[Looking for Nominations!] Beginner Japanese Book Club // Starting Soon: Death Note

Japanese Language Reading
#1191

That could have the opposite problem though, where people don’t know which thread to check. Plus, generally we wouldn’t be resetting the nominations each time. This is a special case because we’re trying to clear up the guidelines. Also, that makes it sound like this thread is just for nominations, but it’s also for general book club discussions. I understand your concern, I’m just not sure your suggestion would make things better… (I don’t have a better suggestion though…)

Side comment: I’m curious how you’ll vote on the Scary Stories poll. It felt so easy after spending months reading Kiki.

#1192

I think it could work just like the chapter discussions - at the top there is a link to explain the point of that thread relative to the one before and after it. I was happy to discuss the process for nominations in this thread, but honestly not feeling exciting about judging all the nominations now when they are for a book we won’t read for months… unless you are really just trying to set standards for comparison to use moving forward? (You have been the inspiration for me to keep going with Kiki, especially with the vocab list, so I would do it as a favour to you if for no other reason!)

PS Not really a fan of scary stories, but did you know there are other genres in that 5 minute series?

#1193

Yeah, it’s a tough situation. This idea is for this to be a permanent thing, not to just set standards. Basically, next time we vote, I want people to be able to see the average difficulty for each book and say “this book seemed interesting, but it has a 4/5 so it’s probably too hard, but this other one has a 2.5/5, so maybe that will work”. It’s also a unique time because we’re starting from scratch. Theoretically, these nominations shouldn’t come in too often, after the first batch is through.

I’m not a fan of horror/scary stuff either so that’s good to know. Do you have a link to some of the others in the series?

Aw, thanks! :blush:
The feeling is mutual! It would be difficult to continue reading without your support and contributions. :slight_smile:

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#1194

はい、どうぞ


“First in the new series of the popular “unexpected ending after 5 minutes” series. Set in a high school, members of the so-called “worrying department” are very effective in solving problems! 40% excitement, 30% laughs, 30% lessons in life, and 100% surprise ending! 20 stories that you can enjoy anywhere you read.”

Although it takes time to read through, information from publisher websites gives a lot of useful information.
This book is aimed at primary school kids years 4-6.
Big sample if you click on the link 試し読み under 立ち読み about halfway down the page. There is a manga introduction then it starts the actual chapter.

Find more of the series here: https://hon.gakken.jp/series/５分後に意外な結末

お楽しみに

2 Likes
#1195

I’m unfortunately one of the people who stopped reading Kiki due to it being too difficult. Really hoping this next one goes well.
I’v been skimming through the new messages but there were a lot so I might have missed it. Is there a date for when the new manga will be started, or a poll to decide? (First post says TBD)

#1196

Check out the Aria thread. Polls are in the second post.

1 Like
#1197

Wait, isn’t that what the intermediate book club is reading right now?

#1198

Yes it’s in the same series, but not the same book. The beauty about those shorts stories is that there are a ton of them and many of them are accessible. I think they’re designed for junior high school students.

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#1199

If it has the same difficulty across the series, that one was so hard I gave up on it completely. I read through the first two stories without even getting the gist of what was going on. There might be a range in difficulty though…I don’t know.

It made Kiki feel easy :wink:

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#1200

Hello, I would like to be added to the list, please!

#1201

I went to my cart to look at something else, noticed this in my saved items. Did we do this? :wink:

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#1202

This is gonna lead to a lot of unsold 2-7s from people unable to start the series.

I’m not sure how to feel about that. Like, it’s normal for readership to fall over the course of a publication, but I wonder if things like this have lasting side-effects.

#1203

I bought the full set, but ended up with the old version rather than masterpiece.

#1204

Just to let readers here know that the Yotsuba Reading Club is about to start volume four if anyone is interested. We could be starting this weekend, depending on the poll result. Thank you!

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#1205

Could we perhaps limit future books to ones that can be purchased in ebook form? For me personally it means I can’t join in if I can’t buy it digitally. I’m sure there are others like me. Can’t do Aria or Yotsubato. I can do the Kiki one though which is really cool.

Aria the Masterpiece Home Thread (Beginner Book Club / Aria Book Club)
#1206

I think that would be too limiting. There are many interesting manga/books that don’t have ebook versions. While that’s unfortunate, I don’t think we should exclude them.

If you don’t mind me asking, why can’t you purchase physical books?

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#1207

It’s entirely down to a space issue. I can purchase physical books obviously but storing them is the problem. I don’t buy domestic books for the same reason.

Perhaps someone could create an ebook only book club but that might just muddle things up.
My viewpoint is that there’s no reason people can’t read the books without ebook versions themselves but a book club is the kind of thing you want lots of people to join so it only makes sense to keep things accessible in this way.
It’s entirely up to you, of course, but please think of who can’t import these books when choosing a book to cover. :3

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#1208

Does anybody have a good handle on how widely available the kinds of books that usually get nominated are in ebook format?

If most/many are available in ebook format then it seems like a good choice to restrict it in that way, because it increases potential readership. Otherwise it seems like being able to pick better books from a decent selection should take precedence. Perhaps we could include ebook availability in the polls, and those who want an ebook could vote accordingly?

From your tiny sample of 3 :wink: it looks like the issue may be with manga accessibility, and I can’t really see us taking manga off the table, as they tend to be easier and more accessible for people of our level. That’s a total guess though.

Would you consider selling on the books after you finish reading them? That might allow you to overcome the space issue while also recouping a little of your money, though I realise you might want to keep reading material in order to be able to return to it in future.

#1209

You could always resell the books (or donate them) if you don’t have room for long term storage. Then you’d only need room for a few extra books at a time. Not being able to go back to them is certainly a downside of that approach, though it might be worth it so you can get reading practice.

#1210

There are loads of manga I’ve found though with ebook format. So obviously I would not recommend taking them off the table.
I think there’s more than enough material available digitally for such a restriction to make sense.

I’m not really interested in buying and selling them because finding buyers would be too much of a pain. I’d rather just skip the book in question. Which I will do if you guys still want to cover them. I don’t want to be “that guy”. lol

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