We will start reading on January 31th, 2026. Page counts are estimates from a digital edition. Please reference the stopping points as chapters did not work as good break points.
We aim to read fast books at 30-50 pages per week and hard books at ~15 pages per week
Butter is considered a ‘fast’ book and I generally aimed for the lower end most weeks as while I calculated using an iPad mini, it still had fewer pages than the listed physical edition. The exception was the final week which I could have split into two very short weeks but opted instead to keep long as I figure towards the end people pick up a bit of steam anyways.
Old schedule
Week
Start Date
Chapter
Percentage
文庫ページ
Week 1
Jan 31
until line break ending with 電車に乗り込んだ
6%
40
Week 2
Feb 07
stop when you see chapter 3
13%
81
Week 3
Feb 14
until line break ending with 挑発するように揺れている
20%
124
Week 4
Feb 21
until line break ending with どうしても食べてみたくなったのだ
27%
167
Week 5
Feb 28
stop when you see chapter 7
37%
224
Week 6
Mar 7
stop at line break ending with 稀有な経験はないだろうと思う
46%
279
Week 7
Mar 14
stop at line break ending with 両手を打ち鳴らした
54%
323
Week 8
Mar 21
stop at the section beginning with 2月２４日
62%
371
Week 9
Mar 28
stop when you see the break 12
69%
413
Week 10
Apr 4
stop at line break ending さびしさがにじむことを。
78%
466
Week 11
Apr 11
stop at line break ending 再び汽笛が鳴った
86%
512
Week 12
Apr 18
stop at the end of the book, not including 解説
98%
584
Week
Start Date
Chapter
Percentage
文庫ページ
Week 1
Jan 31
until line break ending with 電車に乗り込んだ
6%
40
Week 2
Feb 07
stop when you see chapter 3
13%
81
Week 3
Feb 14
until line break ending with 挑発するように揺れている
20%
124
Week 4
Feb 21
until line break ending with どうしても食べてみたくなったのだ
27%
167
Week 5
Feb 28
stop when you see 明瞭で淀みのない調子で店内を流れていく
32%
192
Week 6
Mar 7
stop when you see chapter 7
37%
224
Week 8
Mar 14
stop when you see chapter 8
43%
261
Week 9
Mar 28
stop when you see chapter 9
50%
300
Week 10
Apr 4
stop when you see chapter 10
56%
334
Week 11
Apr 11
stop at the section beginning with 2月２４日
62%
371
Week 12
Apr 18
stop when you see chapter 12
69%
413
Week 13
Apr 25
stop when you see chapter 13
75%
446
Week 14
May 2
stop when you see chapter 14
80%
479
Week 15
May 9
stop at line break ending 再び汽笛が鳴った
86%
512
Week 16
May 16
stop at the end of the book, not including 解説
98%
584
Discussion Rules
Please use spoiler tags for major events in the current chapter(s) and any content in future chapters.
When asking for help, please mention things like chapter, page number, part of audio track, etc. Mentioning what version of the book you are reading may also help people locate the section
Don’t be afraid of asking questions, even if they seem embarrassing at first. All of us are here to learn.
To you lurkers out there: Join the conversation, it’s fun!
Member List
Are you planning to read Butter with the book club?
Yes, I’m planning to read along
Not sure
Yes, but I’ll be starting fashionably late
I had no intentions of reading the book, but I desire to click a poll
Well, well, well, I just unearthed this book from my piles yesterday. I have the English version paperback and the Japanese version ebook. I just need the audiobook to make it even better. Haha
For reference, the weeks correspond to the following pages in my 文庫 edition:
Week1: p.5 - p. 40
Week 2: p. 40 - p. 81
Week 3: p. 81 - p. 124
Week 4: p. 124 - p. 167
Week 5: p. 167 - p. 224
Week 6: p. 225 - p. 279
Week 7: p. 279 - p. 323
Week 8: p. 323 - p. 371
Week 9: p. 371 - p. 413
Week 10: p. 413 - p. 466
Week 11: p. 466 - p. 512
Week 12: p. 512 - p. 584
I am not sure yet whether I will read along, but thought I might at least look up the exact pages so that “I do not even know exactly up to which page I am supposed to read this week” does not count as an excuse".
Thanks for this! I updated the schedule to add the bunko version end page and removed the page estimate I had (since it was just a rough approximation based on my ipad, and is going to differ from paperback/hardcover/ereader pages )
Also: I wanted to vibe check if we’re doing ok with the schedule. I knew it was a tad bit aggressive when setting it, but now that I know just how dense with descriptions the text is I think perhaps it’s too fast. Thoughts?
I’m just behind mostly because I’ve been busy, but I think it might be a little too fast. The book’s a bit too dense to get into a rhythm and just push through 45-50 pages a week like some of the middle/later weeks, maybe more like 30-40 tops would be easier
Ok, it looks like no one is voting to keep the current schedule so I tried my hand at re-slicing it. Some of the chapter breaks worked out with this slower schedule (tried to be vaguely around 5% of the book) so that makes things a bit easier. I kept the last week at it’s long length because a final shove seems reasonable to me, but do speak up if you disagree:
Week
Start Date
Chapter
Percentage
文庫ページ
Week 5
Feb 28
stop when you see 明瞭で淀みのない調子で店内を流れていく
32%
192
Week 6
Mar 7
stop when you see chapter 7
37%
224
Week 8
Mar 14
stop when you see chapter 8
43%
261
Week 9
Mar 28
stop when you see chapter 9
50%
300
Week 10
Apr 4
stop when you see chapter 10
56%
334
Week 11
Apr 11
stop at the section beginning with 2月２４日
62%
371
Week 12
Apr 18
stop when you see chapter 12
69%
413
Week 13
Apr 25
stop when you see chapter 13
75%
446
Week 14
May 2
stop when you see chapter 14
80%
479
Week 15
May 9
stop at line break ending 再び汽笛が鳴った
86%
512
Week 16
May 16
stop at the end of the book, not including 解説
98%
584
And with that, I need to catch up I was nearly done with week 2 when I had to travel and travel always throws off my reading schedules
The last few weeks were more around 7%, so I think everything up to 7% is definitely slow enough. I do prefer it over the upcoming 10% weeks, for sure
Gives me leeway to read some other books on the side and keep the discussion more focused. I also hope that more people join the discussions again when they actually catch up.
So you have my approval for the new schedule. Thanks for looking into it.
)
I was nearly done with week 2 when I had to travel and travel always throws off my reading schedules
