Book club suggestions

I think they meant レポ not ルポ :sweat_smile:

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I think ルポ is correct and short for ルポルタージュ

(and you do find stuff, if you search directly on amazon et al. just google thinks cars are more important. :rofl:)

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Which reminds me that one in that category I want to read happens to be about cars (or more specifically the lousy working conditions for the people making them): 自動車絶望工場. But the paper version is out of print, sadly.

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so, it’s basically a ルポ about ルポ. :rofl:

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I’ve not heard ルポ before but レポ seems more common with both being valid

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That’s right!

Like these!

ETA side note: they’re usually about horribly depressing topics but also have interesting info about Japanese social issues

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:eyes:

you are not good for my TBR… :face_holding_back_tears:

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I am sorry! :joy::pray:t2: FYI that is on audiobook.jp and sometimes part of the 聴き放題 rotation if you need more reason to read it :rofl:

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Another “book club” I have in mind is the Advent Calendar book club. We did this last year too, and it was just one specific book that we read every day of December until the 24th, as a countdown of sorts. The book wasn’t Christmas-themed or anything, it was just something fun to do every day (short story mysteries/challenges to the reader in that case).

I’d like to do something similar this year too, but not sure what form it would take. It could be a Christmas or winter-themed book (winter is better, I’m not fond of Christmas stories personally), or just any book with 24 stories or chapters, or it could be 24 unrelated stories (from Aozora for example, like @cat did last year), or any other idea we may have.

I’ll make a thread sometime in November so we can discuss ideas with whoever is interested, just mentioning it for now.

Would you be interested in an “Advent Calendar” book club or reading challenge (for the first 24 days of December)?
  • Yes
  • No
  • Maybe
0 voters
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You know something is a good idea when two people come up with the same thing :rofl:

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Unrelated is a good way to describe that lot :joy: I read about tofu manufacturing, children’s stories, buying pens, a beloved salad, Meiji (or Taisho?) views on marriage, and all sorts of other things.

I’ll probably make my own calendar of random Aozora again but also provide a list of alternatives that I’ve already read and can give an idea of what they are.

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this is an observation and not an idea but it’s kinda funny that in both the BL and GL book clubs the question of ambiguous content ends up being divided in polls 50/50 exactly lol

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I think the more you engage with Japanese media, the more you know that subtext is often all you get - for years on end. Or it used to be. Even in hetero media, you might only get 1 (bad) kiss - if that - and potentially a love confession at the very end. :face_holding_back_tears: I mean a lot of that gay subtext is gay even for western standards… :rofl:

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so true lol
I remember when I saw Yuri on Ice under LGBT+ on Netflix I laughed and my friend asked me why I thought it was funny so I told her “I don’t trust Japanese media for this to be LGBT+ and not fan service”

joke on me, it’s considered canon now but I was so used to subtext remaining fan service that I couldn’t see it when it hit me in the face :rofl: :sob:

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Should be just top rated books/manga club that many/most Japanese are aware of - it would be a great education.

What would be the best way to generate such a list, do you think?

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Thank you for reminding me… I have a Japanese-native education reading list for maybe Junior High to High School level. That’s one place to start. Otherwise the original books or manga of mega-hit anime / movies, bookstore top 5, massively rated books as per Amazon ratings, etc.

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For those who love wholesome, happy, hygge, comfy, cosy, slice of life stories…

Would you be interested in joining an 癒し系 book club?
  • Yes! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:
  • Maybe… :upside_down_face:
0 voters
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This feels like a Lovecraft version of a hug.

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This is what my life needs :pleading_face:

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