📚📚 Read every day challenge - Fall/Autumn 2021 🍁🍂🦝

:house_with_garden: home post

Hello everyone! I can’t believe it’s been a week… hope everyone is doing well! I’ve been looking forward to getting back and catching up to everyone’s posts here hehe :laughing: I had been super busy and away from home, and when I came back I had to seriously rush and focus on a Uni assignment that was due soon;; stressful week, but I managed to read even a little everyday! Here it is:

What did I read:

:heavy_check_mark: Day 31 (10月 9日) :sparkles:

徳島県, continuing reading the his from the day before. Friend had lived there before and he always keeps telling me about the place and I felt I should do it some justice by at least looking it up… 16min
暁のヨナ,bookclub read-aloud, chapter 40. Idk how, but I ended up doing a lot of roles, a lot of lines :joy:

:heavy_check_mark: Day 32 (10月 10日) :sparkles:
スダチ
Curious from the previous day, and ever interested in :seedling: plants, I had to look up about this citrus, which seems to be native to and a specialty of Tokushima. It’s commonly used instead of lime/lemon to flavour grilled meat and fish.

スダチ

image

The other reason I looked it up was bc I wanted to know what Tokushima prefecture’s mascot, スダチくん was based on… friend showed him to me, and he was so so cute, but I didn’t know what a sudachi was back then, and I thought he was a bean?? At best??? Lol pls google him, he is cute :pleading_face:
:heavy_check_mark: Day 33 (10月 11日) :sparkles:

Based on a question that came up during bookclub session the previous day,my reading was mostly looking up in monolingual dictionary, for the meaning and etymology of 無鉄砲 because we were all curious. It literally reads “no gun” so why does it have the meaning of ‘reckless’ ?

Copying what I found here, in case anyone is interested

無鉄砲, meaning ‘to rush like a bullet’ (lol?) seems to have originated from it sounding similar to 無手法, which in turn means to do something but not having any means, any method, any special skills wrt to it. :arrow_right: thus, acting without thinking much about it, acting recklessly.

A second etymology; it seems that the word was an 当て字 for 「無点法」. 無点 in said case meant ‘Classical Chinese with no okurigana’ ,which back in the day were hard for Japanese to read and understand. So the word came to take on the meaning of ‘ambiguous; unclear’.

reading more on it, found the fun fact that Natsume Souseki used it in his 「ぼうっちゃん」, and it gained a lot of popularity. Seems to be used in expressions such as:
•「無鉄砲な人」
•「無鉄砲な計画」

「無鉄砲」の意味・由来 | 雑学ネタ帳

:heavy_check_mark: Day 34 (10月 12日) :sparkles:
歴史366, only one story, 10min. Very tired, one of those ‘just-tick-the-box’ days…

:heavy_check_mark: Day 35 (10月 13日) :sparkles:
10分で読めるこわい話, half of chapter 2. Unfortunately, I didn’t kept track of time, but it must have been 15-ish minutes?

:heavy_check_mark: Day 36 (10月 14日) :sparkles:
10分で読めるこわい話, rest of chapter 2.

:heavy_check_mark: Day 37 (10月 15日) :sparkles:
新完全マスター読解, the 言い換え examples and then the passages after then, ~1hour
edit: read more
暁のヨナ、chapter 41 and vocabulary look-up

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Hope your wrist feels better soon!!!

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Yesterday I read a pathetic quarter of a page :joy: today I read first thing in the morning (which used to be my regular routine). I aimed for one page and ended up reading two! Normally if I’m this unenthused about finishing a book I’ll just drop it, but I’ve already read almost 200 (okay 190) pages, and there are only about 20 (okay 30) more, so I really want to finish and get that satisfaction.

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:fallen_leaf: :raccoon: :first_quarter_moon: :: TANUKIDATE 20211015 :: :first_quarter_moon: :raccoon: :fallen_leaf:


Day XLV: この音とまれ! pg. 61-65 & :evergreen_tree: :deciduous_tree:日本特用林産振興会 :deciduous_tree: :evergreen_tree:

Welcome to…

Shroomy :mushroom: Actual Mushroom Day :mushroom: Shroomy

There was a link on yesterday’s-today’s anniversary page to the ほんとくようりんさんしんこうかい.
Something like “The Japanese Forest-Produce Promotional Association”.

Which looks like it has a load of information about the mushrooms and plants of Japan for foraging and the like, so you can be safe (and nourished!) in the woods and countryside.

And there’s also this: きのこのせんもん - which is such a cool job title…

「 あぁ!!! あなたはだれ?!!?」

「<< 俺はきのこの専門家 >>」

[Epic sounds of thundering mushrooms]

To become one you have to be selected by the supreme mushroom leaders (there’s a mushroom president), and there’s also this sentence: これまでに200名余のアドバイザーが誕生し - I know the meaning here isn’t literally “so far over 200 (mushroom) advisors have been born” but it’s too amusing to imagine there’s a secret mushroom society in the Japanese forests birthing mushroom people to teach the general public about the glory of mushrooms (and convert them into mushroom brethren).

It tells you here how you can apply and train your way up the mushroom ladder.

Also noticed something here that is pretty useful, when things (like these application forms) have a list of things you need and list them as (A), (B), (C), (D). etc., here the Japanese uses (ア), (イ), (ウ), (エ).

Wait, I’ve spent all this time getting excited about how to become a mushroom expert I’ve not even gotten onto the actual main part of the site, you know, the foraging and info part that I was interested in learning and now it’s time to make dinner… I don’t know how this happened.

Oh yeah, also read 4 pages of この音 today

~ New Words ~
普及 (ふきゅう) - diffusion / popularization … this is on WK.
積極的 (せっきょくてき) - Proactive / Assertive
啓蒙活動 (けいもうかっどう) - Information Campaign / Awareness Program
健康食品 (けんこうしょくひん) - Health Foods
紅葉狩り (もみじがり) - Autumn Leaf Viewing/Hunting: can be written as 紅葉狩 too and still pronounced the same.
専門家 (せんもんか) - Specialist / Expert


:rofl: :rofl:

I suppose “an ear growing in the grass” does make a bit of sense :laughing:

That second picture of キュルガ is too cute that little pudding face

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Home post

Day 44:

日本語: I read a fair amount of 伯爵と妖精 20.
Read-aloud: We read a chapter of ふしぎの国のバード.

中国語

中国語: I read 避免迟到.

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:jack_o_lantern: My tiny summary post :ghost:

October 15 Today I got cyclopentolate dripped into my eyes, that was fun - couldn’t see anything up close clearly today :crazy_face:
・Honzuki 6. (55% → 57%)

Still managed to get a tiny read done before that :3

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Summary post

Day 45: Today I read another five pages of よつば&!

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Summary Post

October 15th
Stardew Valley

Random words
  • 水晶球 = すいしょうきゅう crystal ball (of a magician).
  • ごく = quite, very.
  • 物質 = ぶっしつ matter, substance, material.
  • 仲介者 = ちゅうかいしゃ mediator, go-between.
  • 霊界 = れいかい the spiritual world.
  • 解読 = かいどく deciphering, decoding (not to be confused with 読解 reading comprehension).
  • 見返り = みかえり reward, compensation.
  • 飲み干す = のみほす to drink up, to drain (cup).
  • 魔力 = まりょく magical powers, supernatural powers, spell, charm.

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Summary post

Day 45: October 15
What did I read?: 夜は猫といっしょ Vol 2
How much did I read?: 22 pages
How long did it take me?: 10 min

A very tiny read today, as I was working late.
Wow, it was hard to pick just a few favorite panels today, though xD

キュルガ + suitcases

Looking like the cutest scarf ever

Love this panel - looking all innocent like “what? I’m just walking” :innocent:

Some more cute キュルガ, he was so cute the whole timeee

The way his paws rest on his tail :heart:

Creepin’ xD

Good words:
荷造り (にづくり) - packing
津々 (しんしん) - gushing; overflowing; everlasting; unfailing; endless
天敵 (てんてき) - natural enemy
切ない (せつない) - painful; heartrending

picks up mushrooms again with great vigor

…I was born of the mushrooms.
The mushrooms are my kin.

For some reason, this was what came out of my brain when I read that and now I’m thinking it belongs at the start of an epic LOTR-style mushroom adventure. …Or on someone’s application form :joy:
Idk why I am like this

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Honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen this one on its own. 興味津々 and 津々浦々 I’ve seen countless times, but nice find on that one by itself. Caught yourself a rare Pokemons ^^

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looks back at the panel
Oh crap it was all one word omg
Haaaaa I’m really dumb, literally why did I not realize that, it even says it right there in the Jisho entry for 津々
It was not a Mewtwo, it was a Rattata, everyone
:see_no_evil: :see_no_evil: :see_no_evil:
Well I learned something today

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:fallen_leaf: :raccoon: :waxing_gibbous_moon: :: TANUKIDATE 20211016 :: :waxing_gibbous_moon: :raccoon: :fallen_leaf:


Day XLVI: この音とまれ! pg.65-69 & きのこ (aka, what I meant to read yesterday) :mushroom:

4 pages today!

There’s a load of info here (on the mushroom page) about fungi’s role in the ecosystem, cultivation, history, safety… a lot of info. I’ve only managed to read a bit.

Found a list of the mushrooms you can grow and what sort of habitats they need, and there’s a list of each and how to cook them for maximum tasty (there’s also a danger-shroom section). But I don’t think I can make it through it all, my head is now so full of all the mushroom names and mushroomy knowledge, that my brain has become like the mushy, filamentous skin of a mushroom.

~ New Words ~
糸状 (しじょう) - String like / Filamentous
大正 (たいしょう) - Taisho Era (1912-1926)

Shroom Words (there's a lot)

菌類 (きんるい) - Fungus / Fungi
松茸 (まつたけ) - Matsutake Mushroom
滑子 (なめこ) - Nameko Mushroom
担子菌類 (たんしきんるい) - Basidiomycetes (Fungi family group)
冬虫夏草 (とうちゅうかそう) - Caterpillar Fungus
チャワンタケ - Pezizomycotina
編笠茸 (あみがさたけ) - Common Morel
菌糸体 (きんしたい) - Mycelium
えのき茸 (えのきたけ) (榎茸) - Enoki Mushroom (those fun long ones that are really quite tasty)
ひら茸 (ひらたけ) (平茸) - Oyster Mushroom (these are tasty)
種菌 (しゅきん) - “The Mother Shroom”, not entirely sure there’s a direct translation for this, but it’s fungal colony they use to start fermentation - the Starter Culture. There is kind of a word! - Inoculum.
純粋培養 (じゅんすいばいよう) - Pure Culture
マッシュルーム - Common Mushroom - the Japanese name is literally just “Mushroom” :laughing:
原木栽培 (げんばくさいばい) - Log Cultivation
菌床栽培 (きんしょうさいばい) - (Mushroom) Bed Cultivation
あらげ木耳 (あらげきたけ) (荒毛木耳 / 粗毛木耳) - Cloud Ear Fungus …this… is edible…?
橅湿地 (ぶなしめじ) - Brown Beech Mushroom (these are pretty good)

Listing all these mushrooms is giving me flashbacks of playing Metal Gear Solid 3 and feeding Snake all the mushrooms you find in the woods and him remarking how tasty they all are well… most of them.


Pretty sure this is more than enough to qualify you to become a… きのこの専門家
My brain also went on a similar epic fantasy mushroom adventure :rofl:

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Oh yes, it‘s fairly common in Chinese dishes - would be surprised if you hadn’t eaten them actually :wink:

Dish

image

It‘s the brown-black bits; they also go by their Chinese name „Mu Err“ in Germany.


For the challenge:

Oct 15th (take two): Yesterday I decided to read this week’s Beginner Book Club short story in the evening, and even later, when I went to bed, I felt too tired / unfocused to finish my reviews, so I decided to juuust read a few more pages of Demon Slayer - ok I finally stopped after 20 pages :sweat_smile:

Oct 16th: Read like 12 more pages of Demon Slayer (now up to p. 49). Now I really need to go back to my grammar studies :grin:

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Home post

Day 45:

日本語: I read a lot of 伯爵と妖精 20. All praise to メースフィールド公爵夫人. :heart_eyes:

中国語

中国語: I read 窗户.

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How are you finding it? Know you mentioned it’s generally not your kind of thing

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As you can surely tell from my below comments, I know nothing about the manga other than that it was turned into an anime recently and everybody went crazy about it.

So far (i.e. close to the end of chapter 1) the overall plot is a bit … simple and predictable I guess? Like okay, dude’s family got killed, sister is now a demon, suddenly an unknown but of course omnipotent demon slayer appears and rescues him from sister’s attack - now I’m speculating that MC will become his apprentice, learn how to slay demons, will cure his sister and take revenge for his family. I guess :joy_cat: (I mean, it’s a shounen manga after all and that’s totally okay.)

But there are lots of things I really like about it so far:

  • The art is pretty nice because it’s realistic and unobtrusive
  • I really liked the medieval atmosphere at the start, and getting a glimpse into people’s lives at the time
  • The text is super readable for me and I don’t have to look up many words, which is a nice diversion from my usual books (ok until that demon slayer appears who speaks like a medieval book or something :rofl:)
  • The tension was very well-built - gripping, but not too horrifying (I’m very sensitive to that, and I was reading parts of it at night while being alone, which wouldn’t work for me if the horror level was too high). Let’s hope it stays that way :grin:

All in all so far it’s an entertaining and easy-ish read which is already everything I could ask for :slight_smile:

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:jack_o_lantern: My tiny summary post :ghost:

October 16 Not much time for reading today
・Honzuki 6. (57% → 58%)

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hahaha yes you’re really not far off. I would agree that it’s not super innovative plot wise but kind of just does the shonen formulas really really well. I do think that Tanjiro is quite a nice contrast in his gentleness/kindness to your kind of typical shonen protag which I do appreciate. But yeah, mainly it’s just good fun!

I remember having the exact same experience! :joy::joy::joy:

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Summary Post

October 16th
Final Fantasy XIV

Random words
  • 古びる = ふるびる to look old, to get old.
  • 染色 = せんしょく dyeing, staining, dyed colour.

Another uninteresting update, I don’t have anything fancy to say ;-; . I haven’t done Satori Reader in a while, but I don’t actually miss it much. I think it’s safe to say that the story I’m reading this time hasn’t hooked me, a pity considering the other ones I’ve read were really nice. I’m not sure if I should just drop it and start a new one or just consume other things until I feel like doing Satori Reader again, which is what I’m doing right now. I’m happy that video games are the thing that currently grab my interest so so much, I think it’s what I enjoy doing the most, especially now that I’ve been fighting the feeling of never feeling good enough for them. But they get so, so much easier after a little while that they become really fun. But I guess that could be said about any resource.

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Lol rip, ah well, realistically you learned something that’ll come in a lot more handy then, so not a bad deal!

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