I have so many things I need to read first 
AND I still want to hit 20 “not light novels” by the end of the year. I have 7 to go.
… well, despite the cover, Booklive puts medium in the 小説・文芸 category, so it works (and I’m not going to question it)
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It’s not categorized as a LN, but similar to 屍人荘の殺人シリーズ (series) | L33 (which I won’t read because I hate zombies) there are a lot of reviewers saying it has those vibes but also people saying no, it doesn’t. 
All I want from it is a solid mystery and good characters 
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I really like to join this one.
There are 2 challenges.
One is the level. This book is apparently higher than my level. Reading it along others will definitely help me with the difficulty.
The other challenge is the genre. Mystery is not my most favorite genre, but I like reading outside of my comfort zone from time to time and reading with a bookclub is for sure a motivation.
But then again the book is huge, and the difficulty is higher than my current level and I’m sure I’ll fall behind the schedule since my reading speed is still so low.
I look forward to this bookclub whether I’ll join the discussions or not , because I have the book anyway and I’ll read it at some point, only I might catch up later.
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I’d like to join.
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Welcome! We just started reading “medium” a week and a half ago – the ‘home thread’ for that book has the schedule and links to the weekly threads if you’re interested in reading along: Home thread for Medium 霊媒探偵城塚翡翠
Otherwise we’ll be having a call for nominations for the next book and a vote (via forum poll) when we get towards the end of this one.
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@cat do you think it would be a good idea to have info about the current/next pick and link to its home thread in the top post of this thread, above the nominations list? The WK advanced book club thread does that, for example. It does mean a bit more editing work every time we move on to a new book, though.
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Might be useful in the LN book club as well… There’s the title, which can be used to advertise, but you lose that if you’re giving a shout-out to nominations or whatnot…
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On mobile at the moment but I’ll address after work. I’m good with adding more to the OP if it’s helpful.
edit: done
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I’ll try to jump in when the right book and difficulty come along.
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And for what it’s worth, you can always nominate something if nothing really matches your criteria.
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Book: 悲嘆の門 (上)
Is there an ebook available?: no 
Summary - Japanese
(From the two-part tankoban)
怖いよ。怪物がくる!
日本を縦断し、死体を切り取る戦慄の殺人事件発生。
ネット上の噂を追う大学一年生・孝太郎と、
退職した刑事・都築の前に、“それ"が姿を現した!
ミステリーを超え、ファンタジーを超えた、
宮部みゆきの新世界、開幕。大ベストセラー『英雄の書』に続く待望の新刊!
(From the three-part bunkoban)
インターネット上に溢れる情報の中で、法律に抵触するものや犯罪に結びつくものを監視し、調査するサイバー・パトロール会社「クマー」。大学一年生の三島孝太郎は、先輩の真岐に誘われ、五カ月前からアルバイトを始めたが、ある日、全国で起きる不可解な殺人事件の監視チームに入るよう命じられる。その矢先、同僚の大学生が行方不明になり……。〈言葉〉と〈物語〉の根源を問う、圧倒的大作長編。
Summary - English
(Official English summary)
A series of murders shocks Tokyo’s Shinjuku ward, but Shigenori, a retired police detective, is instead obsessed with a gargoyle that seems to move. College freshman Kotaro launches a web-based investigation of the killer, and comes to find that answers may lie within an abandoned building in the center of Japan’s busiest neighborhood, and beyond the Gate of Sorrows. In this adult sequel to Miyabe’s The Book of Heroes, you will meet monsters from other worlds and ordinary horrors that surpass even supernatural threats.
Content warnings if known
None known
Why are you nominating this book: This looks really interesting (gargoyle, anyone?), and though I haven’t read any of her books, I know the author, 宮部 みゆき is really popular. Unfortunately, this isn’t a standalone novel or available digitally as far as I can tell. On the plus side, even though it’s advertised as some kind of sequel to 英雄の書, it’s my understanding that it’s more of a “also takes place in this world” kind of thing, so reading that one shouldn’t be necessary for this one.
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I like 宮部 みゆき’s books a lot, but that weighs in at nearly 1100 pages total, which feels like quite a lot for a book club pick.
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I didn’t check the page counts, but I noticed that it has 上中下 parts, and that sounded like a lot 
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I figured if that one was picked we’d just read the first book. That way, those who like it can continue outside of club time and those who didn’t can safely drop it.
I guess; I’m not sure there’s going to be much interest in reading a third of a story, though. But we’ll find out how it does in the voting. (My guess is “no ebook” will be the bigger hurdle for many.)
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“No ebook” is why I didn’t nominate ステップファザー・ステップ, another of Miyabe’s, even though I loved it. There are more people who won’t (or can’t) read something if it’s physical-only than if it’s digital-only.
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It’s on my TBR. Glad to know it’s good. I bought it on a whim and don’t even know what it’s about. which I do a lot 
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I put a placeholder value for this in the nominations, but I’ll need the Natively link before I can officially add it. Might be a lil while since I think Brandon is traveling / holidays
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