Hello all, the current book will be over Real Soon Now 
ok not really but in a few weeks…
Therefore, we will run the poll for our next pick from Thursday Sept 4th, and if you’d like to nominate something new, then NOW is the time!
We currently have 11 nominations, and we have space for 9 more, so please fire away - first come first served 
This is not a new nomination, but a plug for the book I nominated last time…
I think this would be perfect for the IBC. The story is really engaging, amusing, whimsical and sweet. It is full of nostalgia (for childhood and for Japan in the early 70s), but also includes a touch of the fantastic. Ogawa’s writing style is always beautiful and poetic, but this book is particularly accessible. (I think this is easier than 妊娠カレンダー which we read previously). The chapters are short, so it is very easy to break up.
Although I’ve almost finished it, I’d be happy to run the club if it gets voted.
To all IBC members living near Munich:
The Munich Film Museum is showing 6 films by Shinji Sōmai, in subtitled original versions. One of those is Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (1981), which the IBC read in 2024.
Full program (in German)
We got no new nominations this time, so let’s dive into
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 October 18th (after a one-week break).
Poll duration: The poll will be closed on 2025-09-11T09:00:00Z. You can choose up to 5 options.
Oh, and if somebody could update the thread title to “Now voting!” that would be great. Thanks!
If anyone likes polls, there is also a poll running for the next read in the 小川洋子 book club over on Natively
Our club has a new pick! It’s
The book was nominated by @omk3 who has been very busy as of late, and so I am not sure whether they’d be willing to run the club…
Just in case, would anybody else be interested in running the club? It is irrelevant whether you have previous experience or not, we’re all here to help, so don’t be shy!
Hi all, I just checked the book because I was curious how a schedule might work out, and while I was at it, I decided to already set up a home page for the club:
So if nobody is interested in running the club, I’d be up to running it (but I will step back if somebody else makes up their mind 
).
In case you would like to test the waters with more difficult or longer books, please feel free to participate in the next Advanced Book Club pick that we are currently voting for
Seems like this book club has started and the schedule has been organized. The last week starts 20th Dec – does that mean the next book should start Jan 3rd if there’s supposed to be a week break in-between?
Oh yes, you are right! I will annotate the OP with the dates.
This also means the next poll will start around November 13th - so please get your nominations in before the date!
As advertised, here is our
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 3rd, 2026 (after a one-week break).
Poll duration: The poll will be closed on 2025-11-19T17:00:00Z. You can choose up to 5 options.
Oh, and if somebody could update the thread title to “Now voting!” that would be great. Thanks!
Our poll is closed, and we have a winner!
@Akashelia would you like to run the book club for it?
On a sad note, we need to say good-bye to 家守綺譚 as it scored less than 20% in the three last polls.
Oh yay!
I’ve been halfway through this for a while, maybe I’ll finally finish it with the club
Oh how nice that it got picked 
I think it’s a great book, for anyone joining, you are in for a treat!
I’ll be happy to run the club, no time to waste, the thread is already up!!
Psst…
If you’re looking for something before the next club 
Aozora Advent 
starts Monday
The Advanced Book Club is voting again!
If you feel like you want to have a go at slightly harder or faster books, why not hop over and see what we’ve got to offer? 
Our new book 怪人二十面相 is starting now! See you there!
Author: 井上 真偽 (いのうえ まぎ)
Page count: 256 pp
Natively link: ぎんなみ商店街の事件簿 Sister編: Sister編 | L31
This one goes into more detail than I like to know in advance, so I put the second half of the book blurb under a spoiler.
古き良き商店街で起きた不穏な事件。探偵役は三姉妹と四兄弟、事件と手がかりは同じなのに展開する推理は全く違う!? 〈Brother編〉との「両面読み」がおすすめです!
ぎんなみ商店街に店を構える焼き鳥店「串真佐」の三姉妹、佐々美、都久音、桃。ある日、近所の商店に車が突っ込む事故が発生した。運転手は衝撃で焼き鳥の串が喉に刺さり即死。詮索好きの友人を止めるため、都久音は捜査に乗り出す。
まずは事故現場で目撃された謎の人物を捜すことに。(第一話「だから都久音は嘘をつかない」)
交通事故に隠された謎を解いた三姉妹に捜査の依頼が。地元の中学校で起きた器物損壊事件の犯人を捜してほしいというものだ。現場には墨汁がぶちまけられ、焼き鳥の串が「井」の字に置かれていた。これは犯人を示すメッセージなのか、それとも……?(第二話「だから都久音は押し付けない」)
「ミステリーグルメツアーに行く」と言って出掛けた佐々美が行方不明に!? すわ誘拐、と慌てる都久音は偶然作りかけの脅迫状を見つけてしまう。台風のなか、姉の足跡を追う二人に、商店街のドンこと神山が迫る――。(第三話「だから都久音は心配しない」)
Volume 1 Synopsis: A new reading experience. A startling parallel mystery! A disturbing incident unfolds in a charming old shopping street. The detectives are three sisters and four brothers. Though the case and clues are identical, their deductions diverge completely!? We recommend reading this alongside the 〈Brother Edition〉 for a dual perspective! Sasami, Tokune, and Momo, the three sisters who run the yakitori shop “Kushimasa” in Ginnami Shopping Street. One day, an accident occurs where a car crashes into a neighbouring shop. The driver dies instantly when a yakitori skewer pierces his throat from the impact. To stop her nosy friend, Tokune launches her own investigation.
First, she searches for the mysterious person witnessed at the accident scene. (Episode 1: ‘That’s Why Tokune Never Lies’) After solving the mystery hidden within the traffic accident, the sisters receive an investigation request. They are asked to find the culprit behind a vandalism incident at the local middle school. At the scene, ink had been splashed about, and yakitori skewers were arranged in the shape of the character ‘井’. Was this a message pointing to the culprit, or…? (Episode 2: ‘That’s Why Tokune Doesn’t Push’) Sasami, who left saying she was ‘going on a mystery gourmet tour’, has gone missing!? Panicking that she might have been kidnapped, Tokune accidentally finds a half-written blackmail letter. As the two sisters track their elder sister’s footsteps through the typhoon, the shopping district’s big shot, Kamiyama, closes in on them… (Episode 3: ‘That’s Why Tokune Doesn’t Push’)
I love the premise of a mystery told from 2 perspectives: this book tells it from the sisters’ side, and the 2nd book tells it from the brothers’ side. I am proposing that we read the Sister book first, and then if there is interest, create an offshoot club for the Brother book afterwards.
You can read up to page 40 on the Bookwalker preview link above
Uhhh, is the title supposed to say now voting // now reading?
Probably a minor fluke, fixed it.
