I’m just reading it on the side for now. I’m reading a chapter a day at the moment. It’s also to avoid spending too much money too quickly 
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January 12th
Aria: the masterpiece volume 3 – progress report
Yesterday: Continued up to page 82.
Today: Continued up to page 94.
The treasure hunt continues. While it would be hilarious if everything turned out to by a prank by the boat maintenance guy and the three of them would just arrive at the maintenance shop again in the end, I think that they will either find something at the end or that it may end up being a ‘the journey is the reward’ situation.
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Word or expression of the day:
小馬鹿にする - (こばかにする) - to treat someone with contempt, to look down on someone, to downplay
Honourable mention(s)
座布団一枚 - (ざぶとんいちまい) - that was a good one!, good pun!, what a stinger!
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Not as successful as I’d hoped last couple of days, mostly due to jet lag.
11/1 just skimmed couple of things aimlessly!
12/1 3 pages おばちゃんたちのいるところ
I think I’ll still count 11th as a day of reading as I did decipher a few lines before givin up, plus it was my first full day in Japan so I spent lots of time trying to decipher things.
I planned to read on the Shinkansen today, but boarded having made no plans for Kyoto so spent most of the trip researching …
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12th jan
i feel like i somehow read more today but understood less? read two chapters of 彼女とカメラと彼女の季節 (i’m calling it by its abbreviation カノカメ from now on that title is too long ), was originally gonna read one and then it ended on a cliffhanger! that wasn’t resolved in the next chapter! not sure i’m gonna continue with this manga tbh, maybe if another volume becomes free in the future?
i also went back and read the 後書 of 蟲師 and struggled with the handwriting but think i got enough out of it. the author also left some notes on her feelings for each chapter, which was fun, plus some minor notes about the time period (cos it’s fairly ambiguous in the manga).
no words stuck out to me, sadly. tho, i did remember that i came across this kanji 淵 in 蟲師 yesterday and love it, looks like two 片s going in for a hug
26 Likes
Jan 12, Thu of Week 3 of Winter Q1 2023 
- SPY x FAMILY Vol.5 Ch.26
No cheating (you-know-who)
- うたわれるもの
Many sub-stories (around 8? now 2 left) to choose, but perhaps I can read most / all of them?
Interesting words
- ひときわ = conspicuously. Kanji form is 一際.
- あらわ = exposed (skin). Kanji form is 露わ.
- たぶらかす = to seduce by charm. Kanji form is 誑かす.
- スリコギ = pestle. Kanji form in IME is 擂り粉木.
- 乳鉢 = mortar. What to do with milk? A paired word in dictionary is 乳棒, but not used in context.
- くすぐる = to tickle. Making it くすぐったい. Kanji form is 擽る.
- あまた = many. Kanji form is 数多.
- 培う = to cultivate. Like breeding (飼う) some soil (土)? The Kanji and word are in Level 48.
- 取り組む = to tackle a problem
- 腰を抜かす = to be unable to stand up (due to fear or surprise). Energy got removed, but from hip?
- 暖を取る = to warm oneself
- 酔い潰れる = to drink oneself dead drunk
- 白む = to grow lighter in shade; to turn white
- 明後日の方向 = wrong direction (other than, the day after tomorrow)
- 膝元 = under one’s care. Of course, 膝 is knee.
- 分担 = allocation (work, expenses)
- 不審火 = arson; fire under suspicious circumstances
- 筋トレ = muscle training = 筋肉トレーニング
- 慈しみ = affection; kindness. Also 慈しむ.
- 希有 = uncommon. Also, 稀有.
- 首魁 = ringleader / forerunner
- 呂律 = articulation. MC got drunk here.
- 顛末 = whole details of an event
- 霧散 = vanishing, like into mist
- 歓喜 = delight
- 妖艶 = bewitching
- 軟膏 = ointment
- 両脇 = both sides
-
化学 = chemistry. Saying 化学 might sometimes be confused with “science” (科学).
- Unscientific is 非科学的.
- 考査 = quiz; exam. To compare, 講座 is a lecture.
- 素養 = having some knowledge of
- 飲み込み = comprehension. Like being able to swallow in a piece of knowledge.
- 精通 = being well-versed in
- 精進 = devotion. Not only ショウ but also Rendaku.
- 当てずっぽう = total guesswork. ずっぽり is an onomatopoeia of completely.
- 卑劣漢 = lowly person. It appears that ～漢 is a word for generally bad person.
- 悪漢 = scoundrel
- 短慮 = shallow thinking. Opposite is 深慮.
- 持ち場 = one’s station; one’s post
- 助太刀 = assistance (in a fight)
- 条件反射 = conditioned reflex. 反射 is reflex, like having a quick response to danger (otherwise, reflection, e.g. of light).
- 天体観測 = stargazing; astronomical observation
- 何の変哲もない = completely ordinary. Not some weird philosophy.
- 手持ち無沙汰 = having nothing to do
SFX
- そこそこ = in a haste / approximately / reasonably
- ずっしり = heavy (e.g. a bag of coins)
- まじまじ = stare at
- ゴリゴリ = scraping sound / with force
- ふわり = soft
- やんわり = softly (rejecting)
Kanji
-
魁
- 首魁
-
艶
- 妖艶
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慈しむ (Level 51)
- 慈悲
-
霧 (Level 47)
- 霧散
23 Likes
The Tanuki Kotatsu Reading Den
January 12th
新書太閣記 progress: 01.53% // Volume I: 17.69% 
Almost reached the end of the chapter but too tired to read any further today.
Also keep getting side tracked by all these Daimyo names and trying to link them with each other, gets even more confusing when throughout their lives they go through many name changes.
Words found under the kotatsu
手桶「ておけ」ー Bucket
傷々しい「いたいたしい」ー Pitiful; painful to look at (also: 痛々しい)
日向「ひなた」ー Sunny place; in the sun
臍「へそ」ー Navel; belly button; protrusion/depression in the centre of an object
左官「さかん」ー Plasterer; plasterwork
口巧者「くちごうしゃ」ー Smooth-spoken
窶れる「やつれる」ー To become haggard/gaunt
Character Name List
for easy referencing later, because these will take some remembering
Also probably some spoilers, but this is a historic novel, so can spoilers really exist for things that have (for the most part) actually happened 
Main
Hideyoshi: 豊臣秀吉「とよとみ ひでよし」
– – – Childhood name: 日吉「ひよし」
– – – Childhood nickname: 猿「さる」
Volume I Characters: 1534 - 15??
日吉「ひよし」- Hideyoshi (as child)
Nickname: 猿「さる」
Family
木下弥右衛門「きのした やえもん」- Father
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」// 楊景福「ようけいふく」(Chinese Name) - Timid kid friend
– 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」- Servant to Goro // tea bowl seller // Adoptive father of 於福 // Employer of Hideyoshi
Others
織田信秀「おだ のぶひで」- Daimyo
– 織田与三郎「おだ よさぶろう」- Younger brother
今川義元「いまがわ よしもと」- Daimyo
斯波義統「しば よしむね」- Daimyo (head of the Shiba clan) at Kiyosu castle
Historical People
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阿倍仲麻呂「あべ の なかまろ」ー Japanese scholar & poet (around 700AD)
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白楽天「はく きょい」ー Late 700s Chinese poet (Bai Juyi / Bo Juyi) also known as: 白楽天「はく らくてん」in Japan.
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道元「どうげん」(or 道元禅師「どうげん ぜんじ」ー Japanese Buddhist Priest, writer & poet (Early to mid 1200s) (also known as 栄西禅師「えいさい ぜんじ」)
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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 to early 800s)
25 Likes
Day 11 Progress:
お隣の天使様 五冊 - 95.06% → 96.85%
Frick… I told myself I was going to make the post the second I got up but I got distracted at work and completely forgot. Still planning on doing it anyway but it kind of hurts from an accountability standpoint.
Slowly, very slowly inching towards the ending of the volume… feels a little like Zeno’s paradox at work though…
Word of the Day:
Coming across new and interesting words was definitely my favorite part of reading in English and I’m really glad the enjoyment of that seems to have carried over to Japanese!
26 Likes
➳ January 12th.
What: チーズスイートホーム（１）
Pages: 41
Time: 15 minutes.
Today was way better than yesterday. I’m not sure if it’s because I made the conscious decision to stretch every hour while at work, or because I got paid today lol. The glorious reward that is a salary… I’m ordering some manga asap!!! I need to run now because I’m heading to the pool, but I read some more チーズスイートホーム and it’s the perfect reading material for the end of the work week. My brain is sloooowly checking out, so it’s a good thing tomorrow is Friday.
Hope everyone’s reading is going well!!!
26 Likes
January 12th progress update
Home Post
Reading よつばと！ Vol. 1
Another long day of work but hey at least I finished the chapter so I’m currently at page 142. I’m enjoying the manga a lot so far, pretty fun read. Had no problems with understanding today’s part so it was a really pleasant reading experience. Tomorrow I plan to read more 
26 Likes
Day 12, 12th of January
Let’s try some more stories. This one is about delicious carrot cupcakes. Also first time I became aware of the Kanji for egg; what a weird shape that is 卵.
Next it seems we have some more pirates. It’s cute how even the parrot gets a drink at the bar.
25 Likes
１月１２日 (Home Post Link)
Read:
- ホリミヤ ch 67, 68, 69
- マジーク・ツリーハウス pg 86 → 92 - had the interesting experience of seeing a kanji i’ve only seen used in a name get used as a normal noun today for the first time. I’ve seen 堀 more times than I can count at this point, but always 堀さん and never 城の堀
the phrase 耳をすます also showed up in the chapter today and I was like “!!! i know you !!! i’ve seen you !!!”
Good Words
ホリミヤ
家鳴り「かなり」ー rattling of a house
染まる「そまる」ー to be tainted
拉致「らち」ー taking captive, kidnapping
内緒「ないしょ」ー secrecy, confidentiality
黙る「だまる」ー to stay silent, to say nothing
態度「だいと」ー attitude, manner
文庫本「ぶんこぼん」ー small format paperback book (like real small)
マジーク・ツリーハウス
兜「かぶと」ー helmet of a warrior
鎧「よろい」ー armor
倉庫「そうこ」ー storehouse
城壁「じょうへき」ー castle walls
潜る「くぐる」ー to pass under, to go under
堀「ほり」ー moat
27 Likes
January 12th (Day 12) 
Brief update today: I’ve completed chapters 11, 12, and 13 of チュベローズで待ってる AGE22. Bookwalker claims I’ve read 69% of the book.
26 Likes
Very fair! If you’re looking to save a little more, BOOKOFF might be good for SBR. I think the digital price and BOOKOFF price for JJL might be the same (400-450 yen/volume)
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Home 
January 12th
ジョジョの奇妙な冒険6
17 - 26
The sandman sent me to collections and I ended up going to bed really early. Here’s to hoping that I’ll be well rested today…
25 Likes
January 12th!
Today I started reading Volume 7 of Mitsuboshi Colors, reading Chapter 53. It was a fun chapter
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The kindle price isn’t too different, so I have been opting for that. I figure SBR has high enough acclaim I am not sweating owning it digitally. If its a series I am just trying out or the art is so good I need it physically I usually just go the BookOff route.
11 Likes
Day 11: January 11th
What did I read?: おでかけ子ザメ2
How much did I read?: 8 pages
How long did it take me?: 3 min
I didn’t post yesterday, but I did do a tiny read of tiny shark. It was as cute as ever - watch as tiny shark goes to a shop and finds a tiny Hawaiian shirt with sharks on it 
Day 12: January 12th
What did I read?: おでかけ子ザメ2
How much did I read?: 12 pages
How long did it take me?: 3 min
More tiny shark I swear I could post every single panel of this manga, it’s so cute
Tiny shark made a leaf boat for his little friends
And went to a puppet show and made friends with the puppets afterward
Replies
Ok I’ve been glossing over mentions of this one around the forums but your post made me actually go read the synopsis and now I’m intrigued 
Confession, I tend not to pay much attention to the “real” books that get mentioned around here, because I low-key assume I don’t have the skills to read them anyway, which is probably not, like…the best mindset but it’s also not wrong Not that I have time or energy to attempt it right now, as evidenced by my barely countable reads the past few days, but Putting it on the list
This sounds like top quality news content I hope it at least came with a cute picture to ease the pain of trying to read it!
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Reply
Yay! Welcome to the dark side! 
I might add that I wanted with every fiber of my being to not want to read it and not like it, but it’s primary book I look forward to reading every day now.
And it’s looking more and more of being my first completed novel (not counting children’s books), and I have mixed feelings about that because 1) it looks like a “trashy” book like the equivalent of a chic flick, 2) and if someone even happened to be familiar with the title, it’s not exactly the kind of thing to admit to reading to other (Japanese) people without them questioning what kind of person you are lol. Basically it’s hard to make conversation with outside the forum, and I definitely couldn’t talk about it at my schools if I don’t want to be fired 
For this book, I look up practically every word I don’t know, but I’ve decided not to push too hard to understand details if I don’t quite get it. I’ve found the discussions in the book club to help fill in the missing gaps, so if I don’t get everything the first time, everyone can be a big help!
I think you will be surprised by how much you understand, and if you can just get the major points in every chapter, I think that’s enough! Since the chapters are pretty short, it’s a lot easier to reflect on the events of each chapter! I say read the first chapter and see if it will suck you in right away.
I didn’t think I had the time to read a chapter a day, but I find that I make time to read it because it’s that intriguing…
14 Likes
January 11-12
Home Post
NHK easy 
Short stories and novel reading in English
Yesterday was only English reading but to not have only that today too, I read 3 NHK easy articles. Too tired to read the regular version.
25 Likes