📚📚 Read every day challenge - Summer 2021 🏖🏖

Japanese Language Reading
45
June 1

June 1st - so far, about 45 mins - 7 chapters of Chi’s Sweet Home - Vol 3 - it’s a fairly quick read, pretty low text, but reinforces some casual grammar points that I’ve been picking up.

Expecting to pick up my book (instead of manga) again tomorrow, but needed lower effort reading today - I still have a textbook chapter review to do. I just finished the first half of マジック・ツリーハウス 1 over the weekend - looking forward to seeing what’s next (especially since I don’t actually remember any plot of this one from the English - I expect it to be a tougher read).

Edit: Summaries are fun.

I’ve made it a few days in, so I guess I’ll set some actual goals:

current goals

Finish マジック・ツリーハウス 1
Read 2 short stories
Read Yotsubato vol 1/2
Finish Chi’s Sweet home Vols 3 - 4
Read 極主夫道 Vol 1

| June | 月 | 火 | 水 | 木 | 金 | 土 | 日 |
|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|
|Week 22| | | | | | | |
|Week 23| | | | | | | |
|Week 24| | | | | | |
|Week 25| | | | | | | |
|Week 26| | | | | | | |

| July | 月 | 火 | 水 | 木 | 金 | 土 | 日 |
|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|
|Week 27| | | | | | | |
|Week 28| | | | | | | |
|Week 29| | | | | | | |
|Week 30| | | | | | | |
|Week 31| | | | | | | |

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:palm_tree: Summer 2021 Reading Challenge :palm_tree:

Jun
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
Jul
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
Aug
月 火 水 木 金 土 日
01
02 03 04 05 06 07 08
09 10 11 12 13 14 終わり

Status: Completed
Completion: 75 / 75 days (100%) .

Daily division
June

Day 1
Satori Reader: Kiki-Mimi Radio, Episode 2.
NHK Easy News: ワクチンの注射「会社や大学などで21日から始めてもいい」

Day 2
Satori Reader: Kiki-Mimi Radio, Episodes 3 and 4.

Day 3
Satori Reader: Kiki-Mimi Radio, Episodes 5 and 6.

Day 4:
Satori Reader: Kiki-Mimi Radio, Episode 7.

Day 5:
Satori Reader: Kiki-Mimi Radio, Episode 8.
Final Fantasy III: 2h.

Day 6:
Satori Reader: Kiki-Mimi Radio, Episode 9.

Day 7:
Satori Reader: Kiki-Mimi Radio, Episode 10.

Day 8:
Satori Reader: Kiki-Mimi Radio, Episodes 11 and 12.

Day 9:
Satori Reader: Kiki-Mimi Radio, Episode 13.

Day 10:
Satori Reader: Kiki-Mimi Radio, Episodes 14 and 15.

Day 11:
Satori Reader: Kiki-Mimi Radio, Episode 16.

Day 12:
Satori Reader: Kiki-Mimi Radio, Episode 17.

Day 13:
Satori Reader: Kiki-Mimi Radio, Episode 18.

Day 14
Satori Reader: Kiki-Mimi Radio, Episode 19.

Day 15:
Satori Reader: Kiki-Mimi Radio, Episode 20.

Day 16:
Satori Reader: Kiki-Mimi Radio, Episodes 21 and 22.

Day 17:
Satori Reader: Kiki-Mimi Radio, Episode 23.

Day 18:
Satori Reader: Kiki-Mimi Radio, Episode 24.

Day 19:
Satori Reader: Kiki-Mimi Radio, Episode 25.

Day 20:
Satori Reader: Kiki-Mimi Radio, Episodes 26 and 27 (finale).

Day 21:
Satori Reader: The River Sanzu, Episode 1.
コーヒーが冷めないうちに , 4 pages.

Day 22
Satori Reader: The River Sanzu, Episode 2.

Day 23:
Satori Reader: The River Sanzu, Episode 3.

Day 24:
Satori Reader: The River Sanzu, Episode 4.
コーヒーが冷めないうちに , 3 pages.

Day 25:
Satori Reader: The River Sanzu, Episode 5.

Day 26:
コーヒーが冷めないうちに , 7 pages.

Day 27:
コーヒーが冷めないうちに , 5 pages.

Day 28:
Satori Reader: The River Sanzu, Episode 6.

Day 29:
Satori Reader: The River Sanzu, Episode 7.

Day 30:
コーヒーが冷めないうちに , 4 pages.

July

Day 1:
コーヒーが冷めないうちに , 6 pages.

Day 2:
Satori Reader: The River Sanzu, Episode 8.

Day 3:
Satori Reader: The River Sanzu, Episode 9.

Day 4:
Satori Reader: The River Sanzu, Episode 10.

Day 5:
コーヒーが冷めないうちに , 5 pages.

Day 6:
コーヒーが冷めないうちに , 5 pages.

Day 7:
Satori Reader: The River Sanzu, Episode 11.

Day 8:
Satori Reader: The River Sanzu, Episode 12.

Day 9:
Satori Reader: The River Sanzu, Episode 13.

Day 10:
Satori Reader: The River Sanzu, Episode 14.

Day 11:
Satori Reader: The River Sanzu, Episode 15.

Day 12:
Satori Reader: The River Sanzu, Episode 16.

Day 13:
Satori Reader: The River Sanzu, Episode 17.

Day 14:
Satori Reader: The River Sanzu, Episode 18.

Day 15:
Satori Reader: The River Sanzu, Episode 19.

Day 16:
Satori Reader: The River Sanzu, Episode 20.

Day 17:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 1.

Day 18:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 2.

Day 19:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 3.

Day 20:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 4.

Day 21:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 5.

Day 22:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 6.

Day 23:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 7.

Day 24:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 8.

Day 25:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 9.

Day 26:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 10.

Day 27:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 11.

Day 28:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 12.

Day 29:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 13.

Day 30:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 14.

Day 31:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 15.

August

Day 1:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 16.

Day 2:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 17.

Day 3:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 18.

Day 4:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 19.

Day 5:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 20.

Day 6:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 21.

Day 7:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 22.

Day 8:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 23.

Day 9:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 24.

Day 10:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 25.

Day 11:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 26.

Day 12:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 27.

Day 13:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 28.

Day 14:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 29.

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2021-06-01 (day 1)

:white_check_mark: read 5 pages (p.122-126) of 氷菓.

Was procrastinating for hours before finally sitting down to read. I still have this irrational fear of not being good enough to understand the novel and trying to escape reading. But when I actually start reading it goes pretty well.

I had to look up 20 words in a dictionary (~4 words per page).

Tomorrow I’ll try to measure the time I spend on reading too.

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Oh well, this thread is perfect :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: I’ve fallen off the wagon big time on reading Japanese (these past few months, I’ve barely read at all), so this sounds like a good way to get back on track. There will probably be days when I read like…one page, but I will push myself to do at least 1-2 pages per day! Consistency is always my biggest battle, and beginning to read is often the hardest part.

I will start - right now!

Day 1: June 1st
What did I read?: よつばと！Vol 15, because I am supposed to be reading with the book club and I am behind
How much did I read?: 1 chapter (47 pages)
How long did it take me?: Um…20 min? (I forgot to look when I started :bowing_woman:)

Some Yotsuba reflections

Yotsuba has become a really pleasant reading experience for me over the years. When I started with Vol 1, it did not feel that way. …Actually, Vol 1 might have been the first real Japanese text I ever tried to read, now that I think about it. :thinking: Fast forward to Vol 15, and I can now read it pretty comfortably most of the time, once I actually pick up the book. I could almost actually…try reading it without quick access to a dictionary? Like on a bus or train? :o Blasphemy! It was also the first series I could read well enough to actually laugh at in real time (vs. several minutes later when I finally finished looking things up xD). I’ve definitely grown with the series.

:sparkles: Challenge Progress and Links to Daily Posts :sparkles:

June
月 火 水 木 金 土 日
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30
July
月 火 水 木 金 土 日
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31
August
月 火 水 木 金 土 日
1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
:sparkles: B R E A K :sparkles:
:sparkles: B R E A K :sparkles:

:sparkles: Final Reflections :sparkles:

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How to read Yotsuba. A Japanese learner’s guide:

Step 1) Read a chapter first thing in the morning.
Step 2) Write down all unknown words encountered while reading.
Step 3) Take list of words and paperback dictionary onto bus or train.
Step 4) Look up unknown words from list using paperback dictionary.
Step 5) Recall scenes from chapter where now-known words apply.
Step 6) Commence to laugh, on bus or train, while looking at the dictionary.

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This seems like a good way to keep myself progressing. Like many others here I don’t have summer free, so I’m just setting small daily goals (and perhaps some more ambitious goals for the 2-month duration).

Goals

  1. Read at least 5 pages of manga (with text) each day (aiming for 75% completion rate by end of July).
  2. Keep up with book club reading each week.
  3. Finish ふかぼく by end of June and ナルト by end of July.

Main update table

Currently reading
ハイキュー！！（４）| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
僕のヒーローアカデミア（１）| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
赤髪の白雪姫（１）| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | side story? |
君の名は - 4.6 % (11 / 240)

  • |十|#---------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
  • |----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
  • |----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
Completed Books

不可解なぼくのすべてを（１）
ナルト（２）
からかい上手の高木さん（１）(book club)
進撃の巨人（１）
日常（１）(book club)
明日、私は誰かのカノジョ（１）
トニカクカワイイ（１）
ナルト（３）
ハイキュー！！（３） (book club)
ホリミヤ（１）

Days read

June

| 日 | 月 | 火 | 水 | 木 | 金 | 土 |
|–|–|–|–|–|–|–|–|
| | | 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 | | | |

July

| 日 | 月 | 火 | 水 | 木 | 金 | 土 |
|–|–|–|–|–|–|–|–|
| | | | | 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 |

June 1st Update
And we’re starting off with low motivation. I only managed to read today because I decided to commit myself to this challenge, so I’m really grateful that @Redglare posted. I read through 18 pages of 進撃の巨人 (most of which were text-free, or only had one sentence worth of text). Something is better than nothing though.

I remember when I first started approaching books more difficult than ABBC level. I started with ハイキュー！！and could only read one page 3 times a week before my reading energy for the week ran out. This was back last October. I’ve come a long way since then (can usually do 10 pages a day 5 times a week if I’m feeling motivated), so I’m excited to get to a point where I can read hundreds of pages a week easily.

Other Reading Goals

I realize this post is for Japanese daily reading, but I also do want to get back to reading in English regularly as well. This is a good place to keep track of that, so feel free to ignore this. I expect to power through these much faster than the Japanese books, but we’re aiming for about 30 pages a day to set a slow and steady pace (especially with how long the first three are…).

Books

  1. Words of Radiance
  2. Oathbringer
  3. Rhythm of War
  4. Lies of Locke Lamora
  5. Prince of Thorns
  6. The Name of the Wind
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Great suggestion! :grin: I’ve made the second post a wiki so we can have a summary table. Would you like to plan out the table? If others have ideas too, please feel free to chime in~

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This sounds like an awesome idea! Thanks, @Redglare for creating this thread! :high_touch:

I did vote but since I was at the airport I couldn’t post a reply.

Past attempts at reading

I really love reading and since I’m learning Japanese, I wanted to read in Japanese a lot too. But when I started Yotsubato at level 5 I couldn’t understand anything and that demotivated me a lot. I gave up thinking that maybe once I reach around level 15 I may be able to read better.

Then, I read this one article about how Japanese learners at one point realize that reading Kanji is way more convenient than reading Hiragana. I thought about it and decided that I would pick up some manga which has furigana for every kanji. Also, this time I would read something I actually have interest in. I read previews of ナルト and it was perfect, the thing is because of us moving, my parents wouldn’t let me order anything. :woman_shrugging:

After that, I got some umm pirated manga which I was somewhat interested in. Don’t judge me, it is not like I could’ve done anything else.

What happened next

So, I started with a manga and decided I would read it everyday. Unfortunately, I could not because I was really busy and I tried to read but I just wasn’t able to find the time. Now that everything is settled, I think it is time for one more shot!

My current plans!

I have started Demon Slayer and so far it is going great. There are a lot of words I do not know, but it is worth the effort since I love Demon Slayer. I would also like to start reading NHK web news easy but I am not sure I will be able to. I might even start some light novel but for now I think I’ll stick to manga. :sweat_smile:

@denji Since we are reading the same manga, we can maybe plan out something if you are okay with it.

I’ve heard that 進撃の巨人 has a lot of tough vocab, is that true?

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yeah ofc, if you’re okay with going slow

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I’m in!
Currently I am reading: 羊と鋼の森 and (seemingly forever) コンビニ人間
I am also quite enjoying 本好きの下剋上
Why these books? I found them as audiobooks in audible and I learn a lot from reading along while listening, and from just listening while I go for walks. For 羊と鋼の森 and コンビニ人間 I ordered the hard copies from amazon in Japan, and I have the English translations, so this combination saves me looking up words in the dictionary.
I don’t have a translation for 本好きの下剋上 but my kids told me it was available as an anime on crunchyroll, which helps to make sense of the story.
My focus is on reading, not so much on learning the vocabulary which I hope will gradually sink in with immersion.

Oh, and I also hugely enjoy reading a daily article on NHK Easy, with all the commentary in the “news reading” challenge!

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I think it might be good if I join this too.
My summer holidays will be from July 1st till August 31st though, so I’ll be shifting my schedule.

I hope to finish にゃんにゃん探偵団(たんていだん), and will then continue on to my English-Japanese reader I got from someone. I’ve noticed that the translation takes a lot of time and makes me lose motivation, so maybe that will increase my pace.

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Day 1: かがみの孤城 上 (63 pages)

It’s a breeze to read and so much fun! Will probably finish this quick.

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Why do you translate it then in the first place?

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Ok, here’s today’s post. I will update it whenever I read something in Japanese:

  • Read today’s NHK Easy News.
  • Finished reading fourth chapter of はたらく細胞。Time to start taking notes on it.
  • Started taking notes. Reached page 145.
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I also want to join, but at a later date!

Right now, there’s too much university stuff and the WaniKani fast levels are also taking away my time (though it’s less than a month until level 60 if I keep my pace). I actually got the 読み放題 subscription from bookwalker last month and ended up using it almost not at all, so I canceled it for now

But once I have a little bit more time and energy, I’d really like to get into regularly reading Japanese again :durtle_tomato:

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Wonderful! So, are you on discord because I don’t think we should spam this thread with our problems while reading Demon Slayer :sweat_smile: and there is no book club for the manga yet.

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I get the impression that if I just scroll over it, I will immediately forget about the grammar points I find in the wild. And delving deeper into sentences makes me realize my initial translation is wrong occasionally. Maybe I should stop writing down those translations though, you might be right.

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Well, you are a late potato after all :sweat_smile:
But don’t worry, it’s never too late to join the studying! Best of luck to you!

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Oh, I think you’re more than welcome to post about Demon Slayer here if you’re both reading it!

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Really, then that’s awesome!

@denji looks like there’s no problem in posting our queries here, we’ll also have the benefit of other people helping us out if we have a problem.

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