Feb 29:
a work with a workplace setting: 夜明けの雲
It’s not a workplace story per se, but I felt like enough of the novel either was set at the MC’s workplace or had to do with his job that it counts. And now I’ve got my first bing! (4 corners)
12 Likes
I just finished Tokyo Revengers, and ticked off finish a series 
I was planning on using just novels, but since Tokyo Revengers is 31 volumes, I figure it counts for something 
11 Likes
Here’s where I’m at at the beginning of March 
Finished a series - 本好きの下剋上 : 本好きの下剋上~司書になるためには手段を選んでいられません~第五部「女神の化身IX」 | L30 to 本好きの下剋上~司書になるためには手段を選んでいられません~第五部「女神の化身XII」 TOブックスラノベ | L30 - This series has been my constant companion for about a year and a half so I’m very glad I got to read it to its end!
Added by me to Natively - 三十代で再召喚されたが、誰も神子だと気付かない | L28?? - A random suggestion from amazon, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it over the other BL isekais I’ve read so far. Not the worst either tho.
Read in a day - ハンチバック | L30 - Really enjoyed this, yes even with that last chapter, it added a layer of uncertainty and strangeness which, in my eyes, magnified the rest of this strange story.
Translated from English - トワイライト 上 ヴィレッジブックス | L30?? - Because why not. Bella’s Japanese manner of speaking is an uncanny over-the-top 女言葉 (think Hermione in the Japanese HP books). Having read a couple of research papers about this phenomenon in Japanese translation before, this ended up being quite a fun read for me.
Bookclub - スピリチュアルズ 「わたし」の謎 | L32?? - Pop science, questionable interpretations, pretty surface level stuff all around… I did not enjoy reading this.
Next up is Longest time of my TBR with 旅猫リポート | L29 !
13 Likes
I crossed off 2 prompts:
- Read something for free: コンビニエンスストア様 | L24
- TBR with a qualifier (Read the next book in a series you have started): ふしぎ古書店5 青い鳥が逃げだした! | L23
コンビニエンスストア様 | L24 was shorter than I thought! If you’ve liked コンビニ人間 you surely can give this one try. There’s also an audiobook that is included with audible. Audiobook was only 15 mins which should give you an idea how short this one is. 
bingos summarized
- TBR with a qualifier (Read the next book in a series you have started) ふしぎ古書店5 青い鳥が逃げだした! | L23
- 1 vol. or story in a single day https://learnnatively.com/book/c8253ca0ac/
- added to Natively by you 猫嬢ムーム(1) | L17??
- longest in 積読/TBRpile 違国日記 1 | L26
- takes place at a 神社 玉藻の恋 | L19
- debut work https://learnnatively.com/book/e85b4bd246/
- Read something for free コンビニエンスストア様 | L24
- no reviews / gradings / ratings トッカン―特別国税徴収官― | L32
- bad cover 夏と花火と私の死体 | L27
- not translated into your native language 雨の日も、晴れ男 | L25
12 Likes
Today I finished 世界から猫が消えたなら (my sauna book) and to my great surprise I discovered just yesterday that it’s a debut 
I take it 
although I only read 40-something % of the book this year, but it took me so long to read it (in terms of time passed, not reading time, because I did not go to the sauna very often in 2023) that I feel I should honour it by adding it to the bingo 
12 Likes
I thought I’d update before I forget everything.
I’m going for filling the grid first and then I’ll try to replace manga/LNs as much as possible.
New:
Fiction of non-fic: https://learnnatively.com/book/06bd986c3f/ (partial, but I’ll take it)
Untranslated: TRPGプレイヤーが異世界で最強ビルドを目指す 4 上 ~ヘンダーソン氏の福音を~ | L40 | Natively (kinda feels like cheating, but it’s true).
Former stuff
Vol2: 葬送のフリーレン 2 | L25 | Natively
Book club: 今日からマのつく自由業! | L33 | Natively
New to me author: 東京ヒゴロ 1 | L28 | Natively
In a single day: 蟲師 1 | L29 | Natively
Contains a character that speaks a dialect: 神様はじめました | L28 | Natively (putting the series because I don’t remember in which volume she appears first)
Bad cover: TRPGプレイヤーが異世界で最強ビルドを目指す 2 ~ヘンダーソン氏の福音を | L40 | Natively
Chosen for me: BANANA FISH 1 | L33 | Natively
Webstore suggestion: TRPGプレイヤーが異世界で最強ビルドを目指す 3 ~ヘンダーソン氏の福音を~ | L40 | Natively
Added by you: ドッグスレッド 1 | L28?? | Natively
Published 2020~ TRPGプレイヤーが異世界で最強ビルドを目指す 1 ~ヘンダーソン氏の福音を~ | L40 | Natively (that means I am using different volumes from the same series twice, but I guess that’s legit?)
神社⛩️ 神様はじめました 第1巻 | L28 | Natively
0~1 kanji in the title BANANA FISH 2 | L33 | Natively (already used volume 1)
12 Likes
are saunas dry where you are at? 
Here taking a book to a sauna would be nearly as bad as dropping it in a bath… 
3 Likes
In Germany we usually go into the sauna (the hot room) a number of times (usually 2-3 times), and we take a rest in between. That can mean lounging in a pool or lying in a deckchair. I usually choose the deckchair option, and that’s when I read 
(although most saunas are dry, and so I could in principle read in there as well - but I guess my hands would be too sweaty )
In Germany‘s saunas cellphones are forbidden for privacy reasons (because of the built-in cameras and because people are stark naked except when they don a bathrobe or towel) and so my sauna book needs to be a paper book that is easy enough for me that it doesn’t require any lookups. This doesn’t apply to most of my paper books yet so once I find such a gem I only read it in the sauna, which means pretty slow progress in the book, but so far it worked out well (I read 星の王子さま and now 世界から猫が消えたなら in this way, both of which are quite episodic in nature).
12 Likes
Just finished ぼぎわんが、来る | L36 | Natively (learnnatively.com), which is, surprisingly, a debut.
12 Likes
ah! we do the same in Austria. OK, makes sense. My brain just went to “reading while being in the sauna” Sauna here usually are very steamy and add to that the sweat… 
9 Likes
More bingo squares!
I am now reaching the point where the random things I am reading anyways are not going to check off boxes anymore, so I will have to become more deliberate.
I used 一人称単数 | L35 for my free space since it didn’t fulfill any other prompts and horror book club pick ぼぎわんが、来る | L36 for my new author book.
13 Likes
I just wanted to share with you all that as of today, Kobo Abe has been FINALLY digitized and his books are available as ebooks 
That said, 砂の女 is such a humbling experience that I don’t think I’ll try any more books of his very soon. I sometimes check the English translation (something I never normally do) to check my understanding, and I can’t make sense of it either (or can’t figure out how the translator arrived to that interpretation). Not sure if this means that it’s not a very good translation or that the text is just incomprehensible at times. Sigh.
11 Likes
Omg! What exciting news!
@omk3 I own both the translation and paperback of the original and can quickly refer to both, so if you want to workshop difficult parts and go through them together, I’m down 
7 Likes
Thanks so much for the offer! I’m thinking I should have done this from the start. This would certainly be a great book for a book club, so we could all support each other
I don’t think I’ll go back now (I’m more than halfway through), but if (when) I come across another passage that makes me want to hit my head against the wall or just skip it, I may take you up on your offer.
5 Likes
Read something published during or after 2020 - 透明な夜の香り
4 stars - weird but interesting
Also it supposed to be a 3 stars read 
but because there was a character (not the main character) that I absolutely loved, I decided to give it 4 stars (and for that reason too I plan to read book 2 soon!)
Can’t wait to read more of him 
8 Likes
Finally remembered to update my card.
Details of books
Read 1 vol or story in a single day - 不器用な僕たちの恋と魔法 | L26
Read something non-fiction - not a huge challenge for me personally, but the first one this year was 転んでも、大丈夫: ぼくが義足を作る理由 ポプラ社ノンフィクション | L22
Read a book you added to Natively - 水の館 | L23 (also helped reduce my physical TBR)
Read an author you’ve never read before - 司書正 巻一 | L29??
11 Likes
I ended up DNFing 打ち上げ花火、下から見るか?横から見るか? | L27 and I checked my order history and apparently I have read everything I have ordered and now I have 0 idea what is the oldest book on my TBR because everything else was bought on one of my trips and I don’t remember what was which trip. might just get a random number generator to choose for me.
11 Likes
Change it to “earliest published book in my TBR” maybe? Close enough.
5 Likes
Mar 10:
higher Natively level than read before: 夢十夜
I did say I was planning on reading こころ for this square, but now, see, that was before learning 夢十夜’s L37, and also this one’s shorter.
(I only realized when I wrote the date for this that today’s Mario Day. I have zero concept of time.)
10 Likes
