It’s absolutely true about the absurdly fast speech in the anime, but most of it is not dialogue, it’s narration. There’s actually little dialogue if I remember correctly.
6 Likes
Oh, now I see what you mean! Neat, thanks for pointing that out 
(it’s not visible in the text that is displayed for the link, that’s why I didn’t notice at first, but it works!)
1 Like
Good to know, thanks for the correction!
3 Likes
I can’t see where it lists the dimensions on that page, but the image of the books looks right. They’re definitely bigger than a regular tankobon - mine are basically the same size as the Kirara magazine I’ve got on the shelf next to it.
Aye, it’s definitely a tome.
3 Likes
Yeah, that sounds right to me. (I don’t have any Kirara magazines, but ご注文はうさぎですか Complete Blend is the same size I think.)
Besides the price, heavy books can be a pain. Do you have the two volume or seven volume version in Japanese? I assume the seven volume version from your comment above, but wanted to check.
2 Likes
I’ve got two volumes of the seven-volume set in Japanese. Might buy the other five when I go next month.
Also the two-volume and the four-volume sets in English.
3 Likes
Even though I had to drop 夜は短し歩けよう乙女 due to its difficulty, I am excited to read this one with you all and hopefully make meaningful gains that will help me improve and get back to 夜は短し (or if we do a spinoff bookclub or something because 夜は短し is a book in this books universe).
EDIT: よろしくお願いいたします。
6 Likes
The Tatami Galaxy thread is up!
10 Likes
風が強く吹いている
Author: 三浦しをん
, 
Summary
Japanese
箱根駅伝を走りたい――そんな灰二の想いが、天才ランナー走と出会って動き出す。「駅伝」って何？ 走るってどういうことなんだ？ 十人の個性あふれるメンバーが、長距離を走ること（＝生きること）に夢中で突き進む。自分の限界に挑戦し、ゴールを目指して襷を繋ぐことで、仲間と繋がっていく……風を感じて、走れ！ 「速く」ではなく「強く」――純度100パーセントの疾走青春小説。
English
Haiji wants to run the Hakone Ekiden - and his desire to do so is set in motion when he meets the genius runner Run. What is a ‘relay race’? What does it mean to run? The ten members, all full of individuality, are obsessed with running (=living) over long distances. Challenging their own limits, they connect with their friends by connecting the sash to the goal. … Feel the wind, run! Not “fast” but “strong” - a 100% pure novel of running youth.
(automatic DeepL translation)
Length: 580 pages
Category: Fast pun intended
Availability
Amazon (paperback and ebook)
Bookwalker
Personal Opinion
I’ve read and heard several good reviews about this one. I’ve read Miura Shion before in translation, and really liked her style. She tends to explore the subjects she picks in great depth (running in this case), yet her writing never feels dry or uninteresting (I assume from what I’ve read). This book has been adapted into a manga, anime and movie, so it must have been pretty popular.
Pros and Cons for the Book Club
Pros
- Opportunity to learn more about the Hakone ekiden and running in general
- Good reviews
- Popular book with anime/manga/movie adaptation
Cons
- A bit on the long side at 580 pages.
Pictures
Read the first 20 pages on Bookwalker
Difficulty Poll
How much effort would you need to read this book?
- No effort at all
- Minimal effort
- Moderate effort
- Significant effort
- So much effort my head might explode
- I don’t know
0 voters
7 Likes
I finished 化物語, so I can comment!
The fan service wasn’t that bad at all, especially when I compare it to 青春ブタ野郎, which has a similar plot (that being said, that’s quite a low bar to clear).
The main character wasn’t creepy at all with said 11 years old. Instead she said weird stuff (but it sounded more like she is just saying stuff to be shocking without fully understanding the implications).
He does mentions that he feels more comfortable talking to her than the other girls… but said other girls are freaking psychotic, so, yeah? I would be too? In fact, I would just steer clear out of the way of said other girls.
Other than that, the book was okay but high school settings are really getting boring at this point, especially when they involve characters with exaggerated personalities.
6 Likes
Maybe it’s just the anime after all then? I mean, I think this is pretty bad.
(These aren’t from 化物語 specifically I think)
Those are not in the 上 part, at least. I don’t know if anything happens later, but the attitude of the character in the videos you posted is extremely different from the book.
That does look bad indeed. I’m not really planning to read ahead, so I probably won’t find out, though.
1 Like
Doing a cross shout out from the Natively forums for the Mystery Book club which is now voting. The poll will auto close on April 10th 0:00 UTC.
Most of the books would be appropriate for the Intermediate or Advanced book clubs, although our pacing usually matches the ABC more. Always happy to have new members join and speculating on whodunnit and howdunnit is lots of fun 
I’ll shout this out in the IBC as well, sorry for those of you in both threads!
6 Likes
Hey all!
Our next poll will start in about a month, and we have 6 open slots in our proposals list! So if you have that book on your shelf that you always wanted to read, now is the time to throw it out in the open and make us all vote on it! 
5 Likes
マリアビートル
Author: 伊坂 幸太郎
Summary
Japanese
幼い息子の仇討ちを企てる、酒びたりの殺し屋「木村」。優等生面の裏に悪魔のような心を隠し持つ中学生「王子」。闇社会の大物から密命を受けた、腕利きの二人組「蜜柑」と「檸檬」。とにかく運が悪く、気弱な殺し屋「天道虫」。疾走する東北新幹線の車内で、狙う者と狙われる者が交錯する――。
English
Kimura, a drunken hit man plotting revenge for his young son. Prince, a junior high school student who hides a demon-like heart behind his honor student face. Lemon and Tangerine, a highly-skilled duo with secret orders from a boss of the underworld. And finally, Ladybug, the unlucky and timid assassin. In the cars of the high-speed Tohoku Shinkansen, predator and prey overlap…
Length: 592 pages
Category: Fast
Availability
amazon.co.jp (paperback)
bookwalker (ebook)
Personal Opinion
The movie Bullet Train is based on this book. I thought the movie was pretty good, so I’d like to read the book too.
Pros and Cons for the Book Club
Pros
- If you liked the movie: it’ll be cool to see how similar or different it is.
- If you didn’t like the movie: the book is always better than the movie, right? Better read it to make sure.
- If you haven’t seen the movie: reading the book will help you decide if you should watch it.
- Everyone likes trains.
Cons
- Might be a bit long.
Pictures
The bookwalker page has a lengthy preview.
Difficulty Poll
How much effort would you need to read this book?
- No effort at all
- Minimal effort
- Moderate effort
- Significant effort
- So much effort my head might explode
- I don’t know
0 voters
13 Likes
We were talking about the pace of book clubs, then there was a typo and then this happened:
Sounds like a book club for @Naphthalene and @Vanilla xp
12 Likes
It’s like the graphs on bookmeter. If you’re not Naphtalene/Vanilla, they never look very interesting…
8 Likes
I’ve only had interesting graphs while reading manga 
Edit: I found it
12 Likes
I can confirm reading manga is a good way to make it look like something is happening based on my recent graphs
7 Likes
I have been focusing on other stuff, so my page also looks very uninteresting! Lol
Ive read like one book or so this year I think
9 Likes