Everybody should feel free to post and ask questions–it’s what makes book clubs fun! But please do not post until you are familiar with Spoiler Courtesy!
Spoiler Courtesy
Please follow these rules to avoid inadvertent ネタバレ. If you’re unsure whether something should have a spoiler tag, err on the side of using one.
Any potential spoiler for the current week’s reading need only be covered by a spoiler tag. Predictions and conjecture made by somebody who has not read ahead still falls into this category.
Any potential spoilers for external sources need to be covered by a spoiler tag and include a label (outside of the spoiler tag) of what might be spoiled. These include but are not limited to: other book club picks, other books, games, movies, anime, etc. I recommend also tagging the severity of the spoiler (for example, I may still look at minor spoilers for something that I don’t intend to read soon).
Any information from later in the book than the current week’s reading (including trigger warnings that haven’t yet manifested) needs to be hidden by spoiler tags and labeled as coming from later sections.
Instructions for Spoiler Tags
Click the cog above the text box and use either the “Hide Details” or “Blur Spoiler” options. The text which says “This text will be hidden” should be replaced with what you are wishing to write. In the case of “Hide Details”, the section in the brackets that is labelled “Summary” can be replaced with whatever you like also (i.e, [details=”Chapter 1, Pg. 1”]).
Hide Details results in the dropdown box like below:
Example
This is an example of the “Hide Details” option.
The “Blur Spoiler” option will simply blur the text it surrounds.
This is an example of the “Blur Spoiler” option.
Posting Advice
When asking for help, please mention the page number, and check before posting that your question hasn’t already been asked. As the threads get longer, it becomes more convenient to use the Search function, which is located in the upper right corner of the forum. It is the magnifying glass which is near your profile picture! The best way to search is usually to type part of the sentence you are confused about, and select “in this topic”. This will show you all posts within the current thread which has that string of text.
Be sure to join the conversation! It’s fun, and it’s what keeps these book clubs lively! There’s no such thing as a stupid question! We are all learning here, and if the question has crossed your mind, there’s a very good chance it has crossed somebody else’s also! Asking and answering questions is a great learning opportunity for everyone involved, so never hesitate to do so!
Trigger Warnings
None known.
Proper Nouns
Name
Reading
Notes
山岸 尚美
やまぎし なおみ
Main character
新田 浩介
にった こうすけ
Main character
Further names are listed in the Vocabulary Sheet found above! Let me know if you’d like to be able to check them here as well.
Participation
Will you be reading along with us this week?
I’m reading along
I have finished this part ahead of the club
I’m still reading the book but I haven’t reached this part yet
I’m reading this book after the club has finished
I stopped reading the book
0voters
If you’ve already read this book but are still going to join the discussion, please select “I have finished this part.”
Don’t forget to set this thread to Watching in order to stay abreast of discussion!
EVERY TIME I get a book club posting, I mute it. BUT then every time a new week (or whatever) comes up, it shows up again. Is there a way to mute the entire series of postings for ANY book club, e.g., advance, intermediate, beginner, even ABBC?
I’m simply not ready to read yet! And to prevent (minimize) all those replies about how: ‘Yes it’s HARD at the beginning BUT you just have to jump in and it’ll get easier…’ just realize this. I don’t have the time to grind out each and every sentence which is literally what I would have to do! I know, I’ve tried reading the ‘easy’ ones that people have recommended.
Don’t worry, I will start reading some day, when I feel ready! So, is there a way to avoid ALL these book club postings that come up in my ‘unread’ listing, week after week? Thanks!
After clicking on each of the Home Page, I then muted each Home Page. I have no idea if this is what you meant by ‘Category’ but I hope it works
Is this what you had in mind? If not, can you explain how to mute a Category? I’ll follow up later if I stop getting BC posting in my ‘unread’ listing.
AHA!!! I was thinking it shouldn’t be hard to do what I wanted! Thanks for pointing this out!
I believe this should work BUT I’m going to wait to see if my previous actions will work - just out of curiosity. If it doesn’t, then I can fall back on this!!!
Not gonna lie, I got a bit excited when I saw so many comments on this thread
Anyways, my thoughts for this week.
Chapter 14
When Nitta has the feeling that he knows the new customer, wondering why he didn’t check the list of suspects again? The big files of people connected to the victims.
The end of the chapter was funny haha. I wonder what that was all about. He wanted to sight see a bit, he wanted to make Nitta mad a bit (and maybe make him the killer, nice plot twist), plant something in one of the room, all of the above? (and will it be main plot related??)
Chapter 15 & Chapter 16
The situation is a bit funny because when it’s Nitta who is being bullied he’s not very concerned about the bullying but simply about his cover. But this makes you think about when actual employees get bullied, must be very hard
Yeah I was getting so frustrated reading this week’s part, he was so infuriating. I remember there being a part where Nitta kicked a wall, and I really felt what he was feeling then. The part at the end with the computer and transcribing the text was across the line in terms of insufferable.
Me too, I was excited to get to the end of this week’s reading because I was anticipating something major occuring as well.
I have to admit I am a little bit disappointed. The book is not bad at all and I will most likely finish it if it continues like this. But it feels very much like a collection of short stories. I was not expecting this at all. With each new chapter, I am like “surely we will come to the main plot now, won‘t we?“ only to realize we are not. Or at least so it seems.
I share the same feelings. And I think I have read that Mascarade Eve (book 2) is a collection of short stories, so perhaps he wants to explore that aspect even more in the next book.
It’s definitely good to know what you’re getting into ahead of time. I was also expecting a more… Cohesive? Plot. With each new suspicious customer I keep thinking this is going to be it. Glad you’re all at least enjoying the writing well enough… I am too, but I agree it’s not super exciting so far.
マスカレード・ホテル 
Week 6
. I keep hoping that a manager will grow a spine and tell him to stop abusing the staff…
Glad you’re all at least enjoying the writing well enough… I am too, but I agree it’s not super exciting so far.