January 19 
チュベローズで待ってる AGE32 , 14-26%
January 20
チュベローズで待ってる AGE32 , 26-36%
This second volume hasn’t won me over the way the first one did yet, and I’m already 1/3 in. Will things get better? I’m thinking of mixing it up and reading something else tomorrow, but I’m afraid I’ll be reluctant to come back to it. And I do want to finish it, the sooner the better. Decisions. 
January 20
Home Post
BU$TAFELLOWS 
I finally finished chapter 1! 
But with so little read I felt compelled to start chapter 2 too, totally forgetting that Orange starts up again tomorrow. Should have just started that early. xD
I might get to some English novel reading too, but time is running away from me and I need to get to bed on time today. I had to sleep 9,5 hours to not be exhausted today, and I’d rather make sure to definitely have 8 hours and not get into more sleep deficit.
Seems my body is still either a bit jetlaggy or decided for other reasons it WANTS sleep. 
This specific situation definitely feels like one of those emphasis times. xD
Dang, I wonder when I can get back to Sailor moon… 
If it happens before summer then I’ve thrown out my current reading plan.
Home post // Jan 20
・ 本好きの下克上 16 (87% → 100%)
Finished Honzuki 16 
It didn’t end on a cliffhanger, so I’m thinking about taking a break from Honzuki so I can continue other series like Kusuriya (and the book clubs I’ve been neglecting 
)
Weekend! My eyes are closed and ready for sleep already 
Day 19
I finished the third volume of Bakemonogatari. This volume was the best until now I love like the finally brought Mayoi home. It was such a beautiful scene.
1615 pages read 18385 to go
softlyraining’s snowy book stack 
January 17th ・ January 18th ・ January 19th ・ January 20th
授乳 (33% → 35%)
I didn’t read this 授乳 for all the days listed (Satori Reader helped keep the streak alive). Still, it was a difficult several days for me, and I’m pleased I made it into orange square territory for this book (and finished week 6 of the old book club thread!). I don’t think the struggle is because of a lack of interest; the current short story I’m on (コイビト) has me intrigued, especially with the little girl character. I think I get tired by the end of the day, and when faced with just vegging out or reading, I end up wanting to veg. 
January 20th!
Today I read chapter 40 of Happiness. It was the final chapter of Volume 8.
Only read a bit yesterday, suspect today will be similar.
20/1 3 pages 夜カフェ, 4 pages シャドーハウス
But then I have a mammoth plane ride home.
１月２０日 (Home Post Link)
Busy day for irl stuff, but also still trying to take it a little easy
Read:
no new words!
I read the first 3 chapters of チュベローズ Age32 on the plane and napped the rest of it (hungover ). Not really feeling this second book, but excited to wrap ユージニア soon (tomorrow?) and then start on the next 半落ち assignment. Might just have Age32 as a ‘when I need something low brain power’ book.
Also who knows, maybe it will surprise me and I’ll just end up binging the second half again 
January 19th
Again, just did Aomi speaking practice.
January 20th
What did I read?: 魔女と猫の話
How much did I read?: 16 pages
(Finished 1st Story )
How long did it take me?: 2 h 40 min
I finished the first story in this manga! 
That was one very long reading session… It was a bit much doing all that at once, but I felt really determined to finish this story after missing two days of reading this week.
We finally learned the adorable kitty’s name! 白羽! A bit of an odd name for a cat with some spots, but I suppose Suzu is trying to focus on the qualities she likes in him by naming him that? 
But anyways, I thought this story was very cute, and it was even sometimes funny or surprising.
Look at his cute, little staring face! 
Just a very sweet, little meow~
And yet another funny face from this kitty! He’s feeling disgruntled about having to take a walk.
Okay, I will try to get them scanned sometime this weekend~ 
January 20 Home Post
Today was a sleepy day so I just read a few pages of ノッキンオン・ロックドドア before my brain gave out hopefully I can get more reading in tomorrow!
Home 
January 20th
ジョジョの奇妙な冒険7
-
Crazy Diamond’s Demonic Heartbreak or whatever the name is
24 pages of that
Got too distracted later to read the main story
I wanted to read a light novel that I could safely conclude with one volume, so I started reading わたしの幸せな結婚. I’ve also been meaning to read some of the manga I’ve “bought” when Amazon has had sales where the first 1-3 volumes are free, so I read one yesterday and two today.
I bought this book a few years ago when it was deeply discounted, and I’ve been meaning to read it since it was popular and Naphthalene had recommended it. I started it last week and…I don’t really like it so far . In fact, I had to take a break because I felt like if I saw the word 追い出す one more time I might just quit this book forever. I hate quitting books.
Very minor spoilers for something mentioned within the first few pages of chapter 1:
The first third or so felt tedious and boring because the author was rather repetitively leaning into the “downtrodden Cinderella” schtick. Fantasy was teased at the beginning, and it wasn’t until 40% of the way through that they give the bare minimum explanation on what special abilities there are, even though it is constantly emphasized starting around page two in my Kindle app that the main character doesn’t have them. If they had replaced the abilities with juggling and said that juggling was important to the country, and she was sadly a girl without any juggling ability, I don’t think it would have made a bit of difference to the story so far.
I also had a difficult time immersing myself in the world because it wasn’t well-developed and the characters felt flat. The first third pretty much just said what the first few pages did. As a result, it hasn’t been fun to read and I haven’t once had that “I can’t put this down” feeling. I probably could have read the preface and a few pages of the first chapter, skipped 33% in, and not missed anything important.
In spite of this, I’m still going to finish it. Maybe it gets better? I hope so 
. I really want to like it. Sorry to have such a negative review! I was looking forward to a fantasy romance.
If I see a cat-related book for free in an Amazon sale, I’m not going to turn it down. This was a cute manga that spans many, many years about a dragon that is adopted by a cat (technically a cait-sìth) and helps raise its descendants, teaching them how to hunt and use magic. I found the first two stories more engaging that the later ones. Each chapter is loosely connected, but they are still pretty independent from each other since generations sometimes fall in between.
Although there is no furigana, if you read adventure or fantasy books, you won’t have any problems with the vocabulary, and the grammar isn’t difficult.
Someone who really likes cooking might enjoy this, but unfortunately that person is not me. The story was interspersed with 4-5 pages of a character’s internal narration on how to cook various dishes whenever it became dinner time, which I found extremely boring. Imagine reading a recipe book for fun. If that sounds like a good time to you, you might like this manga.
I suppose if you’re trying to work on your food-related vocabulary you might also find it useful, but there is no furigana, so it’s probably not the best pick for a beginner. I got the first two volumes for free in an Amazon sale a while back. I will not be continuing.
I switch between the physical and digital books for reading but I think with Re:Zero I go faster reading physical books. Not for any “special” reason. I just find I can pick up the pace when I see how many pages I have left (actually see). Still comprehended everything with some words here and there but I think going forward I should opt to do things this way unless the book is impossibly hard. If I can comprehend enough to understand what is happening I should just read the physical and not look up as much. If I sense I am not getting what I need then obviously I should go back but yeah lets try reading from the physical book for a bit.
Read another subchapter. Things are really ramping up and I read ahead because I am not sure if I will be able to read tomorrow. T-T
➳ January 21st.
What: 風のクロノア
Pages: ?
Time: 105 minutes
Woops, haven’t checked in for the last couple of days. I’ve been doing tiny reads ever since Wednesday when I gave up on the world, lol. I’m recharging now that the weekend is here and feeling better already. Decided to pick up the Klonoa remaster because I’ve been wanting it for a while and it’s got Japanese language as an alternative. It’s not very difficult, and all the scenes are nicely spaced out with action in between. The only issue is that the text boxes auto advance. 
I’m still a slow reader so it’s going a little too fast for my liking. Hopefully I can get used to it.
Oh yeah!! Yesterday my packages finally arrived. I ordered Genki (for the Japanese class) and a Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar 
I’m gonna get those grammar gains this year… I must
Oh no! I hope you feel better soon.
1 月 21 日
からかい上手の高木さん Volume 1 Chapter ３ 
So I have been chipping away at this chapter for the last week on top of the episodes of Kona’s big adventure that I’ve been reading and I think I’m finally satisfied with my understanding of it today. I read it a total of three times. Once just to read through without looking up stuff. And then a second time to read through it side by side with the handy dandy notes from the ABBC thread and vocab from the excel sheet. This was the one that took me a few days since there was so much content on the thread. And then finally, one more read through with the information that stuck with me from the second time. Just like the last chapter, this was a little bit tough for me with so much vocab and grammar to take in. But I’m still enjoying myself!
Finally, I really just wanted to thank the ABBC contributors for all the effort put in asking and responding to questions and providing the vocab list.
Feeling a bit guilty cause I feel like I’m basically cheating my way through my first manga. 
Thanks @MissDagger for the follow up response about the random katakana sprinkled in manga and books depending on the author. Just gonna have to get used to it then!
@nyxqueenofshadows jesus christ… those lines in katakana! 
I wanna ask why but I know now there’s really no point in asking… I really need to up my katakana game now to be able to get ready for those.
@Greya do take your time. I’m in no rush. Btw, I love the cat drawings you shared from the manga! I’m even more tempted to buy it…
21st jan
finally finished カノカメ, definitely not gonna be continuing but it passed the time well enough. it was published in 2012, which explains a lot but also makes a line where the main character is like there are still people who bully people based on sexuality? very very out of place for me.
that means i need to pick something new for tomorrow, hmmmmmm
ngl this was basically my response i saw it, had a little breakdown, turned to talk to someone, and then looked back and immediately got it. so don’t worry! like other people have said, you’ll get used to it after a while. at least ヲ or ヌ weren’t in there, they’re my two katana demons (even if ヲ almost never turns up)
Home
January 21st
ジョジョの奇妙な冒険7
-
ララの結婚
start - 152
Ooop it’s 1:30 am… No wonder I’m sleepy lmao
I’ll probably finish this volume during the day and maybe read more JoJo afterwards.
Jan 21, Sat of Week 4 of Winter Q1 2023 
Actually, I want to finish 第三のキラ of the volume, but it’s also that I can’t read well enough. (Rather than just club’s pace.) (Or I am just getting dizzy.)
Though, almost no lookup.
