📚📚 Read every day challenge - Winter 2023 ☃❄

[javerend]

３月２２日 (Home Post Link)

I was reading some 久保さんは僕を許さない (kubo wont let me be invisible) today in english, and noticed that some of the chapters have these short poem-y things on the title pages. Decided to try looking at them in japanese, since poetry usually doesn’t translate very well (imo), and I really enjoyed this one from chapter 24:

新恋はレモンの味がするらしい
私はまだ、シャンプーと消臭剤の香りしかしらない

Read:

• 三ツ星カラーズ ch 47

Word of the Day:
消臭剤「しょうしゅうざい」ー deodorant

[lucylavelle]

March 22nd!

Today I read chapter 66 of Shadows House.

(Home Post)

[enbyboiwonder]

Home

• クールドジ男子 ch 25-28. I love these idiots so much.
• 16 pages of 2.43, finishing 2-3 and 2-4 and thus all of ch 2, and leaving off on pg 222. Yeah in the anime we still got that convo where Yuni says that he and Chika together just need to become like Subaru and Chika tells him to catch up to and surpass Subaru on his own, and in this match the next ep we see him decide to and start to actually become the team’s reliable ace, but in the book it’s clear that in doing so he’s trying to emulate Subaru and become a reliable ace the way that he is. “It’s like looking at me from two years ago,” indeed. Ahhh this was such a good chapter. And the next one should be all new content since it’s an Ibara chapter!
• ねこ島物語

Some vocab of note:

老若男女 (ろうにゃくなんにょ) [四字熟語, n.] people of all genders and ages. This one’s notable because of the interesting reading. Only one of those kanji are pronounced the way I expected.
カチューシャ [n.] headband made of metal or plastic and often covered with cloth. Named after the character Katyusha in Leo Tolstoy’s novel “Resurrection.”
喊声 (かんせい) [n.] battle cry
二の句を失う (にのくをうしなう) [expression, ア五] to be at a loss for words; to go speechless (lit. “to lose one’s next spoken word”)
鬱積 (うっせき) [n., する verb (自)] accumulation (of discontent, frustration, etc.); buildup; suppression (e.g. of anger)

[sddsdd]

Home Post

Welp. I kept telling myself I was going to come back and make another post at some point and then suddenly almost two months have passed by.

Day 33-81 Progress (aka what I’ve finished over the last two months)

お隣の天使様にいつの間にか駄目人間にされていた件 第六ー八冊
彼なんかより、私のほうがいいでしょ？
推しに熱愛疑惑出たから会社休んだ
踊り場にスカートが鳴る 第一、二巻

The biggest update here is that I have finally caught up on お隣の天使様 and defeated the evil… well, almost. I still have a side story volume I’ve been pretty loath to work through because it’s somehow longer than the main volumes. At the very least though, I now have an opportunity to focus on another longer series to tackle.

I’ve opted for a change of pace and have started reading a visual novel, Monkeys!¡, a fast-paced comedy about a crossdressing delinquent boy trying to make it in a school tailored for お嬢様. And boy, is it fast, a non-stop barrage of jokes mixed in with both delinquent and high-class speech have made this a continual headache to read so far. Though, reading something voiced for once is pleasant for sure.

My reading speed still hasn’t really improved over the last few months unfortunately and even a (relatively) short visual novel like this one will probably take me several weeks at least, but I really would like to try one of the longer games I’ve been dying to read since starting Japanese in the first place…

I would like to try posting more regularly again though whether I can motivate myself to do it or not is still up in the air.

Word of the Day: 今宵こよい - this evening, tonight. Nothing particularly interesting about it, just a pleasant word.

[natarin]

March 22 Home Post

Today was a busy day actually, so just counting some reading for class! Hopefully I can get up to more chaos soon

[Hantsuki]

It’s been a while since I’ve last posted here and after the challenge ended no less. But I feel I should document completing my first ever novel (in Japanese) 世界から猫が消えたなら.

It feels good because I’ve started a lot of novels and only get as far as the first few chapters before starting a new book. The only thing I’ve consistently read and finished are manga and 夜カフェ, but the latter is very child friendly including furigana and a very easy to read writing style, so despite it being a book, it’s just a step up from a manga for me.

With 世界から猫が消えたなら, I read the physical copy so lookups took a little extra effort, and furigana isn’t very common. The nice thing was the language of the book is very accessible to readers of all ages I think. Some technical words were a pain to look up but a lot of kanji was repetitive so it actually worked out as a good learning opportunity to pick up new kanji and vocab.

Since this is an update post, I might as well add I finished the following manga/books during this challenge as well.

D・N・ANGEL 第6巻
絶叫学級 4
D・N・ANGEL 第5巻
orange 7 ―大切なあなたへ―
夜カフェ 3
orange 6 -未来-

[MissDagger]

March 23
Home Post

Komi-san

March is turning into a very on-off month for reading. I guess it isn’t that bad to take it a bit cool for a while and then focus in again in April for the spring challenge. I read slightly less than half of Komi-san vol 1 today, the second half, so finishing the volume.

What I really should read is VNs, because I’m about to get horribly behind, AGAIN. *le sigh*

At least, my heavy book club duties are kinda over. Now I’ll go back to only doing weekly threads for the grammar dictionary, and the last one for Orange. Everything else is kinda squared away.

[Greti33]

March 7th-23rd Days 66-82

Home post

Missed days: March 9th & 10th
Progress: 1Q84 Book 1 後編 (46 - 77%)

So, I got ill and had little to no energy and motivation to post an update. Missed a couple of days, too But I am back now.

Anyways, for the past two weeks I’ve been slowly chipping away at 1Q84 Book 1 後編. Despite feeling under the weather, I found it easy to get myself to read a little every day - really enjoying the book :3 I am a little behind the schedule though - just about to finish last weeks assignment. Got some catching up to do.

I’ve also joined (and nearly completed) a bookmeter event mentioned in the extensive reading challenge thread. I chose to read Solomon Gursky was here by Mordecai Richler. It was refreshing to read something without needing a dictionary for a change

[Zakarius]

The Tanuki Kotatsu Reading Den

March 23rd
新書太閣記 progress: 21.41% // Volume III: 40.60%

It’s amusing how you can find a really obscure and niche kanji, only to have to look it up once and you memorize it forever, even if the next time you see it is a year or so later, it’s still easy to read. And yet, some kanji that you see all the time just do not sink in whatsoever.

Words found under the kotatsu

赫々「かくかく」ー Brilliant; bright; glorious
小康状態「しょうこうじょうたい」ー Lull; state of reduced activity; stable condition

Character Name List

Probably some spoilers, but this is a historic novel, so can spoilers really exist for things that have (for the most part) actually happened

Volume I: 1535 - 1555

日吉「ひよし」- Hideyoshi (as child)
Nicknames: 猿「さる」/ 針売り「はりうり」
Name serving Nobunaga: 木下 藤吉郎「きのした とうきちろう」

Family
木下弥右衛門「きのした やえもん」- Father
– – 乙若「おとわか」- Old friend (serves under 織田)
筑阿弥「ちくあみ」ー Step-father
大政所「おおまんどころ」// also お奈加「おなか」ー Mother
おつみ - Older sister
小竹「こちく」- Baby brother
加藤清正「かとう きよまさ」// also 弾正「だんじょう」- Ojisan (only distantly related (before marriage))
– Married to: おえつ (sister of お奈加)

Friends & Acquaintances
仁王「におう」- Big kid friend
於福「おふく」(Nickname - full name: 福太郎「ふくたろ」) // 楊景福「ようけいふく」(Chinese name/birth name) - Timid kid friend (older than Hideyoshi)
– 五郎大夫 「ごろ だゆう」// 祥瑞「しょうずい」(Chinese name) - Father
– 梨琴「りきん」- Mother
捨次郎「すてじろう」- Previous servant to 五郎, later the adoptive father of 於福, and owner of a tea ware shop - and employer of, and master to, Hideyoshi

Hachisuka Clan
蜂須賀小六「はちすか ころく」(also 正勝 「まさかつ」) - Head of the Hachisuka clan
– 七内「なない」- Younger brother
– Married to 松波「まつなみ」
– – 亀一「かめいち」- Son

Retainers:
稲田大炊助「いなだ おおいのすけ]
青山新七「あおやま しんしち」
長井半之丞「ながい はんのじょう」
松原内匠「まつばら たくみ」

Others:
国吉「くによし」- Gunsmith/blacksmith
渡辺天蔵「わたなべ てんぞう」- Deserter - Nobushi (Nephew to Koroku)
難波内記「なんば ないき」- Spy disguised as a Komuso
仁田彦十「にった ひこじゅう」- Subordinate

(蜂須賀正利「はちすか まさとし」- previous head of the Hachisuka clan)

Saito Clan
((questionable) Alliance with the Hachisuka clan)
斎藤 道三「さいとう どうさん」- Head of the Saito clan
– 斎藤義龍「さいとう よしたつ」(also: 高政「たかまさ」) - Son

明智 光秀「あけち みつひで」(common name: 十兵衛「じゅうべい」) - serves under Dosan
– 又市「またいち」- Underling / foot soldier

堀田 道空「ほった どうくう」- Chief retainer
弥平治光春「やへいじ みつはら」- Retainer (cousin to Jyubei)
– 明智光安「あけち みつやす」- Father
春日丹後「かすが たんご」- Military commander

Oda Clan
織田 信長「おだ のぶなが」- Leader of the Oda clan (Married to the daughter of Saito Dosan)
– 卯月「うづき」- Nobunaga’s faithful, old horse
– 織田信秀「おだ のぶひで」- Father and previous leader of the Oda clan
– – 織田与三郎「おだ よさぶろう」- Younger brother
– – 織田信行「おだ のぶかつ」(Other name: 信成「のぶなり」) - Son (half-brother to Nobunaga (different mother))

Retainers (Under Nobuhide rule):
平手 政秀「ひらて まさひで」
– 五郎左衛門「ごろうざえもん」(nickname: 五郎左「ごろうざ」) - First son
– 監物「けんもつ」- Second son
– 甚左衛門「じんざえもん」- Third son
– 雨宮勘解由「あめみや かげゆ」- Servant
林 秀貞「はやし ひでさだ」(common name: 新五郎「しんごろ」/ nickname: 佐渡「さどう」) (served under Nobunaga too)
– 美作守「みまさかのかみ」- Younger brother
青山 信昌「あおやま のぶまさ」(common name: 与三右衛門「よそうえもん」)
内藤 勝介「ないとう しょうすけ / かつすけ」

Retainers (Under Nobunaga rule):
柴田勝家「しばた かついえ」(Nickname: 権六「ごんろく」)

Others:
市川大介「いちかわ だいすけ」- Archery master/instructor
平田三位「ひらた さんみ」- Master of military strategy
浅野又右衛門「あさの またえもん」- Military commander
– 寧子「ねね」- Daughter
がんまく - Former worker/servant, friend of Hideyoshi

Shiba Clan
斯波義統「しば よしむね」- Head of the Shiba clan, at Kiyosu castle
– 斯波義銀「しば よしかね」- Son

Imagawa Clan
今川義元「いまがわ よしもと」- Daimyo

Retainers:
松下之綱「まつした ゆきつな」(common name: 加兵衛「かへい」)
飯尾豊前「いのお ぶぜん」
多賀能八郎「たがのう はしろう」(nickname: 能八「のうはち」)

Takeda Clan
太郎義信「たけだ よしのぶ」- Commander
(Married to the daughter of Imagawa Yoshimoto to tie the clans)

Non-affiliated
上泉 信綱「かみいずみ のぶつな」(also: 上泉 伊勢守「かみいずみ いせのかみ」) - Founder of the 新陰流「しんかげりゅう」school of Kenjutsu
– 疋田小伯「ひきた しょうはく」- Disciple
– 神後五六郎「かんご ごろくろう」- Disciple

塚原 卜伝「つかはら ぼくでん」- Kensei; legendary swordsman

Historical People

• 阿倍仲麻呂「あべ の なかまろ」ー Japanese scholar & poet (700s)

• 白楽天「はく きょい」ー Chinese poet (Bai Juyi / Bo Juyi) also known as: 白楽天「はく らくてん」in Japan. (Late 700s)

• 道元「どうげん」(or 道元禅師「どうげん ぜんじ」ー Japanese Buddhist Priest, writer & poet (also known as 栄西禅師「えいさい ぜんじ」) (Early / mid 1200s)

• 空海「くうかい」ー The one and only Kukai or Kobo Daishi - a Buddhist monk. Posthumously given the title of: 弘法大師「こうぼう だいし」born as: 佐伯 眞魚「さえき の まお」(late 700s / early 800s)

• 源頼政「みなもと の よりまさ」ー Prominent poet and warrior (1100s)

• 平 重盛「たいら の しげもり」ー Military commander and court noble, claimed to be an ancestor of Oda Nobunaga (Mid-1100s)

• 桓武（天皇）「かんむ（てんのう）」ー 50th Emperor of Japan, claimed to be an ancestor of Taira no Shigemori, thus ancestor to Oda Nobunaga (Mid-Late 700s)

Volume II: 1555 - 1562

Oda Clan
織田 信長「おだ のぶなが」- Head of the Oda clan
– 織田 信広「おだ のぶひろ」- Older brother
– 織田 信行「おだ のぶゆき」(also: 信勝「のぶかつ」) - Younger brother
– 織田 お市「おだ おいち」- Younger sister

木下 藤吉郎「きのした とうきちろう」- Hideyoshi (Married to Nene)
– 木股 権三「きまた ごんぞう」(Nickname: ごんぞ) - Servant

Military Commanders
浅野 又右衛門「あさの またえもん」
– こひ - Wife
– 寧子「ねね」- Oldest Daughter (Married to Hideyoshi)
– おや屋「おやや」- Youngest Daughter
柴田 勝家「しばた かついえ」(nickname: 権六「ごんろく」)
池田 恒興「いけだ つねおき」(Common name: 勝三郎「かつさぶろう」)
林 秀貞「はやし ひでさだ」
佐久間 盛重「さくま もりしげ」(also know as: 大学「だいがく」)
山口 守孝「やまぐち もりたか」(also known as: 海老丞「えびのじょう」)
柘植 友顕「つげ ともあき」(also known as: 玄蕃「げんば」)
梶川 一秀「かじかわ かずひで」
佐久間 信辰「さくま のぶとき」
佐々 政次「さっさ まさつぐ」
岩室 重休「いわむろ しげやす」
簗田 政綱「やなだ まさつな」(also known as: 弥二右衛門「やじえもん」)
毛利 良勝「もうり よしかつ」
中川 重政「なかがわ しげまさ」

Retainers
佐久間 盛政「さくま もりまさ」(nickname: 玄蕃「げんば」)
森 可成「もり よしなり」(Other name: 三左衛門「さんざえもん」)
– 蘭丸「らんまる」- Son
滝川 一益「たきがわ かずます」(Common name: 彦右衛門「ひこえもん」)

Others
山淵 右近「やまぶち うこん」- Magistrate
– 山淵 義遠「やまぶち よしとお」- Father (Chief Vassal)
道家 清十郎「どうけ せいじゅうろう」- Wealthy farmer and lord

戸部 新左衛門「とべ しんざえもん」- Castle commander
水野 帯刀「みずの たてわき」- Castle Guard
服部 一忠「はっとり かずただ」(also called: 小平太「こへいた」) - Samurai

Maeda Clan
Military Commanders
前田 利家「まえだ としいえ」(childhood name: 犬千代「いぬちよ」)
– 佐脇 良之「さわき よしゆけ」(also known as: 藤八郎「とうはちろう」) - Younger brother

Saito Clan
Military Commanders
斎藤 義龍「さいとう よしさつ」(also: 高政「たかまさ」)
– 孫四郎「まごしろう」- Brother
– 喜平次「きへいじ」- Brother
– 斎藤 道三「さいとう どうさん」- Father

Akechi Clan
Military Commanders
明智 光秀「あけち みつひで」(common name: 十兵衛「じゅうべい」)
明智 光安「あけち みつやす」- Also the adoptive father of Jyubei
– 明智 秀満「あけち ひでみつ」- Son, and retainer to Jyubei

Imagawa Clan
今川 義元「いまがわ よしもと」- Daimyo
– 今川 氏真「いまがわ うじざね」- Son, and heir to the Imagawa clan
– 太原 雪斎「たいげん せっさい」- Uncle, military advisor and monk

Military Commanders
伊丹 康直「いたみ やすなお」(also known as: 権阿弥「ごんあみ」)
庵原 忠縁「いはら ただより」(also known as: 将監「しょうげん」)
斎藤 利澄「さいとう としずみ」(also known as: 掃部介「かぶのすけ」)
関口 氏経「せきぐち うじつね」
富永 氏繁「とみなが うじしげ」(also known as: 伯耆守「ほうきのかみ」)

Others
徳川 家康「とくがわ いえやす」(Childhood name: 竹千代「たけちよ」// Other name: 元康「もとやす」) - Retainer
– 築山「つきやま」- Wife
– 榊原 忠政「さかきばら ただまさ」- Vassal
– 石川 数正「いしかわ かずまさ」- Loyal follower
朝比奈 主計「あさひな かずえ」- Samurai
井伊 直盛「いい なおもり」- Retainer

Takeda Clan
武田 信玄「たけだ しんげん」- Daimyo

Asakura Clan
朝倉 義景「あさくら よしかげ」- Daimyo

Sakai Clan
Military Commanders
酒井 正親「さかい まさちか」(also known as: 与四郎「よしろう」)

Matsudaira Clan
Military Commanders
松平 親俊「まつだいら ちかとし」(also known as: 左馬助「さまのすけ」)
杉浦 吉貞「すぎうら よしさだ」(also known as: 八郎五郎「はちろうごろう」)

Miyoshi Clan
三好 長慶「みよし ながよし」- Head of the Miyoshi clan

Retainers
松永 弾正 久秀「まつなが だんじょう ひさひで」

Muromachi/Ashikaga Shogunate
足利 義輝「あしかが よしてる」- 13th Shogun of the Muromachi/Ashikaga Shogunate
細川 晴元「ほそかわ はるもと」- 34th Kanrei of the Muromachi/Ashikaga Shogunate

Non-affiliated
鵜殿 甚七「うど (の) じんしち」- Mountain priest (Yamabushi)

Volume III: 1562 - 15??
(Currently 1564)

Oda Clan
織田 信長「おだ のぶなが」- Leader of the Oda Clan
– 織田 信秀「おだ のぶひで」- Father (previous leader of the Oda Clan)

木下 藤吉郎「きのした とうきちろう」(Nickname: 猿「さる」) - Hideyoshi
– 寧子「ねね」- Wife
( – – 浅野 又右衛門「あさの またえもん」- Father)
( – – おや屋「おやや」- Younger sister)
– 木股 権三「きまた ごんぞう」(Nickname: ごんぞ) - Servant

Military Commanders
柴田 勝家「しばた かついえ」
佐久間 信盛「さくま のぶもり」
林 秀貞「はやし ひださだ」
滝川 一益「たきがわ かずます」
菅屋 長頼「すがや ながより」
織田 広良「おだ ひろよし」(cousin to Nobunaga)
前田 利家「まえだ としいえ」(also called: 犬千代「いぬちよ」)
川口 宗勝「かわぐち むねかつ」(Common name: 久助「きゅうすけ」)
日比野 六大夫「ひびの ろくだゆう」
梶田 直繁「かじた なおしげ」(also called: 隼人「はやと」)
松原 内匠「まつばら たくみ」

Matsudaira Clan
松平 元康「まつだいら もとやす」- Leader of the Matsudaira Clan

Military Commanders
石川 数正「いしかわ かずまさ」
酒井 忠次「さかい ただつぐ」

Hachisuka Clan
蜂須賀 正勝「はちすか まさかつ」(also called: 小六「ころく」// new name because it’s a new year so why not, let’s have a new name: 彦右衛門 正勝「ひこえもん まさかつ) - Leader of the Hachisuka clan
– 松波「まつなみ」- Wife
– 亀一「かめいち」- Eldest son
– 又十郎「またじゅうろう」- Cousin

渡辺 天蔵「わたなべ てんぞう」- Nobushi (Nephew to Koroku)
長井 半之丞「ながい はんのじょう」- Retainer

Mino Province
大沢 次郎左衛門「おおさわ じろうざえもん」(nickname: 虎「とら」) - Lord of Unuma Castle
斎藤 龍興「さいとう たつおき」- Daimyo

Military Commanders
不破 光治「ふわ みつはら」(also called: 平四郎「へいしろう」)
安藤 定治「あんどう さだはる」(also called: 範俊「のりとし」)
竹中 重治「たけなか しげはる」(also called: 半兵衛「はんべえ」)
– 竹中 善左衛門「たけなか ぜんざえもん」- Subordinate

Ujiie Clan
氏家 直元「うじいえ なおもと」- Military Commander

Unaffiliated
恵瓊「えけい」- Travelling monk
尾州 風客「びしゅう ふうきゃく」- Mountain Hermit

[Cathm2]

I did read on my bus ride.

23/3 14 pages シャドーハウス (read chapter 66), 23 pages Orange (finished ch 33 and main book)

Catching up quite well, will see how I go tomorrow.

[polv]

Mar 23, Thu of Week 13 of Winter Q1 2023

• 残月記 : 月景石 Ch.4 first half

Dreaming, like cruel 中二病, so a lot of Katakana names and weird vocabularies.

• うたわれるもの : 偽りの画面

Somehow I push through to Clear Data (i.e. the end); but I really shouldn’t sit for 4-5 hours or something. 87 hours.

Words of the day

• ぬけぬけ = unashamedly; however one wishes = 抜(ぬ)け抜(ぬ)け
• ほいほい(.) = a shouting call. Seems to be, taken in easily; indulgently, in context.
• けったい(.) = odd; weird
• おつむ(.) = head; intelligence. Seems to be from (お)つむり.
• たぎる = to boil up (torrent / boiling water / feeling) = 滾(たぎ)る
• まさぐる = to feel around (in one’s pocket, bag, etc.). IME also suggest 弄(まさぐ)る.
• ずらかる(.) = to run away. 〔もと盗人などの隠語〕
• 埋(う)もれる = to be buried. I thought of 埋(う)まる first. There seems to also be 埋(うず)もれる
• 倣(なら)う = to follow a model
• 舌(した)が回(まわ)る = to be talkative (contempt / covering up lies)
• 幾(いく)ばくか = a very small amount of = 幾許(いくばく)か
• 強(したた)か = stubborn
• 一(いち)も二(に)もなく = without hesitation
• 脆弱(ぜいじゃく) = feeble. First Kanji is from 脆(もろ)い.
• 猛々(たけだけ)しい = ferocious / audacious
• 紅蓮(ぐれん) = bright red. First Kanji is usually コウ (in 紅茶(こうちゃ)), or べに (in 口紅(くちべに)).
• 調伏(ちょうぶく) = laying a curse
• 責(せ)め苦(く) = torture
• 後遺症(こういしょう) = sequela; after-effect (of an illness; injury)
• 団扇(うちわ) = uchiwa, a round fan
• 投擲(とうてき) = throwing
• 愉悦(ゆえつ) = joy; ecstasy
• 覿面(てきめん) = immediate (effect); instantly
• 欺瞞(ぎまん) = deceit. Has Furigana.
• 陋劣(ろうれつ) = mean; nasty. Has Furigana. I noticed that the first Kanji looks weird.
• 憤怒(ふんぬ) = anger; wrath; rage. Perhaps it’s 憤怒(ふんど); I can’t hear well and no Furigana.
• 戒厳令(かいげんれい) = martial law
• 幽閉(ゆうへい) = confinement
• 狼藉(ろうぜき) = violence; riot. The latter half has Rendaku.
• 炸裂(さくれつ) = violent explosion
• 雷(いかずち) = thunderbolt. Has Furigana and just an alternate reading for かみなり, it seems.
• 簒奪(さんだつ) = usurpation (of a throne, from a king). Has Furigana.
• 馬蹄形(ばていけい) = horseshoe-shaped
• 閂(かんぬき) = a bolt to lock a door
• 金(きん)ピカ = golden and shiny; glittering = 金(きん) + ぴかぴか
• ペテン師(し) = swindler

[lucylavelle]

March 23rd!

Today I started reading Volume 8 of Mitsuboshi Colors. Its the final one in the series, so its exciting to be starting it, though I’ll miss it once its finished.

I also read Chapter 23 and 24 of Flying Witch, finishing Volume 4.

(Home Post)

[javerend]

３月２３日 (Home Post Link)

Read:

• 三ツ星カラーズ ch 48

Word of the Day:
封鎖「ふうさ」ー blockade; lockdown; sealing off (an area)​

[pocketcat]

@Hantsuki

But I feel I should document completing my first ever novel (in Japanese) 世界から猫が消えたなら.

Congratulations! I really enjoyed that book a lot and hope you did as well!

[enbyboiwonder]

Home

The vol of 2.43 I’m reading is part 1 of 2 of the second novel, so once I finish it I’m just gonna pick up the second half and thus it’s not exactly the best choice if I want to finish a novel before starting Summer Cider. But I figured out that I just have to read at least 6.5 pgs per day to finish this vol by the end of the month. So guess which book I’m focusing on finishing right now. (Even though I have less than that for 夢十夜…)

● ゆめゆめ煌々堂

I got emotional the entire way through it, even the parts that weren’t emotional, and even though I knew full well all the stories have happy endings even when it starts to seem like they might not. I think it’s probably because this manga has a special place in my heart. I picked it up in EN forever ago, and it was the only single-vol manga I owned before I started buying manga in JP, and I think it mighta been the first I read, too. I fell in love with the story and the art immediately. And the MC is genderqueer! Rin is drawn somewhere between the way Mizuto-sensei draws guys and gals, and their presentation varies between more masc and more femme from story to story, though they seem to generally lean more toward masc (and today I learned they use 僕!), and then in the last story when the kid who has a crush on them is like, “So, you gonna have my kid soon?” Rin’s sex/gender isn’t addressed beyond Alpha going, “Wait, Rin’s a woman?” outside of a speech bubble and not receiving a direct response, much less a confirmation or denial. I’ve always kinda felt a connection to Rin, even long before I figured out I was enby too. So yeah because of all of it this manga has always had a special place in my heart. I’m probably gonna end up keeping the EN vol too.

• started 2.43 ch 3-1. HANDSOME GIRL and read 11, leaving off on pg 233. Much like the Ibara chapter in the first novel, this one’s got a flashback, though to even further back this time—3-4 yrs rather than 1. Man, but she’s cool, though… I’m sad she got mostly cut from the anime (though I kinda get why, her chapters don’t really fit with the rest of it, more like side story rather than main story, but still ) Also lol poor Aoki, he’s so tired, he just wants everything to stop overlapping (although technically some of this he did bring on himself)
• ねこ島物語

Some vocab of note:

薬指 (くすりゆび) [n.] ring finger. I never realized until today that I didn’t know the word for it. 親指、人差し指、中指、薬指、小指.
そばかす [n.] freckles. So called because they’re similar buckwheat chaff (the casing on the outside of buckwheat grains; these are also called そばかす or そばがら) in shape and color.

[natarin]

March 23 Home Post

Definitely a better reading day today; I wanted to check out the first potential reading for the Zero Escape book club and finished it in about an hour and a half! Growth It’s definitely a much easier read for me this time around, and only partly because I’ve technically read it before. I’m looking forward to revisiting it, I think I’m already appreciating the writing style and such more :') always nice to have tangible progress!

In other news, my previously mentioned poor financial decision arrived yesterday @nyxqueenofshadows truly same hat, mandarake is a dangerous place indeed

books books books

…things happened lmao. Really they’re both series I needed to own at some point, they’re important enough to me, so here they are!

[omk3]

March 20-23

コンビニ人間, 11-100%

These last few days I’ve been reading コンビニ人間. I really enjoyed it. My plan had been to read it before 地球星人 but this never worked out, and I’m now glad that it didn’t, as some specific parts of the two books were similar enough that even after a gap of a year between them they still felt repetitive. That aside, I did enjoy the book a lot, and wrote a little more about it here.

This is the 10nth book I’ve finished this year! Compared to the 13 (or possibly 15, depending on how I count) non-manga books I read last year, I think this year is going well.

[sddsdd]

Home Post

Day 82 Progress:
お隣の天使様 5.5 SS冊 - 23.67% → 28.63%
週に一度クラスメイトを買う話 ～ふたりの時間、言い訳の五千円～ - 0.31% → 15.40%
Monkeys!¡

Picked up a new novel at work to read, 週クラ, which so far has been a pretty enjoyable yuri novel with a surprisingly interesting oddball main character.

On the other hand didn’t read much Monkeys!¡ today, lately I’ve been having and haven’t been able to get more than 5 hours the whole week so I’ve been barely functioning honestly and just starting to take in its machine-gun barrage of jokes gives me a headache lol.

Word of the Day: 依怙贔屓えこひいき - favoritism, bias. There is something funny-sad about a 四字熟語 word where the kana form is actually more common than the kanji one.

[nyxqueenofshadows]

i love how tiny ouran looks next to haikyuu here i’m putting a ban on buying for a few months, otherwise i’m gonna run out of shelves (and money for shipping…)

[polv]

Mar 24, Fri of Week 13 of Winter Q1 2023

• うらら迷路帖 Vol.3 (51-68%)

School, moreover, western.

• 残月記 : 月景石 Ch.4 latter half

I will certainly save you.

• うたわれるもの

Even if I continue with 偽りの画面, it appears to be dreams and training sessions; so I went on to the next one, 二人の白皇. Actually restarted, because I did this one first with the game series, before realizing the chronological sequence.

I am too used to the keyboard shortcuts to get to a previous line and perhaps replay the audio.

Words of the day

• ハイカラ(.) = western stylishness (e.g. of clothing). Originally form ハイカラー (= high collar of a shirt), but the meaning became more specific. I guessed, high-color, and isn’t really an impossible answer.
• 綯(な)い交(ま)ぜ = to mix; to jumble. 綯(な)う refers to entwining of threads.
• 崇(あが)める = to deify; to worship. I am more used to another verb, 祟(たた)る (= to curse; to haunt)
• 弱(よわ)り目(め)に祟(たた)り目(め) = misfortune never comes singly
• 渡航(とこう) = voyage overseas, by ship or airship
• 客(まれびと) = visitor from afar. Indeed, 稀(まれ) + 人(ひと).
• 体(てい)たらく = predicament. I have seen another form before, 為体(ていたらく). The first Kanji can also be read テイ.
• 鼻面(はなづら) = a muzzle (to put on a horse’s mouth and nose)
• 仇同士(かたきどうし) = mutual enemy. 仇(かたき) refers to an opponent / a foe / a long-standing enemy, and the phrase uses this, rather than 仇(あだ) (= someone with grudge towards; the grudge itself).
• 苦節(くせつ) = dogged perseverance
• 風景(ふうけい) = scenery; landscape (e.g. of beautiful sightseeing / an occurrence)
• 孤高(ここう) = independent; being able to sustain oneself by one person
• 累加(るいか) = cumulative; progressive increase. First Kanji also in 累積(るいせき) and 累計(るいけい),