@Burnannator, @Abstormal, and @eainge, how did you fare with this chapter? It definitely wasn’t adapted in the film but I found it pretty adorable.
3 Likes
Hey sorry guys!
I have not been active on this page for the last week only because I got overwhelmed with school.
I actually am still have way through the chapter because of that but so far I like it, the scenery and how things are described is becoming clear to me at least.
If anything, you too go ahead I’ll catch up since I have time this week, I’ll try to be active on this page this week but not sure how this week will fare.
I’ve finally gotten around to check where I am at. I fell off mid chapter 7 =P
I’ll try keep an eye on the group (feel free to tag me <3 ) so I can try to finish the rest with you guys =)
@ganbareniichan I just finished! What a lovely chapter. Spoilers ahead so I’ll tag them for Burnannator.
I surprisingly enjoyed the laundry scene, haha. It’s funny to hear that that’s not in the film, because I was picturing it so clearly drawn in Ghibli style, with maybe an old woman like Yubaba as the washer woman. The humming and the singing and the different laundry colored bubbles are so easy to visualize! Also - what’s going on with Kiki and Dragonfly boy?
@Burnannator No problem! I did feel like the second half of the chapter was easier than the first, so maybe it’ll be quick to catch up. The last thing we want is to leave people in the dust, there’s only 4 of us here! 
@Abstormal - Just in time! Looks like we’re about to start chapter 7.
So if we start tomorrow and keep at our 2 pages a day pace, that would put us at Sunday Feb the 7th for our next meetup for Chapter 7. That actually gives a little wiggle room too of half a day. Is everyone good with that?
4 Likes
Yes! Bearly started ch.7. Trying not to gey spoiled here!
1 Like
Wooohoo nice catching up!
I really neglected the reading until 2 days ago but I caught up and had a great time reading this chapter, particularly as this episode also doesn’t appear in the film. How did everyone else fare?
I pulled out my favorite lines from the chapter to share:
「ジジ、ちょっとなら、どこかで遊んできてもいいわよ」
。。。
「いいよ。ここにいるよ。寒いから、はやく秋とやら、すませてよ」
I just love JiJi’s constant complacent grumpiness. Just get the autumn revelry over with already… it’s cold.
それから三日して、あの女の子が風に追われた葉っぱのようにキキの店へとびこんできました。
I really loved all the beautiful descriptions of the fall scenery and the Gingko leaves and that whole scene, and then to follow it up by bringing that same loveliness forward again through this simile when Mimi finally shows up again was the perfect cake topper.
TCIL (this chapter I learned) that Gingko leaves are not ぎんこう leaves as I would have mistakenly assumed… 銀杏 (silver apricot… beautiful!) could be ぎんこう by the on-yomi… gotta love Chinese imports, but it’s evidently イチョウ. Now I know.
I’m gonna head over to the official bookclub page and try to see what commentary there may have been about comparing the two poems side-by-side. I feel like I got most of the inherent differences but I’m lacking some nuance… if anybody has some thoughts about it, let me know.
1 Like
This was my favorite chapter so far. I loved everything about it. I found myself for the first time ever compelled to read a Japanese book, instead of reading my allocated pages per day. I really wanted to know what would happen next! I ended up finishing early this past week, again for the first time ever.
I loved how they made the young girl sound so haughty, and so Kiki was like “Well what happens if the boy thinks I’m the girl delivering the gift?” while staring in the mirror. I loved the poem and how silly it was. And then of course I loved when Kiki and Jiji tried to (almost successfully) recreate it. And to top it off, one of my favorite trees is the Gingko tree, so that just added to the magic.
All in all, I was really happy reading this chapter. I even told my friend the entire plot of it, and then laughed because in English it sounds so different than Japanese. It loses a little bit of the whismy and I remember, “Oh yes this is a children’s book.” But she enjoyed the recap.
I too enjoyed this sentence and was pleased to be able to read it smoothly on the first try.
seanblue lays out the two poems side by side in the official thread if you want to check them out. It’s here. I was thinking on the なぜか verus なぜなぜ, and how that may be “for some reason” vs. “why oh why”. One sounds a little more poetic and the other is a bit silly. And of course the hide and seek addition. So funny. What did you think of the two poems?
2 Likes
@Abstormal Hey Toyger - did you end up starting up again with us? We just finished Chapter 7!
@Burnannator How’d your catching up go?
2 Likes
I wish. Life has been busy. I’m on top of one of my reading groups 
1 Like
Hello! Not my favorite chapter as the girl who was giving Kiki advice seemed a bit annoying haha. I’ve finally caught up so it feels good. I do struggle understanding at time not gonna lie but it’s a rewarding experience nonetheless. You?
@Abstormal - Ah dang, well maybe one day we’ll make the cut.
@Burnannator - Glad you were able to catch up! The girl was a bit annoying, yes, especially at the beginning. I think Kiki was annoyed too, haha.
So - looks like we should do our next group meet up on Feb 18. That’s 2 pages a day, which seems to be a good pace for us. That work for everyone?
1 Like
I’ll probably have more time for reading once I reach lvl 60, but will be too late by then =P
I still might catch up one day, as I get a good bit of reading done on a good day =)
@Abstormal - Happy WK anniversary!
Also - as I read through each chapter, I’m always so curious - “Will this part be in the movie? It seems like it’d be a cute scene.” I can’t wait to actually watch it to find out. 
1 Like
Oh, is it? I assume you are ahead of me then (I don’t have a cake yet =P )
I know it is around this time, but forget what date 
4 years. So… about 12 levels a year, lol!!! XD
Actually done most of them 4 times over though (current level is new high. But reset at 20, 42, and 31. I’ll make it this time =) )
Hi everyone! How did we fare with this chapter? I can’t believe we’re already to chapter 9. Just 3 more chapters to go!
I always struggle at the beginning of the chapters (like the sentence with 。。。また角にぶつかってくるせいでしょうか、ふくときは刃物のようにするどく、かと思うと、ぱったりまり。。。and so on! That sentence was very difficult to hold together in my head as I read through it. And of course, the grandma was hard to understand, mostly because the lack of kanji.
However, I did enjoy the scene with the captain and his crew and his wine. I loved how they solved the problem, and then I loved that turns out…they all really did need those haramakis. Don’t underestimate the importance of knitware!
2 Likes
Even for inanimate objects such as steamboat boilers!
2 Likes
ESPECIALLY for inanimate objects such as steamboat boilers!
3 Likes
Ohh three more to go nice! I’m not counting how much I have left.
Yeah I also liked how they worked together now. As before I do struggle to put the words together, especially when there is not kanji at times!
2 Likes
Hey, yesterday was my birthday so I just didn’t get around to checking in. I had intended a few days ago to write a little recap of my experience reading the chapter when I finished it early, but I clearly didn’t do that and now I’ve mostly forgotten how it actually went down and if there were scenes I particularly liked, but it certainly wasn’t my favorite chapter to date, though the reading was pleasant enough and the premise was cute.
It’s interesting hearing the echoes of ‘reading not in kanji is slow and hard.’ The grandma monologue passages were actually the swiftest for me to read. I guess I can chalk it up to all the picture books I’ve read over the past 3 years. But the good news is that while the nautical terminology might have thrown me had I attempted to read this a year or so ago, I feel like I was able to parse everything out as I was going as well as internalize some new vocab naturally, so I can feel my progress lately, which is great.
Looking forward to the next chapter. I’ll probably start in on it tonight. When shall we meet again? This accountability is really working for me (haven’t missed a reading deadline yet), but I’d like to be more thorough in book clubbing…