📚📚 Read every day challenge - Winter 2023 ☃❄

[Greya]

January 17th
I unfortunately only did my speaking practice on the Aomi Japanese app today. And the app unexpectedly updated and partially reset my progress?!?! D:< On my profile, it still acknowledges the number of words I learned, but on the main page, it says I’m in week 1, day 1 when I’m supposed to be in week 4 by now! So that’s seriously annoying. They also seem to have increased the number of items a day from 24 items to 33 items, and that just feels too much to do all in one day, everyday. So from now on I’ll be breaking up each training session across 2 days. It feels less satisfying that way, but oh well.

January 18th
What did I read?: 魔女と猫の話
How much did I read?: 8 pages
(Continued 1st Story )
How long did it take me?: 1 h 11 min

Suzu essentially tells her cat to get lost, but soon realizes the repercussions of doing so… I get that he isn’t quite what she wanted, but I still think he’s cute. She complains about him being a glutton, but Suzu, that’s basically every cat ever…

I learned a new cat-related word today: ぶち猫! It apparently means a bicolour cat, typically black and white. The ぶち part means “spots.”

While I haven’t verified this or anything, I somehow get the impression that Japanese has more specific words for non-pedigree cats than English does, which I think is neat~

Replies

@MissDagger

Woop woop!

Thank you for celebrating with me!

@Zakarius

That face
And congrats on your first manga!

I know, right?! XD
And thank you!

@iterimpius

oh my goodness this looks soooo cute!! I’ll be looking forward to more kitties, if you care to share as you read!

I know, I was so excited to read it! And yes, I intend to share a kitty picture at least once per story! (There are 7.)

@alygator

I’ve been reading through your posts about the books you’re reading and your selection is so cute! I actually bought にわにはににん just the other day and now I’m thinking of buying 魔女と猫の話 too. Getting way ahead of myself though… I’m probably not even close to the level I can read those… Just piling up for when I have better grammar foundations. Thanks for all the cute ideas though!

Oh, that’s actually so nice to hear! And you got にわにはににん! But yeah, it’s definitely not a beginner’s manga, heh, heh. It took me quite some effort to work through it (no furigana!). Would you be interested in me scanning my handwritten notes that I took while reading it? It’s not a complete vocabulary list, since I only put down words I didn’t know (although that’s still quite a lot of them, eheh), but maybe would still be helpful? My handwriting is legible, I would say (although I might be biased! XD). I understand you don’t intend to read it anytime soon, but I could share them with you now for the future or you could just let me know later when you do want them, whenever that might be. Or maybe you’d rather wait until you’ve reached the point that you wouldn’t need a vocabulary list in the first place. But I thought I’d just put out the offer in case you’d be interested!

And so you know, although 魔女と猫の話 does have a higher word count per page than にわにはににん, it has furigana and seems to have more everyday-life vocabulary (the latter really seemed to be going for a more literary-vibe).

[ChristopherFritz]

Day 18: January 18th

××でも魔法少女になれますか? Volume 1 (39% ➨ 43%)
名探偵コナン Volume 13 (39% ➨ 44%)

Inching along with reading just a little here and there so far this week.

[natarin]

January 18 Home Post

I ended up somewhat busy with other things today so not the most reading, but I did pick up ノッキンオン・ロックドドア again so yay! I’ve figured out that it varies pretty wildly in difficulty depending on what’s happening it’s never super rough though, and it’s all mystery nonsense surrounded by fun character interactions and we know I’m all about that

[DIO-Berry]

Home

January 18th

ジョジョの奇妙な冒険7
start - 27

Forced myself to get 6h of sleep last night but still ran out of time to read. Hopefully tonight’s better. This volume starts pretty bizarrely with some heavy bs, but I’ll tolerate it because it’s JoJo… and I know the bs’ing gets better in later Parts.

[Sylph]

January 18

I’m back to reading ユージニア although I seem to be having more trouble than usual understanding this chapter (56% → 59%).

[alygator]

Home post

1 月 19 日
コナの大冒険 第27話

Today’s episode got me: 回想にふけっていた。 Kona reminisces about his old comfortable life back with Natsumi and Ken. I mean it hasn’t been a day yet since he started his little 遠足 [えんそく] in the 自然界 [しぜんかい] but I guess in cat time that’s pretty long already. Hahaha. But it got me reminiscing about my home before this one and thinking about this uncomfortable (let’s put it at that) situation I’m having right now. It’s been on my mind on and off since over the holiday season. Definitely grateful for the experience, but I haven’t quite adjusted as well as I thought I would… Anyway, please excuse my random sharing there…

Many words and phrases of note today:

• 退屈を感じること [たいくつをかんじること] times when I feel boredom
• 確実 [かくじつ] certainty, reliability, soundness
• Xに困る [Xにこまる] to be troubled with or due to X
• そう言えば [そういえば] which reminds me, come to think of it, now that you mention it
• 文句 [もんく] complaint, grumbling, objection
• 懐かしい [なつかしい] dear, desired, missed
• 恋しい [こいしい] yearned for, longed for

Reply

@Greya I would love to get access to your notes! Thank you so much for offering. I may not use it for a while though. I’ll try within the year but having it handy would be nice! Would also be good practice for reading handwritten kanji since I’m only ever reading fonts and my own handwriting

[Twelvewishes]

Day 19, 19th of January

Back to my Home Post

In today’s story we go on a quest to find a treasure in the east tower of some castle. Lot’s of puzzles in there to get to the treasure. And of course there’s a dragon.

We see them fight the dragon in this next story. It’s structured like a turn-based battle, which is quite cute.

(@DrDru, at one point the health points of the dragon seem to be wrong, and also the magic user uses ice to nullify an attack which is supposed to be fire, but has the icon for claw attack)

[drdru]

@Twelvewishes

the health points of the dragon seem to be wrong, and also the magic user uses ice to nullify an attack which is supposed to be fi

Oops. I’ll fix this later. Thanks for tagging me/

[WaniTsunami]

Finished volume 2 of steel ball run. It was a good volume to take a break from since it ends with the first stage finish.

Just did the one sub chapter of Re:Zero since I am getting ready to be busy for the next week or so. Probably won’t get much reading time starting in 2 days. But しょうがない。

[sddsdd]

Home Post

Day 18 Progress:
スロー ループ - 22-24話

Finally managed to surmount that lure-making chapter I mentioned that basically killed my motivation to read from the very beginning with its lengthy instructions and katakana spam, but I managed to hang in there a little bit at least.

Word of the Day: 南京錠ナンキンじょう - padlock. The 南京 prefix struck me as very weird but apparently it was appended to a number of foreign or strange items during the Edo period!

[nyxqueenofshadows]

home post

19th jan

and with chapter five that’s the second volume of 蟲師 completed!! this chapter was a heavy one, ngl, but well worth the read. probably the easiest to read but most complex in terms of themes in this volume i think. definitely getting easier as i read more of it, even if the 後書 continues to be so, so difficult to parse (think i got there in the end). again the author included little notes about each chapter including this story (サカブ) which was part of the inspiration for chapter one.

words that stuck out: 大店 (おおだな, large shop. fun reading!)

cute drawing of some of the characters from each chapter from the 後書

[polv]

Jan 19, Thu of Week 4 of Winter Q1 2023

Perhaps I should get a reading comprehension workbook later, like So-matome. That would probably be better for reading speed and comprehension. (In particular, email and notice quick reads.)

This night, there is a party with loud noise for like 4 hours, so I would take a rest here.

• はたらく細胞 Black Vol.3 Ch.11 (start volume)

There are 7 chapters in this volume for some reasons. Also, interesting scenarios as always.

Interesting words

• あらかた = almost all. Kanji form is 粗方(あらかた).
• ポリープ(.) = polyp. Somehow the sound is prolonged.
• ふくらはぎ = calf. A Kanji form is 脹(ふく)ら脛(はぎ), where the latter Kanji is also read 脛(すね) = shin; lower leg. I have also seen an alternate Kanji = 臑(すね).
• 受(う)け売(う)り = echoing one’s words. Sounds like accepting and selling in the same condition.
• 監修(かんしゅう) = editorial supervision
• 流用(りゅうよう) = appropriation; misappropriation
• 搾取(さくしゅ) = exploitation / squeezing dry
• 密集(みっしゅう) = crowding together
• 格段(かくだん) = dramatic; rapid; marked (changes)
• 人食(ひとく)い = cannibalism
• 劇症(げきしょう) = acute and serious; hyperacute. It would be easier for me if written in an alternative form = 激症(げきしょう). (While the former is preferred.)
• 悪性(あくせい) = malignant. Benign is 良性(りょうせい).
• 隆起(りゅうき) = protuberance; protrusion. First Kanji is in Level 39 (prosperity), but also has a meaning of protruding.
• 勢揃(せいぞろ)い = assembling in full force
• 百(ひゃく)兆(ちょう) = hundred million million = 100 x 10¹² = 100 x (10⁴)³ = 100 x (10⁶)²
  • 兆(ちょう) is one million million = trillion. Usually, this Kanji is about omen (兆(きざ)し).
• 出刃包丁(でばぼうちょう) = pointed carving knife (a kind of Japanese kitchen knives). For fish and meat.
• 顆粒球(かりゅうきゅう) = granulocytes (e.g. neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils)
  • 顆粒(かりゅう) refers to granules, and first Kanji takes reading from 果実(かじつ).
• 敗血症(はいけつしょう) = sepsis. Blood has suffered losing.
• 鎖骨下(さこつか) = subclavian. 鎖骨(さこつ) is clavicle, and first Kanji is for chain (鎖(くさり)).
• 結腸(けっちょう) = colon
  • Parts of 大腸(だいちょう) are 盲腸(もうちょう),     結腸(けっちょう) and 直腸(ちょくちょう).
• 十二指腸(じゅうにしちょう) = duodenum. 12-inch bowel (Finger? Probably according to some western King. We call that an inch in Thai too.)
  • Parts of 小腸(しょうちょう) are 十二指腸(じゅうにしちょう),     空腸(くうちょう),     回腸(かいちょう).
• 絨毛(じゅうもう) = villus. First Kanji from 絨毯(じゅうたん) = carpet.
• 血糖値(けっとうち) = blood glucose level. Straightforward when thinking about Kanji.
• 糖分(とうぶん) = sugar content

Kanji

• 顆(か)りゅう
  • granule
  • カ
    • 顆粒(かりゅう)
      • 顆粒球(かりゅうきゅう),     顆粒層(かりゅうそう)
• 兆(ちょう)こう (Level 37)
  • 兆(きざ)す,     兆(きざ)し
  • million million; trillion
    • 兆(ちょう)
• 隆(りゅう)き (Level 39)
  • protruding
    • 隆起(りゅうき) (in Wanikani)
    • 隆鼻術(りゅうびじゅつ)
• 搾(しぼ)る (Level 56)
  • サク
    • 搾取(さくしゅ),     搾乳(さくにゅう),     搾油(さくゆ)
    • 圧搾(あっさく)
  • 搾(しぼ)る
    • 搾(しぼ)り取(と)る
    • 乳搾(ちちしぼ)り

---

@sddsdd

南京

That’s Nanjing / Nanking of China, where I remembered most from Nanjing Incident (about Japan-to-China in World War II). I read that this word in Japanese can also be referred to as Chinese in general.

[Zakarius]

The Tanuki Kotatsu Reading Den

January 19th
新書太閣記 progress: 02.74% // Volume I: 31.76%

I like how the chapter titles are pretty vague in this book. Currently reading The Three Kingdoms (in English) as bedtime reading and the chapters in that are the complete opposite. The chapter will end like - General Guy is suddenly ambushed by the enemy, he turns to flee but the enemy has set up behind him and begins to close in. Read on to the next chapter to find out what happens…

– turn the page –

and you’re met with the chapter title of: General Guy is captured and executed.

oh… thanks book

Words found under the kotatsu

把手「とって」ー Handle; grip // (also: 取っ手 or 把っ手)
常々「つねづね」ー Always; usually
不埒「ふらち」ー Lawless; outrageous; insolent; rude; inexcusable
迂闊「うかつ」ー Careless; thoughtless; unobservant
破廉恥「はれんち」ー Shameless; infamous
屋根瓦「やねがわら」ー Roof tile
遠祖「えんそ」ー Remote ancestor; forefather

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

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: 1535 - 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」(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

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
渡辺天蔵「わたなべ てんぞう」- Nobushi

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
// 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」

Historical People

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

• 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.

• 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」)

• 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)

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

[midnightblue]

January 19th

Home post

Card Captor Sakura volume 7 – progress report
Yesterday: Continued up to page 189, finished chapter 26 and volume 6. Began reading volume 7, read up to page 20.
Today: Continued up to page 38.

Prepare for trouble, make it double triple: Eriol and his ‘companion’ have entered the scene as he and Akazuki(?) (keep forgetting her name) have been introduced as the new primary school and high school exchange students. I assume Spinel will make an appearance in this chapter as well.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Word or expression of the day:
つもり - (積もり) - intention, plan; conviction, belief

Honourable mention(s):
悩む - (なやむ) - to be worried, to be troubled

[Natsuha]

Day 18
Continued reading Bakemonogatari vol.3 Mayoi is actually a ghost in that case Araragi do whatever you want with Mayoi, you aren’t breaking any laws. But it somehow doesn’t make any sense how can you actually be bitten by a ghost? It’s probably explained in the books.

Hmm I may run out of manga to read soon, but I still have lots of magazines, books, video games and visual novels to read. No chance I will run out of things to read in the near future.

1535 pages read 18465 to go

[Reyam]

January 19th
Home Post

Reading 僕だけがいない街 Vol. 1

Busy day but read a few pages of 僕だけがいない街 and a nhk news easy article. Should have more time to read from monday

[Laser]

Homepost

Went on with Harry Potter 1 - chapter 9, just 10 pages or so.

Phrase of the day: 狐きつねにつままれる : to be confused (literally: to be bewitched by a fox)

Happy reading!

[Redglare]

Home post // Jan 19

・ 本好きの下克上 16 (80% → 87%)

Finished the epilogue, now just the short stories left

After thinking about わたしの幸せな結婚, I want to read something with romance in it. Something dokidoki that makes you squeal and blush, you know? (uwu)

[DIO-Berry]

Home

January 19th

ジョジョの奇妙な冒険7
28 - 66

Will tonight be the night I finally sit down and read until I tire? I read up until the point work might get problematic, but I wasn’t exactly starting with a lot of time anyway (15-20min before pumpkin time?). Things are about to get more gory too. I feel like the level of violence and gore that was in Shonen Jump is pretty whack, but it doesn’t seem to influence Japanese kids too much.

[lucylavelle]

January 19th!

Today I finished chapter 48 of Shadows House, and then read chapter 3 of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun., but I should be able to get back on track tomorrow.

(Home Post)