Despite of this, it shouldn’t be much of a problem to read it without knowing the other volumes. Of course we learned about the main protagonists’ backgrounds in previous books, but usually there is a quick recap in each volume that covers the most important points. Character development is also very slow because each volume’s main focus is on a given criminal case and not on the life of the people around it, and the cases themselves have been totally unrelated so far. In any case, if you are wondering about anything while reading this book, you are of course free to ask and somebody can fill you in.
Hello and welcome to our next book in the S&M series!
I’ve had a look at the book’s structure, and it turns out that its 10 chapters are of pretty even length. Therefore I thought it might be nice to read one chapter per week. This also leaves some room for other book clubs and independent books
What do y’all think?
Sounds good to me
I suggest a different schedule (please comment)
0voters
For the starting time, we roughly agreed on December. What exact date would you prefer?
I checked the participants from Vol. 4 and there we had @jhol@Myria and @downtimes on top of those who already voted. Are you interested in reading Vol. 5 with us? If so, would you like to vote in the poll for the start date?
Just came back from a 3-week USA trip and directly after my arrival back I’ve caught the nasty cold who shall not be named. So needless to say, I’m WAY behind my study for the N2 in 1 1/2 months and think I’d rather put more time into learning more and reading less for the time being.
Adding a new series is just a little bit too much for the time being.
EDIT: Oh, just realized in my delirium that the start is after the JLPT. Never mind, will look into it and maybe vote ^^
Let’s think a bit more about the starting date. Looking at the poll:
the two extremes, namely Dec 3rd and Dec 31st, are the strongest contenders. Which one should we pick? I would love to find a date that suits everybody more or less…
For Dec 3rd: The missing persons are @Escalus and @Jfredel78 (and me, but I might get convinced ). Would this date be possible for you?
Starting on Dec 31st will probably give me time to read book #2
I don’t mind starting on Dec 3rd instead, as long as someone can confirm that I won’t be missing anything important by skipping #2 (and #3 and #4, which I won’t have time for anyway)
If the previous books are any indication, you shouldn’t. There’s some development in Saikawa and Moe’s relationship, but it’s pretty slow (and I think most is in book 4).
Although I think maybe there were one or two returning characters…? (For instance, IIRC 喜多 was introduced in book 2 and showed up briefly in book 4?) If anyone (who’s read the previous books) already has book 5, maybe they can check the character list and see if it looks like anyone relevant is around?
The cases are completely independent from each other, but of course there are some recurring characters: Saikawa and Moe, her butler, her parents who died in an accident, her uncle who is police chief, Saikawa’s assistant. Even then they will be introduced briefly in each book. So far there has not been much character development except Saikawa and Moe got a little bit closer, like BadPlayer already mentioned, and Saikawa’s assistant got married.
I looked at it but could not spot any recurring characters except the aforementioned ones. (But then again, I’m really horrible at Japanese names, so… )
@Escalus The other alternative is that you read book 2 (or maybe 4 instead?) before starting 5 and then catch up to us? We have a pretty moderate schedule of ~50 pages in most weeks, so this should be doable, maybe?
I would prefer December 31 over December 3 due to overlap with other books. I could be persuaded to try starting on December 3 though. Or maybe a date in the middle?
Sorry, I fell off the negotiations bandwagon for a bit.
Let’s recap the crime scene situation:
@BadPlayer is very impatient and cannot wait to start, @Jfredel78 would rather start late, @Escalus has been convinced that starting early is not a big problem, and @Belerith has wisely been silent and waits until we settle the issue.
). Would this date be possible for you?
Let’s see what we can do.
)
We’re starting already!? Let’s gooo!