January Wrap-up
Includes February goals!
I dived into my reading goals and made some great progress so far! Here are the books I read this month:
The West Passage by Jared Pechaček (audiobook)
If you like world building, medieval mysticism, and biblically accurate angels, this may be the book for you.
I started this book in December 2024 and finished it on the first day of the new year! I had no idea what I was getting into when I started listening to the story (or why I picked it in the first place), but I loved it. It’s the type of story that focuses more on the journey than the destination. I discovered each section and chapter heading in the physical book contains illustrations created by the author as well! The illustrations are inspired by those found in illuminated manuscripts.
謎解きはディナーのあとで by 東川篤哉 (audio+ebook)
I read and listened to this novel for a book club hosted by
in our Japanese book club discord group! The cover is quite eye-catching and I kept seeing it shared online. It’s a an episodic mystery series with a protagonist who is a rich girl by the name of Reiko Houshou. Reiko hides her identity from her colleague Kazamatsuri while working as a detective. However, when it comes to solving the murder cases they’re assigned, Reiko is not the brightest crayon in the box. Reiko turns to her family butler, Kageyama, who, despite his quick-witted and biting remarks, uses his deductive reasoning to solve the cases. The banter between the two is enjoyable to read. This series was also adapted into a TV drama and is receiving an anime adaptation this year.ループ7回目の悪役令嬢は、元敵国で自由気ままな花嫁生活を満喫する 1 by 雨川透子 (ebook)
Another book club pick! This one I started in October of 2024, put it away for a bit, and then picked it back up this month. Rishe Irmgard Weitzner has lived six varied lives: merchant, apothecary, alchemist, maid, hunter-mercenary, soldier. Unfortunately, each life tragically ends early due to the war instigated by Emperor Arnold Hein of the Galkhein Empire. When she loops back once more to the moment her new life begins, the dissolvement of her betrothal to Crown Prince Dietrich Hermity, her seventh life begins. She hopes to relive her timeas a merchant but her plans are cut short when she crosses path with Crown Prince Arnold Hein, who proposes marriage after she catches his interest. Rishe initially accepts the proposal to maintain good relations between the Kingdom of Hermity and the Galkhein Empire. However, in order to attain her dream of living a peaceful seventh life, she decides to maintain the betrothal as a means to prevent Arnold Hein from becoming the ruthless future emperor who leads the empire into war.
I enjoyed learning how Rishe uses the knowledge of her past lives to secure her place in the Galkhein Empire while helping others she meets along the way. I previously watched the anime adaptation which led me to wanting to read the series as well.
六道先生の原稿は順調に遅れています 三 by 峰守ひろかず (ebook)
This is the third and final book in the series, 六道先生の原稿は順調に遅れています. One of my reading goals for this year was to finish a book series in Japanese. While most of the series I’ve started have at least 10 volumes, this one only has 3!
Emi Takigawa works as an editor for a literature publishing company. The veteran author whose work she oversees is a renowned fiction writer by the name Soma Rokudo. His real form is a gashadokuro, a giant mythological skeleton! In this volume, Rokudo-sensei, with Emi’s help, sets out to write a fictional semi-autobiography recounting his past life before he became a writer. As the two explore places from his history, Emi can’t help but notice the gaps in Rokudo-sensei’s memories and the fleeting violent reactions the author exhibits, despite his usual calm and friendly nature. What could lay hidden in Rokudo-sensei’s past memories that shows how he became the person he is today?
京都寺町三条のホームズ by 望月 麻衣 (audio+ebook)
Yet another bookclub pick from last year! I put it aside at the time and almost gave up on this one due to the slow pace (I wasn’t quite in the mood for it). However, I decided to give it one more try, mostly to hear more of the Kansai-ben spoken by many of the characters in the Kyoto setting.
The protagonist, Aoi Mashiro, is a high school student who moves to Kyoto and visits an antique store named Kura to have her grandfather’s old scrolls appraised. Of course, there’s more to the story, but I won’t spoil! Before long, she ends up working part-time at the store thanks to the manager’s son, Kiyotaka Yagashira, nicknamed “Holmes of Kyoto”. Like Sherlock Holmes, this graduate student has uncanny deductive skills that allow him to appraise items and help solve cases brought to Kura by clients.
月の影 影の海〔下〕by 小野不由美 (ebook)
This was a series I have been wanting to read for a long time. I read the first half of this volume 8 years ago, found it difficult despite completing it, and took a break from it. I finally returned to it . . . and still found it difficult, haha. I ended up typing several notes of the location names (kingdoms, regions, towns), character names, titles, etc. Despite the challenge of this fantastical setting inspired by Chinese mythology, I don’t want to put it aside for 8 more years and plan to continue it in the near future. I even made some flashcards using Yomitan and Anki to make sentence decks to recall new vocabulary. I really enjoyed the story and character development which pushed me to complete this volume. Sometimes, a challenging read can be more feasible to complete when the story/characters/plot grab your interest versus a “simple” story that does not appeal to your reading mood.
This volume in the Twelve Kingdoms series follows Yoko Nakajima, a high school student who is transported to another world made up of 12 islands that represent kingdoms. Yoko must survive being hunted by unknown enemies while making sense of where she is, locating the mysterious man who brought her to this world, and finding a means to return home.
Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum (audiobook)
My final read for January was another audiobook, a pick for a book club I hosted! This was a cozy and comforting read. Yeongju, the protagonist, quits her corporate job and opens up a bookstore in the Hyunam neighborhood. Soon, you meet a cast of characters with varied personalities ( a barista, a crochet aficionado, a high school student with no dreams, a writer, etc.) as they are drawn to the bookstore and they try to figure out what they want in life and how to move forward. After finishing this book, I had a strong desire to visit my local bookstores and take in the nice, calming atmosphere.
Here is my Japanese Reading Bingo progress so far as well!
A few of the books I read ended up being used for different bingo slots than originally intended. For example, I found myself taking many notes while reading 月の影 影の海〔下〕. It introduced many location and people names in the setting I wanted to remember so I moved it to the “take notes about the book” from the “isekai” slot. I also had a different book in mind for “modern setting” but then picked up 六道先生の原稿は順調に遅れています and decided it would fit this slot.
February Goals
Delve back into my Korean studies with some Anki flashcards, a few introductory textbooks to refresh the basics, and using Yomitan to read short articles for immersion.
Continue with my work-in-progress novel. I’m about halfway done and would love to finish the rough draft this year.
Complete more art pieces in oil, oil pastel, and gouache.
Read 2 Japanese novels that fulfill bingo slots
See you next time!