Saw this in the BBC thread, so wanted to put it out there that I’m willing to run the 地球星人 club. I was planning on writing discussion questions anyway since I’ve read it before in English, and I enjoyed running the コンビニ人間 repeat club last year.
Also happy to not put in the extra work and just enjoy being along for the ride. Your call @Phryne !
I think that’s an excellent suggestion, especially since you were already going to contribute discussion questions. It makes it a lot easier if you make the threads as well, cause then you can post it all at the same time at your leisure.
I don’t mind helping out with a reading schedule, I’d just been holding off for the time being cause I’m waiting to see if the Kindle version might get priced down on Amazon 
Could one of the regulars turn the 地球星人 home thread into a wiki?
Unfortunately not, that can only be done by the author of the thread (if they are a regular).
But we can call @Mods to the rescue 
Could you please turn the OP of the following thread into a wiki? 地球星人 🌏 Book Club ・ Starting Nov 27th! Thanks 
Done! 
If you ever wondered what to read once you finished the club’s weekly assignment, wonder no more! The Beginner Book Club is currently voting and you could participate to fill this annoying gap with some nice manga that’s being read at a slow pace
高校三年の冬。残りわずかとなった高校生活。このまま、なんとなく卒業していくのだと誰もが思っていた。突然、彼が帰ってくるまでは。中学の頃に一度は遠くの街へと引っ越した同級生。季節外れの転校生との再会は、「なんとなく」で終わろうとしていた彼らの気持ちに、小さなスタートの合図を響かせた――。2017年10～12月に放映となるテレビアニメの原作小説。湘南を舞台にした青春群像劇を、アニメのシリーズ構成・脚本を手掛けた鴨志田一が執筆。- Bookwalker
It is winter of their third year of high school, near the end of second semester, when students have very little time in high school left. Everyone is just waiting for graduation. Until Eita Izumi—their classmate in middle school who had moved far away—suddenly moves back home at a peculiar time. This reunites them, as if a go signal rang out to the feelings of the students who had just thought their high school life would end without fanfare. - Wikipedia
I watched the anime a while ago when it came out (2017) and recently discovered that the author who wrote the Bunny girl series also created the anime and the accompanying novel. I really enjoyed the Bunny girl series and since I was looking for a book that does not have a bazzillion sequels, I decided to give this a try. And I have to say it did not disappoint.
The meat of the story is centered around romance!
How much effort would you need to read this book?
0 voters
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to read a book with the Advanced Book Club?
Here is your chance of finding it out for real!
The Advanced Book Club is currently polling for their next pick, which will be read from January 1st, 2022.
Hop right on, and see you in the reading threads
Here’s a reminder that our next pick, 地球星人, starts in 1 week! I’ve read it in English and rank it among the best books I’ve ever read. I know of at least a few others who share this opinion, so I strongly recommend giving it a shot.
新人少女漫画家の双見奈々先生は、年上の女性担当編集者の佐藤 楓さんやアシスタントの間 瑞希さんに支えられながら、時々本人曰く職業病の激しい妄想を拗らせながら、今日もお仕事中！ エンタメ業界を舞台にしたワーキングガールズコメディ、第1巻！ (Bookwalker)
Nana Futami, a rookie manga artist, is at work today with the support of her editor Kaede Sato and assistant Mizuki Hazama, sometimes suffering from what she calls her “occupational disease”! A working girls comedy set in the entertainment industry!
Physical: Amazon | CDJapan
Digital: Kindle | Bookwalker
I had so much fun reading this. It is a great comedy that got a lot of laughs out of me without being overly silly. I would say it is a bit on the more difficult side of things esepcially because of all the manga/industry terminology that needs to be build up, but I felt like the density did not overwhelm!
Pros
Cons
How much effort would you need to read this book?
0 voters
I posted this nomination originally in the beginner book club but the results of the difficulty poll were very clearly indicating it being a bit to difficult.
I just noticed that someone needs to change the title of this thread! Any regulars around?
Ah, I should have noticed myself, thanks. Changed it.
Hey all, this is just a bit of an early heads-up: We will have our next poll in about a month’s time, and we only have 10 nominations so far, so if you come across an interesting book or manga that would fit the level of this club, please feel free to throw it in the ring! 
I forgot to add my noinations to the main post, so we are up to 12!
Oh, uh, I didn’t double check on recent nominations 
Thanks for keeping track of them!
Author: 小山田浩子 ( Hiroko Oyamada)
仕事を辞め、夫の田舎に移り住んだ私は、暑い夏の日、見たこともない黒い獣を追って、土手に空いた胸の深さの穴に落ちた。甘いお香の匂いが漂う世羅さん、庭の水撒きに励む寡黙な義祖父に、義兄を名乗る見知らぬ男。出会う人々もどこか奇妙で、見慣れた日常は静かに異界の色を帯びる。芥川賞受賞の表題作に、農村の古民家で新生活を始めた友人夫婦との不思議な時を描く2編を収録。
Asa’s husband is transferring jobs, and his new office is located near his family’s home in the countryside. During an exceptionally hot summer, the young married couple move in, and Asa does her best to quickly adjust to their new rural lives, to their remoteness, to the constant presence of her in-laws and the incessant buzz of cicadas. While her husband is consumed with his job, Asa is left to explore her surroundings on her own: she makes trips to the supermarket, halfheartedly looks for work, and tries to find interesting ways of killing time.
One day, while running an errand for her mother-in-law, she comes across a strange creature, follows it to the embankment of a river, and ends up falling into a hole–a hole that seems to have been made specifically for her. This is the first in a series of bizarre experiences that drive Asa deeper into the mysteries of this rural landscape filled with eccentric characters and unidentifiable creatures, leading her to question her role in this world, and eventually, her sanity.
Amazon (paperback bunko and ebook)
Bookwalker (ebook)
I came across this book by accident, and was intrigued by the title and premise. It seems there is a constant air of mystery and foreboding mixed in with mundane everyday life in the countryside, and this combination appeals to me. Apparently there’s a dreamlike quality to it and a blurred line between what’s true and what’s fantasy, so I thought reading with others and being able to discuss everyone’s interpretations would be more fun than reading alone.
How much effort would you need to read this book?
0 voters
No.
No no no.
Absolutely not.
I think it’s only a metaphor? 
Not sure how claustrophobic it gets to be honest, possibly a lot.
According to this New York Times review of the English translation of the book, holes are very popular in Japanese literature as a whole (sorry for the pun):
She is part of a literary lineage, soon to find herself trapped with Abe’s character in the dunes, with Kenzaburo Oe’s in a pit, or with Haruki Murakami’s at the bottom of a well. There is also a dried-up well in Oyamada’s brief tale, a follow-up to her similarly enigmatic debut, “The Factory” but it’s only one of the many holes in this surreal and mesmerizing book.
I feel you possibly didn’t spot the connection I was trying to make. Have you, perchance, ever read The Enigma of Amigara Fault by Junji Ito? 
I hadn’t, but I just looked it up 
holes really are prevalent, aren’t they
