What happened up to now: On July 2nd I went to Paris to take JLPT, so I was super busy on the 1st and could only manage to read the first week of Orange. During my holiday week in Paris, I made sure to stay up to date with the Saikawa & Moe book club (while I let the Kafka book club slip for the time being - I knew it would be too much to read both + have last-minute-JLPT-prep / travel for a week). At some point I finished 穴 (the main story, not the whole book - there were only 10 pages left anyway). On the 13th I started catching up with Kafka and managed to read 2.5 weeks’ worth of book club until today.
I also started tracking my reading speed, and while I always thought that I was reading very slowly (especially on paper), to my big surprise I figured out that for the passages in Kafka with “standard difficulty” I can consistently read at about 10 pages/hour.
Over the last few days I was quite powered out in the evenings from reading so much Kafka, and so I switched to manga - one day I read the week’s assignment in Orange, and then I started to read Attack on Titan (inspired by Mario’s reading thread and because I own it anyway thanks to some Freebie).
And that’s it for now! I’m planning to finish catching up with Kafka this week, without letting Saikawa & Moe slip too much - we’re almost there anyway! After that, let’s see
A rather pitiful amount of reading these last three days, but given the circumstances, I’d say it’s impressive that I even managed to read this much. I had been really looking forward to reading this specific book in the countryside, accompanied by the sound of cicadas and running water. Instead, I’m just happy we avoided a tragedy. [1]
My very old, very senile dog, somehow managed to squeeze through the rails of the balcony and fall 4-5 meters to the ground, in the two minutes I wasn’t actively watching. (I had measured said rails specifically to make sure she couldn’t fit before letting her out there). I can’t describe the shock of hearing a bump and seeing her down there. Miraculously, she survived without even a scratch (soft muddy ground, but still, how?!?). She was only shocked and took a day to start eating and drinking again. As for me, I’m still in shock. Didn’t sleep at all that first night watching her intently, and I still wake up at the slightest sound. Balconies are a big no-no now… ↩︎
Weee that sounds horrifying! So happy to hear that she did not get injured…
Which reminds me of my pet rats that I had when I was younger, these animals are so amazing, they can squeeze through any tiny hole - as long as the skull goes through, the body will follow.
I’m reading everyday, just very very slowly since I’m spending so much time with friends and family. I’m behind on the bookclub again… unfortunately. Hoping to catch up later this week when i take a 3 hour train and again even later during my long flight back “home”!
@omk3 I’m so sorry that happened, but I’m really glad to hear they’re okay
@NicoleIsEnough Better to update later than never! I hope you also enjoy catching up on Kafka
This is the most important time! You know, the books are so old already, they don’t mind being read a week earlier or later. But when you left, you cannot hang out with them any more. Enjoy the time!
Absolutely! Please make sure to let us know about your crazy chapter 14 theories as well in the book club thread
I read Chapter 2 of Orange today. I’m really enjoying it so far. Its a bit of a tough read for me, partly just general difficulty-wise but also because the chapters are quite long - so I’m hoping I can keep up with the reading club!
Like always I was lazy or rather spend too much time playing video games in japanese Somehow I still managed to read two pages in the Kanzen Master N2 Reading book. Maybe tomorrow I will read more.
I’m working through N3 vocab and N3 Bunpro, and have reached level 60 on WK. But there are still words and constructs in the lists you’re posting that I’ve never seen! On the other hand, I find it quite satisfying when I learn a grammar point on Bunpro, then see it a few days later in a book.
The conversation between N’Doul dealing himself a fatal blow and actually dying was too difficult for me for the most part, but I understood Jotaro’s commentary after N’Doul passed. I’m glad I’ve seen this scene in the anime probably 3-5 times.
I was going to read more but then I got distracted by a news article emailed to me.
More Monkeys reading from me. As the MC is still assimilating himself into the girl’s school, one of the things all the first years/new students have to do is pass a walking exam. Since it is a very prestigious お嬢様 school, the way you present yourself is extremely important. When the MC first came to the school, people gave him the nickname ガニ股クイーン because of the way he walked
That section had a lot of talk about proper etiquette and ways of walking/sitting. Some of it took longer than normal to read but it was still very fun. The MC took the exam and got hit with a 「お上手ですこと」at the end so it wasn’t looking good.
But then we later find out that he actually passed the exam and she was being honest with her words. Seems like it was something she picked up on while she was visiting the boys school (雑木林 is the boy’s school’s name).
Just a totally healthy amount of hours totally. Surprisingly I’m able to mine a bit of vocabulary from this game. I thought it was going to be more of a burden but not really so far. I can’t for the life of me learn the names of different animal species, herbs, insects and so on. That’s something I struggle to an extent even in English and I’ve been learning it since forever at this point (though to be fair not actively like I do Japanese, should probably resume that at some point). I guess getting used to the names of so many animals in your native language makes it very hard to associate a whole new set of names for them in another language, and that’s been complete madness in Japanese in my own experience; almost everything seems like a set of sounds I’ll forget in a second. But yeah, I can’t be bothered with these ones since they’re fictional. I’ll learn some actual animal names, other than the usual ones, eventually.
I’m noticing that I understand more and more the J-J dict definitions; definitely an exciting prospect. I’m still carrying on with my plan of only adding J-J anki cards that I fully comprehend. I don’t add many, so far there’s only 75, but I catch myself adding more and more over time when I do, especially lately. I’m looking forward to mining from Loopers, I have everything completely set up already for maximum convenience. Not relying fully on SRS has done wonders for my burnout back then, and now I actually want to use it more and more again, but without the pressure of “having to add things no matter what” that was holding me back. A break and a change of strategy has been essential.
I think I’ve spent my whole free time today consuming Japanese, that’s a first . Definitely rare for me so far.
Nyooming is going well. I’ve been neglecting book club book, so will read that tomorrow.
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Hehe, thanks! I think the coin back campaign on bookwalker closes on the 20th, so that might be a good chance to pick it up if you’re interested ^^
Nafutarin~ This statement alone encouraged me to buy the rest of the volumes while there’s still campaign going on xD (except for the newest one, will when I get there eventually )
Over the past ~2 years I’ve amassed about 20 or so Japanese books ( Book Off ) with varying difficultly in hopes to help me learn the language and move onto the big people books. I’ve made WK a habit since April and have picked up enough speed this month to not be overwhelmed with adding more things onto my plate.
It’s my first challenge and I actually completed a book in 5 days! Granted I only had to read 47 pages to finish it but I’m still kinda shocked that I’ve been following through with the challenge. It’s a kids book (most of what I’ve hoarded ranges in age from 4-10) so there was no kanji and it was basic grammar. Only a few random N2/N1 words and unfamiliar grammar, so overall I’d say it was a good intro to reading in Japanese. It was a book I picked up the last time I was in Japan in 2019 at a used bookstore in Kanazawa so I’m actually going to miss reading it a little bit but… onto the next!
that sounds horrifying! So happy to hear that she did not get injured…
DAYS 9 - 18 
(Advanced Book Club)
Please make sure to let us know about your crazy chapter 14 theories as well in the book club thread 
Somehow I still managed to read two pages in the Kanzen Master N2 Reading book. Maybe tomorrow I will read more.
Taiyou made a friend right away xD
totally. Surprisingly I’m able to mine a bit of vocabulary from this game. I thought it was going to be more of a burden but not really so far. I can’t for the life of me learn the names of different animal species, herbs, insects and so on. That’s something I struggle to an extent even in English and I’ve been learning it since forever at this point (though to be fair not actively like I do Japanese, should probably resume that at some point). I guess getting used to the names of so many animals in your native language makes it very hard to associate a whole new set of names for them in another language, and that’s been complete madness in Japanese in my own experience; almost everything seems like a set of sounds I’ll forget in a second. But yeah, I can’t be bothered with these ones since they’re fictional. I’ll learn some actual animal names, other than the usual ones, eventually.
. Definitely rare for me so far.
July 18th 
This statement alone encouraged me to buy the rest of the volumes while there’s still campaign going on xD (except for the newest one, will when I get there eventually 
Book Off ) with varying difficultly in hopes to help me learn the language and move onto the big people books. I’ve made WK a habit since April and have picked up enough speed this month to not be overwhelmed with adding more things onto my plate.