Thanks for the info. 
I bow to everyone’s kanji knowledge. 
It’s a good way to practice your kanji readings, that’s for sure!
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Recently finished 暁のヨナ (Yona of the Dawn) and やがて君になる (Blooming into You). Now reading NEW GAME (which I’ve previously watched the anime for)
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Aaaand I’ve now finished かがみの孤城 | L28! I enjoyed the whole thing, but wow, that really was a great ending just like everyone said. I also just learned there’s a new movie adaptation, which I’m excited to see as soon as it’s available on the internet (sad day to not live near japanese theaters)
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やが君 is beautiful. it was the first manga i tried reading, almost two years ago. re-read it very recently, finished just a week ago. it was amazing how much more i understood now than back then, and how much easier it was. and the story just got better through that.
then i saw that a new volume of アネモネは熱を帯びる 4 | L22 was out, which i’d enjoyed in summer. finished that three days ago, it was slightly harder going without furigana.
and earlier today i finished the second volume of 少女革命ウテナ 2 | L23. i re-read the first volume also; even though i’ve done very little japanese since starting the series in august, i found it much more comprehensible this time round. it hits quite differently than the anime, but just as hard.
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Glad you enjoyed it! I have a third of the 閉城 chapter and the epilogue left in the audiobook (I already read the book), which I plan to finish this weekend.
I’m keeping my expectations in check. It’s a two hour movie for a 550 page book… Maybe if they split it into two movies like the bunko version of the book it would have had a chance, but it seems unlikely they’ll be able to capture the magic of the book in just two hours. (For reference, the audiobook is 19 hours.)
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I was a bit surprised to see it adapted as a standalone film too, it seems like it would be better as a 6 episode miniseries or something like that. The castle in the PV also looked a lot different than I imagined it, and the restyled character designs are kind of plain, but I’m still willing to give it a shot.
Next up, I’m going to start 夜は短し歩けよ乙女 | L42, which I somehow only just now realized will be the highest-level thing I’ve read. I’ll probably start ビブリア古書堂の事件手帖 (4) ~栞子さんと二つの顔~ | L30 around the same time, to give me something easier to read in between. And as always I’m reading some manga at the same time, currently めぞん一刻 1 | L24 and https://learnnatively.com/book/13ffd98dbe/ (last volume of Yotsuba 
)
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The level feels highly inflated to me. While there are some difficult words (especially the names of some organizations/groups), the grammar isn’t hard. If I had to guess, I would say people just kept second guessing themselves since what they read seemed absurd. But she really has a koi fish plushy strapped on her back while she is running after a Daruma rolling down the hill (to take one of the least random things). The guy’s metaphors/comparisons are also really weird.
HOWEVER, if you just ignore the madness, I’d say it’s more like a level 35-38?
Edit: checking my gradings, probably 38-40, but i did take the madness into account.
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Started reading チュベローズで待ってる AGE22 | L30?? with a small group over on the WK forums and I love it 
It’s about host clubs so if sex and 水商売-y stuff aren’t your thing maybe not the best choice, but the writing style has been a delight and the character setups so far are great. I’m only 2 chapters in so hard to say rating but maybe…35?
Also the covers are just so great:
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Oh, a fellow ビブリア enjoyer. Now I am even more curious how you’ll like 夜は短し 
I agree. While it was difficult, a lot comes from the non-sensical stuff, rather than the language used.
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Me too 
I only read the first series, though, but I’m considering reading the second one as well, if people tell me it’s good too.
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I have only read books 1&2 so far. I hope to read the rest this year. Unfortunately the audiobooks are on dwango. Would have loved to listen to them. Might just switch from audible for a couple of months, to get them. 
Second seriesってthis?
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Yes. It focuses on 扉子 (I assume) instead of 栞子.
(Also, the numbering got reset)
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Finished 本を守ろう (liked it!), so it’s now time for something from my physical shelf and I decided on the first (of 42?) つれつれノート only to realise, I didn’t have it added to natively yet. 
oh well… nothing that a request and a bit of time can’t fix. Also, we really need a non-fiction or essays or something category. “Others” is just so broad.
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Yes, I know. I voted on that a while back. I am eagerly awaiting the implementation, but I don’t want to stress Brandon.
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Whoops, sorry about that then. 
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Almost finished reading Orange, hoping to knock out the last 40 pages or so today. This is only the second novel I’ve read now, but the progress in reading skills over just the last month have been pretty crazy. When I started, I could only do around 5 pages at a snail’s pace before needing to take a break. It’s really quite a liberating feeling
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After a couple of days struggling to find the motivation to read ahead with(島はぼくらと | L30??, I just picked 神様 | L33 which was recommended to me by @Athakaspen. It was really good! I couldn’t put it down (and I just finished it in 1.5 sittings… I somehow stopped yesterday after reading the second story, then just read everything else today).
It’s a collection of short stories based on strange or supernatural events and, contrary to what I complained about in 夜は短し歩けよ乙女 (which has a similar structure overall), the “grounding” here felt excellent. Through the main character, it’s easy to feel if something is uncommon, bizarre, or plain scary. However, the main character recovers quickly from her shock or surprise, which allows the plot to move forward.
My only problem with the book is that it felt too short… I wish we had more time for recurring characters to develop… but at the same time I also feel like it’s the perfect length someone? So that we are just left wondering.
I guess my rambling doesn’t really make sense without reading the book, but, anyway, highly recommended!
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I’m glad you liked it! It’s one of the first things I read, so I’m sure I missed a lot but it was still really fun. I should really re-read it sometime soon.
Also, you should check out 神様2011 if you haven’t yet, a new version of the first story written after the 2011 earthquake and nuclear disaster. It’s an interesting look at the emotions and fears people were feeling around that time, and especially gripping when you have the original story to compare it with.
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