My copy arrived today! I’m actually in the middle of Butter by Yuzuki Asako (and also Fang Si-Chi’s First Love Paradise by Lin Yi-han translated into English by Jenna Tang, which is obviously not a Japaneae novel but is an excellent book). But… I LOVE horror fiction so much and it doesn’t look so long… a conundrum.
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Same here btw 
But in my case another big reason is that I have quite some work scheduled for later in the month, so I want to make as much progress as possible while I can…
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I loved reading Butter recently and I am intrigued by Fang Si-Chi’s First Love Paradise (haven’t yet bought a copy!) so it seems like we’re quite aligned at the moment
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Are you based in the UK? I guess they’re both 話題 books at the moment!
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Yup, based in the UK! Haha for once I’m on trend, even if it’s only with books 
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I thought you might be! The world of Japanese studying/speaking gaijin Brits is pretty small, I wonder if we’ve ever unknowingly crossed paths 
It’s always fun on those rare occasions when you spot someone reading in Japanese in the wild!
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It is August 1st, which means the reading club has officially started!
And I finished chapter 2.
First the summer starts pretty chill, with not much going on… the four become close friends and spend the whole summer together, which of course kills all conversation about the Sayoko phenomenon.
I liked Shuu’s father, I am sure he will play an interesting role going forward.
Also, now we know why she is depicted as such a beauty and that everyone falls for her - it was just a vehicle to allow the author to demonstrate her evil powers 
(because otherwise the boys wouldn’t have followed her). And well played by the author to make us initially think that the sound in the grass was just the three friends plus teacher following them… but no. There was more behind it 
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That’s a good excuse to continue reading.
End of chapter 2
I feel bad for 容子. She’s not included in the group. It kind of feels like she just stopped existing. Was there even a single scene with her this chapter?
The chapter ends on a somewhat ominous note, but I’m not worried about 沙世子. Even if she died again (which I don’t think she did), I highly doubt that this is the end of her. Those boys had no idea what they were messing with.
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I thought so too!
Finished chapter 3. 
Things are slowly heating up! First of all, between Shuu and Sayoko, where her parents already talk about marriage when he comes to visit her for the first time 
So Japanese! I never know whether I should consider this cute or rather cringeworthy… On the other hand, Shuu’s father was really nice, as was to be expected.
While the reader watches timidly whether he will actually dare to make such a … whatever it is … his girlfriend…
Then, the play comes on, and what a play it is! I would love to attend such a performance. Amazing 
I would probably totally miss the red light and continue reading anyways 
It all culminates in disaster, as was somehow expected. And the author be like “Dear reader, did you really believe something supernatural was going to appear here? Hahaha, no, it was just a tornado passing by. Nothing to see here.” and everybody relaxes and snaps back into their former merry selves.
In the end, Shuu managed to make Sayoko very very angry. And rightly so, I mean what is this? I was halfway expecting him to say “it was just a joke, I just wanted to take angry pictures of you” but no, I think he did it for real… I am starting to get worried about him.
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Those spoilers look tempting, but I’m only about halfway through chapter 3, so I’ll have to be patient for now.
Chapter 3 ~45%
That’s the first time I’ve actually encountered the song mark (or however you call it) in a book. I guess I don’t read enough stories where people just burst into song. Maybe I should remedy that 
That poor dog 
First he gets controlled, then killed.
Her parents seem normal. Are they just a random couple that got brainwashed? They don’t look like their “daughter”, but they seem to have memories of her as a younger child. Did their actual child die and 沙世子 take their place? The story seemed to be about 沙世子 though. I don’t think they are her real parents, because they seem to be rather young.
Everyone is going to be involved in the play? Why do I get the feeling that an incident will occur rather than a play?
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I am still in chapter 1… is it just me or is this a REALLY long chapter? 
I am at like 15% (end of week 1) and not much has happened so far. I am still a bit confused if this is supernatural horror or psychological horror but I guess I’ll see. 
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Yup I’m in a similar place and I keep opening spoilers by accident 
the blurred text is too tempting!
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I have progressed to 40% - somewhere in chapter 3 and I am still confused.
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Finished week 4, i.e. halfway through chapter 4 (~76%).
Yes, these chapters are very long…
Meanwhile, things are really picking up steam. We get a glimpse on how good an actress Sayoko really is - while she encourages Mikako and acts as if she is her friend, she manipulates her to no end. Let’s hope it doesn’t end up where it seems to head towards
OTOH Shuu finally remembers the key He also seems to be a somewhat hopeless case Curious to see where this ends.
And then, the teacher What is his real role in all of this? Seems like he took the album from the library in order to hide the second Sayoko’s past?
And finally, Sayoko herself. How is she connected to the second Sayoko? Is she real or is she some supernatural being?
Questions upon questions…
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End of chapter 3
Me too! I also really liked the writing style for that scene. For me the lack of descriptions felt like I had even less control over the scene than usual (not that I ever have any, but that’s the impression I got), so it was almost like I was one of the students waiting in the dark for my turn. I’m sure that several of them were wary of the direction the story was taking, but who wants to be the one to stop the play?
The ending was unexpected. Like 秋 I’m not sure if it was a win or a loss.
I know, right? Especially since last chapter she was in danger because of some of her “fans”.
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~53% still somewhere in chapter 3 and especially the play scene made me think that this would make for a good movie, but I don’t particularly like it as a book. It’s probably a me problem but I feel like all the characters are kinda same-y and I struggle keeping them apart.
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I have progressed to 85% - somewhere in chapter 4. This book is pretty much not horror as always. It’s mystery, psychological drama, and a pinch of supernatural - and basically a coming-of-age story.
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Yeah I was a bit disappointed as well… initially we had some horror moments, like when the dog attacked or when the tornado hit, but it somehow dissolved into just normal things and people. 
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Chapter 3 spoilers
The play was great! I could almost taste the tension. 雅子 noticing at the end that 沙世子 wasn’t beside her anymore… I guess that pretty much tells us who the 6th サヨコ on stage was, if there was any doubt left.
That’s such a skeevy trope… I really wonder why it’s so popular, or used to be so anyway. It’s abundant in older manga too (Ranma 1/2 for example).
Is this a thing that actually happened or happens in Japan?
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I’m not very far into the book (approaching the end of the Spring section) but
Yukio is a sweetheart isn’t he? Bless his little cotton socks. If he turns out to be a wrong’un I’ll be very disappointed.
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