📚📚 Read every day challenge - Summer 2021 🏖🏖

Japanese Language Reading
#1083

I can vouch for Satori Reader wholeheartedly.

Meanwhile I also hesitantly started playing with Audible. I don’t know how long I manage to last before running away (I’m really feeling uncomfortable with any kind of audio content), but I’m trying to do audiobook + ebook combo for カラフル (@Axazel :wave:t2:). I picked this one because it was a standalone, had an audiobook version and because Axazel mentioned it :sweat_smile:
Language-wise it’s quite approachable and I also like the narration. I don’t have too much of comparison, but I think it’s better than Kiki’s audiobook (dropped it along the way, finished only the written version) and I also like it more than Konbini Ningen sample.
It was also a nice surprise to find this audiobook on US Amazon. While I use Japanese Amazon for ebooks, it’s fine to have a fake address for Kindle in your addresses list, but still use a true address with your credit card. And Audible didn’t want to allow it this way. So it was nice to discover that I actually have a much simpler way to access this audiobook (I’m from Poland, but we don’t have our own Audible shop, so we do belong to .com version officially and legally). It means I can’t put it on the same Kindle I use with the Japanese account but I don’t mind because…
…as far as I know it’s impossible to have both ebook and audiobook open on Kindle at the same time anyway and that’s what I’m doing for now - audio on the phone, text on the Kindle, simultaneously. I decided pure audio would be too challenging for the time being. Trying to follow the text at the natural speaking speed is challenging enough as it is :sweat_smile: Of course I’m stopping to check the words, but I’m trying to limit it in this case.
Ah, and as for the plot of カラフル itself, so far it’s better than I expected! I honestly became engaged.
I was wondering which category it would fall into - is it a light novel? and was surprised to find that Japanese wikipedia counts it as YA小説 :joy: I thought light novels = YA, more or less… Ah, and it won Sankei Children’s Book Award so I guess I’ll just put it on my “children literature” bookshelf on my Bookmeter. But it feels like it’s for older children than Kiki or Zenitendou.

Summary post

:heavy_check_mark: Day 24
July 19

  • Hanako weekly portion (twist was nice, but still not sold on it)
  • カラフル (0% → 3%)

:heavy_check_mark: Day 25
July 20

  • 乙女ゲームの破滅フラグしかない悪役令嬢に転生してしまった…5 (13% → 18%)
  • カラフル (3 → 11%)

:heavy_check_mark: Day 26
July 21

  • 乙女ゲームの破滅フラグしかない悪役令嬢に転生してしまった…5 (18% → 23%)
13 Likes
#1084

Thanks for sharing! I just read it and loved it!

6 Likes
#1085

I’ve been busy today, so I’ve limited my reading to just 6 more pages of Forbidden Scrollery(2).

12 Likes
#1086

I read the first chapter of the もっと半熟女子 manga. It’s about two cute girls who are in a relationship. They are hiding it from other people, thus they meet in secret and kiss each other, how cute. :two_hearts:

I only have the first chapter so I will have to read something else tomorrow.

11 Likes
#1087

Summary post
July 21

・Read YagaKimi vol. 6

Took a break from books today. Btw, there’s a massive coin-back campaign on BookWalker, so I bought the remaining Kono Oto Tomare volumes (18-24). Also bought Flying Witch vol 7-10.

14 Likes
#1088

Summary

Read a bit of an assortment of things today, including the one shot that @Axazel linked to in their update, another 4% of No. 6, and two free Satori Reader articles. The satori reader articles were a) cos of the discussion above, and b) because I’ve been thinking that I should probably make more of an effort to read things that more comfortably at my reading level or just above. I don’t really have the self control to do that for books or even manga cos I want to just read whatever I like (within certain limits, but with a pretty high tolerance for looking up A LOT of vocab). The stories were fun enough - I really like the audio. I’ll maybe try out reading one a day or something and see how that feels.

10 Likes
#1089

21.7.
Today I read chapter 9 of 1Q84, which means I’ll have to read 3 more by the end of next week in order to be caught up. That’s not too bad! I can probably return some of my focus to other things (the bookclubs I’m not behind in yet, for example :joy:) and still make it, but reading it faster has reminded me of what I like about it. I love bookclubs, but without lively discussions having to stop kind of takes the joy out of it for me.
In manga I read 2 more chapters of かしましめし, as well as 2 chapters of 異世界妹. Volume 5 of the 電子版 for the latter, which is also the last one published right now.

All this talk about satori reader is making me want to go back and actually finish one of their stories. The one they had about the mountain onsen hotel (or sth like that) was pretty cool! That might have been the first one they did with nature sounds? It’s been a few years. :upside_down_face:

11 Likes
#1090

Aahh! Yay!! I’m so excited for you to read it. Feel welcome to share your feelings at the wild parts–would love to relive those and share perspectives!

For level 30’s in wanikani, I found it to be just right. By the end of the book I didn’t need a dictionary anymore, since it used so many of the same words again and again (I now know 瞳ひとみ like the back of my hand).

I was wondering too! I think it counts as a short novel. From what I heard, it seems like it’s recommended for middle school ages and up. The theme alone is pretty mature and, without saying too much, some plot points are hard to imagine even middle schoolers reading (though I probably read worse as a middle schooler haha)

I’m so glad you were able to get ahold of it and found the book interesting so far! Also I’m impressed with your bookmeter organization. Inspiring! haha

9 Likes
#1091

Summary post

Day 51: July 21st
What did I read?: ルックバック
How much did I read?: 68 pages
How long did it take me?: 1 hr 15 min

So many people talking about this one, I figured I might as well jump on the bandwagon too xD I was looking for a new non-book club book to start today anyway. Unfortunately I ran out of time to finish it today, but looking forward to continuing it, it’s really good so far. (And the art! :open_mouth: I love the writing/drawing montages)
Also I just realized the challenge is almost over already :o How has this last month gone by so fast?

12 Likes
#1092

I keep seeing this mentioned and at this point I’m honestly pretty hyped for it, although that is purely based on this thread, the name, and the cover image. I have zero ideas about the plot contents.

I was assuming it would be way above my current ability, listening to a snippet of the audiobook was interesting as I could make some of it out, and the narration sounded quite fun.
I guess I’ll try look over a sample of the ebook to decide if its something I could approach =/

I keep seeing the fun words being posted as @Axazel reads it, not yet sure if they add to the hype or the fear more =p

I’m currently uhming and ahhing about if I should switch my Kindle over to JA Amazon, I have used JA Amazon before for physical items while I visited Japan, so they have my old hotel address on file and my credit card has worked for it before. The other option I guess is to try side load the content onto the Kindle, but not sure.

Now I’m getting hyped for this, I had a brief glance last night but was put off by the length and how long it’d probably take me at my current slow pace, so I’ve added it to my backlog.

10 Likes
#1093

Home post

July 22nd からかい上手の高木さん translated 2 pages from chapter 8, and then wrote out another 3 pages from the start of chapter 9.

11 Likes
#1094

I’ve read 6 more pages of Forbidden Scrollery (2) then chapter ended, so I decided to stop for today.

12 Likes
#1095

:ballot_box_with_check: Day 51

I read AN ENTIRE CHAPTER. Chapter 9 in 僕はブルー. Guys. Guys. I think this challenge is honestly working.

Yussss, join uuuusss! (If it feels approachable of course)! I tried to keep the spoilery words out so you can be plenty surprised >:D muahahaha

13 Likes
#1096

I’m also waiting for the verdict! :blush:

I think it could make a nice book club book, too, but I don’t want to run it. :stuck_out_tongue: (Maybe even BBC? It’s always hard to find novels good for BBC.)

My current theory (at 18%) is that there aren’t two souls - Makoto’s sin IS suicide and he’s being tricked into looking at his life from the “outsider’s” perspective.

I wanted to comment on this last time and forgot. It’s indeed weird, I had inconsistent % between Kindle sessions, but they always varied by 1%, which is acceptable by me. 3% seems quite moody :open_mouth:

Summary post

Day 27
July 22

  • カラフル (11 → 18%)
  • FukaBoku ch21
12 Likes
#1097

If people wonder I started volume 1 of それでも歩は寄せてくる today. Because it is super easy I read the first fifty pages, or maybe I am getting better at reading manga.

12 Likes
#1098

Yeah, I don’t think I’ve had that happen before. But then again, I probably wouldn’t have noticed if not for writing it down each day like I’ve been doing in this thread.

Summary post
July 22

・Read 冷たい密室と博士たち, ch. 7, part 1.

% being weird again, started at 49% and after closing the book I expected 51% but it says 47% ;-;

wait… 0: I figured it out. It changes based on background color! Whyyy tho. I turned it back from “black” to “cream” and now it certainly says 51%. Very weird, but that’s that explained at least. Will have to stick to one background color for logging progress.

13 Likes
#1099

Summary

NO.6: 30%-39% - read more of this than I have in a day before, because 1) I wanted to finish up the second chapter, 2) it’s starting to feel a bit easier/less like I have to look up every other word, & c) it was too hot today after work to do much else!

I also read I satori reader article on my work lunch break. It looks like I’m about to get super busy at work so I think SR will be a good way to make sure I can fit in at least a bit of reading each day!

12 Likes
#1100

Main post

Day 51 :ballot_box_with_check:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 5.

Day 52 :ballot_box_with_check:
Satori Reader: Secret, Episode 6.

Increased the duration of the challenge from 61 days to 75. I mentioned it some weeks ago but I think I want to try 2 months and a half of challenge and 2 weeks of cooling down until the next. I think I’ll be able to complete it with no burnout, despite maybe missing a few days next week depending on whether I can reserve some minutes for it or not, cause vacation. But I’m confident that I will finish with >90% of completion, which is good enough for me :relaxed: (although the perfectionist part of me really wants that 100% ;-; ).

12 Likes
#1101

also @Axazel
I bumbled my way through the first ‘page’ last night and colour me intrigued, I think it is manageable but on the upper end of difficulty I could manage so it’d be quite slow going. The grammar was surprisingly reasonable, maybe it gets worse later on, just was a lot of vocab work but that’s expected.

I think this moves カラフル up my priority list, especially considering it has an audiobook and the narration sounded good in the sample, although I think for now I need to focus on the current ABBC / offshoot manga I’m reading as they’re easier to make progress in.

If this were part of a book club that’d be freaking awesome, although I doubt I could keep up with the pace.

This is completely my fault but I thought I’d share as it is amusing, first thing in the morning half asleep I opened this spoiler as I think my brain interpreted your statement as “my current theory on the difficulty of this book / suitability for BBC”. My half asleep brain is silly sometimes.

Thankfully I only gleamed a few words, only one of which I remember, and it was something I might have been able to infer from the snippet I read last night, maybe kind of. Phewf!

The word I remember for the curious
possible カラフル spoiler?

Suicide

8 Likes
#1102

Summary post

Day 52: July 22nd
What did I read?: いつでもサメーズ
How much did I read?: 10 pages
How long did it take me?: 16 min

Weeell, my original plan was to finish ルックバック today, but it’s late and I didn’t think my brain would be able to handle that. So I finished the sharks instead! My last shark book :cry: But this was a great note to end on.

Just Shark Things

The page for 節分 was soooo cute and clever D: Throwing beans at the sea creatures with 鬼 in their names~ Also today I learned that the name/kanji for manta ray is 鬼糸巻エイ (オニイトマキエイ) - this is good for me to know, because I freaking love rays, they’re so big and glide-y :pleading_face:

And of course
I cannot forget

IMG-2130
IMG-21301920×2560 384 KB

scarfshark :heart:

12 Likes