Quick heads up for the Bookwalker fans: This book is currently discounted (as in, cheaper to buy) and on top it also benefits from the currently ongoing 50% coin cashback. Win-win-win 
This ultra-price-reduction ends on 2023-03-27T00:59:00Z.
2 Likes
Summer is (nearly) here, and I thought I’d revive this thread to gauge interest in reading something spooky during the summer months, as is the custom in Japan. This can be anything from short stories to manga to a horror novel, but first, is anyone interested, and if so, when would you prefer to start?
Would you be interested in joining a Spooky Summer Reading Club?
- yes
- no
- maybe
0 voters
If yes, when would you prefer to start?
- June
- July
- August
0 voters
Edit: I just realized it would have been better to have the month poll be multiple choice, or at least add a “whenever” option. Sadly I can’t edit the poll now, but we can discuss more in comments if need be.
2 Likes
Okay, so we’re looking for a possible start in July or August (the votes are totally divided so far).
So far we have four novel nominations. If anyone is interested in nominating manga, short stories, or more novels, now is the time!
I’m thinking of running a poll for which book to read at the end of this month, and then we can talk again about the most convenient start date.
3 Likes
妖怪変化殺人事件
Author: 赤川次郎
Page count: 308
Natively level: Ungraded; L30 as a placeholder
Summary
Japanese
傍若無人・神出鬼没のあの大貫警部が殺人犯を追って勇猛果敢、遊園地の〈怪奇の館〉に突入。不気味な闇に待ちうけるのは吸血鬼・ミイラ男にゴーゴン、そして狼男――。けれどもこんな怪物たちよりもっと恐ろしい生きものが、この世にはいたのである。表題作を含め四編収録の大人気・大貫警部シリーズ・第八弾。
English
The outlandish and haunting Inspector Onuki bravely pursues a murderer into the amusement park’s “House of Mysteries”. Waiting in the eerie darkness are vampires, a mummy man, a gorgon, and a werewolf. But there are more terrifying creatures in this world than these monsters. This is the eighth installment of the popular Inspector Onuki series, which contains four stories including the title story.
(automatic Deepl translation)
Availability
Amazon, Bookwalker
ebook: yes
Why do you recommend this book?
This looks like it’s likely to be a lot goofier than our more hardcore horror suggestions, but I thought it might be a nice item to toss into the pile for variety. It’s certainly got that monster vibe going on. I haven’t read any of the other books in the series, so hopefully it’s fine to jump around; I picked this specific one since I already own it, haha. It looks like it’s a collection of short stories, so it might be lighter fare. One drawback is that not all of them may be horror-themed, unfortunately, besides the title story.
(Whoops; this wasn’t supposed to be a reply to your specific post, omk3!)
Reading Sample
4 Likes
I have a ton of stories I bookmarked as “horror”, need to go find them. I even set a reminder on this post and still forgot.
3 Likes
One more from me (this one’s a manga!):
漂流教室
Author: 楳図 かずお
Page count: 318
Natively level: Ungraded; L25 as a placeholder
Summary
Japanese
隔絶された地で、死の影と戦いながら懸命に生きる少年たちの愛と勇気！！明日なき人類の行く末を警告する、SFロマン！！待望の第1巻配信！
English
In the aftermath of a massive earthquake, a Japanese elementary school is transported into a hostile world where the students and teachers are besieged by terrifying creatures and beset by madness.
Out of nowhere, an entire school vanishes, leaving nothing but a hole in the ground. While parents mourn and authorities investigate, the students and teachers find themselves not dead but stranded in a terrifying wasteland where they must fight to survive.
Availability
Amazon, Bookwalker
ebook: yes
Why do you recommend this book?
This is apparently one of the granddaddies of horror manga, being an inspiration for Junji Ito himself. There are six volumes, so if we wanted to read the full thing it’s pretty doable.
That Japanese summary is pretty whoa; I actually checked a couple of different places to see if the first one I found was bad somehow, but no…
Reading Sample
5 Likes
Here’s a quick list of nominations, since they’re a bit scattered atm:
Sorry for the no pretty pictures; just wanted to toss a list up for the moment.
5 Likes
Thank you for taking the trouble! I was just thinking that I should make a nomination list post, and you beat me to it. 
3 Likes
Feel free to set something up nicer if you’d like; I can alter my original post, but it may take me a bit to get to it. 
3 Likes
I did make a list in the OP after all, easier to find. I used your list as a basis though, so thanks for the help
3 Likes
I own both of these and actually began reading the second one, but didn’t finish it. I wasn’t really in the right headspace for it at the time.
I guess I’ll nominate one or two shortly. Most of what I have on hold is Aozora short stories which I think would do better for Halloween time.
2 Likes
リカ
Author: 五十嵐 貴久
Page count: 406
Natively level: It’s not on Natively yet but I read another one of the author’s books (here) and it landed at 28
Summary
Japanese
平凡な会社員がネットで出会ったリカは恐るべき怪物だった。長い黒髪を振り乱し、エスカレートするリカの狂気から、もう、逃れることはできないのか? 第2回ホラーサスペンス大賞受賞作。
English
Rika, an ordinary office worker, is a terrifying monster she met on the Internet. With her long black hair in disarray, is there any way to escape Rika’s escalating madness? Winner of the 2nd Horror Suspense Grand Prize.
Availability
Amazon, Bookwalker
ebook: yes
Why do you recommend this book?
The TV show (both original and リバース) feature Rika as a deeply obsessive and vain woman who does not accept reality which doesn’t align with her desires. Both were incredibly campy. The movie was also campy, but veered a bit too dark for what I was prepared for after seeing the shows.
Here’s some trailers to give you an idea how how it’s been adapted: movie, リバース show
I honestly have no clue if the movie or the shows are that close to the book or not, sometimes adaptations are way off.
Reading Sample
5 Likes
I was almost done typing up a nomination for 残穢 in this list: 夏に読みたい妖や怪異に関する不思議な本13選 - ゴミ本なんてない because the list writer gave it 3/3 horror, 1/3 grotesque and it sounded perfect
何かが畳を擦る音、いるはずのない赤ん坊の泣き声。転居先で起きる怪異に潜む因縁とは――山本周五郎賞受賞、戦慄のドキュメンタリー・ホラー。
この家は、どこか可怪(おか)しい。転居したばかりの部屋で、何かが畳を擦る音が聞こえ、背後には気配が……。だから、人が居着かないのか。何の変哲もないマンションで起きる怪異現象を調べるうち、ある因縁が浮かび上がる。かつて、ここでむかえた最期とは。怨みを伴う死は「穢(けが)れ」となり、感染は拡大するというのだが──山本周五郎賞受賞、戦慄の傑作ドキュメンタリー・ホラー長編!
And then I saw it didn’t have an ebook and it wouldn’t be right to nominate a non-ebook for omk3’s favorite club 
I hope they make it an ebook though because it sounds like something you’d like!
3 Likes
Thank for thinking about me, but I’m not sure my own preferences should translate to rules for this club. I’ve included the information about whether each nomination is available in ebook in the OP, and if people still want to read a book even if it’s not available digitally, who am I to say no?
3 Likes
I’ll still leave it to someone else to nominate if they feel so inclined. Goodness knows my own bookshelves are overflowing, do I really need more paperbacks when I have a few years worth of reading to go through yet? 
3 Likes
Okay, since there haven’t been any new nominations in the last few days, and there were some people possibly interested in starting in July, I’m thinking it might be best to start the poll earlier rather than later. I’m thinking of possibly setting up the poll on Sunday, so if you have any last minute nominations, now is the time!
4 Likes
Here is our first poll! This is for choosing a book for summer reading 
. There will be another poll for Halloween closer to the time.
You can see the list of nominations in the OP. The poll will close automatically on 2023-06-25T20:45:00Z. You have up to 2 options. 
8 Likes
We’ve got some good options here, I think. Voted for shorter ones due to nothing but time constraints; I’m hoping I’ll be freer in October for some good spook.
1 Like
I went to vote for 3 til I saw I could only do two. Definitely some overlap with my interests here!
4 Likes
It’s probably too late now, but the リカ link is misformatted in the poll @omk3. Looks like it’s also misformatted in the OP as well, though, so that should be fixable.
2 Likes