There seems to be a little explosion in England of short novels translated from Japanese (or Korean) related to books/bookshops and with a feel good vibe. I just picked up “The Bookshop Woman” (it was advertised as a signed copy but the signature pasted into the book on a small piece of paper was a bit disappointing).
There’s also “The Cat who Saved Books” and it’s sequel - I like the Spanish cover:
It’s a very cute cover but having read that book I don’t think it fits the vibe at all 
I think the Japanese cover is a better fit:
I have something to nominate (unless 告白 has been nominated or read previously?)
But I’m inclined to think that サイレントウィッチ should be next up since it came so close in the last poll…
Can’t find it with the search function or in the Master List of Book Clubs post, so I would say it hasn’t!
Do you mean this one? (告白 is a quite popular book title, that’s why I ask 
)
It has been read in a book club over at Natively, and with a very different speed, so I don’t see a problem if you want to nominate it here.
That thought crossed my mind as well But you know, popularity is a feeble thing, and books that came out second place in one poll may end up in the lowest ranks in the next one, or the other way round - that’s what makes them so interesting to me 
So I’ll hold back on posting the poll and wait for your nomination (or not) - please let me know once you’ve made up your mind 
Yes, that is the one
But I’ll hold off until the next round I think.
So go ahead and launch the poll
Long awaited, and finally it’s here:
Have a look at the List of Proposed Books section in the first post for details on each book. Every book has a Natively level associated with it which is annotated in the poll (this Natively list contains all nominated books if you want to have a look at the gradings in detail).
Do not rely solely on Natively level when making a choice. Please have a look at the nomination posts if you haven’t already.
Expected reading pace: We aim to read books at ~15 pages per week (that number might vary a bit throughout, depending on the book’s breaks and chapters). The pick’s exact reading schedule will be negotiated before the book club kicks off.
Short book rule: If the first place is taken by a pick that will take us 6 weeks or less to read, we will read the one in second place directly after it, without running a poll in between.
Start of Book Club: We will start the next book on January 4th (after a one-week break).
Poll duration: The poll will be closed on 2024-11-25T17:00:00Z. You can choose up to 5 options.
Oh, and if somebody could update the thread title to “Now voting!” that would be great. Thanks!
PS: Apparently the poll does no longer support multiline entries? Sorry for the slightly messed-up entries, I guess we need to apply some redesign here… (I added some whitespace but could not get around to fix it better, sorry!)
Those L’s look an awful lot like exclamation points…
Although I really want to read お探し物は図書室まで someday, for me there is only one answer to this poll!
There’s more o’s than L’s so I read it as pool.
Which is not a great combination either 
Whoa. We hardly just started the current book. Voting time already?
The current book ends in 6 weeks, that’s usually the date where the next-book-poll starts, that gives the time to order the next book, especially for those buying it physically.
Alright! The poll is closed, and the winner is…
Silent Witch @Redglare would you like to run the club for it? 
Now to the downsides of the poll… While 家守綺譚 escaped the fate of early retirement by a whisker, we need to say goodbye to 終末なにしてますか? as it scored less than 20% in each of the last three polls. 
Sure! I’d be happy to run the club 
Does anyone happen to have a physical copy of Silent Witch already?
Yay! I do!
Great! Would you mind sharing the starting pages for each chapter in the home thread? 
Here’s the home thread!
@NicoleIsEnough I’m wondering, isn’t it supposed to be a week break between clubs? 
I saw you added the starting date in the opening post as Jan 4th, so that’s what I went with in the home thread.
Edit: Ah! Never mind, I see I see
I’m always very afraid to mess up the club start dates, but I think I got it right this time around 
For those who are looking to read some absurd short stories, our book club starts this weekend! We’re reading one story a week for the next 13 weeks. You’re welcome to join us from beginning to end or to dip in and out as your schedule allows
The Advanced Book Club is currently polling for their next pick! If you feel like dipping your toes into more difficult material or a faster reading pace, why not give it a try?
Is anyone interested in joining me for an unofficial 夜警 (赤川次郎) book club?
(For those who are new to IBC, we have read two novels by this author previously - あなたも殺人になれる and セーラー服と機関銃)
I’ve put a link to my previous nomination post for the book above, but the Natively link is here
There is a very enthusiastic review on natively that summarises its appeal:
If Jerry Springer and Deathnote had a baby…
Don’t go into this book with expectations, but if you like ghosts, affairs, and death, you’ll love this.Despite the excess of characters, the book is a very easy read. There is a lot of dialogue which makes for good reading practice but also fills the pages with white-space. It was my 5th book and was the second easiest. There is very rarely any technical vocabulary.
Entertainment-wise, it’s great. Akagawa is a prolific writer and his work isn’t exactly literature, but it’s fun. This book is full of chaotic energy. I promise, you will not get bored. Out of all of the books I have finished, this is my favorite originally Japanese book!
I highly recommend!
I’m planning to read it at IBC pace - potentially starting next weekend.
Anyone else interested?
