2025 Bingo Reading Challenge ✅

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time for another update - 3 more squares!

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3: Something spicy (ヤバい本) 獅子と明星 | L29
獅子と明星 Wasn’t as spicy as I thought it would be, but it turned out to be one of my favorite stories read in a while. Does have yakuza speak and ksb but do recommend if you like this genre. Bought a couple more books from this mangaka. One seems similar in style and the other looks quite different, more cute but will see how they go. In any case, “mild” is still a level of spice, so it stays in this square. Really regretting square 5 ended up being 6 books….need to work on that corner or it’s going to prevent bingo from 3 directions :cry:

13: Free space https://learnnatively.com/book/1030c11685/
世界から猫が消えたなら I have affectionately been calling this “cat
book” forever. I’m not sure if I love this or hate it ….realistically it’s probably somewhere in between. I started this book well over a year ago reading out loud with an italki tutor and my reading level has changed so much between then and now. Reading only once a week takes forever and easy to forget stuff given the length of time that has passed. I’ll re-read this at some point but first will probably watch the movie (do understand it’s a bit different from the book).

18: Finish a short story book previously dropped 5分後に意外な結末 - 赤い悪夢 (1) | L25
5分後に意外な結末 - 赤い悪夢 (1) So happy this is finally dead – if it weren’t for bingo probably would never have finished it. So painfully boring! Don’t recommend in anyway – don’t start….. boring boring boring stories.

Several other squares are still in progress…. Slowly moving forward

Previous Squares (edited - fixed the goof I think)

Previous Books:
1: Read a Collection of BL Short Stories: #BがLする 4ページアンソロジー ~そのとき僕は、恋をした! ~ | L28
2: Story has a Yakuza Character: 拾われ子猫と元ヤクザ 1巻 | L23
4: Something with a Dragon: 骨ドラゴンのマナ娘 1 | L25
5: NOT DONE – Vol 2-6 to go Reread first book (ever read) and read the rest of the series: https://learnnatively.com/book/3024597415/ why did this have to end up in a corner square!!!
11: Received as a gift from a Japanese Friend: Four seasons | L25
14: Read the first vol of a scary BL series: キリング・ストーキング | L29 will finish this series but prioritizing bingo squares (blackout doesn’t seem impossible anymore)
22: Has Cats: ふしぎねこのきゅーちゃん 4 | L15 Used Vol 4 because I really just wanted the square (this was originally going to be the “cat book” that’s in the free space now).
23: Friends recommendation that’s been sitting unread for years: 俺が見つけた、コンビニの恋 1 | L17
24: Read The Next Book in a Series (already started) 腐男子家族 5 | L24 Really enjoy this mangaka’s the art style and humor

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Korean bingo update:

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I secretly finished 기억술사1, which I was reading along with the book club (sorry folks). I did not like it, but I will refrain from further comments until everyone finishes. Since a lot of people will be putting it on their card, I cheated and called it “from someone else’s card.”

It also turns out that an ebook I requested maybe over a year ago finally made its way to me: 나의 돈키호테. I’m considering it realistic fiction, which I normally hate reading. It was pretty funny, but my enjoyment was lessened a bit by having to grind it out over just 3 days (weeklong loan, no renewals because 16 others have a hold on it).

I am currently reading 모방범 1 (another Japanese murder mystery) in print, about 1/3 of the way through. I have decided that I really don’t like the book I had earmarked for “wanted to read earlier but didn’t” so I’m looking for another candidate now. I also put a hold on a book called 트럼프 2.0 세대 for nonfiction, which I figure will be right up my alley as a politics girlie.

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It’s been a while since I’ve updated my card. Funnily enough all three books ended up in the same column. Still no bingo though.

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New topic: クロサギ(1) | L34
If you want to learn more about scams and finances, this manga series might interest you. The main character is a swindler that only targets other swindlers. It’s an interesting concept. There is an overarching plot, but for the most part it’s more of a “scam of the week” kind of deal. Less drawn out than 名探偵コナン, but not every arc is going to progress the main storyline.

Curious title: 幻獣調査員 | L33
It’s always nice when I can fit a book club read on here. Not quite what I expected, but I enjoyed it. I’ll probably read volume 2 eventually.

Language related: 日本人の心がわかる日本語 | L24
I don’t think the title is entirely accurate. A lot of the concepts introduced aren’t unique to Japan, and not every Japanese person thinks the same way. That being said, I do feel like I have a slightly better understanding of some of the words introduced now. It was also fun to read the discussion in the forums.

Previous stuff

Released year of birth: 夏泊殺人岬 | L34
Non-human protagonist: 転生したらドラゴンの卵だった ~最強以外目指さねぇ~ 1 | L30
Cats: 猫の浮世絵 「江戸の猫ぐらし」の巻 | L31
Set where I’ve lived: https://learnnatively.com/book/02feed1f41/
No ratings/gradings/reviews: サクラの守る街 | L32
Title includes a number: https://learnnatively.com/book/c469a95d36/
Retirement age character: メタモルフォーゼの縁側 | L21
One word title: 理由 | L35

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Filled two boxes and got two bingo lines! :blush:

Character with disability

Kansuke Yamato, police superintendent, who’s involved with the investigations is blind in one eye. The story is quite interesting with murders related to mahjong tiles.

Book + adaptation
Light novel version:

Manga version:

This story was not really interesting. It’s related to stealing attempts by Kaito Kid. There’s a surprise twist at the ending.

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Took me a long time, but I finally made my way through https://learnnatively.com/book/1e1bfd0750/ ! Also left a review on it. I was amazed at how much pain can be reflected through text… :cold_sweat: but in general I was not a big fan of the book. :woman_shrugging: Anyways, a bingo field is a bingo field, right?

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What’s up next? I’m currently or will soon be in 4 parallel bookclubs :dizzy_face: and so I decided NOT to start a bingo-facing fifth book on the side for the time being :sweat_smile:
The bookclubs are

ミーナの行進 | L32 (Ogawa Yoko bookclub)
https://learnnatively.com/book/2124d64d79/ (WK Advanced bookclub)
https://learnnatively.com/book/6e3b0cb6c2/ (WK Saikawa&Moe bookclub final volume!)
黒蜥蜴 | L35 (Natively Mystery)

and I’m not entirely sure how to integrate them into my bingo card, but we’ll see about that later :melting_face:

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Wow! 4 book clubs simultaneously

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Yes :sweat_smile: Not sure whether I can manage to keep up with all of them, though :sweat_drops: Time will tell, I guess

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There are movie adaptation(s) of 黒蜥蜴 and this 1962 version seems available on Criterion and Amazon Prime - although things will vary for people by region. If you like it might be a good option, the movie is less than 2 hours long.

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Update! I’ve been strategic about my reading :smiley: All but Another I’ll probably continue at some point–a few I have more volumes for (generally the first 3 via free/99yen sales).

Going for left-down next + need to decide what I want to read for my Free space (which I use as “read what you want” rather than “free to fill in” myself). If I want to be mean to myself I’ll do it last :stuck_out_tongue:

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Filled another bingo square for “Siblings” with 姉になりたい義姉VS百合になりたい義妹 | L21

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This is a Yuri comedy between two (step) sisters, where one of them is obsessed with appearing as the more mature and older sister (despite being only one day older), and the other who is more interested in… Yuri :stuck_out_tongue:

Most of the comedy relies on how both keep misinterpreting what the other sister is trying to do. Sadly the jokes can be a bit of a hit-and-miss. It does get more serious towards the later volumes of the series as the sisters’ relationship develops, though I feel it was kinda lacking in the romance department too.

It has a few cat panels though!

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Finally, some prose book squares!

#9 Has a cat character: https://learnnatively.com/book/7ca632e88c/
#10 Curious title: https://learnnatively.com/book/b6f30bb97f/

I really wanted to save “curious title” for a title with “fushigi” in it, but I couldn’t think of any other prompt to use for this book.

previous squares

Free square: とんがり帽子のアトリエ 5 | L27
#1 Read a book and watch the adaptation/Join a book club: ひとりぼっちの○○生活 1 | L21
#2 Cover is primarily composed of your favorite color / From someone else’s board: とんがり帽子のアトリエ 6 | L27
#3 Workplace setting / Character speaks a dialect: 舞妓さんちのまかないさん 12 | L25
#4 Reread: 気になってる人が男じゃなかった | L25
#5 Non-human protagonist: しろくまカフェbis 2 | L19
#6 Second in a series: 気になってる人が男じゃなかった VOL.2 | L24
#7 Shiritori title (Hitoribochinomarumaruseikatsu → Tsuredzurebiyori) / Went in without knowing the premise: 徒然日和 1 | L20
#8 Main character with a disability: ゆびさきと恋々 4 | L20

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Finally (!!) updating my bingo card while hoping to find back my motivation to read, which has been at its lowest for the past few weeks :sleepy:

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New squares (5)
Past square(s) (1)
Plans for future squares (3)
  • 2nd volume: 전지적 독자 시점 PART 1 - 02 although it feels a little bit like cheating to use book versions of a webnovel to count volumes… I read about half before moving on to other books, but I am definitely planning to get back to this series later this year.
  • Book + adaptation: 중증외상센터 : 골든 아워 1 I watched the k-drama when it was released and I started reading the webtoon. I am planning to start the webnovel once I’ve read enough of the webtoon to feel more comfortable with the medical jargon.
  • Favorite color: 얼음나무 숲 : novel I am planning to read next, although I haven’t managed to start after finishing my last book almost 2 weeks ago.
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I got my first bingo this year!
If you’re looking for something from someone else’s card - Laika (my fourth one below) is a great single volume manga

Previous squares
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it’s been a while :sweat_smile: finally getting around to update my bingo card!
got these squares done in the last couple months:

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previous squares

Unusual genre to me: さびしすぎてレズ風俗に行きましたレポ | L33
Features cats: https://learnnatively.com/book/599111c352/
Keep hearing about it: https://learnnatively.com/book/4b055a1cd5/
Unknown premise: ごぜほたる | L30
One word title: https://learnnatively.com/book/5cad9abe93/

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So far I’ve been able to keep to my TBR pile. My goal is to read more books than manga and only one manga in a series can count towards a square.

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Second volume in a series: https://learnnatively.com/book/ba76cdd6e8/ (manga)

Comments

This was entertaining and an easy way to get back into reading, but I’m not sure I’d buy the series. I also have the third volume since Amazon tends to have sales where the first 1-3 volumes in a manga series are free. Unfortunately I have a lot of random manga because of this..

Curious title: 私の夫は冷凍庫に眠っている | L29 (novel)

Comments

I believe I started reading this because @cat kept mentioning “freezer husband” and it caught my attention. I read the first few pages before a work project had me working 12+ hours everyday and my will to read died. I kept thinking about that intro weeks and months later until I finally had time to read again (and Natively let me log back in). It was incredibly gripping, so I could not put it down and ended up reading it rather quickly. Although not something I would have normally picked up, I enjoyed the ride. That’s one of the reasons I like being here.

Non-human protagonist: https://learnnatively.com/book/e65a206fe9/ (manga)

Comments

I really loved this, but I kind of take issue with the "本格ゾンビＢＬ…!! " description since the zombie isn’t very zombie-like. I didn’t even tag it as zombie because the tag description is “Prominently features reanimated corpses which often prey on live humans and turn them into zombies”, and this is not that. There is a lot of blood, guts, and gore, so be prepared if that bothers you. It is also very much a character-driven manga, so there is little in the way of plot if you are hoping for action in your zombie media. What does happen is mostly background to the ongoing conversations between a disillusioned scientist and an upright high school teacher-turned zombie(?) about their contrasting opinions on what it means to be alive, to die, and to kill. Although one of the characters happens to be gay, I would not have pegged this as BL if I had just randomly picked it up and started reading. One trigger warning in addition to the above about blood, guts, and gore, but it’s a bit of a spoiler: there is one part that has some (literally) handsy non-con.

There are two versions of this on Natively, and the one I linked is the original version with ratings and gradings by me and another user. I attempted to add the second volume, and ended up with the series, including the first volume again. That is unfortunately what comes up in the search, rather than the linked version. I put in feedback to have them combined, but that may take some time.

Unusual genre for me: https://learnnatively.com/book/06efcf7ea0/ (short story collection)

Comments

I don’t read a lot of short stories, but after reading this I want to read more by the author. All of the stories were well-written and had a sort of creeping unease that made you constantly wonder if something bad was happening or if you were just imagining things.

Someone else’s card: https://learnnatively.com/book/fd92fd92f9/ (light novel)

Comments

I saw this on @Pashmina’s card and decided to read it since I had it from a round of book club nominations, but I didn’t realize until just now that it was a pre-filled card and not something actually read for the challenge. I’m still counting it (it was on someone’s card!) unless I find a better option. :sob:

This book was incredibly depressing and I’ve never hoped so hard that two people would not be together. There were so many red flags here they could have lined the streets with them from their hometown to Tokyo. I have the second book in the series as well, but I’m not sure when I’ll read it.

New topic to me: https://learnnatively.com/book/2ebe995230/ (novel)

Comments

Continuing my thread of unsettling novels… I knew pretty much nothing about 推し culture, and ended up reading some interesting articles along with this book. This novel was very stream of consciousness, and I sometimes lost track of what was happening or who she was referring to and had to re-read sections, but it felt like a very real depiction of a teenager obsessed with an impactful public figure from her childhood. It ended a lot differently than I was expecting, but overall was a good read. Although the page count is low, there is very little dialogue, so most pages are just walls of text.

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My reading pace has noticeably slowed and it’s all thanks to this one super boring book - 모방범 1. Translates to “The Puppet Master” in English and it’s by Miyuki Miyabe. I’m sure some of you have heard of it. Well, the first “book” dragged so hard and left every single loose thread unresolved. The random POV changes lost my interest every time. I do feel like there will be some kind of payoff, but will it be worth reading 1,100 more pages? Can some kind Japanese learner let me know?

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I’ve chosen books for 3 of my 5 remaining squares and am currently reading 트럼프 2.0 시대, a nonfiction book explaining 47 to a Korean audience. Politics is one of my domains, so it’s been pretty easy and readable so far. The real question is do I dare read 모방범 2 for my free square.

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A series of five books with about 500 pages each. So far, nobody has rated one of them:

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I’ve read a few of her long books. When they hit, they hit, and when they don’t… No the payoff isn’t worth it imo. I don’t know that one in particular but my two cents is that it sounds like one of her less engaging books and to drop it.

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another square done, “No ratings/gradings/reviews on Natively”: スペクトラルウィザード | L27
I have a tendency to focus on the difficult parts when comparing, so my gradings may have put it a couple levels higher than it should be.
about half of it was much easier, probably somewhere around L24, but there are parts where the text density increases, and it comes with more frequent use of fantasy vocab and fancy grammar. I’d say the overall difficulty might be closer to L26~27.

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previous squares

Unusual genre to me: さびしすぎてレズ風俗に行きましたレポ | L33
Features cats: https://learnnatively.com/book/599111c352/
Keep hearing about it: https://learnnatively.com/book/4b055a1cd5/
Unknown premise: ごぜほたる | L30
One word title: https://learnnatively.com/book/5cad9abe93/
Second volume of series: https://learnnatively.com/book/89d9e3fd61/
Title includes number: エイリアン9 コンプリート | L22
Language related: 日本人の心がわかる日本語 | L24
Non-human protagonist: https://learnnatively.com/book/be77af2158/

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Oops I forgot about this challenge :grimacing: I suppose after my current manga I should read A Sign of Affection for the language square.

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