Currently reading: キッチン (吉本バナナ)

I have started reading my next book which happens to be Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto. I had previously read it in German many, many years ago so occasionally bits and pieces of the story feel like a bit of a deja-vu to me. It's strange because I can't remember the main events of the story but here and then a line will feel familiar.

The words in it and grammar used are definitely a step-up from my first novel that I finished the other day, but that is why finishing a few pages every day with this book feels all the more rewarding. I really enjoy Banana Yoshimoto's writing style too. It's quite descriptive but not in an over-the-top or boring way. I find it hard to get through books which focus a lot on describing the scenery but Kitchen always manages to break it up with some short dialogue in between. To be honest, there isn't even that much scenery description in it; just a lot of metaphors which give the novel a bit of a melancholic, dark flair... if you can say that.

Words and kanji that I keep encountering in this novel are 瞳 (eye), 闇 (darkness), 夜景 (night scenery), 沈黙 (silence) and 平静 (serenity, calm). It's great when you encounter words again and again and you had to look them up the first time, but maybe with the second or third time you start to recognise them. I'm currently on page 81 out of about 240, so hopefully I can finish it by the end of the week! I would definitely recommend this book to readers around the ~N2 Level - if you are preparing for N2, it might be a bit difficult but I manage to get through the pages quite quickly and I've only passed N2 in December.

I finished my first Japanese Book!

やった！
I finally finished my first book entirely written in Japanese. It is called ベルナのしっぽ (Beruna's Tail) and is by 郡司ななえ. It's about 300 pages long and I would call it slice of life-ish, I guess? 

The story follows the author's life (it is based on real life events) who, halfway through her twenties, becomes blind. She then gets assigned a guide dog named Beruna, despite the fact that she is not fond of dogs at all originally. This is where the story starts- it tells a tale of growth and overcoming hardships, about bonding and learning from each other- I'm sure lovers of the film Marley and Me would enjoy this book. I thought it was really heart-warming and I was thrilled to hear it also got adapted into a movie. You can watch clips of the movie (without subtitles) here. 

I'm really proud I finally finished a book in Japanese <3 Especially one that wasn't aimed at Japanese 'learners' but this is real native speaker material. I didn't have many problems with the grammar or vocabulary in the story - in the beginning, there were a few kanji readings and translations I had to look up (for example 盲導犬 - もうどうけん - guide dog) but I found that after the first maybe 50 pages, the vocabulary stayed more or less the same, which is probably why I read through the latter half of the book quite quickly. I think the last ~150 pages only took me 2-3 days.

I wonder what I will be reading next? This book was such a bargain at 105 Yen in Book Off! I wish I could just stroll down to a Book Off again and pick up my next read...! 

Peachy Nails and a Lovely Read

I just finished reading Milly Johnson's A Spring Affair. The past few weeks at university have been so busy that even though I felt I was tired, I found it difficult to go to sleep at night. My mind just kept racing round all the reports I had to finish, kanji to study... I needed something to help me unwind at night. Which is why I turned to chick lit. 

I always find reading to be a very relaxing activity, given I am reading something nice.  I can't read thrillers or horror; that would just have the opposite effect and not let me sleep for ages. But a nice, easy to read romance novel is, so I have discovered, perfect at night before going to sleep.

First I read I Heart New York by Lindsey Kelk which I also thoroughly enjoyed. I didn't want to jump right to the second book of the I Heart series though so I decided to shop around a little (which I love doing. I could spend hours in Waterstone's, on Amazon or even just Goodreads to find new reads) and eventually I came across Milly Johnson. I was happy to discover that it was another british chick lit novel- there's something that hits home a little about books set in the UK- and I was not disappointed.

Lou, the main character, was just lovely. I felt really drawn to her for some reason. Even though there was little I could relate to in the novel- after all I am not a wife in my mid 30s with a twat as a husband!- but I enjoyed reading Lou's story. The story had a really good pace too and as it happens, I found myself picking up the book even during the day as opposed to only at night before going to bed. Would definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for a nice, easy romance read. I still feel all fuzzy after those last few chapters.

Inspired by Lou, I also tidied my entire room today and even hoovered our living room and hall. Suffice to say it had been time. Then I sat down and re-painted my nails, which I find oddly relaxing. I used Tanya Burr's Peaches and Cream, which I am absolutely in love with. I know everyone's been raving about her products, but they are of quite good quality. I probably prefer her lip glosses, but the colour of Peaches and Cream is just lovely. It's such a nice spring colour and just makes me happy looking at it.

The colour usually also doesn't chip for the first couple of days which is pretty good. Essie still wins when it comes to longevity I suppose (usually a full week until I get the first chip!) but Tanya's last me at least 3-4 days too. I'm happy with that!

I suppose that is all I did today, we had Indian curry for dinner because we realised too late that we were meant to be having Japanese curry with friends tomorrow. Oh well! Curry is good any day of the week. I'm also skyping with two friends of mine tomorrow, both whom I haven't seen in almost a year now. It'll be good catching up.