrayed and if I feel any different compared to when I was younger. Did you think of Toru’s dad as a hero when you read it at 12?

[raindrops]

✿ raindrops’ first reading challenge (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ✿

I’m starting this challenge 3 days late because my family were visiting me in Japan but I’m excited to hop on the reading train with you all :> better late than never!
I’ll be reading:

• mainly Kyoichi Nanatsuki’s Arms (1997)
• but on busy days, just NHK Easy News
• if I finish the Nanatsuki, I’ll update with a new book!

I’ll use different emojis to show which thing I read each day xx

I don’t think I’ll post in this thread every day, but we’ll see! Happy reading everyone

			April
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

			May
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	31

Update: although I did read for more days than this calendar shows, ultimately I got busier and my studies fell to the wayside (including this read every day challenge). Hopefully I can try this challenge again in the future and beat my little streak

[enbyboiwonder]

Home

・４月２日・

I tried to save as draft on my phone, but the pop-up shifted downward just as I tapped the button and made me hit delete, and I lost the interesting vocab I’d amassed. Ugh. I ain’t finding them again.

• xxxHOLiC vol 4. It’s been a hot sec since I read the first 3, but I think this is the first volume where a story has ended happily
• 2 pages of 透き通った風が吹いて, leaving off on pg 45.

[Natsuha]

Apr 1
Awesome we have some new people joining this challenge. Welcome and have fun.

I also considered writing my posts in japanese but I would probably make lots of dumb mistakes and we have people here, who wouldn’t understand my posts and may feel left out.

The first day was disappointing I only read a little bit of ボッコちゃん. Some of the stories are pretty boring I hope I will be done with this book soon.

Played a little bit of Ciel no Surge DX the Nintendo Switch port of what I think was a phone game initially. Like you would expect from a phone game there are lots of situations, where you need to wait some real life hours or days.

The game is about イオン a girl who lost her memories and you need to help her get them back. Some really terrible things happened in her past. Basically it’s a simulator イオン has her own day cycle she sleeps, prepares foods, eats etc. Depending when you turn the game on you may see イオン lying in bed sleeping. Finishing this game will probably takes months. You can ask her to collect materials which you can then use to ask her to create new things like dishes, cooking utensils outfits etc. It may take real life days for her to create things you ask her to.

To progress the story you must enter her dream world and restore things there, which will unlock her memories. But again this takes some real life time.

5483 pages read

[prath]

3/04/2023 Home Post Link

Spent more time on listening and WK lessons today. I read this news piece [link] from Easy Japanese. It was a little too hard for me, so I lost motivation to read manga today. I think I’m going to stick with manga for a few days, and slowly ease into reading news.

Also finished a few sentences from Kanji Study. I always enjoy this mini sesh, so nothing much to say here.

[ekuroe]

3 Apr

世界から猫が消えたなら 30% - 30% (1 pg)

Small progress. Reading is the only form of Japanese study I’m doing at the moment. I’ve been learning more spoken Indonesian instead over the past few days lol