March has been a strange month. I have done my third trip to Japan, and of course, it motivated me a lot. It also slowed down my progression for the JLPT preparation, and it was hard to keep studying the week after my return from Japan. I have been able to find my study rhythm again at the end of the month, and I was finally able to achieve my JLPT goals.
My goals for March were:
my monthly goals are displayed on my homepage
Reading Goals
I had no reading goals this month. I was able to finish the books I wanted to read before the trip, and I have started my 2019 reading challenge last week.
I am reading 『切り裂きジャックの告白』by Shichiri NAKAYAMA (中山七里), and it is not an easy read. I thought it would be a classic police thriller with a serial killer and police officers who try to catch him. In fact, it is exactly that, but the novel also contains a lot of thoughts and debates on organ donation and transplantation in Japan. I am not usually interested in medical matters, so I never really thought or read about this topic before. I didn’t know, for example, that there has been discussions around brain death and whether or not it should be accepted as actual death (rather than heart arrest).
And because organ donation is such a heavy topic, I started another book of my list that I hope will be lighter and maybe even funny: 『メゾン・ド・ポリス』by Miyaki KATO (加藤実秋).
JLPT Goals
It has been three whole months now that I study for the JLPT. I had forgotten that it can be very discouraging on the long run. Now I think that it was a bad idea to keep reading and listening practice for the second half on the year. Doing only vocabulary, grammar and kanji ends up being to abstract. I have decided to slowly start working with reading and listening textbooks, both because I need it and to give me a sense of concreteness.
I have reached my goals concerning vocabulary, I have studied until unit 23 of the 日本語単語スピードマスター. The last lessons have been very easy to me, mainly due to the fact that I have regularly read the news on politics last year. I already knew almost all the words of the lessons on politics, media, law and international politics.
I have completed my Grammar plan too and reached week 5 lesson 2 of So-matome. I am really glad to see that I am doing well with this textbook and will be able to finish it at the end of May, which gives me ample time to study with another textbook afterwards, review and make drills.
As for kanji, I am still experimenting with my new kanji deck. I might be putting more energy in building my deck, choose the display of the cards and the colour of each information than actually learning the kanji. Anyway, I have only reached week 3 day 5 of the So-matome.
Looking for April!
I feel that April will be a productive month! It will start with my registration for the JLPT of July (I’ll take it as a practice test, my real goal is December) on April 1st (tomorrow!).
I took the JLPT N2 twice in 2017 and got 60 and 59 points in the reading part. I remember that I didn’t find the texts to be challenging, and I even found some of them interesting. In 2018, I spent the whole year reading Japanese genre fiction, and I naturally thought that my reading level had improved.
As a consequence, it was a shock to discover that I could not understand some of the N1 texts. At least, not in a limited time. I read them, more or less understood all the words, but still could not understand what the author meant.
I think that there is a huge gap between N2 and N1 when it comes to reading. The N1 texts are much more difficult than any mystery novel I read.
To be honest, this practice test discouraged me a little. It was more than a month ago already, and I am only starting now to do something concrete to improve my reading.
Step One: study!
I am studying the texts in this practice test. The idea is to understand why I did not understand them at the time. What I do is:
First, I read them carefully without looking up words. I try to understand as much as possible without looking up unknown words. If I had had more time during the practice exam, if I had been more focused at the time, would I have understood them?
I translate the text in a notebook. When I see a sentence that does not make sense, I write it down in Japanese and study it.
When I am done with all this, I look up the words and grammar I don’t know.
I sum up the text in my own words and try to write what the author wants to say.
I answer the questions.
I have studied several texts in this way and was always able to answer correctly. Most of the time, I don’t need to look up words, the difficulty of the text is that the author never says clearly what he or she thinks. They imply things, they use metaphors and so on. In the end, I can understand what they mean, but I need a lot of time. So what I need to do is to practice in order to increase my comprehension pace.
Step 2: practice
In my initial plan, I wanted to study grammar, vocabulary and kanji first. Only when I am done with these textbooks, was I to start working on reading and listening textbooks. The practice test of February showed me that I needed to practice throughout the year. So I bought my first reading textbook, which is a Korean one published by Darakwon.
It is not really a textbook with lessons and exercises, it is only a collection of practice texts for the reading part. There are 6 to 12 texts for each reading part (shot text, long text, etc.) and two “final tests” (reading part only).
For now, I don’t have any study plan with this textbook, I will try to work with it regularly and finish it before the test of July, if possible.
So that’s it! I feel that I am back on track now and don’t feel discouraged anymore. I mean, N1 will be difficult, but instead of complaining about how difficult the texts are, I am taking concrete steps to improve my reading level!
I was in Japan last week for a trip in Tokyo, and of course, I took the opportunity to visit several bookshops and buy Japanese books.
(This post is long, scroll down to see the list!)
Reading Challenge #2
Last year, I set myself a first reading challenge: read all the 13 books I had bought in Japan (in December 2017) before the end of 2018. This meant reading roughly one book per month. This challenge was a success, it got me into the habit of reading Japanese genre fiction regularly and helped me improve my reading pace.
This year (2019), I start a similar challenge: read all the 23 books I bought in Japan before December, 31st.
As we are already in March, this means reading 2 to 3 novels per month. I think that it is doable, given that I bought mainly detective and mystery novels, a genre that I am used to reading and is not too challenging for me.
How I chose my books
Usually, I buy my books in Korean bookshops (some have a Japanese corner) or on Amazon. The flagship of Korean bookshop Kyobo does have a good selection of Japanese books, but of course, it cannot compare with bookshops in Japan. This is why I took advantage of my being in Tokyo to purchase books from authors I didn’t know or never saw in Korean bookshops.
Generally speaking, these were my criteria:
I mainly bought detective and mystery novels because I love it and they are easier to read than literary fiction.
I focused on authors I didn’t know and books I never saw in Korea.
I like reading series, and when I found an interesting series, I have tried to buy the first volume.
Most of the books I have bought come from the new release sections. Thanks to Kazen’s video on Japanese bunko paperback, I now know that the promotional wrapping band around Japanese books is called a “obi”. The obi greatly influences me when I purchase new books, I think that I entirely rely on what is written on it, and I cannot resist their catchy promotional phrases!
The list!
Authors I already knew
As I said, I mainly chose authors I never read, but I could not resist buying some authors I knew:
I have only read one book by Gaku YAKUMARU (薬丸岳), but I liked it. It was 『誓約』 and I have finished it just before going to Japan. It was a page-turner, easy to read and exactly the kind of books I enjoy reading in Japanese. I bought『ガーディアン』 without hesitation. It is a school mystery, which I like, and the last pocket release by Gaku YAKUMARU.
During my 2018 Reading challenge, I have read Kazumasa HAYAMI (早見和真)’s best-seller 『イノセント・デイズ』, which was one of my favourites but also one of the most difficult to read. 『小説王』was advertised in all the bookshops I went to, and the obi says that there is now a drama version. I wonder if 『小説王』will be as difficult as 『イノセント・デイズ』, but if it is, it is a good way to find out if I have made progress since last year!
『ガーディアン』by Gaku YAKUMARU (薬丸岳), published by 講談社文庫.
『小説王』by Kazumasa HAYAMI (早見和真), published by 小学館文庫.
Starting new series!
It is not always easy to know if a book belongs to a series, and I find even harder to know in which order one should read the books of a series. Most of them do not have numbers, which certainly means that they can be read in no particular order. However, I always like to start with the first one, even if it is not the best one. Even if each novel has an independent story, I like to see how the protagonist evolves.
Sometimes I did manage to buy the first volume, but sometimes not. I could have systematically checked on Wikipedia, but I didn’t want to spend the whole day in the bookshop either!
Series 刑事犬養隼人, featuring detective Hayato INUKAI (犬養隼人) by Shichiri NAKAYAMA (中山七里). The first four books of this series were displayed in one of the bookshops I went to (I think it was Sanseido). I bought the first two volumes. They look like classic thrillers, with murders and a police investigation.
I could not resist buying a third book by Shichiri NAKAYAMA, though it does not belong to this series: 『追憶の夜想曲』. It is a legal thriller (法定ミステリ), a genre that I like and would like to read more in Japanese. I think that it might be a little challenging if court related words appear, but it is fine to have more difficult books on my list.
What I didn’t realise when I bought this book, is that it also belongs to a series, the 御子柴礼司シリーズ featuring lawyer Reiji MIKOSHIBA, and it is the second volume. I would have preferred to read the first one first, but I guess it does not matter. If I like 『追憶の夜想曲』, I will definitely add the other books of the series to my reading list!
『切り裂きジャックの告白』(Confession of Jack the Ripper) by Shichiri NAKAYAMA (中山七里), published by 角川文庫.
『七色の毒』(Poison of the Seven Colors) by Shichiri NAKAYAMA (中山七里), published by 角川文庫.
『追憶の夜想曲』by Shichiri NAKAYAMA (中山七里), published by 講談社文庫.
Series “その可能性はすでに考えた”, featuring detective Jo UEORO (上苙丞) by Magi INOUE (井上真偽). I liked the title of the series, the cover of the two books and let myself be influenced by the obi. I think that these two books might have a different tone than the others.
『その可能性はすでに考えた』(I’ve considered all the possibility) by Magi INOUE (井上真偽), published by 講談社文庫.
『聖女の毒杯 – その可能性はすでに考えた』(I’ve considered all the possibility) by Magi INOUE (井上真偽), published by 講談社文庫.
Series メゾン・ド・ポリス, featuring a bunch of retired detectives, by Miaki KATO (加藤実秋). Apparently there are three volumes in this series, and I have bought the first one, which is a collection of short stories. There is a drama adaptation too. It really looks unique and interesting, I cannot wait to start it!
Series 佐方貞人, featuring lawyer Sadato SAKATA (佐方貞人) by Yuko YUZUKI (柚月裕子). The book I bought is the second book of the series… Here again I am expecting a legal thriller.
『メソン・ド・ポリス – 退職刑事のシェアハウス』by Miaki KATO (加藤実秋), published by 角川文庫.
『検事の本懐』(The Public Prosecutor’s Desire) by Yuko YUZUKI (柚月裕子), published by 角川文庫.
Other mystery novels and thrillers
I don’t know what to expect with these two books by Shin NAKAMACHI (中町信). Though they have a similar title, I don’t think that they are part of a series, but I may be mistaken. It is the obi that caught my eyes and made me buy them. I mean, how can you resist?
I think that it is the first time I see such a thing, but both books have a list of characters on the inside cover! This is so great!!
模倣の殺意 (The Plagiarized Fugue 1973, 2004) by Shin NAKAMACHI (中町信), published by 創元推理文庫.
『天啓の殺意』(The Apocalyptic Fugue 1982, 2005) by Shin NAKAMACHI (中町信), published by 創元推理文庫.
『父からの手紙』by Kenji KOSUGI (小杉健治) is a sentimental mystery and I thought it might be similar to some of Kanae MINATO’s books, a suspenseful mystery which also contains a deep analysis of family relationships. In 『殺人鬼にまつわる備忘録』by Yasumi KOBAYASHI (小林泰三), a man suffers from anterograde amnesia and cannot recall anything that occurred after a certain event, the only thing he can trust is his notebook. 『ケモノの城』by Tetsuya HONDA (誉田哲也) looks like a classic page-turner thriller. 『盤上に死を描く』(The Killing Diagram) by Neko INOUE (井上ねこ) involves a serial murder with a puzzle-like mystery, exactly the kind of books I like! Finally 『6月31日の同窓会』by Yukiko MARI (真梨幸子) is certainly the book I am the most anticipating: former students of the same school die after receiving an invitation for an alumni meeting taking place on June 31st.
A special mention for 『首折りの男のための協奏曲』by Kotaro ISAKA (伊坂幸太郎). I have never read this author, but he was recommended to me by Anteateralert in the comments of my blog (thank you!), and I have recently read a review of another book by Kotaro ISAKA on selftaughtjapanese.com, the review mentioned that Kotaro ISAKA’s writing style was a little similar to Keigo HIGASHINO!
『父からの手紙』by Kenji KOSUGI (小杉健治), published by 光文社文庫.
『殺人鬼にまつわる備忘録』by Yasumi KOBAYASHI (小林泰三), published by 幻冬舎文庫.
『ケモノの城』by Tetsuya HONDA (誉田哲也), published by 双葉文庫.
『盤上に死を描く』(The Killing Diagram) by Neko INOUE (井上ねこ), published by 宝島社文庫.
『6月31日の同窓会』(June 31st Reunion) by Yukiko MARI (真梨幸子), published by 実業之日本社.
『首折りの男のための協奏曲』(a concerto) by Kotaro ISAKA (伊坂幸太郎), published by 新潮文庫.
Not-mystery novels
I have mainly bought genre fiction because I will be busy studying for the JLPT until December, and I didn’t want to read challenging books (sometimes it means spending several months reading the same book!). I did choose these three titles, which are not mystery novels:
『わたし、定時で帰ります。』by Kaeruko AKENO (朱野帰子) is a book I saw on Amazon some time ago and wanted to read. I like reading novels about Japanese professional world and this title really appealed to me. A rapid flip through showed me that the novel is mainly composed of dialogues, so I hope that it will be easy to read.
The two books by Yo IKENAGA (池永陽) have so beautiful covers that they immediately caught my eye. The two books seem to be about people who struggle with their life and cannot seem to find happiness. 『下町やぶさか診療所』is about a doctor and the patients who come to him, 『コンビニ・ララバイ』is about the owner of a convenience store and the clients of the store. I could not decide which one to pick, so I ended up buying both.
『わたし、定時で帰ります。』by Kaeruko AKENO (朱野帰子), published by 新潮文庫.
『下町やぶさか診療所』by Yo IKENAGA (池永陽), published by 集英社文庫.
『コンビニ・ララバイ』by Yo IKENAGA (池永陽), published by 集英社文庫.
Easy to read?
I wanted to buy light novels, but I could not find detective novels that appealed to me (for example, I didn’t want to read stories that happen in London). I also did not have the time to make a thorough search, so I gave up the idea. It is hard for me to tell if a book will be easy to read. I would say that most mystery novels are relatively easy, though there are exceptions. I bought these books thinking they might be easier, but I may be mistaken.
It is not written anywhere but I think that 『赤レンガの御定番』by Shoko MIKI (三木笙子) is a light novel. I bought it because it happens during Meiji, and it is adverstised as a 明治浪漫ミステリー.
Yugo AOSAKI (青崎有吾)’s books were displayed in Tsutaya where the author signed his books. I bought his new release 『ノッキングオン・オックドドア』and 『図書館の殺人』because I cannot resist a book with such a title! It is part of a series, and it is the 4th book. For once, I didn’t care because I don’t think that I will want to read the whole series, and this particular title attracted me more than the others.
『赤レンガの御定番』by Shoko MIKI (三木笙子), published by 講談社タイガ.
『ノッキングオン・オックドドア』(Knockin’ on Locked Door) by Yugo AOSAKI (青崎有吾), published by 徳間文庫.
『図書館の殺人』(The Red Letter Mystery) by Yugo AOSAKI (青崎有吾), published by 創元推理文庫 (the publisher with the characters’ list on the inside cover!)
Writing a characters list on the inside cover is a marvelous idea! 😃
Conclusion
So that’s it! 23 books! I hope that I can read them all this year while preparing for the JLPT. I have mostly chosen books that I think I can read without struggling, and I see them more like a material for entertainment rather than for studying Japanese. If I pass the JLPT N1 in December, and if I have spent the whole year reading genre fiction, I will certainly be prepared to tackle more challenging literary fiction or non fiction in 2020!
Title: 『誓約』 Author: Gaku YAKUMARU 薬丸岳 Edited by 幻冬舎文庫
Gaku YAKUMARU is a well-known author of thrillers and mystery novels in Japan. The Korean translation of『誓約』is a huge hit, it was the top-selling novel of the biggest online and offline bookshops of the country.
Setting
Satoshi MUKAI lives with his wife and daughter and works in the same bar for 15 years. One day, he receives a letter that will bring back an undesired past into his present life…
Why I liked it
『誓約』 was a suspenseful page-turner, and if you buy mystery novels or thrillers to get entertained, this novel completely does its job.
While I liked the book, I cannot help but feel a little disappointed. I think that I had big expectations due to the novel’s success in Korea, but I found that it was just good, not revolutionary good. First of all, there is nothing really new in this novel, it is a classic story of a man whose life is turned apart by a triggering event.
I also found the plot to be a little hard to take in, but this does not prevent the story from being suspenseful and engrossing. To sum up, I found it was a classic thriller, well constructed and efficient, event though it was not very credible.
『誓約』was the first book I read by Gaku YAKUMARU, and I will definitely read his other novels.
Note: I’m going to Japan tomorrow! So this will be my first and last post of the week! See you next week!
It is normal to go through phases of lack of motivation, and if you are studying Japanese for some time, you know that your motivation will come back eventually, even if you don’t actively try to restore it.
This is what happened to me this last two weeks. I was not as motivated to study for the JLPT, but I knew that it would not last, that I would be on track again in no time.
The real problem is not the lack of motivation
The problem is not the motivation in itself, but the fact that I will not review or study during this phase. When the motivation comes back, I have to face another problem: reviews left undone, huge Anki, flashcards that I cannot even remembered having written myself. All my study material looks unfamiliar and far away. Every time I set my eyes on them, I think:
It’s been a while since I’ve opened this book.
I’ve certainly forgotten half of it if not more.
What a shame, I was doing well, but now it feels like I have to start from scratch again.
And if I find the courage to start my reviews again, I keep stumbling across words or grammar that I cannot remember. For the more recent ones, I cannot even remember having studied them before. For the older ones, I am depressed because I have forgotten them although I knew them well before.
After a while, I feel depressed and stop my reviews. I have bad feelings associated with them:
Guilt: I have left my books and flashcards untouched for too long.
Depreciation: I know that I have forgotten everything anyway, I am not good enough.
Discouragement: If you have already left your Anki untouched for some days, you know what I mean.
If this happens, I will feel bad every time I see my study material so I will end up putting them on my shelf, forget about them and decide that I will not take the JLPT after all.
The problem is not a lack of motivation, it is the bad feelings associated with my studies. I am sure that I am not the only one who sometimes have feelings of guilt towards all these study materials I bought or made myself and who end up depressed by it, instead of feeling pushed forward.
To solve it
If you have ever had the same experience, what you must do to solve it is:
First of all, accept that there will be times when you are not motivated. It might even last one or two weeks. It is normal and it is not something you should worry about. Your motivation will come back eventually.
The most important things is: keep reviewing during this phase. Even if you don’t learn new things, keep reviewing what you have done so far. Adopt a slow pace, but stay in touch with your study material.
More concretely, what you can do is stop learning new words in your SRS, but continue reviewing your deck. If you really don’t feel like studying, you can at least go through your cards and watch the answer immediately. Then decide whether you would have known this word or not.
For grammar, re-read at least the example sentences of the rules you have already learned. If your goal was to review 2 lessons per day, you can only review 1 lesson. In any case, even if you lower the amount of review per day or per week (depending on how you work), open your book and read it, don’t leave it alone.
What I personally do is:
For vocabulary: I study with the 日本語単語スピードマスター. It has a red card that covers the pronunciation and the meaning of the words, which is very useful to review. When I am not motivated, I don’t use the red card, I just re-read the words with their pronunciation and meaning visible.
For grammar: I am using physical flashcards. When I am not motivated, I just read the front and then look at the back immediately. I have not actively recalled the grammar point, but I have read it at least.
If I use my physical flashcards regularly, I feel both proud to have made them and glad to hold them in my hand. On the contrary, if I don’t, I will start feeling guilty towards them or even irritated to have spent so much time creating them for nothing.
If you keep reviewing, even at a slow pace, you will be all set to go forward when your motivation comes back.
Conclusion
People often say that motivation is key, but I think that diligence and assiduousness are even more important. You won’t be able to stay at the top of your motivation every single day, and you cannot really control how you feel. What you can control however is what you do: go sit at your desk, open your book and read it. It is not complicated, you have no excuse. Just make yourself do it, even if you don’t want to. When your motivation comes back, you will be happy to see that you didn’t let everything go astray.
Title: 『向田理髪店』(Barber Mukouda) Author: Hideo OKUDA (奥田英朗) Published by 光文社文庫
『向田理髪店』 is a novel that contains 6 chapters written between 2013 and 2016. Each chapter is a different story, but they all feature the same characters and are in chronological order.
Setting
Tomazawa is a little coal mine town in Hokkaido. Like many other similar towns, it flourished during the 19th Century but lost its vitality and most of its appeal when the energy policy changed and the coal mines shut down. Most of the youth left the town to Sapporo or even Tokyo.
Our protagonist is Yasuhiko MUKOUDA, one of the two barbers of Tomazawa. He was 28 when he came back from Sapporo to his native town and take over the shop. He is now 53-year-old, lives with his wife and mother and has two grown-up children.
If Tomazawa has lost its glory, its vitality, its youth and most of its population, those who stayed or returned, know how to make the most of any event.
Why I loved it
『向田理髪店』is an extraordinary heartwarming story, I loved every single page of it. We get to share the lives of Tomazawa inhabitants, get exciting or worried about the same things, get involved in their disputes and share their comradeship.
I liked how the stories depict real problems of towns like Tomazawa: the ageing population, the lack of public services, the lack of youth and the difficulty to get married… But Hideo OKUDA is a fantastic storyteller and all the stories in this novel made me either smile or got me involved.
I liked all the stories, but my favourites are 中国からの花嫁, 小さなスナック and 赤い雪. The story 小さなスナック was particularly funny, I loved it.
In the end, I felt like I was myself a part of Tomazawa, and I wish that there more stories to read… I highly recommend it!
February is over, and I haven’t been as diligent as I should have been.
JLPT first practice test 😭
I think that the JLPT N1 practice test that I took during the second week of February discouraged me a little. It was the JLPT Official Practice Workbook (the one published in 2012). The vocabulary and grammar part was too difficult for me, but it is normal given that I still have several months to prepare.
What really discouraged me is the reading part. I found it very hard. Reading detective novels and thrillers is much easier than any of the N1 text! To be honest, I more or less thought that I could take the test without making extra efforts on the reading part, that I already had the required level. But now I think that I will have to read other things than best-selling novels if I want to score a good mark.
Another discouraging thing was listening. The listening questions of the practice test are too easy and do not correspond to the real test level. I feel that I have lost my time with the listening part of this test… I will have to look for good resources so that I can be well prepared. Listening is my weakest skill so I need to put some extra effort into this part.
JLPT goals 😕
My goals for February were:
Kanji: reach week 2 day 3
Grammar: reach week 4 day 4
Vocabulary: reach unit 17
I have achieved the Kanji and vocabulary goals, but I haven’t reviewed the vocabulary regularly. As a result, I feel that I have forgotten several words of the previous lessons.
As for grammar, I have fallen behind schedule. I have completed week 3, but I still haven’t started week 4. I hope that I can study at least two lessons this weekend.
With vocabulary and grammar, I have realised that the more I review, the more I want to review, and the less I do, the less I want to. In March, I will try to open my vocabulary book and study my grammar flashcards at least once every other day.
Reading goals 🙂
I have completed all my reading goals! I have finally finished 『誰か』by Miyuki MIYABI, and I have finished 『向田理髪店』by Hideo OKUDA this week! I am still writing the review.
In February, I have read a novel in Korean, which is a real accomplishment to me. Reading in Korean is really hard and after several failed attempts, I had more or less given up the idea of reading Korean authors in Korean.
The book I read is <교동회관 밀실 살인사건> by YUN Ja-yeong (윤자영), it is a detective novel with elements of thriller and psychological thriller. It was easy to read and very addictive.
At this time, I wanted to do something else than studying for the JLPT, so I have created a new site devoted to reading detective novels, thrillers and mystery novels in Korean and anything related to the world of crime fiction in Korea. I have played around with it for the past two weeks and had a lot of fun.
It is still a work in progress, but if you are interested in Korean crime fiction: hangukchurisoseol
March! 🎏🍜💕
I will go to Japan in March, for a five-day trip (I can’t wait to buy a Sailor special edition!) As a consequence, I won’t be posting during the second week of March.
My goals for March are only the JLPT basis that I need to do:
Inside That Japanese Book 