かがみの孤城 (Kagami no Kojou) Book Club

Here’s the thread for week 8! I hope everyone had a chance to catch up over the holidays!

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Time for week 9. Enjoy!

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Here’s the thread for week 10! This week we are reading to the end of the 八月 chapter, which also happens to be the end of 第一部 様子見の一学期!

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@wiersm Here you go :durtle_the_explorer:

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Thank you @Redglare :durtle_love:

And we’re into week 11! This week we are reading the first half of the 九月 chapter – the summer holidays are over. This week is pretty short at only 19 pages in the bunko.

This is also the start of 第二部:気づきの二学期, so the waiting and seeing is over too :smiley:

We are now at about 2/3 of the first bunko volume and at about 1/3 of the full book. The rest of this bunko volume will quickly take us through the months of September, October, November and December so that the second volume can start after New Year’s.

Enjoy!

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The topic creator can post more than three times in a row, so if Nick is okay with it the mods could transfer the topic to your ownership. I don’t think there’s a way other than that.

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Week 12 time! We’ll be finishing the 九月 chapter and this week is another short one at only 18 pages in the physical bunko. The next two weeks are going to be longer, so reading a little bit ahead might not be a bad idea :wink:

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Me only at the start of 七月:
hojoEmu

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This week we’re reading the 十月 from beginning to end. This is one of the longer weeks at 31 pages (~1.5 times as long as last week). 頑張ってください!

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Hi everyone, the next thread is live and this week we’re reading the 十一月 chapter! This also means that we are nearing the end of this volume, so at the bottom this post you can find two proposals for the schedule for volume 2 and some polls about how to continue, so please vote!

Here are two proposals for the schedule for the 下巻 volume. Page numbers are based on the physical Bunko version. For comparison: for the 上巻 volume, we had 4 weeks that were 20 pages or shorter, 10 weeks between 20 and 30 pages and two weeks that were 30 pages or longer. My proposed schedules go a bit faster than that.

Schedule A: faster (12 or 13 weeks), respects chapter transitions

With this schedule most weeks will be close to 30 pages with one 34 page section and chapter endings correspond with the reading schedule. We could read the epilogue in the last week (which would then be quite long) or in a separate week: I will create a separate poll for that.

Week Start page Number of pages Remarks
1 10 24 First half 一月 chapter
2 34 34 Long, but finishes the 一月 chapter
3 68 31 First half 二月 chapter
4 99 25 Second half 二月 chapter
5 124 26 Start of 三月 chapter
6 150 32 Longish, but a few pages with less text
7 182 29
8 211 30 Some pages with very little text
9 241 29
10 270 28 Finishes 三月 chapter
11 298 30 First half of 閉城 chapter
12 328 27 Second half of 閉城 chapter
12/13 355 10 エピローグ (see separate poll)
Schedule B: a bit slower (14 weeks), fewer 30 page weeks

With this schedule, the page count per week is a little lower, but the chapter endings will just fall in the middle of the weeks.

Week Start page Number of pages Remarks
1 10 24 Start of 一月 chapter
2 34 24
3 58 30 The 二月 chapter starts in the middle of this week
4 88 28
5 116 25 The 三月 chapter starts in the middle of this week
6 141 31
7 172 31
8 193 26
9 219 23
10 242 22
11 264 30 Some pages with very little text
12 294 24 The 閉城 chapter starts in the middle of this week
13 318 21
14 339 26 End of 閉城 chapter + エピローグ
Will you be reading the second volume with us?
  • Yes
  • No
  • I’ll (probably) read it behind schedule
  • I’ve already finished the book
0 voters
Do you prefer to take a break?
  • No
  • Yes, a one-week break
  • I’m fine either way
  • Other (please specify)
0 voters
Do you have a preference for the schedule?
  • I prefer schedule A (12 or 13 weeks; respects chapter transitions)
  • I prefer schedule B (14 weeks; fewer 30 page weeks)
  • I’m fine with either schedule
  • Other (please specify)
0 voters
What should we do with the epilogue (9 pages)?
  • I chose schedule A and I want to read it together with the last section in the same week (37 pages total)
  • I chose schedule B and I want to read it together with the last section in the same week (26 pages total)
  • I want to read it in a separate week if we go with schedule A or in the last week if we go with schedule B
  • I want to read it in a separate week at the end regardless of the schedule that we choose
  • I’m fine either way
0 voters
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It was only a matter of time, but the book is getting an anime film adaption for “winter 2022”. I use air quotes because I usually think of “winter” in anime seasons as being from January through March, meaning it’s winter 2022 right now. But I guess it means towards the end of this year.

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Yay!! I’m really loving this book, so it will just be 1.5 years of 鏡の孤城。In between book and movie, I’m planning to listen to the audiobook, so there’s plenty to fill the time.

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Ha, I was originally thinking I might listen to the audiobook sometime this year (despite not liking audio only media in general), but now I’m thinking I should watch the movie first and then listen to the audiobook afterwards. In theory, my listening skills should be much better by then (I’m still watching anime without English subs for listening practice) and then if the movie is a bad adaption (hopefully not though!) I can enjoy the original version again. From the preview of the audiobook it seems like it’s well cast and well produced, so I wonder if they’ll use the same seiyuu for the film.

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Audiobooks are my holy saviors. They get me through the boring illustration jobs. Nay, they make me look forward to boring illustration jobs.

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The audiobook is fantastic - it’s closer to a radio drama than a simple narration. Good acting, nice small touches for audio effects, perfect editing (no random repeated sentences like my current book suffers a bit from…). Someone else in the Read Everyday Thread (@sycamore I think?) also listened (is listening?) to it and IIRC likes it as well.

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Me too! I’m trying so hard to get to the point where I can listen to Japanese audiobooks, but I’m still not nearly there. It takes so much active focus even for basic comprehension that I’m probably still years away from getting to the point where they can fill the roll that English audiobooks do.

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See, the reason I don’t like audiobooks (or podcasts) is that they always require active focus for me, including in English. My mind wanders easily, so if it’s something I actually care about I’d just end up having to pause and rewind anyway. Granted, I haven’t tried much to overcome this issue, but that’s why I usually don’t bother with them.

I’m only tempted in this case because the book was so good and because the audiobook is really well made.

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I love audiobooks but have yet to find a podcast I like, including in English. Can’t stand them actually - something about them rubs me the wrong way. Or rubs my ears the wrong way, would be a better way to put it.
I go for walks while listening to audiobooks - the scenery and movement allows me to sink into the story better because it takes up that empty space that can be distracting. Might help? No worries if not.

You might be surprised. My listening comprehension was pretty terrible until I decided to really focus in on it last year. So long as your vocabulary is wide enough and you’re not tackling anything with crazy grammar you might find yourself leveling up quite quickly compared to the time it takes to become proficient in reading. I suppose because in a way then you’re just unlocking a new aspect of something you already know, rather than tackling it all from scratch.

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Ha, I already take walks while awkwardly reading ebooks on my kindle. :laughing:

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I figure I’ll listen to it a few times, on the theory that familiarity breeds comprehension.

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