Im feeling guilt that I dont use sentence review for vocab, so I just add everything hhhh
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This weeks book wrap up:
finished
- Shirokuma Cafe Ichigo (was borrowing that so was a relief to be able to return it to my friend - basically feel double the sense of accomplishment)
progressed
- read about 40 pages of flying witch
- 60 pages of shikabane hime
- 45 pages of fushigi dagashiya zenitendo
- 8 pages of kikis delivery serivce
started (oops)
- bought (oh no… but online at least, so not cramming my shelves) associate professor something or other… actually I can’t read the title but its a mystery. And I read the prologue and part of chapter one. It’s listed as an n2 book on Learn Natively, but its surprisingly not bad to read. It’s in my stretch zone for sure, but in a way that feels good.
reflections
- reading in your target language is more fun than reading in your native language sometimes- it kinda feels like oooh can I solve this language puzzle? will I be able to read the next sentence?
- I want to start looking at japanese audiobooks but they seem to all be locked to audible and its not so cheap. However, I am beginning to tire of listening to podcasts every day, so I think being able to switch it up with japanese audiobooks would be really good.
- I’m finally… an immersion learner? Well, not entirely. But I realised that I’ve finally hit that part of my studies where immersion is a valid strategy for me to just get gud, and that feels really gratifying. I definitely wasn’t at this stage a year ago when I passed n3. Different learners get here at different times, regardless of how much they’ve learned. I do wish I’d started a little earlier, but I’m glad I got here all the same.
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I managed to get a few from audiobook.jp (they have an app too) but you need to subscribe then buy the books but once you have them they are yours to keep. I have a few on there but the majority of my audiobooks come from audible 
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audible is the same model right? raaaa why so many subscription services :’((((
Do you find it’s good value for money?
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One thing kinda nice about audible is that you get one free book a month. Back in the day I used to do a VERY boring job and so I listened to a lot of audio books, podcasts, and music. So I would use my free book of the month to get really long, expensive books and then buy maybe one or two books through-out the month as my podcast release schedule demanded. My job at that time required zero human interaction so I was literally listening from the moment I left home for work, until I got home for work.
Audible isnt all that bad a deal in the grand scheme, PLUS you dont NEED the sub to buy books. Only to take advantage of deals when they have them. So buying one or two books a month actually wont cost you that much more than buying a new LN.
But, Im willing to bet that Youtube has short story content that could be found and downloaded too.
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I guess I’m just spoiled cause I get all my english audiobooks for free through Libby (a library app) D:
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That reminds me I need to check if my Japanese library card works for that. But also, do they not have Japanese Audio books then? Is there any way to request them? I would be surprised if there isnt.
Libby isnt really popular in Japan. I still have my library card from back home, which is how I get books
I googled “Japanese Audiobooks Libby” and this link came up. I dont know that much about Libby though.
A quick peruse before I hit send didnt seem to show that much. A few “Learn Japanese in your car” type things, but looks like they did have some other books regarding culture or people. I wonder if I got to my local library if they have audiobooks. Ill have to muster up the courage and time to go. I should rent more books from them.
Great find! Unfortunately looks like it might only be available for people from Canada and the States though D: I hope someone can enjoy it tho bc that looks seriously helpful!
Lastly, since I think one of my hobbies is learning how to study more so than studying itself lol. But I found two more things. One has a lot of shorter stories and genres so depending on your time.
https://aozoraroudoku.jp/kensaku/kensaku-05.html
the next one seems to be run by the NHK. Maybe they have daily or Weekly stories like I know AM radio stations will do sometimes. Seems like they have a nice cast to pull from for VAs too, which is helpful.
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Audible Japan is 聴き放題 (unlimited listening) for a massive amount of items (100k or something, although don’t quote me on that). Just one subscription and you can listen to whatever you want. If you can access it then hopefully that information is useful!
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!!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!!
!!! !!! !!!
NicE!
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This sounds vaguely familiar but I’m also blanking on the name 
Glad it’s hitting a good level of challenge for you!
I haven’t been going for audiobooks in Japanese so I can’t really throw any resources into the ring for that, but my go-to is watching Let’s Players on youtube. Lots of stuff goes over my head, of course, but it’s good exposure to natural spoken Japanese and I do wind up picking up vocabulary from it.
I’m pretty sure you’ve mentioned aiming for the N2 (or am I mixing folks up?) so even if it took longer than you’d like to get to the immersion stage, you’ve made it now! And I hear a lot about reading speed being vital for N2 level, so it should be great practice for that.
If I DID mix you up…Well, reading speed is a boon for any of us here, given our shared battle against being buried under our own unread book collections 
Today’s update on my end… Just over a volume AND a half of Vanitas! I’m simply just that fast now >:D
Jk, it’s because a good chunk of it was a big fight scene so there wasn’t nearly as much actual reading to be done. It’s still satisfying to have gotten through that much, though, even if it means I’m rapidly approaching the point of Having To Wait For The Next Tankoubon To Release, which I dread. I’ll just have to distract myself with one of my…like, 400 other manga, lol.
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It was the only way to get access to certain books but if I remember rightly it wasn’t that expensive since it’s Japanese pricing for audiobook.jp whereas audible’s pricing is amazon (which I can only buy from the UK store making it about double the price at times)
I do prefer to only buy what I want though so don’t usually keep subscriptions long unless I get something I can keep once I unsubscribe.
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I started using audible last year finally myself. It costs me $9.49 US per month. Since I already have so many kindle books, I just looked at which ones had audio books and read the book while listening to the audiobook. Some series that really make it worth it to me are Kiki’s Delivery Service, Fushigi Dagashiya, and 本好き. I read the second Kiki’s Delivery Service novel with the audiobook and my comprehension was far better than when I read the first book without one.
You can also download the audio books when using the audible app on your phone, which is great for someone like me whose work wifi blocks everything on earth.
Just fyi they give you a month for free and you can cancel anytime. So you can always use it for however long you like and then if it just isn’t working out for you it’s not a big deal.
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Wait do you mean they give you a free kindle book or a free audio book? My brain is confused. If there’s a free kindle book they owe me like 4 books.
me losing it at the potential of acquiring more books after being a good noodle and not buying any
My job gets like this too, that’s why I have so much time to learn japanese.
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Im sold on getting audible now, seems p worth it!!
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I have about 140 audible books in Japanese, most of which are either children’s books or light novels I have the physical books for too. It’s definitely worth it if you’ll use them.
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Well, I live in the state of Georgia and they’ve decided to close school tomorrow due to the impending ice storm that supposed to happen tonight. Once the roads ice I won’t be able to leave my house so yay more reading and video games for me!
Finished 見える子ちゃん 3 and am halfway through the last volume of 台所のドラゴン. I think I’ll be able to finish it up today. Slow and steady progress being made on Nancy Drew too. 56% through. I won’t finish by the end of the month, so now I’ve also started 恐怖コレクター6 to try and finish at least one chapter book before February.
Off topic about my silly eye problems
I got my new glasses so my right eye is crystal clear!..and now my left eye is blurry. 
I was told it can take a few tries to get the prisms correct. They’re going to redo the left lens. Until then I’m to still wear the new glasses so that my right eye can get used to being aligned (mostly) properly with my other eye. My depth perception has been absolutely thrown for a loop though.
Saw my regular doctor on Thursday, told him about my right eye getting lazy, and now I get to have an MRI done next month. 
Am I now worried about it? Absolutely.
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