This week I read vol. 3 of からかい上手の高木さん, which I got for free on Honto.jp (they occasionally give away the first volume or so of series for promotional purposes). Though it hasn’t quite caught up to Flying Witch, I’m now at the point where I can basically read it without effort and pick up new words easily in context. I spotted quite a few grammar points that I learned recently in the N2 track on Bunpro and it feels like wrapping that up really helped smooth the process out.

Another book I got for free (and also started this week) is 川柳少女, which came along literally just in time for me to learn 川柳 on WaniKani (and honestly, without enough real-world exposure, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to make that word stick in my memory). The eponymous character is 七々子, a girl who has trouble speaking in school and so communicates entirely in haiku by writing on a board she carries around. It’s a ４コマ manga and each set of frames has one haiku, most of which have been reasonably straightforward.

This week’s movie was しあわせのパン, which is a super wholesome slice-of-life drama about a husband and wife who run a tiny bed-and-breakfast in 月浦. It’s very easygoing and there’s no grand plot besides the fact that everyone who enters their life comes away enriched. The language was pretty easy to follow most of the time and while I don’t think I can say I learned any new words, it did reinforce some that I had lurking deep in my memory (なす comes to mind). I’ve had it on my shelf for the longest time and it feels good to finally break it out and be able to follow along.