I second china_shop's love of graded readers ♥ Great stuff. I've read hundreds of them, online and in print, many of them multiple times. I also read huge amounts of fic, along with a small number of novels, young adult books, kids books, and books for adults to read to kids, but nothing boosts my character learning and reading speed like graded readers. They are, as many language learners like to say, the ultimate in spaced repetition :)

I'm happy you found something that works better for you, nnozomi - as you say, everyone's experience is different! Also I love your great pictures. It's hard to top cats and flowers, and these are categorically lovely ♥