For the record I consider myself as still reading–I’ve just been working massive amounts of unexpected overtime this month and haven’t had time for anything. I’m planning to catch up as much as I can this weekend, after I burn down some of the WK and Bunpro reviews that’ve accumulated–I was supposed to work this weekend again but with my computer BSOD there’s not much I can get done. But that’s a stressor for future me.
Where should we put any disucssion for the remainder since there aren’t weekly threads? Here or just make the Week 5 a Week 5-end thread and mark chapters before spoiler tags?
I’m up to the end of week 6 and plan to continue, but have ended up in 12 book clubs. I’m trying to finish a couple of the others but will prioritising this afterwards!
Finished chapter 6 and we’re out of weekly threads so I’ll post some thoughts below.
Chapter 6 thoughts
It was a pretty easy chapter. Not a lot going on but I vibe with the idea that when everything is irritating to just go outside and do something relaxing.
Also great chapter for learning clothing terms and onomatopoeia
I liked the imagery of 空を泳ぐ洗濯物!
EDIT:
Should have finished this one Thursday, instead did it Saturday. It’s been an unproductive few days.
Ch 7 thoughts
Kiki is SO lucky everything turned out okay with that boy, or things would have been a lot worse. It was cute that both kids thought the other was so much more mature, and I do hope they get to be friends.
To be honest I definitely skimmed over the poems (both versions, Kiki and Jiji’s memory is…interesting). Poetry is not my thing.
EDIT: Oh, and 万年筆 is interesting. It makes sense but I want to know how it came about–10,000 year writing brush for fountain pen. (For that matter–why “fountain” in english?)
I think there are 4 chapters let, so hoping to finish those by EOW. I just realized my Bingo card has 5 books left I need to finish by EOY if I want to try for blackout bingo, which means one per months…yikes.
And done! The last chapter in particular was heartwarming. It was a cute book, more short stories than anything. I’m not sure if I’d read a while series of it though.
In English I think it’s from the sense “spring or source of water” that fountain can have (and which is older than the “jet of water” sense that more readily springs to mind today) – a fountain pen is one that has its own source of liquid. The OED claims a sense for “fountain” implying it wasn’t just used this way with “pen”:
A reservoir or compartment for holding oil, ink, etc., in an Argand lamp, a printing-press, etc.
but (unusually for it) gives no quotations.
In Japanese it looks like the fountain pen was a Meiji era import from the West, so it got a name given to it at that point. Wikipedia says they were first sold under the direct-translation name of 針先泉筆, but at some point somebody (usually said to be author and translator 内田魯庵) came up with the 万年筆 name, because you could keep using them forever (I guess in contrast to the traditional ink brush which presumably loses its shape or loses bristles over time).
(Compare 万年床, a futon that’s permanently laid out on the floor and never put away in the cupboard.)
iirc the first book was a series of newspaper short stories that got published as a novel. Apparently the later volumes are much more plot driven. I think the last chapter is the intermediary between the episodic stories of this book and the more plot-y later books.
That said, this is all hearsay and I also was happy with my time with the first book but think I’m calling it there.
Yeah, same. Maybe when I get to the point I could read a book of it in an afternoon like in English I’ll check out more and see if they capture my interest. Assuming I haven’t already been buried alive by my 積読 pile…
I always imagined it’s called that way because you can just keep writing forever, while with a traditional brush you need to dip it into the ink after every stroke or so… but that’s just my own idea, I have no source for it.
But that’s a stressor for future me.
