Your opinion on toggl and time tracking in general is really interesting. For the past month and a half, I’ve been tracking every language related thing I do and it’s been super motivating getting to see the number of hours at the end of every week. It’s also a great way to see what I should really dedicate more time to (and it’s not something I hadn’t realized before, but now I can’t pretend I don’t see it).
However I also get how it could be annoying, especially if you’re tracking several languages at the same time.
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I’ve also had bad luck with timing myself (primarily with audio). I end up getting annoyed or frustrated using apps on my phone to time (why do none of them have all the features I want?) but since I also want to skip scenes occasionally or space out during commercials I can’t just take a raw time of the whole episode and be done.
Next year I’m trying a physical stopwatch and just logging my times daily to see how that goes…
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I can definitely see the benefits and why people like it, but I’d often forget to start/stop the timer and I’d be very conscious of being timed, which made me uncomfortable and I couldn’t just read/watch/listen naturally. 
I’ll try Webtime Tracker since it’ll just work in the background, and maybe I’ll have a look for an app tracker. 
That looks really useful! How did you come across it?
Also, I just sorted by # of unique words and the “easiest” one on JJWXC seems to have chapters that are just spamming 1-2 characters lol
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看剧学汉语 discord server 
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As if I haven’t got enough to occupy my time, I’ve started to get into VNs! 
Setting up the texthooker was thankfully pretty straightforward, and I’ve been reading (playing?) Nekopara - I didn’t know I wanted to run a catboy cafe until now! 
I may join Home thread for Christmas Tina ‐泡沫冬景‐ ❄️🐈⬛ (Visual Novel Reading Club), and I might also try some titles that I’ve noticed repeatedly over the years only to be disappointed they weren’t manga or anime. 
I’ll just keep a little list here of titles that interest me. Will probably start with the ones that are fully voiced and easy to purchase/play (not changing my OS language;;;)… When they’re on sale. Those prices! 
Japanese
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There’s even some non-BL in there… ㅎㅎ
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古書店街の橋姫 looks very interesting. 
might be a VN that could tempt me…
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I played 古書店街の橋姫 in English but I hear that one might be hard in Japanese just because of the time setting and lots of references to Japanese classical works.
Also, VN are great but just be warned that you may want to check for any triggering themes because they have a tendency to get pretty dark, pretty quickly.
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There’s a manga adaption, too! 
Good to know! 
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Now that we have German on Natively, I have started a German graded reader… There are several books in German I’d like to read, especially those by my childhood favourite Cornelia Funke. For me, languages are a buffet, and I want to try everything on the menu!
Santa visited early and delivered a whole bunch of books! 
Mostly purchased through https://www.fromjapan.co.jp/en/ (@eefara has led me down a dark path by recommending this site 
) - got several non-Japanese books for incredibly low prices.
- Wanna One photobooks!
- 오늘부터 마가 붙는 자유업! (Korean translation of 今日からマのつく自由業! | L30??)
- Complete collection of 천관사복 (Korean translation of Heaven Official’s Blessing)
- 엄마 참새, a Thai children’s story in Thai, Korean, and English
- スーと鯛ちゃん 6 | L11
- 哪里来的大宝贝 / Whose Baby Is It?
- 日本人のこころ (bilingual Japanese-Korean with audio!
) - マイメロディといっしょ タイ語+英語
- 少年メイド―スーパー小学生・千尋におまかせ! | L30??
- パンダのシャンシャン日記 どうぶつの飼育員さんになりたい! | L30??
- Thai version of Heaven Official’s Blessing vol. 1
- 為你而名 (original webnovel and webcomic titled 德萨罗人鱼)
- 溺酒 / Drowning Wine (original novel of Intoxicated)
- Never Let Me Go / เพื่อนายแค่หนึ่งเดียว
- 이합화타적백묘사존: 바보 허스키와 그의 흰 고양이 사존 vol. 1 (Korean translation of The Husky and His White Cat Shizun)
- 또다시 같은 꿈을 꾸었어 (노블판) | L30?? (for Home Thread for また、同じ夢を見ていた / 또다시 같은 꿈을 꾸었어 (노블판) 📖 🇯🇵 🇰🇷)
Thai textbook & children’s book, a couple of KKM djs (Wolfram! 
)
Buying this way is always somewhat of a gamble, and From Japan does warn that you may not always receive what you are expecting. This is one such example… Listed as the Thai version of the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, what actually arrived was the Vietnamese translation. It may not surprise you to learn I have a couple of Vietnamese textbooks in my library already, so I’m taking this as a sign from the yaoi gods! 
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Oooh, than you for the heads up; I need to go check that out.
Another convert! 
Man, all your books are so awesome, and in so many languages, too. I love all the pictures! Can’t wait to see what all you dip your toes in in 2024.
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I see you are well on your way to being able to read All The Books! Are you going to tackle any romance languages? (unless you already know some :P)
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There aren’t many languages I wouldn’t at least dabble in…
I took a couple of years of Latin at school, and Romanian seems the most similar of the Romance languages to Latin (imo), so that would probably be my first choice. I have a small collection of Romanian books, one of which is Inimă de arici, which I’d really like to read. 
In Heart of a Hedgehog, Massimo Vacchetta details his experience as a veterinarian who chooses to devote himself exclusively to the rescue and care of hedgehogs, outlined in 25 Grams of Happiness, co-written with Antonella Tomaselli. Beyond the autobiographical intimacies revolving around the author’s relationship with his mother, one glimpses the gentleness with which he looks at the life of the hedgehogs while he does not restrain himself from fighting against the dangers that threaten them and the indifference of his peers. An educational book that encourages respect for nature, making us reflect on the beauty of nature and the responsibility we all have in maintaining the fragile balance by which, patiently, our world protects us day after day, even if we often forget to admire and cherish it. (DeepL)
Next would probably be Italian - I have a couple of tomes on my bookshelf that make me really excited: La nuova grammatica della lingua italiana (I like learning grammar… ), and a bilingual Italian-Esperanto version of The Divine Comedy (I know Esperanto, but it doesn’t get much use, for obvious reasons).
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Dang, where the heck did you find that?
Ebay - I have alerts set up for languages that are more difficult to find books in, so I got a notification due to the Esperanto. I’ve found that rare books like that are either really inexpensive or really pricey; I just had a look and found this copy that’s just like mine (although I’m missing the box) but way more expensive! 
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I feel like I’ve never managed to find a cheap book off of abebooks; they feel like they’re geared more towards rare/collectors volumes.
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December seems to have flown by…!
I thought I’d mix it up for the advent challenge, but in the end it seems I pretty much just focused on Chinese - I read several graded readers and 100+ stories for learners. And in the last week or so I’ve been enchanted by German, reading a few graded readers and a couple of children’s books. I’ve done some bits and pieces for other languages, but nothing major.
I’d like to say I’ll be better at balancing things next year, but I know myself too well. 
There are just so many interesting things! I’m having fun, that’s what matters!
I’ve been spending some time exploring music this month (it does relate to languages, kinda). Gonna preface this by saying I’m not musical and have only a vague understanding of the harmonic style of 18th century European musicians music theory.
A while ago I looked into 판소리, a traditional type of Korean musical storytelling that emerged hundreds of years ago. Its popularity has waxed and waned, but the tradition is still continuing and today. It has a very unique sound, mixing singing and rhythmic speaking, with the accompaniment of a drum. Anyway, it got me thinking about how music is a part of the fabric of society, and unique to the culture it is born from.
Since I picked up Chinese again, I’ve been listening to various traditional Chinese instruments: I’m particularly fond of the guzheng(古筝) - for me, it’s the representative traditional Chinese instrument, which evokes images of the tranquil Chinese countryside (many of the songs take inspiration from nature). This is a lovely playlist, I especially like the first track:
Below is a tutorial on how to play the guzheng (unfortunately the audio isn’t great - the instrument sounds fine, but the teacher’s explanations are a little difficult to hear). She explains many techniques, but the slurs(滑音) are what I really associate with traditional Chinese music. (49:41)
As an aside, the most common tuning is D major, the notes of the strings being D-E-F#-A-B (Do-Re-Mi-So-La).
Compare this to a western harp, which is tuned in C major: C-D-E-F-G-A-B (Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti).
Below is an interesting video that goes into how music developed differently in the East and West:
This is another interesting video on how the West has a very narrow view when it comes to music theory. It’s like finding out there are hundreds of flavours of ice cream, you don’t have to just stick to vanilla!
As I mentioned before, I’m not musical, but I was a little shocked to realise that I had never even considered that there might be differing perceptions and understanding of music and music theory in other cultures. I feel quite ignorant.
So how does this relate to language? Well, music is a complex language in itself, and while musical traditions around the world share similarities, each has its own distinct qualities, deeply tied to the culture it emerges from.
I could listen to this lady talk all day!
I can see many parallels between music and language: from the very basic idea of vibrations in the air conveying meaning, to more specific comparisons, such as a musical phrase resembling a sentence. I think there are many aspects of music and language that could be compared, such as: a piece of music and a story; musical notation and orthography; notes and vocabulary, which have different meanings in different contexts; melody and intonation. And of course with tonal languages the similarities are even more obvious.
And, much like learning a language, I think knowledge of a culture’s musical traditions and music theory can allow you to understand the people and their culture at a deeper level.
As I was writing this I remembered that I bought a Korean book of music for traditional instruments, 합주 영산회상 (合奏 靈山會像). I was hunting all over the place for it before realising it’s packed away in a box because I don’t have enough shelf space for all my books. I thought I wouldn’t be needing it any time soon, but… 
I’ll have to dig it out so I can see what type of musical notation it uses. The description says it is transcribed from 이두(吏讀); from memory I think it’s into western-style musical notation rather than numbered notation.
Well, that’s enough of my waffle. 
Happy New Year, everyone!
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January
Goals 
- Finish Anki reviews every day
- Catch up / keep up with book clubs
Book Clubs 
Oversubscribed and fallen behind! 
| Dec 4 | Dec 11 | Dec 18 | Dec 25 | Jan 1 | Jan 8 | Jan 15 | Jan 22 | Jan 29 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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소리를 보는 소년 | |||||||||
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美しい彼 아름다운 그 |
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今日からマ王! | |||||||||
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Christmas Tina ‐泡沫冬景‐ | |||||||||
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후궁의 까마귀 | |||||||||
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ふしぎ駄菓子屋 銭天堂 이상한 과자 가게 전천당 |
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また、同じ夢を見ていた 또다시 같은 꿈을 꾸었어 |
Taking a break over the holiday season
| Informal Book Club |
Ch.1 | Ch.2 | Ch.3 | Ch.4 | Ch.5 | Ch.6 | Ch.7 | Ch.8 | Ch.9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 흥부전 |
Finished This Month 
Legend
includes a written review
read along with audiobook
audiobook only
podcast
drama CD
condensed audio
re-read/watch/listen
만화경 webtoon
waiting to be added to Natively
adult content; not currently on Natively
There are a lot of items that aren’t on Natively for various reasons (unsupported language / format, not listed on Amazon / Yes24, etc). Rather than mark them individually, anything that doesn’t have a Natively link (which includes the level) can be assumed to be excluded from Natively.
Textbook · 교과서 · 教科書 · 课本 · หนังสือเรียน
Graded Reader · 수준별 독본 · 語彙制限本 · 分级读物
Eva, Wien: Deutsch als Fremdsprache / Leseheft (Hueber Lese-Novelas) | L17??
The Jam Maker eps 1-3
Little Fox Chinese 6 chs
Children’s Book · 동화책 · 児童書 · 儿童书 · หนังสือเด็ก
Comics · 만화 · 漫画 · 漫画 · การ์ตูน
ふくふくふにゃ~ん (series) | L10 vols. 9-12
スーと鯛ちゃん 6 | L12
パスカルとバラの木 | L20
마모
柴くんとシェパードさん | L20
Novel · 소설 · 小説 · 小说 · นวนิยาย
Non-fiction · 논픽션 · ノンフィクション · 非小说类 · หนังสือสารคดี
Other Books · 다른 책 · 他書 · 别的书 · หนังสืออื่นๆ
TV Show · 텔레비전 프로그램 · テレビ番組 · 电视节目 · รายการโทรทัศน์
Bob's Burgers | L25?? S1-10
Futurama S1 | L30??
Die Simpsons S1 | L25??
Revenge S1 | L30??
Movie · 영화 · 映画 · 电影 · ภาพยนตร์
Zurück nach Hause: Die unglaubliche Reise | L25??
阿拉丁
Listening · 듣기 · 聞く · 听力 · การฟัง
Nihongo con Teppei eps 624-640
柴くんとシェパードさん | L20
Visual Novel · 비주얼 노벨 · ビジュアルノベル · 视觉小说 · วิชวลโนเวล
Pages Read
| Jan 1 | Jan 31 | Diff | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
12,486 | 12,531 | 45 |
|
13,764 | 14,837 | 1,073 |
|
434 | 531 | 97 |
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Revisiting this post after you updated it with more VNs: good luck and stay safe with the Nitro+Chiral stuff. 
Gakuen Heaven has a really passionate pair of fan translators (Tumblr. They used to have an awesome website, but it seems to be down. 
), so I’ve wanted to play that for a long time as well.
And Nameless (in the Korean section) is really good! The company also has another VN called Dandelion -Wishes brought to you- that I also really enjoyed. It’s a stat-raiser though, so ymmv. They’ve also got a mobile title called Mystic Messenger you may want to check out if you haven’t already.
Man, there was a period of time when I was playing a ton of otome/BL titles… I miss those days.
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Thanks for all the info! I’m looking forward to getting into this new hobby…
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