Yes! I have volumes 2 and 3 to read at least and I know now that it’s a good level for a beginner, but I might jump around to something else first 
7月9日
読み終わった本： 漫画1巻、読み切り0作, 連載漫画1話
home post || 
natively
Made it to my weekend! Woo! Managed to finish the (long) chapter of 創る庭 and read another chapter of 聞き耳ラジオ on Satori Reader. I’m enjoying the ability to check my understanding in Satori as well as their explanations of grammar points and nuances. Since I’ve been reading for a bit now this service feels more useful in filling in some gaps, so I might pick it up for a few months and read alongside my usual manga stuff.
創る庭 is interesting. I was kind of expecting it to be a Cute Girls Doing Cute Things ensemble cast manga, and in some ways it is, but it’s different than I expected. I’ll hide the details of next part because spoilers, though I’d say I’m not giving much away.
Some thoughts on the first two chapters:
The manga opens with the main character going to a doujinshi event to table with her first book that she’s done entirely in secret. Things don’t go well for her there and it’s really sad tbh. Then, the main story opens with her and her sister taking over management of a shared house that their sick grandmother was running. Turns out it’s full of creators who make doujin and novels and the like! CGDCT hijinks ensue, right?
Well, yes, but this feels a lot more contemplative than say New Game! or A Mangaka’s Weirdly Wonderful Workplace or something. There are lots of little gags and quips, which is fun, but they’re all balancing this core story of our MC struggling with feeling that she should hide her otaku interests from society and dealing with failure and discouragement. Those aren’t uncommon themes in this kind of story, but this feels a little different? Maybe it’s partially because I’m reading this in Japanese so I’m taking a really slow analysis of it, but idk this feels a little deeper than others of its like.
Chapter 2 also ends with a weird ominious teaser about one of the characters that I wasn’t expecting. Hm…
Anyway, this is piquing my interest though it’s right on the edge of being worth reading for me at this point with all of the lookups and puzzling I’m needing to do. Luckily there’s only one volume and a few chapters out so far, so I should be able to catch up with it quickly and hopefully keep up easily enough.
2026/07/09
Two pages of 幼馴染は、にゃあと鳴いてスカートのなか
２０２６年７月１０日(金)
 |
Book | Natively lvl | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
からかい上手の高木さん １０ | 16 | 83 - 100 |
 |
おじさまと猫１０ | 17 | 35 - 58 |
July 10th
陰獣
Read half of chapter 11 - almost there now, with a chapter and a half left!
Bookmark
静子はベッドの上で
I didn’t know you had 60k XP in Samurai dual sword technique!
Will have to now call you かみ猫殿
Not sure which かみ is your かみ though…
神猫?
髪猫?
紙猫?
長官猫?
…
佳味猫?? 
7月10日(金)
Read a bit of Yotsuba today for a change.
the POLLfam calls me paper cat, hairy cat and divine cat…take your pick 
This is our Cursed Friendly bunpro 
I have more
badge dump
Completely absorbed
Seven Turn Eight Rises
A wound on the back is a swordsman's disgrace!
A new language is the beggining of a new life
10th july UPDATE !! 
Tried some N4 passages in vertical…and now brain has metled 
Listened to some songs and re-read the lyrics of the songs I thought I knew by now…confidence took a hit ouch…
7月10日
レンタルおにいちゃん- 6 pages (32%)
Reading outside today to escape my south facing room in the heatwave and there’s lots of small birds prancing around. Perfect to distract me from how petty this school bully is for no reason.
Today: read Chap. 43 of よつばと！ Did this chapter all in one go with only a few lookups. At this rate I’ll finish Vol. 7 in record time.
Day 10: 7月10日
Home Post
For my reading today I decided to play some more Animal Crossing because I never actually got past the set up stage. Poor シェリー / Shari has been trapped in a conversation with me for 5 days because she dropped some grammar that I didn’t have the energy to understand back then. Now she’s finally free 
10/7/26 WK L:27 
10 
: 聞き耳ラジオ、第16話
Daily reading done
Again managed to read a quite a few more chapters yesterday. It’s great, it’s really making me want to read! Very amusing story so far and I’m scratching my head wondering where it’s going to go 
July 8
I bought Granblue Endless Ragnarok and thought I could start the new story content right away but it seems I have to grind like crazy to even start the story. There is still lots of text to read.
July 10
Book: 本好きの下剋上 ハンネローレの貴族院五年生3 L32 (367 pages)
Progress: 41% → 42%
I told Ditto I haven’t read much today (0%), she said “read 1 page and that’ll be something”. So I read 1%.
Today’s box:
7/10
Read 12 pages of よつばと! and took notes on different particle uses and vocab! Also finished an episode on Satori reader of 明子の日記、留学一日目. I also just read (in English) two of Hemingway’s stories “Up in Michigan” and “Out of Season” I think I took too long in all and now I’m behind in my cello practice for today
７月１０日
夏子の酒 1 pgs 63 – 74 / 451
Man, wanted to browse books on Kinokuniya tonight but they still have me blocked. Sigh…let me give you money…
♢７月８〜１０日♢
Read:
・26 pages of 放課後質屋, finishing the volume!
・12 pages of 宝石商リチャード氏の謎鑑定, leaving off on pg 70
放課後質屋 was really good. I’m glad I picked it up. Both the ending and the fact that it’s got a subtitle kinda set it up to be the start of a series, though, but as far as I can tell, Ibuki-sensei hasn’t written anything else, at least not for these characters :( It’s been seven years since this was published, so if there were a second, it would most likely be out by now. Also, Ibuki-sensei used as a pen name the same name they gave to their MC, inspired by the Ellery Queen detective novels, so unless they kept the same name despite not writing Ibuki-kun again, then if they have written anything since, I wouldn’t necessarily know. I would definitely be interested. I like their writing.
Played:
・ドラクエⅨ「星空の守り人」 (162:17 ⇒ 165:49)
My luck was actually pretty dang decent today (the tenth). I got two ひらめきのジュエル from grotto chests and pinched two (2!) seeds of life off some moosifers. In any case, I finished one of the postgame story questlines. Not sure how many lines they’re divided between, but I’ve got 10 story quests left. Also I can beat Shogum in, like, three turns now, I think it was? Hah.
2026/07/10
A few pages of 幼馴染は、にゃあと鳴いてスカートのなか. Not sure exactly how many but I’m on page 60 now.
7月11日(土)
One Yotsuba 4 chapter again.
7月10日
読み終わった本： 漫画1巻、読み切り0作, 連載漫画1話
home post || natively
| status | name | natively lvl |
type | pages / sections |
time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 第3話 |  |
聞き耳ラジオ | n/a | Satori Reader |
351 char | 19m |
I kinda crashed out today. Everything’s just been so nonstop lately that I kinda just zoned out doing some computer tinkering today between a few chores and puppy hangout sessions. I tried to get some studying in this evening, but after reading a chapter of 聞き耳ラジオ and catching up on reviews I felt so burned out. Gave myself permission to not be productive and just played a video game for awhile.
Sometimes you just gotta give yourself permission to rest, I think.
Anyway, I do wanna study more tomorrow and I think I’ll be more ready to do that. 'Til then!
This should be a separate break in job hours
Rest a Looooooooot and then get back to yappanese 