- a book someone else thought you would like: 이상한 그림 | L29 was recommended by bizoo and sua and it was awesome!!! such a page turner
- one word title: 아몬드 | L29
- one or more characters have a disability: 소리를 삼킨 소년 | L27 great book for learners
- 2nd volume of a series: 죽이고 싶은 아이 2 | L26 i liked this better than the 1st volume, and i liked the 1st volume a ton
- science fiction: 페인트 | L27 this is barely sci-fi (set in very near future, not too many differences between then and now) but i’ll take it
- past book club choice: 죽이고 싶은 아이 | L25
- didn’t know the premise before starting: 당연하게도 나는 너를 | L24 way darker than i expected for YA
- from someone else’s bingo card: 뜻밖의 계절 | L24
- kept hearing about: 용의자 X의 헌신 | L31 i originally heard about this book on reddit and planned on reading it in english
it was quite difficult for me but i’m super happy i got to read it in korean! - fave color: 가면산장 살인사건 | L29 forest green
- doesn’t have any ratings on natively: 너도 하늘말나리야 | L27 i found this at the library next to 죽이고 싶은 아이, so i thought it would be a good level for me
- title includes a number: 일 퍼센트 | L23
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you’re on fire 
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Centre square! I set up my board so that “0 ratings / gradings / reviews” would be in the middle, because my goal is to hit as many of those criteria as possible in my bingo books, so it’s essentially my free space.
This one was the comic fanbook for Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (逆転裁判4), and gets three bonus stars 
for me being the first to rate, grade, & review on Natively.
Most of the comics really nailed the tone of the humour of the games and how the characters bounce off of each other, so as a fan I found this very satisfying to read. None of them are very deep or dramatic, they’re all just meant to be silly and fun, and overall they succeed in that. The comics are all short and disconnected from each other, so it was a good book for just picking up and reading a handful of pages whenever I had a few minutes to spare.
This book is long out-of-print and pre-dates digital publishing, so it may need some dedication scouring second-hand stores to find (I found my copy at Mandarake), but if you have any love for Apollo Justice at all, it’s worth the read.
The last two books I had on my reading list this year also happen to be Ace Attorney-related, and they will hopefully also fit in that diagonal I have started on my card, so I may get close to a bingo this year after all 
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Completed 3 books this month but still no Bingo 
It’s ok though now I’m closer to getting a bingo soon.
New level
This book is difficult because of a lot of unfamiliar mathematical details and boring because of long winded explanations of the obvious.
Past book club
Very exciting book!! Would definitely recommend to anyone who likes mysteries.
Seeking recommendations thread
Love this book because of the smart Calico cat Holmes. 
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Since I recognize 家 the Chinese character (I know some basic Chinese but not Japanese), I’m gathering that you read the book that is translated as Strange Houses? Funny, I just read it but decided not to post my updated bingo yet. You should read the one about drawings if you haven’t yet. It’s way better. And I’m reading the sequel that has 11 floor plans right now HAHAHA
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Yes, it’s the Strange Houses.
Wow! Now you made me want to read the Strange Drawings right away haha. 
I was thinking to nominate/vote for it in the next Mystery Book Club. But it is probably not suitable as it will be too exciting to wait for the weekly schedule? 
Which language did you read the book in?
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Korean, of course! Strange Houses 2 is a lot harder than the first book, btw (96% comp vs 97.3% comp for the first one). And it looks like it’s shaping up to be better too heh
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OIC! I was recommending the book to my friends but I noticed that the English novel will only be released in June 2025 and the English manga is currently only available until Volume 3. Maybe the would be interested to read in Korean as they are learning Korean.
What does this mean?
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Comprehension. I use kimchi reader to read my books (except these two because kimchi reader doesn’t support pictures lol… so I read with Kindle) and it parses the document and calculates my comprehension based on the words I have marked as known. Of course, the parser is not perfect, but of all the parseable words in Strange Houses, I know 97.3% of them (not 97.3% of the unique words, but 97.3% of all words, because the most common words show up hundreds of times). For Strange Houses 2 it’s 96% 
and this is with almost 21k known words. Clearly there’s a lot of specific vocab, especially in the sequel.
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Thanks for explaining. It’s the first time I heard of Kimchi reader. Looks useful 
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New bingo update.
I read 이상한 집 and knew I was going to read 이상한 집 2 immediately after, so I held off on posting an update.
I decided to put 이상한 집 (Strange Houses, the book we were just talking about) in the square “keep hearing about.” Because I kept hearing about how bad it was. What made me decide to read it was that I got my hands on the sequel. Well, it turns out the two are not related, so I did not have to read the first book, but since I was prepared for disappointment, it wasn’t that bad of an experience.
The second book was very good. I would say it’s that author’s best book. Most of the twists are predictable by a clever reader who is taking notes. I felt rewarded for the huge Notes document I kept on my phone and for the time I spent rereading chapters.
I couldn’t think of any square to put it other than “translated into Korean” or “set outside of Korea.” This means that unless I can manage to find a Japanese mystery that has a great first sentence or is a love story, I can probably only fit two more Japanese mysteries on my board (besides 악의, which I have earmarked for “cat” lmfao (iykyk))
Next? I probably won’t be finishing 기억술사 1 or 악의 this week, so I’ll have to find something else to read. There’s a BL book I’m considering reading (new genre), and it looks like the paperbacks in the Detective Galileo series that I ordered may be coming sooner than I thought, so that may be a possibility as well.
12 Likes
Really?
I thought it was cleverly written and written succinctly. It kept me engrossed all the way.
Or perhaps, I was reading a super long and boring mystery book for the past two months during that time, which I had already guessed the part of the trick (using water) but which the writer chose to not even mentioning this possibility for over 450 pages. 
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It was very gripping, if a bit ridiculous, for the first 70%.
mild spoilers
The method through which the remaining 30% of the story was told completely killed the momentum. It was one of the longest and most boring infodumps I have read.
For what it’s worth, I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads, meaning I liked it. But that last 30%… oh my god.
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Do you mean the “epilogue between the male friend and the author”? I’m asking as I’m wondering if his suspicions that the biggest winner from this is the mom is true after reading this part and whether this continues to book 2.
I just checked, the Korean version 이상한 집 ends at chapter 4 while the new edition of the 変な家 has an additional chapter after chapter 4 called 文庫版あとがき (paperback edition afterword). It wraps up the story nicely there I feel.
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I mean the letter and the monologue by the mom.
That part you mentioned is like the last 3% lol
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OIC! Haha I’m quite happy with the descriptions though since it explained who, why, and how. 
So the Korean version had the afterword too?
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- April:
- Recommended to me: ふしぎな声のする町で: ものだま探偵団 | L25
- This is a great read if you like cozy mystery. I really enjoy this author and have already ordered the next book in this series.
Previous squares
- January:
- Category: Read a book and its adaptation
- I read シャドーハウス Vol 1 (Shadows House) and watched the first 2 anime episodes that perfectly cover Volume 1. It was great - definitely recommend!
- 昴とスーさん 1巻 | L22 Category: unusual genre for me. I’ve never read a slice of life manga, and this also has other elements I don’t want to spoil that I’ve not approached yet. I left the first review if anyone is interested, I definitely recommend.
- しろくまカフェbis 3 | L19 Category: favorite color cover (I love green and blue!). The cute world of panda, polar bear, and penguin can always brighten my day
- Category: Read a book and its adaptation
- February:
- Set outside Japan: たったひとりのサバイバル・ゲーム! 極寒の雪山を脱出せよ | L21
- Anything / free spot: SLAM DUNK 3 | L23
- New Natively level: ドラえもん一年生 学年別ドラえもん名作選 | L16
- One word title: ハルタ 2020-AUGUST volume 77 | L31
- March update:
- Non-human protagonist: 葬送のフリーレン 4 | L25
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Long time no bingo! Here’s a new square done: Title includes a number, with 노인의 꿈 첫 번째 이야기 | L22
So many options for a bingo! Cats? One word? Somewhere I’ve lived? Stay tuned to see me not doing any of those.
Previous reads
우리우리 복댕이 | L15 Non-human protagonist
호랑이 들어와요 | L17 Book you keep hearing about
우리들의 식탁 | L17 Genre you don’t usually read
숲속의 담 1 | L18 Didn’t know the premise going in
딱 하나만 선택하라면, 책 | L18 A book about a book
숲속의 담 2 | L18 2nd volume of a series
나빌레라 1 | L20 Main character is retirement age or older
좋은 날이야, 네가 옆에 있잖아 | L20 FREE SPACE
히카루가 죽은 여름 2 | L21 Recommended to you
히카루가 죽은 여름 3 | L21 Favourite colour
노인의 꿈 첫 번째 이야기 | L22 Title includes a number
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Filling “New Natively level for me”, with another Ace Attorney book at L28. It gets one bonus star for me being the first to review it on Natively!
The story is told in first-person from Naruhodo’s (Phoenix’s) point-of-view, as he takes on the legal defence of his daughter’s co-performer, an idol, who is accused of murdering someone during an event at a high-end shopping centre.
The story has enough of the Ace Attorney spirit in it to stay engaging, but it’s painfully predictable, and some parts were a little frustrating to sit through when I had already guessed (before the murder even happened) how the mystery was going to play out.
Taken as what it is – an Ace Attorney mystery for 10-year-olds – I think the book succeeds, though for adults it may have more value as a stepping stone for learning with than strictly for entertainment.
I’m locking this one in to the Natively level square while I can, because I suspect the current level is wildly overestimated As I mention in my full review, this book was easy-peasy and I breezed through it. I don’t have a very good sense of how hard each of the Natively levels are, but this was significantly easier to read than my last book, Anne of Green Gables, which is currently rated a level below this at L27. Objectively comparing them, sentences are way shorter, grammar is way simpler, and there’s no antiquated language or flowery prose, so this one’s true level is probably much lower than L28.
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