Weekly update #8: Oh happy day! Book shipment #1 ♪
So I met Emmie through the tadoku.org boards, which was a tremendously lucky thing for me in many ways! We’ve become friends and she’s great fun to chat with on Twitter, and also she offered to send me some of her children’s books that she didn’t need anymore if I paid for shipping. Well, they just arrived this week! (I asked her to send them through the cheapest method, surface mail; this is because I am a cheapskate who now measures things like dinners out and new skirts in terms of how many Japanese books they could buy.)
There’s some books right at my current reading level, some above it and some picture books, which I’m glad for because I’m going to try to start some extensive reading groups in this area and nicely-done picture books are always good to have around! It was fantastic, and it really made me feel lucky not just to have found out about extensive reading, but to have met so many wonderful people in the process!
If this wasn’t enough evidence of Emmie’s kindness, she’s also allowing me to use her address, so I can buy used books online and have them sent to her, then she’ll send them over to me and I’ll pay her back for shipping. I will write more about this process, exactly what the costs are and so on. In the meantime, I’ve ordered fifteen books, and am looking forward to seeing them arrive at my door!
In other news, I wrote a little more about extensive reading. I had this exchange with my husband while writing it:
“What are you doing?”
“I’m writing a long blog post about extensive reading.”
“I was prepared to make a joke about how that was compared to all your very short blog posts about extensive reading, but I think I’ll refrain.”
As for my actual reading progress, I’m up to 176,441 words, and I’m starting to think I may get bored of level 3 books before I hit 200,000.
5 Responses to Weekly update #8: Oh happy day! Book shipment #1 ♪
- Extensive reading is known as 多読, or tadoku in Japanese. To try it, start with very easy books (ones with no more than two or three unknown words per page), and follow these principles:
1. Don’t look up words in the dictionary while reading.
2. Skip over parts you don’t understand.
3. If you aren’t enjoying one book, toss it aside and get another.
Find something to read!
Hundreds of free books and stories online
Local bookstores and libraries
Buying new and used books online
For more information, read "What Is Extensive Reading?" and "Classification System."
To learn more about Kunihide Sakai, who developed the three principles of tadoku and has worked to popularize it in Japan for years, read this interview with him.
Finally, for more than you ever wanted to know about why I believe extensive reading is worth your time, read my tadoku manifesto. Currently reading:
Superfluous Stats
Books read: 303
Word count (since starting the blog): 380,500Categories
- About Myself
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- Extensive Reading Basics
- Extensive Reading Materials Online
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- Extensive Reading Resources
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Extensive Reading
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- tadoku.org (in Japanese)
- Talk to the Clouds
- The Extensive Reading Foundation
- The Extensive Reading Pages
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Japanese Language Learning Resources
Hey, I’m mostly a sloppy person, but for the last couple of days, I’m trying to let myself be more attentive and keep a watchful eye on a mailbox everyday, because the other day when I got back from my part-time job, I was surprised to see it was filled to the gills! with lots of big envelops, and most of them turned out to be your books. haha
I’m going to pack them into a box, up to 5kg, and send it to you again maybe this week.
I’m so pleased to know my small help might enable some learners of Japanese to enjoy the learning process itself more^^.
肝心なことを書き忘れました。
your husband とのやりとりですが、うわーん、between the linesが読み取れません・・・すんごく無粋な質問ですが、旦那さまの言いたいことは?オチがあるんですよね??
Yay, I’m happy they’ve arrived! There should be 15, are they all there yet? ^^
私が書いている書き込みは全部長いです。
短いのを書くつもり時もあるのに、なんとなく長くなります。
主人の言いたいことは「君は長い書き込みしか書くことができない」という意味です。
つまり、主人にからかわれました(^^)
Yes, it’s 15 in all. I’m afraid they won’t be packed into one parcel.
Now, I got it! he’s saying “Very” short about your previous entries, which are far from short, hahaha
日本語の本が増えていくことに、旦那さまの反応はいかに?
Maybe I should buy some more, to add to the second parcel… Have you sent them yet?
私の熱心さはかわいいと、彼が思っています(^^;)
それに私をからかうのが大好きです。
「今持ってる日本語の本、いくつ?1千?1万?」と、彼が言いました。
「そんな…50冊しか持たないのよ。えーと、100冊かもしれません…」
「君、本当に多読に夢中なぁ… やっぱり『addict』じゃない?」
#「addict」に当たる相応しい言葉が分かりません(^^;)