Advanced Japanese Book Club // Reading 虐殺器官 - Genocidal Organ

This is also new to me. Tried to download it, but it keeps saying that the update failed. Then tries again. :sweat_smile:

EDIT: the on and off worked :slight_smile:

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I just use Discord in the browser. :man_shrugging:

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This sounds super interesting, but it’d definitely be a tougher read for me judging by the bookwalker samples. Also between the Kiki re-read, 百人一首, my own reading, and everyday life stuff, I think I’m finally understanding the “being in too many book clubs” feeling :sweat_smile:

So many of these books sound like great reads, and I’m all about challenging myself, but I wonder about my ability to stay up to date if I add another :scream:

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Right? :blush::books: :sparkles:

Right? :broken_heart::cry:

I am also slowly realizing I may need to start ‘picking’ my book clubs. But a lot of times what starts as a neutral “eh, I don’t have particularly strong feelings about this one, so why not” read ends up really enjoyable. And there’s a lot of really interesting nominations here, so I really don’t want to. xD

Maybe I can just further de-prioritize other things… :thinking:

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Oh hey, a book I already own!

I figured the “advanced” was shorthand for “advanced levels of enjoyment”.

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Yesterday I was too busy to submit my promised daily nomination, but here it finally is!

アウト (OUT) 上

Author: 桐野夏生 (きりのなつお)

Summary

Japanese

ごく普通の主婦であった彼女たちがなぜ仲間の夫の死体をバラバラにしたのか!?

深夜の弁当工場で働く主婦たちは。それぞれの胸の内に得体の知れない不安と失望を抱えていた。「こんな暮らしから抜け出したい」そう心中で叫ぶ彼女たちの生活を外へ導いたのは、思いもよらぬ事件だった。なぜ彼女たちは、パート仲間が殺した夫の死体をバラバラにして捨てたのか?犯罪小説の到達点!

English

Why did these ordinary housewives scatter the dead body of their friend’s husband?

These housewives work the night shift at a bento factory. They hold an unknown anxiety and despair in their hearts. An unexpected case uncovers their lifestyles and their longing to break free from it. Why did they scatter the corpse of the husband of their friend? Find out in this crime novel!

Length: 456 pages
Category: easy&fast

Availability

Amazon
No ebook available.

Personal Opinion

The author was mentioned in a TheCultureTrip article, so I got interested. This book won the “Mystery Writers of Japan” award so I figured it can’t be wrong to try it :slight_smile:

Pros and Cons for the Book Club

Pros

  • Crime novel (I think this is a popular genre)
  • Award-winning

Cons

  • Rather thick with 456 pages, plus the second part adds another 352 pages.
  • No ebook as far as I could see.

Pictures

First Three Pages of Chapter One


Additional Pages


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

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Thank you for notifying me!! That’s so nice of you!

I think it’ll be difficult for me to get my hands on any Japanese books short-term, so I’m not sure whether I will be able to join (on time). I’ll keep an eye on this thread though, so I can at least try to purchase the book you all choose!

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Ding ding ding, it is time!
17 nominations?! That’s insane. Although, I have to admit, it’s much easier to write nominations for this club than for any other. Also, there’s probably more books I want to read here than I have votes to spare, which is always a good problem to have.

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Clock strikes 12, thread turns back into a POLLmpkin.

We’ll let it run for at least 2 days, planning to close the poll 2020-07-12T03:00:00Z. We might extend it one more day through the weekend for folks who only log on Saturday/Sunday. You may choose up to five books.

See the original post for book descriptions.

  • 86―エイティシックス―
  • 本好きの下剋上
  • アウト (OUT) (上)
  • くま クマ 熊 ベアー
  • クォンタムデビルサーガ アバタールチューナーⅠ
  • 狼と香辛料
  • マスカレード・ホテル
  • 容疑者Xの献身
  • 風の谷のナウシカ
  • 海辺のカフカ(上)
  • 騎士団長殺し 第1部
  • すべてがFになる
  • 薮の中・将軍 (角川文庫)
  • 檸檬 (角川文庫)
  • 雪国
  • 風立ちぬ
  • 午後の曳航
0 voters
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Ahh, this is fun. I’ve narrowed it down to 10! :sweat_smile:

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Same. A bit baffled that it was hard to choose only five. Such good taste. So many kindred spirits.

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‘Results will be shown on vote’
Nooo :sob: I’m not voting because I’m unlikely to join atm (can’t keep up) but I have rights I wan’t to see.

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TOP SECRET DO NOT OPEN

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Had to narrow down nine choices for myself. What really ended up helping was simply seeing what had an eBook available; I usually prefer buying physical, but paying for DHL/Fedex shipping has been really eating my wallet lately. :\

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I don’t think I’ve posted in this thread yet but I’ve been following along and looking forward to reading some books that didn’t meet the intermediate club’s criteria. I will have to make more time to read though. :expressionless:

This was my strategy as well. It certainly helped narrow the list down. I’m still trying to decide on what to use my last vote on…

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When are we planning to actually start the winning book, considering people have to order their books if they are doing physical?

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I was wondering about that as well :slight_smile:
I think a poll would be a good solution, so that those interested in the book can determine when it will start.

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MORE SECRET STUFF DO NOT OPEN

Secret: I consider taking back my vote on the Spicy Wolf :eyes:

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I smell a run-off.

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I have a vested interest in 本好き winning, but I feel like changing my vote is skeevy so I avoided that.

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