Day 11: January 11th 
からかい上手の(元)高木さん Volume 10 (38% ➨ 45%)
夢みる太陽 Volume 4 (0% ➨ 55%)
I may have to take a break from 夢みる太陽 soon to read some other things…
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January 10-11 
チュベローズで待ってる AGE22,17-59%
These past two days I focused on チュベローズで待ってる, see how far I could get before the scheduled book clubs start again. I like the book, but my favourite books this month are still Eugenia and 半落ち, so I’m looking forward to them. Discussion in all these book clubs is fun too, which is always a plus.
Speaking of book clubs, the Mystery Book Club is voting for its next pick, but voting seems to have dried up already. And so far the forerunners are time leap mysteries. That’s a little too much SF element for my taste, but that’s neither here nor there of course. 
Don’t be, everything is spoiler tagged and clearly labeled anyway 
It’s not like it’s a scheduled book club that you need to keep up with, everyone reads at their own pace. One reader has finished it, some are at around chapter 10-11, and some are still at chapter 2 as far as I know. It’s all good.
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不思議な時間の「反復落し穴」で、甦る度に、また殺されてしまう、渕上零治郎老人――。「落し穴」を唯一人認識できる孫の久太郎少年は、祖父を救うためにあらゆる手を尽くす。
Extract from the summary of the current lead. How can you resist another book about 穴?!
I’m hoping to read a bunch on Friday so I can likewise binge the spoilers 
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Good move 
But you won’t trap me that easily! The 穴 is only figurative.
Right? 
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January 11
Read ユージニア longer than any other day since it got really gripping and I just had to finish the chapter (32% → 39%). It did mean pushing my bedtime which I don’t typically recommend but…
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Made it to chapter 3. 3 sub chapters in a day is pretty taxing but I could track everything happening and that’s what matters. Tomorrow I’m probably gonna stick to two sub chapters. Now for a chapter of Steel Ball Run and I’m gonna call it a day.
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If you speed through all of SBR and then JJL, you can start JoJolands as it comes out
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1月11日 ~ 12日
Read a couple pages yesterday just before bed, but all the teachers left for a meeting today, so I had almost two hours to finish chapters 2 and 3 today. There was a somewhat warm-hearted scene that the hard reality on life rudely interrupted for the protagonist.
I think much of the reading club is suspicious of Shizuku, but I have a feeling that the author is trying to frame the reality of society as the ultimate source of the hellish experiences the protagonist has to go through. I don’t think Shizuku is neither good nor bad. Just a representation of “life’s just like that sometimes.”
Still a very intriguing book no matter how you interpret the character’s intentions. It’s funny to see another “let’s do some swings at the batting range” scene when the same trope was used in one other book I’m reading recently.
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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
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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
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魁
- 首魁
-
艶
- 妖艶
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慈しむ (Level 51)
- 慈悲
-
霧 (Level 47)
- 霧散
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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)
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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!
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➳ 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!!!
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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
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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.
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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
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