Day 19:
15 pages of ハピネス today! Just a quick little read for a long day. 
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Today I was able to read 12 pages of よつばと！ before reaching my quota of 10 new words/expressions. However, I came across a couple of things that stumped me. For example, the following:
手はなしちゃダメよ
seems to mean “don’t take your hands off!” in this context (Yotsuba is swinging on a swing and Ena is horrified about how high she is going). But Yotsuba doesn’t show any intention of letting go of the swing until Ena says this. Maybe I’m interpreting it wrong? What verb is “なしちゃ” in this case?
New things
くるくる: whirling around, spinning
ブランコ: swing
反動 (はんどう): recoil, kick
動く (うごく): to move, to swing, to operate
空き家 (あきや): vacant house
いいとこ: the right moment
途中 (とちゅう): on the way, en route
お嬢ちゃん (おじょうちゃん): young lady (honorific kanji)
迎える (むかえる): to go out to meet
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The verb is 離す(はなす). The は is part of it 
手を離す, “to let go of something”, is the expression. The をis omitted here.
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Oh, I see! So much clearer. Thank you!
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Still reading Bunny Senpai but getting the hang of speed reading a little in Japanese. About 60% of the way done and should finish in time to read Tumugi for Intermediate book club. I read 2 parts today and should be on chapter 4* by tomorrow. (Each chapter is broken into parts I guess)
I don’t know if English books count as part of the challenge but I finished Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe over the weekend and currently working through the Hobbit.
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I’m glad you enjoyed the first story! (Recommending stuff always makes me anxious) First I was under the impression that you were looking for real scary horror, which is why I was hesitant to recommend 穴 at first, but after realizing you were looking for horror with that omnipresent ominous feeling throughout, I thought 穴 might actually fit quite well, and I’m glad it did! I posted a small review on Natively already, but I have to say I might have liked the second story the most. I’m interested to see what you think of it!
First story talk
I still don’t really know what the story was trying to tell me… everyone was just so weird. It was interesting, but I somehow always seem to wish for short stories to go on for longer, I need more information and more resolution! My theory is simply that her boredom made her interpret things to an extreme degree. (Not a very fleshed out theory, haha. I’ve just been enjoying the ride.)
I agree that it was written so well, I could especially feel her boredom in the beginning! The insane struggle of being stuck somewhere and having nothing to do… And all the other feelings. She didn’t even need to spell them out, they came across so well. When she watched the grandfather in the garden, for example.
Or the one time when she went to pay a bill for her mother-in-law, and the money wasn’t enough… I could feel the awkwardness and the inner struggle!
And the author managed to describe everything in a way that it all felt just slightly off. It was so well executed. But there were still so many things left unresolved, as @NicoleIsEnough mentioned before. The red bugs, her getting bitten by one, everyone being so pale… So many details that you think may become relevant later, but then they’re never mentioned again.
I also got insane Murata vibes from the brother-in-law, but I really liked what he was saying. I can’t really recall any details, but I think I went „I feel you, bro“. At least that’s the vague feeling that remained from that conversation. (Now I hope he didn’t say any horrible things xD)
I did like the ending, but it left me very puzzled. I guess she gets a job and thus manages to get out of the (metaphorical) hole she fell into when she moved to the 田舎. And thus there’s no need anymore for her to make up her own world in her mind.
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If you like you can move your review over to the The Akutagawa Prize Reading Challenge page and we can discuss it there? That way it won’t get lost as easily…
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Good point, I’ll do that later today. I thought of writing there actually, but it’s not really a review, just rambling thoughts, and that challenge is also about many books. It gets far fewer posts though, so as you say, it won’t get lost.
I’ll also reply to @Myria there. Lots to think about!
I’m very much looking forward to the second story! 
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The Tanuki Beach Resort: Date 20220719 
Tanuki Scroll of 下吉谷駅 
Random article - about a tiny little train station that got all forgotten about with the passing of time 
I like to imagine that little spirits and stuff still use all these forgotten abandoned stations (basically, Ghibli movie).
Station
Just do this in watercolour and it is straight out of a Ghibli movie.
Japanese found in the sand
Learnthings
交換可能「こうかんかのう」ー Exchangeable; convertible; transferable
閉塞「へいそく」ー Blockage; blockade; obstruction; stoppage
@omk3 glad to hear that your dog is okay!!
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July 13
Snuck in like 10 pages of 青のフラッグ before sleeping since I had basically no free time due to trip preparations.
July 14
Somehow played バリバリ for 30 min even though I was away, while waiting for people to get ready.
July 15 / 16 / 17
Was too busy attending a friend’s wedding and being away with friends I hadn’t seen in a long time so I didn’t have time to read (I barely even slept), but it was for a worthy cause.
July 18
Finished chapter 3 of 青のフラッグ.
With the break I’m a bit behind with my goals and I haven’t been able to start reading the VN for the club but hopefully I can get back on track this week (although the heatwave doesn’t want me to).
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Ha, funny enough, I started reading this series recently too! You’re well ahead of me though. I’ve only been reading one of the little chapter breaks a day, so I only just reached section 2 of the second chapter.
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July 19
(home post)
Night Café page 36 → 44 (9 pages)
Read chapter 3, and it ended so soon. I forgot that chapter 2 was unusually long for this book, so I forgot that future chapters should be easier to finish in one night. It makes me more confident I can read this before the offshoot club starts on volume 2.
Still like Aiko-san (aunt) so much. She’s a super smart person. Recognizing that it is so much more valuable to do things yourself. Even if it feels like a lot to put on Hanabi. Well, I’ll see tomorrow how it goes.
And also about yesterday. 
So for context, I go to bed around 1 am every night. But yesterday at 10 pm, I was nodding off while sitting up. So I gave up and went to bed, not reading any Japanese. I’ve been so tired for maybe a week now, which is why I wasn’t too surprised that it finally came to that.
I need to take better care of my sleep. Because if it doesn’t clear up with better sleep, I might have to look into other causes for the tiredness, and I’d rather just be sleep depraved. I’m hoping I’ve just neglected my sleep so much my body is like ENOUGH. (This is not the first time this has happened… 
Me not the sharpest knife in the drawer.)
Watch me be up waaay too late tonight, like the idiot I so often am about matters like this. Promise I will do my best not to be like that.
@omk3 I’m so glad your doggo is alright. <3
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July 19th!
Today I read chapter 87 of Yotsuba. Lots of cuteness and fun to see her interacting with her grandmother.
Right now my bookclubs all start their new week on a Friday, so I read all of my bookclub stuff first and then spend the rest of the week reading Yotsuba. Now that I only have 2 volumes and 3 chapters left I really need to start thinking about what to fill my non-bookclub days with…
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Home Post
Hello, everyone. I’m ZDurendal (or CyberSlam if the name change hasn’t happened yet). I enjoyed doing the winter challenge, so I want to try doing the summer challenge too. I also need some motivation to consume native material. I hope I’ll be able understand a little more of the readings now that I’ve used my free month of Bunpro. Best of luck to everyone.
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Reading List
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Home post 
July 19th
・ わたしの幸せな結婚 2 (93% → 100%)
Finished book! Tags @Naphthalene for there was 初々しい 
(cf. yurucamp vol. 6)
Very random (read: incoherent) book thoughts (spoilers ahoy)
New characters were interesting. Especially the one you think is super sus (which he turned out to be), but there’s a twist! (separate spoiler tags) He’s actually nakama after all.
The number one highest person on the social rank (soon-to-be-emperor) has the name 堯人 (たかいひと)??? Please don’t tell me this is an actual name 
Plot: Could feel some plot armor stuff going on. But hey, I’m not complaining 
The very last chapter before the atogaki was cute uwu. I’d write more but sleep is calling 
・詩的私的ジャック - JACK THE POETICAL PRIVATE (71% → 75%)
Procrastinated the whole day, but got around to it in the end 
Goal for this week is ca. 87%. Will start earlier tomorrow!
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I see you are reading それでも歩は寄せてくる. If you didn’t know, that series has a book club running on the forums. We are currently on Volume 7, but previous discussion threads are available, if you end up needing some kind of a study aid while you read through the series! Good luck with the challenge!!
Also, sorry, I’ll stop posting non-topical replies now.
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Book stuffs in the reading thread?! how dare
No such thing 
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Today I read the first short story in Short Stories in Japanese: New Penguin Parallel Text, which was just two pages long and then two pages Shin Kanzen Master Reading N2.
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It’s an actual name, although I don’t think anyone in their right mind would give it to their kid… That being said, people do actually give names like 帝 to their kids, so it probably happens.
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Yeah I try to do that at minimum but some of those breaks just never come lol. So for time sometimes I just stop when a sentence ends on the second page. Each chapter is about 70 pages when I looked, so next time I read through I’ll probably take that into consideration. This time was just when I have time to read, try to get to the break.
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