Clara's Spanish Log

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clara
Yellow Belt
Posts: 96
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2020 4:46 am
Languages: English (N), Spanish (intermediate)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... hp?t=16333
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Re: Clara's Spanish Log

Postby clara » Sun May 15, 2022 5:32 pm

May 8-14

  • El murmullo de las abejas: +164 pages
  • Las siete muertes de Evelyn Hardcastle: Finished (+422 pages)
  • Ella conjugation: 6 days
  • Conversation practice: 2 hours
  • Various news articles, youtube, radio

This week, I finished off Las siete muertes de Evelyn Hardcastle. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I’ll just say that I started out enjoying it but felt it got a bit repetitive and unnecessarily complicated in the second half. There are some novels that impress me with how an intricate plot is woven together, but this one felt more like the author was just throwing more and more details in an attempt to cover up the mystery.



I also read a bit more of El murmullo de las abejas while listening to the audio. I’ve started listening to most of it at 1.3x speed. A few chapters are told in first person, and the audio narrator uses a different voice that is even slower, so I have to increase the speed to 1.5x. I’ve just passed the halfway mark and hope to finish the book this week.

I have some upcoming travel, so probably won’t update again until the end of the month.
7 x
Spanish Goals
22/23 SC Films: 438 / 18000 438 / 18000 minutes
22/23 SC Books: 6454 / 10000 6454 / 10000 pages
2022 Reading: 8061 / 8000 8061 / 10000 8000 pages

clara
Yellow Belt
Posts: 96
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2020 4:46 am
Languages: English (N), Spanish (intermediate)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... hp?t=16333
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Re: Clara's Spanish Log

Postby clara » Sat May 28, 2022 7:08 pm

May 15-28

  • El murmullo de las abejas: Finished (+213 pages)
  • Kentukis: Started and finished (224 pages)
  • La otra chica negra: Started (77 pages, 20%)
  • Luis Miguel: Season 1, episode 3
  • La venganza de las Juanas: Season 1, episodes 4-9
  • Ella conjugation: maintain 100%
  • Conversation practice: 1 hour
  • Various news articles, youtube, radio

I finished El murmullo de las abejas and have mixed feelings about it. I enjoyed the writing, but some of the subject matter was very mundane. What I absolutely did not like was the portrayal of wealth inequality and good vs bad. Basically, the protagonists are wealthy, just, fair, noble and always right, while the antagonist is poor, lazy, dumb, jealous and evil. Both could have been portrayed in a much more balanced and realistic manner, but it’s pretty clear the writer comes from a family that feels wronged by land reform.

I started and finished Kentukis, a novel by Argentinian writer Samanta Schweblin. There’s a little bit of vos sprinkled here and there which I liked. I read it a bit slowly, since it’s classified as horror, and I was afraid it might get dark and gruesome. It was dark, but not as bad as I feared. It certainly didn’t feel any darker than Temporada de huracanes, for example. The premise of the book is interesting: Kentukis are stuffed animals with cameras which pair a user who controls the Kentuki with an “owner” who interacts with the Kentuki. I thought it was a bit unrealistic (seems too obviously voyeuristic with obvious privacy issues to gain so much popularity), but I really did like the focus on the relationships formed between owners and Kentuki controllers. Of course they all end horribly, since this book is classified as horror, but the author managed to capture the loneliness and curiosity of her characters well.



I started La otra chica negra, a translation from English, which is hopefully a little bit lighter, though it’s billed as suspense so I can’t be too sure there either. I’ve started reading samples of books natively written in Spanish but haven’t settled on anything yet.

I watched a few episodes of Luis Miguel and La venganza de las Juanas. I’m excited that I can recognize the various accents on Luis Miguel as being Spanish, Argentinian or Mexican.

Overall, I felt like I got a decent amount of Spanish despite traveling over the past week.
5 x
Spanish Goals
22/23 SC Films: 438 / 18000 438 / 18000 minutes
22/23 SC Books: 6454 / 10000 6454 / 10000 pages
2022 Reading: 8061 / 8000 8061 / 10000 8000 pages

clara
Yellow Belt
Posts: 96
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2020 4:46 am
Languages: English (N), Spanish (intermediate)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... hp?t=16333
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Re: Clara's Spanish Log

Postby clara » Sun Jun 05, 2022 9:39 pm

May 29 - June 4

  • La otra chica negra: none
  • La reina del sur: 386 pages (70%)
  • Luis Miguel: Season 1, episode 4
  • La venganza de las Juanas: Season 1, episode 10
  • Ella conjugation: maintain 100%
  • Conversation practice: 1 hour
  • Various news articles, youtube, radio

After reading a few excerpts of natively written Spanish language books, I settled on La reina del sur which hooked me in more than La otra chica negra. This is a first for me to prefer a natively written book to a translation. Usually, translations are so much easier and less taxing on the brain that they can feel like a break whether or not I like the story, but La reina del sur has been pretty engaging. I’ve learned a lot of drug and nautical vocabulary. I especially like that the main character is Mexican living in Spain, so a lot of vocabulary, particularly drug related slang, is given in Mexican and Spanish versions. I may try watching the series on Netflix after finishing the book. I’ve been reading while listening to the audiobook about 75% of the time which is also helping with listening comprehension.

I’ve barely watched any Netflix this week, but I’m prioritizing reading for now. I started the year with the goal of reading 10k pages in 2022, and I’m a bit behind, since I held off a bit until the Super Challenge started. I calculated that I need to read 240 pages per week to make that goal, but I know I have some travel and other events coming up that will definitely interfere with that, so I am targeting 300+ pages per week to build a little buffer.

I’ve decided to go from practicing conjugation every day to just maintaining 100% on the Ella app. That means I’ve killed my streak, but I’m ok with that. I’m slowly weaning myself off of it.
6 x
Spanish Goals
22/23 SC Films: 438 / 18000 438 / 18000 minutes
22/23 SC Books: 6454 / 10000 6454 / 10000 pages
2022 Reading: 8061 / 8000 8061 / 10000 8000 pages

Not 4
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:42 pm
Languages: English N
Spanish A2-B1
x 17

Re: Clara's Spanish Log

Postby Not 4 » Thu Aug 04, 2022 6:08 pm

:D wow Clara what a journey you’ve had , very inspiring stuff indeed !
I loved reading your log and you have given me the kick I need to get more focused and put a better systematic plan in place .
I like the idea of Anki and I did use it but it’s just so slow to add cards well for me anyway,
Do you have any tips to speed up the progress after you added 10,000 cards you must be a wizz
1 x

clara
Yellow Belt
Posts: 96
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2020 4:46 am
Languages: English (N), Spanish (intermediate)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... hp?t=16333
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Re: Clara's Spanish Log

Postby clara » Sat Sep 24, 2022 8:03 pm

Finished since last update
  • La reina del sur: 552 pages
  • Tuya: 176 pages
  • Seis de cuervos: 548 pages
  • Maze Runner 1: Correr o morir: 392 pages
  • Maze Runner 2: Prueba de fuego: 400 pages

In progress
  • Tiempos recios: 54% (194 / 360 pages)
  • El italiano: 23% (92 / 400 pages)
  • Los guardianes del baptisterio: 13% (60 / 460 pages)
  • La otra chica negra & Pedro Páramo: On hold


It’s been a while since my last update, and a lot of things have happened. I have been traveling a lot, including the end of June, most of July, and parts of August and September. I’m also pregnant which puts a huge wrench in my study plan for this year. But that also means that I’m done with travel for the rest of the year. I took a bit of a break, but I got back into reading Spanish last month. It’s highly unlikely I will meet my reading goal of 10k pages in 2022.

Since my last post, I finished La reina del sur, Tuya by Argentinian author Claudia Piñeiro, and several quick YA books translated from English: Seis de cuervos (Six of Crows) and the first two Maze Runner books. The YA books were meh, but they were relatively quick reads. I need a break before I can read the last book in the Maze Runner trilogy, since I found the first two a bit tedious.

Image Image

I really enjoyed La reina del sur, but I made the mistake of watching the first episode of the series on Netflix when I was 70% of the way through. The first episode is full of spoilers!!! I haven’t gone back to the series, but I will eventually. I started another book by the same author, Arturo Pérez-Reverte, El italiano which I’m enjoying so far.

I’m also reading Tiempos recios by Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa. Both El italiano and Tiempos recios are historical novels which has been educational. I watched some videos about banana republics, since I felt I was missing context for Tiempos recios which deals with the United Fruit Company, the CIA, and their involvement / meddling with the government of Guatemala in the 1950s.





There is one particularly confusing chapter in Tiempos recios where dialogue between one character and two different people are interleaved even though the conversations take place at different times. I think this is something that would have really thrown me off earlier this year (thinking of Pedro Páramo which I put on hold halfway through) but either my comprehension has improved, or the context was much clearer in this case. I later read a review of the book which called out that specific passage:

Sometimes Vargas Llosa resorts to what has become a signature technique, interleaving conversations that take place at different times, so that we see Trujillo, for example, simultaneously receiving Castillo Armas in his office and complaining about the Guatemalan’s ingratitude to Abbes Garcia. The effect is prismatic; the reader is caught up in the swirl of history, privy to secrets but also unbalanced, buffeted around.


I also started Los guardianes del baptisterio which I thought was a natively written Spanish fantasy book that is “free” with Kindle Unlimited, but based on all the recommendations I’m getting after starting it, I think it’s actually a horribly written YA romance novel that’s possibly worse than Twilight. It even starts with the male lead saving the female lead from getting hit by a car after she moves to a new town, just like in Twilight. As much as I dislike the book, it’s written with a lot of slang in a youthful style, so there’s tons of cliched dialogue about very inane social interactions that I don’t get from well written books, and I’m finding it surprisingly decent for language learning. I can only stomach a few pages at a time, so it’s slow going, but it’s an okay book to have on the back burner.
8 x
Spanish Goals
22/23 SC Films: 438 / 18000 438 / 18000 minutes
22/23 SC Books: 6454 / 10000 6454 / 10000 pages
2022 Reading: 8061 / 8000 8061 / 10000 8000 pages

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MorkTheFiddle
Black Belt - 2nd Dan
Posts: 2114
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 8:59 pm
Location: North Texas USA
Languages: English (N). Read (only) French and Spanish. Studying Ancient Greek. Studying a bit of Latin. Once studied Old Norse. Dabbled in Catalan, Provençal and Italian.
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 11#p133911
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Re: Clara's Spanish Log

Postby MorkTheFiddle » Sun Sep 25, 2022 6:05 pm

Thanks for the illuminating clips about the Banana Wars.
3 x
Many things which are false are transmitted from book to book, and gain credit in the world. -- attributed to Samuel Johnson

clara
Yellow Belt
Posts: 96
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2020 4:46 am
Languages: English (N), Spanish (intermediate)
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Re: Clara's Spanish Log

Postby clara » Sat Oct 01, 2022 11:04 pm

September 24 to 30


  • Tiempos recios: Finished (+166 pages)
  • El italiano: Finished (+308 pages)
  • La noche de la Usina: 50% (220 pages)
  • Los guardianes del baptisterio: +15%, +69 pages (total 28%, 129 / 460 pages)

This was a reading heavy week. I finished Tiempos recios and El italiano, both great books. I watched a few videos with Arturo Pérez-Reverte, and I find him difficult to understand.



I started La noche de la Usina by Eduardo Sacheri, an Argentinian author. So far I quite like it. The novel has a funny heist plot with a strong cast of characters, and the story was adapted into a movie called La odisea de los Giles which I plan to watch eventually.



I’m simultaneously listening to the audiobook as I read the Kindle version which has been helpful for exposure to the Argentinian accent and lots of dialogue using vos. It’s narrated by the author himself, and I think he does a great job. I’m glad I’ve watched quite a few videos from Te lo resumo así no más, an Argentinian Youtube channel, because it’s helped with some of the Argentinian vocabulary like boludo and pibe. I watched an interview with the author and thought it was interesting that the Mexican interviewer had trouble with some of the Argentinian language.



I also read a little bit more of Los guardianes del baptisterio. It’s divided into very short chapters, and if I read at least 2 per day, I can finish it this month.

My stretch goal is to get to 8000 pages read in 2022 by the end of October. I’ll need to read 475 pages per week in October which seems doable. I’m due in November, so 10k pages for the year is almost certainly not going to happen, but I’d like to get a good portion of the way there.
9 x
Spanish Goals
22/23 SC Films: 438 / 18000 438 / 18000 minutes
22/23 SC Books: 6454 / 10000 6454 / 10000 pages
2022 Reading: 8061 / 8000 8061 / 10000 8000 pages

clara
Yellow Belt
Posts: 96
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2020 4:46 am
Languages: English (N), Spanish (intermediate)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... hp?t=16333
x 457

Re: Clara's Spanish Log

Postby clara » Sat Oct 08, 2022 7:43 pm

October 1 to 7

  • La noche de la Usina: Finished (+220 pages)
  • Noticia de un secuestro: Started and finished (336 pages)
  • Los guardianes del baptisterio: Finished (+331 pages)
  • Conversation practice: 2 hours

I pushed myself to read a lot this week, so I can take it a bit easier for the rest of the month. I finished La noche de la Usina and picked up Noticia de un secuestro which is my first attempt at reading Gabriel García Márquez. To be honest, magical realism doesn’t appeal to me, so this seemed like a good entry into GGM’s work. The story takes place during Pablo Escobar’s reign in Colombia and deals with the kidnappings of prominent journalists in an attempt to dissuade the Colombian government from upholding an extradition treaty with the US. The vocabulary is fairly straightforward, and the prose is written with a journalistic style in a factual manner. The rate of unknown vocabulary averaged 1 unknown word every 2-3 pages. I listened along to the audiobook at 1.2-1.3x speed while simultaneously reading. The combination of listening and reading has definitely improved my internal pronunciation / cadence / intonation, and I suspect it’s improving my listening skills as well.

I was a bit disappointed by Noticia de un secuestro. It felt dry and overly focused on two of the characters, who I assume were the main sources for the book. I don’t know if it was a failure of understanding on my part or if the target audience is presumed to know a lot more about the surrounding events, but I felt I lacked context for how exactly certain players were meant to influence negotiations between Escobar and the government. I would have liked to know more about public perception, who had which powers in the government, and motivating factors between the government and Escobar. While looking for videos about the book, I saw that there’s a series on Amazon Prime based on the book. I might try watching it.



I picked up the pace on Los guardianes del baptisterio because I wanted to get it over with and realized if I finished both books, I would hit 7k pages. Only 1k more to get to 8k!

I’ll probably take it a bit easy this coming week. I haven’t picked out what to read next. I felt like I was on a roll with some good natively written books (La noche de la Usina, El italiano, Tiempos recios, Tuya, La reina del sur), but the last two felt like a slog. I might read a translation from English or check out Revolución, a new book that was just released by Arturo Pérez-Reverte.
8 x
Spanish Goals
22/23 SC Films: 438 / 18000 438 / 18000 minutes
22/23 SC Books: 6454 / 10000 6454 / 10000 pages
2022 Reading: 8061 / 8000 8061 / 10000 8000 pages

clara
Yellow Belt
Posts: 96
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2020 4:46 am
Languages: English (N), Spanish (intermediate)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... hp?t=16333
x 457

Re: Clara's Spanish Log

Postby clara » Sun Oct 16, 2022 3:39 pm

October 8 to 15

  • La pregunta de sus ojos: Started and finished (320 pages)
  • Conversation practice: 1 hour

I took it easy this week and just read La pregunta de sus ojos, another book by Eduardo Sacheri. I had a harder time with this than La noche de la Usina. This might have been because I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather and sleeping A LOT, or because the vocabulary is different. I listened along to the audiobook for 60-70% of it. I liked the narrator, but he was harder to follow.

This book was adapted into an Oscar winning movie in 2009 which was summarized by Te lo resumo así nomás (warning: spoilers!). It looks like the movie and the book diverge a lot in plot.



The book was also reviewed by the popular youtube Mexican book reviewer El librero de Valentina. It’s funny, I generally disagree with her reviews, but I like to watch them anyway. She loved Como polvo en el viento and El murmullo de las abejas, both of which I found extremely problematic (sexist, classist, racist). She clearly liked La pregunta de sus ojos but was pretty dismissive of La noche de la Usina, and I definitely preferred the latter. I found the love story portion of La pregunta de sus ojos to be tedious and repetitive with a side of romanticized creepy. We both agree that Eduardo Sacheri is great at creating characters and writing about friendships. I just preferred the humor and lightheartedness in La noche de la Usina to the darker La pregunta de sus ojos.



I noticed some errors in page count tracking, so I updated that, and I lost a hundred or so pages in the process. That’s ok, I think I’m still on track to get to 8k by the end of the month or early November. I plan to read Revolución by Arturo Pérez-Reverte this week.
5 x
Spanish Goals
22/23 SC Films: 438 / 18000 438 / 18000 minutes
22/23 SC Books: 6454 / 10000 6454 / 10000 pages
2022 Reading: 8061 / 8000 8061 / 10000 8000 pages

clara
Yellow Belt
Posts: 96
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2020 4:46 am
Languages: English (N), Spanish (intermediate)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... hp?t=16333
x 457

Re: Clara's Spanish Log

Postby clara » Sun Oct 23, 2022 4:46 pm

October 16 to 22

  • Revolución: Started, 85% (394 pages)
  • Artemisa: Started, 30% (114 pages)
  • Conversation practice: 1 hour

A quick update because I feel like I didn’t do much this week, mostly just reading. I barely watched any videos. I started two books: Revolución by Arturo Pérez-Reverte and Artemisa by Andy Weir, a translation from English. Revolución takes place during the Mexican Revolution and is interesting from a historical perspective, but I’m not as drawn into the plot as I was in the two other Pérez-Reverte books I’ve read. Artemisa is a science fiction novel that takes place in Artemisa, a city on the moon. I’m not that far into it yet, so I’ll reserve judgment, but I suspect both of these books are not as good as the other books I’ve read by the same authors.

This coming week looks pretty busy, but I hope I can finish both books by the end of the month. That will get me to my 8k pages goal, and then I will probably switch my focus to audio/video content.
6 x
Spanish Goals
22/23 SC Films: 438 / 18000 438 / 18000 minutes
22/23 SC Books: 6454 / 10000 6454 / 10000 pages
2022 Reading: 8061 / 8000 8061 / 10000 8000 pages


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