Alright, well 
I managed to get through 1 more page of よつばと! in 1 hour tonight, but I had a rough day personally so I’m just happy for that. There were 16 bubble-sentences on the page, and 15 on the next page, so I knew I could not keep going tonight. I’m just happy I kept reading.
Seems about right! At that time it’s still daytime where I live, and it starts getting dark at around 5:30 pm currently, but in Summer it can be as late as 9:30 or 10:00 pm. I would have used late afternoon too myself, but I’m hoping I could get my point accross! 
We also typically have lunch very late here. It’s not unusual that we have lunch between 1 and 4 pm. I usually have lunch at around 2:30 or 3 pm.
I think after 6 pm I’m generally already tired to do anything that requires a lot of focus 
.
January 5th
Read pages 10 - 11 of the Naruto Manga. The main characters are still talking about the graduation exam (卒業試験) whose kanji is very intimidating to look at considering my level lol. I was able to recognize 分 and 何 at least. I also recognized some other phrases like めんどくせー and どうしたの. I might stop translating every sentence and just translate a couple words per page or panel. Idk, I’m still figuring this out.
Day 5: January 5th
365日にっぽんのいろ図鑑
Time spent: 29 min
Today’s color: 朱色 (しゅいろ) - pretty similar to 銀朱 but maybe a bit less vibrant, presumably because it’s a more natural pigment?
A color of power and authority 
And also apparently an expensive/valuable color in olden times - the reading mentioned the 朱座 (しゅざ), which the shogunate-controlled market for cinnabar (which is used to make 朱色).
まいにち暦生活 日本の暮らしを楽しむ365のコツ
Time spent: 22 min
Today’s reading was actually about…colors also xD Basically talked about various pine tree-inspired colors - 常磐色 made another appearance, but it also mentioned 松葉色 (まつばいろ), 老緑 (おいみどり), and 千載緑 (せんざいみどり - I think it’s more commonly written as 千歳緑 since I keep getting that when I try to search it lol). I like how 老緑 does kind of look like “old green” to my eye xD
I also learned that 狩衣 (かりぎぬ) refers informal clothes worn by the nobility from the Heian period - apparently looks like this:
I also learned a great grammar point (is this a grammar point? idk lol): にちなんで, meaning named after; associated with; connected with
What else did I read?
Nothing…again. I’m so tired today 
I’ve been tired from the moment I woke up.
Oh that’s awesome!! Glad my links could be of help 
Happy birthday!! 
I’m very jealous of your cat cafe snuggles
Jan 5 update 
summary post
Read a bit more of Akiko’s American Foreign Exchange on Satori Reader today. For some reason today’s episodes seemed more difficult than usual… I had a hard time comprehending what I was reading without constantly looking at the definitions and translations. Hopefully it goes better tomorrow!
My goal is to catch up by the time the finale is uploaded and I’m so close… tomorrow I’d like to be 10 episodes from the end. It’ll take a bit more reading than usual, but I think it’s doable
January 5 Home Post
I finished up volume 2 of ラストゲーム today! 九条 is as oblivious as always, but she’s like aware of it? Idk I’m wishing her the best, and of course 柳's life is suffering 
someone help them
I might read some 錆喰いビスコ later (very invested in mushroom boy and his GIANT RIDEABLE CRAB?? fascinating), but mostly I started messing with jpdb today so that took over my reading brain a bit. I’ve got fun stuff to look forward to in ラストゲーム though; 合宿 next volume !! 
On to more books!
だらけ - full of, riddled with
チョロい - easy, simple
枯れる - to wither
5th January:
I got side-tracked from 嫌われる勇気 because I found this manga 「かげきしょうじょ!!」and got super into it. The English version at Seven Seas only has it up until vol 3, so I spent the day reading vol 4 - 7 of the Japanese version.
The manga is really interesting and I really recommend it to everybody. The story follows Takarazuka system very closely, from the 2-year Takarazuka Music School, the troupe, the star system, etc. It gives you a closer look on Takarazuka. The characters are really interesting and each one of them is developed really well. The mangaka did a great job with the scenes. The whole vibe and the feels this manga is giving me reminds me of Act-Age. I love this manga so much, every time I finished a chapter, I wanted to clap my hands and sang praises.
Note:
For anyone who is interested, make sure to read the prequel first before the series (Kageki Shojo: The Curtain Rises / かげきしょうじょ！！シーズンゼロ)
Today I read three(?) pages of a graded reader over coffee, then at lunch I read half a page of my new Haruta magazine (so much kanji!) and then after dinner I read a few pages of Flying Witch vol 2 and a few pages of Yotubato vol 6. There are just so many things I want to read at the same time!
That looks so cute and relaxing!
I’m doing the opposite! First reading over coffee, then WK over breakfast!
Thank you so much! My main concern would be wading through all the easy and very common words I already know … Do you know if there’s any kind of setting that lets you eliminate the most common words?
This is perfect 
1月4日〜5日
Materials:
月刊少女野崎くん３
地球星人
After 4 months of sneaking in micro reading sessions, I finally finished reading the 3rd volume of 野崎くん! 
It feels like the end of an era. Of course, there are several more volumes waiting on my bookshelf for me still, and don’t get me started on the volumes I haven’t bought yet…
One of my favorite things about the 野崎くん series are the hidden comics underneath the dust jacket. It’s such a fun idea. I always save those for last as a bonus treat for finishing. The takeaway from both the front and back covers is that Kashima is clueless when it comes to her 先輩. 
For today, I finished Week 1 in the 地球星人 Book Club! 奈月, the protagonist, has an interesting conversation with her cousin involving his mother. She apparently told her son that he’s an alien from another planet and they picked him up one evening. This is probably not true, in which case, his mother sure did tell him something really f’ed up. 
I’ve been told this book gets pretty dark, so I’m eager to continue reading and find out how true that is.
ぶっ潰す [ぶっつぶす]: to smash violently; to crush
例：「そこだ！！！王子なんかぶっ潰せ！！！」
稽古 [けいこ]: practice; training; study
例：「今日も御子柴と稽古するんですか？」
あっさり: easily; readily; quickly; flatly (refuse)
例：私の願い事に、由宇はあっさり頷いた。
せかせか: restlessly, hurriedly, agitatedly, fidgeting
例：由宇も同じみたいで、俯いてせかせかと歩いていた。
um, going to need more details here. Tell me all about the kitties.
This is great to hear! I remember you had a few doubts at the end of the Autumn challenge, so it’s really great that you’ve found a comfortable way to study/read!
《頑張って！》 
(imagine the tanuki is shouting it for additional ganbarrenergy)
Same! I grumble at myself when I buy new books and have to pile them up precariously because there is more book than shelf. I always say to myself I wouldn’t have this problem if I kindle-fied some of them… but it is not the same. I need that rustle of the pages. Also, dunno if it’s just me but I have yet to find a comfortable position to hold a kindle in. But I don’t own one, so it’s probably that I’m not used to it either. BUT STILL.
Sorry I was too tired yesterday when I posted. Thanks for pointing out my typo. I will correct it right away.
Fantastic suggestion! I’ve headed over to join.
Indeed! I think I was just generally morally low and wasn’t thinking straight. Turns out all I needed was a little of actual order, who would’ve thought, huh. I think I also didn’t see myself reading for an hour everyday and I’m happy to see that I can do it without as much effort as I thought I would need. I do still need to add some listening though, I’ve been meaning to add podcasts here and there. I was listening to the radio the other day. It’s a start! I’m hyped. I hope it lasts ;-;
応援してくれてありがとう、たぬきくん！！！ 
Tonight I read six pages of ちゃお.
A couple new words I came across:
あれよあれよ------while surprised; suddenly
アバター -----avatar
There are so many lovely ones!
This is my favourite cat there, his name is Baloo, and he is so soft and friendly.
As well as being a cafe, it’s also a rescue centre. They rehabilitate and rehome a lot of the young healthy cats who come in, but they have a number of permanent residents (Like Baloo) who have health problems that mean they need special care. It’s a really lovely place.
Day 6 today, and I only read page 136 of Kiki, due to poor time management again . I’m waking up at 5:30am tomorrow and it’s nearly half past 11, oops.
I’m appreciating how straightforward and wholesome children’s books are. It’s like comfort reading, in a way.
A good half my posts get quick edits to fix typos even when I’m not tired 
Nothing to be sorry about!
Today’s article was 妊娠で職場に「存在が迷惑」と言われ…退職を迷う女性に届いた、ありえないメッセージ which is basically about マザハラ or ‘mother harassment’ – treating women in the workplace badly for being pregnant, planning to be pregnant, taking maternity leave, etc. It’s actually part article, part comic which seems to be a common format, but I’ve avoided it thus far because I didn’t think they’ll help my goal of learning how to express opinions more fluidly,
イクメン - a man who is good at child rearing. I strongly suspect this is a pun on イケメン
円満 - happy; amicable; peaceful
つわり - morning sickness
ノルマ - quota
足を引っ張る - to hold others back (from success)
I really liked this bit at the end:
日本はつらい状況にあっても「我慢が美徳」とされて、文句を言いづらいことが多いですが、そんな時代はもう終わっていいように思います。
So I guess I did get a nugget as to how to express opinions. 
Thank you this was an excellent update! What a lovely fluff Baloo is.
Absolutely with you on this!
