Week 17: お探し物は図書室まで 📚📖 (Intermediate Book Club)

[2000kanji]

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お探し物は図書室まで home thread

Week 17

Week 17	Sep 20 2025
pages	266 - 280
kindle locations	2734 - 2876
End %	88 %
End phrase	しかし、否定はしなかった。
Previous week	Week 16
Next week	Week 18

Discussion Rules

• Please use spoiler tags for major events in the current chapter(s) and any content in future chapters.
• When asking for help, please mention the chapter and page number. Also mention what version of the book you are reading.
• Don’t be afraid of asking questions, even if they seem embarrassing at first. All of us are here to learn.
• To you lurkers out there: Join the conversation, it’s fun!

Proper Nouns in Chapter 5

Name	Reading	Notes	chapter	week
浩安く	もりなが のぞみ	librarian’s assistant	1	2
小町 さゆり	こまち さゆり	the librarian	1	2
権野 正雄	ごんの まさお	this chapter´s narrator	5	16
千恵	ちえ	Masao’s daughter	5	16
権野 依子	ごんの よりこ	Masao’s wife	1	2
矢北	やきた	go instructor, Yoriko’s student	5	16
げんげと蛙	げんげとかえる	Masao’s recommended book	5	17
草野 心平	くさの しんぺい	author of this book	5	17
	さわ・たかし	editor of this book	5	17
海老川	えびがわ	janitor, former antiques shop owner	2	5

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[2000kanji]

Here is the recommended extra book for Masao:

Apparently we are not the only Ms Komachi fans. Here is what Amazon JP shows:

Frequently bought together: Ms Komachi’s books from chapter 2, 3 and 5!

[Micki]

あのまま一日一ページずつでも勉強していたら今ごろペラペラだっただろうに。

Gonno-san could have done with a WaniKani-like community to keep his English learning going!

朋香さんはぱあっと真っ赤になり、しかし、否定はしなかった。

Tomoka has a boyfriend! I think we may be able to guess who??

Gonno-san’s wife is a ペーパードライバー. This was a good expression. Each time I read it I get paperback writer by the Beatles in my head.

手持無沙汰 - having nothing to do, having time on one’s hands (and not knowing what to do) - I love it when Japanese puts a couple of words that you know together to create a new word!

Just to point out I think 権野’s name is wrong in the proper noun list again this week.

[2000kanji]

@Micki

Just to point out I think 権野’s name is wrong in the proper noun list again this week.

Oops. I used last week’s backup file as a template for this week’s post - so it was there again.

[Buruberimiruku]

I really enjoyed this week’s reading. Me when Masao and Yoriko run into Ebigawa-san the former-antique-shop-owner-now-janitor and me when Masao describes Tomoka as someone who looked healthy and enjoyed her job, then me when (happy tears) Tomoka suggests onigiri made by guys (or one particular guy?!?) are the tastiest.

I googled Shinpei Kusano’s poetry and background out of curiosity and found one about snow falling that was pretty cool. I also learned he wrote the shortest poem in the world 冬眠, which is composed of a single dot, representing a hibernating frog.

[lifev]

I’m so happy for Tomoka
I really like that we get a glimpse on how life goes on for the characters we know.

As for Gonno, I found it cute that he decided to copy the poems.

Also, as a go player myself, I hope fins his hobby in it. It is a great way to keep your brains moving, and it’ll help to find new friends.