That’s a really good idea! I love reading other people’s questions because it takes the stress out of formatting it and also looking like an idiot. (Which they don’t but I always feel like I do when I ask questions.) I really shot myself in the foot for being the front runner though. Can’t really ask any questions when no one is at the same chapter, haha. Ah well.
I actually feel like I’m at that point with the book (and the other manga I’m reading.) Not because I understand everything 100% (nowhere near that), but because I can get lost in it. It just takes a lot longer to read.
Yeah this book isn’t like Winnie the Pooh, where it just straight up says whose talking. But eventually you get a hold of their talking mannerisms. ( Cheat Sheet: the main character uses 僕 and Sakura uses 私。）Oh and you will definitely start realizing when it’s Sakura speaking. If anyone ever laughs (and how many ways can she laugh!) it’s Sakura. Always. Seriously someone needs to mark down every type of laugh she does in this book, it’s absurd, haha.
@ NathaLire You’re right, the first chapter is a little hard to get your grounding just because It jumps in time. It starts in the future with Sakura’s funeral and then it goes back in time to before it. I don’t know exactly how far back but it felt really abrupt to me too. It’s the main character talking about the past from the future so time becomes linear with just references about her impending death.
Also I need someone to hurry up and finish Chapter 4 because there’s so much I want to talk about. It’s a long chapter but it’s goooooood.
I was surprised how quickly they explained it. But man…it’s kind of sweet/tragic when you realize what it means. And it really gives the book the whole theme.
I think the theme is about the main character actually doing something sacrificial for another person. Idk how this will end up I feel like he’ll let Sakura “eat his pancreas” by doing something really extreme for her. But if she ends up dying anyways then does that means he’ll think “This is why I shouldn’t be involved with anyone!”?
I mean the opening scene he’s in his room not even at Sakura’s funeral…
did not realize this was going to be about terminal illness. I just finished the first chapter, and it was fun and pretty interestingly written, but a bit sad right off the bat. Now I am kind of worried this is just going to become a depressing book.
There’s plenty of funny moments, and a lot of dark humor coming from Sakura. But there are sad points too since the theme is terminal illness (and they straight up tell us she dies!) I think I would call this all bittersweet but I really like how it can go back and forth between being light and funny and being heavy and serious. I feel like it never lets itself go too far in each direction.
You and me both. I’m always like, should I not know this at this point? and then brain just moves on as if nothing ever happens. Rather than rationally thinking that there is no reason why I should know something I’ve never come across. Oh well, it’s somehow worked so far xD
Also you just wait, getting my book today and if it’s as gripping as I’ve been promised, I shall be with you soon enough
My reason to read this exactly. Also turtoise I love turtoises.
One baka question: how do you know the chapters? Because I gave it a quick look and my version of the book just keeps going. There’s nothing indicating chapters or something like that o.o
Just finished chapter 1 and I enjoyed it. I really like how characters interact with each other (especially Sakura referring to the main character as 「秘密を知っているクラスメイト」くん).
And as I inferred from the preview in the Intermediate Book Club nomination post it’s manageable for me in terms of language used and I should be good reading it on my own.
What version you have? I’ve got the one from the op (no furigana one) and it has numbers indicating the chapters. (but even though my Kindle don’t recognize the chapters for some reasons, while it does with Toki Shoujo for example).
The chapter breaks can be in the middle of the page like this. There’s no Table of Contents so I hunted down the last chapter myself while trying not to focus on the text, which is way easier in Japanese than English.
To be honest, the selection is solely based on the Beginner and Intermediate book clubs
But the first is 放浪息子 (manga), the the third is 少女終末旅行 (manga) and the fourth is ふしぎ駄菓子屋銭天堂.
I also own キノの旅, はたらく魔王さま, のんのんびょり(manga), 夏目友人書 (manga), 思い出のマーニー and 色彩を持たない多崎つくると、彼の巡礼の年.
oh and a copy of a Japanese translation of Alice in Wonderland (which is one of my all time favourite books, hence the Japanese copy)
I do like reading dark fantasy or sci-fi usually (which is sorely under represented in my still very small Japanese library), I read romance if I need something easy (or if I have a masochistic day and want to make myself bawl) but to be honest if I have the time I read whatever, so if you have any suggestions, hit them my way xD
Thank you for the recommendations!! I like dark fantasy and sci-fi too. I haven’t read so much yet, but my friend recommended No.6 (which was also featured in the book clubs at some point?)
This is really the first Japanese book I will finish (I think), so maybe in a few months I’ll know a bit more about the range of Japanese fantasy and sci fi!
Anyone mind helping me with this? I get the general sense of what it means, but the grammar is throwing me for a loop for some reason…
Summary
正直、歯ごたえがよくて香ばしくて思ったよりかなり美味しかったけれど、何やらしてやられた気がして悔しいという心持ちが胃から上がってきたので、首を傾げるに留めておいた.
My best guess with some liberties taken: “To be honest, the texture and flavor were considerably better than I expected, but, feeling like I had been tricked somehow, frustration welled up from my stomach and so I only went so far as to nod my head in response” .
Everything looks good to me, just a slightly different interpretation of the “首を傾げるに留めておいた” bit at the end
首を傾げる is an expression meaning “to incline one’s head to the side (in doubt); to tilt one’s head to the side (in confusion)”, and online I found an explanation that に留めておいた means something like “そこまでで止めておいた”, so your “only went as far as to” part looks great, but instead of nodding, I think they’re tilting their head to the side in perplexity because of those negative emotions they got
So kind of like yeah it was surprisingly tasty, but instead of responding more positively, they only went as far as tilting their head and not necessarily acknowledging that it was better than they thought it’d be since they feel tricked
I love turtoises. 
It really helped me with what to look for 
