We are following the below schedule (page counts may vary based on your medium):
Week
Up to
Approximate Pages
Approx. Percent
Week 1 - June 9
Read through ホテルの客
25
13%
Week 2 - June 16
Read through 暗闇の騎士
34
27%
Week 3 - June 23
Read through 怪老人
32
41%
Week 4 - June 30
Read through 塔上の黒蜥蜴
40
58%
Week 5 - July 7
Read through 水葬礼
35
73%
Week 6 - July 14
Read through 人形異変
31
86%
Week 7 - July 21
Read through うごめく黒蜥蜴 (end)
32
100%
I will generally copy this information over thread to thread each week for ease of finding - you can always expect the schedule at the top of any weekly thread
Law and Order
Any reveals, for the current chapters must be behind spoilers or detail curtains. When we get further in you don’t need to hide details that were revealed in previous chapters.
Questions on vocab, grammar, nuance, and the like are both welcome and encouraged. If you’re not sure if it’s a spoiler, assume it is and use one of the above options to hide the text.
You are encouraged to speculate and guess wildly
Be kind about other peoples’ wild guesses
Even if you don’t read the chapter(s) in time, you are still encouraged to post in the thread for that reading once you have finished it. I advise not reading ahead in the threads as you may see spoilers.
To gauge participation - a poll!
Are you reading week 1 of 黒蜥蜴?
Yes, I’m planning to read along/am reading along this week
If you’re using the YouTube 朗読 I linked this week’s reading ends pretty much perfectly at 44 minutes in.
Oh gosh I wasn’t expecting the S&M vibes I really like our lady thief, and am interested in her use of 僕. It’s kind of cute and fitting for her.
I slowed myself down a lot looking up pictures of clothing mentioned but it gave me more of a feel for the era so it was worth it.
Looking forward to next week, I suspect we’ll get into our first heist or attempt at one.
Very nice start to the book ! I kept picturing it as a 1930s film noir… I hadn’t’ picked on the S&M vibes at the end, despite the use of 奴隷, but, @cat さん, you’re right it makes sens.
I’m very excited for this book !
This is my first attempt of reading while listening to an audiobook, and I must say it works like a charm! I tried this a few years back, where I could not even follow the voice with my eyes on the text, which gave me quite the shock back then and so I started with a cautious 0.75x speed. It was a bit painful to listen for the first few minutes because the voice sounds quite strange, but towards the end I got used to it. Maybe next time I’ll try the normal speed to see how it compares.
I did not take the time to stop to look up and find out exactly what the party guests looked like or what they did - I was very happy that I could follow the descriptions quite well, and simply sat back and enjoyed the ride
It does have the vibes of a 1930s film noir, not gonna lie Let’s see how the robbery and slavery will turn out!
I’ve been reading along while listening to the 朗読 YouTube @cat linked as well. The version I’m reading has a lot of minor differences, so I was wondering if anyone was reading a version that was actually identical to the YT reading and what edition it is. I’m reading the free 青空文庫 on Kindle, which does change old writings but I thought not much else. Differences include: single words, changed or missing phrases or whole sentence parts. Sometimes people are called by their first name instead of last and vice versa.
As an example, right at the beginning when the first scene is set, the aozora edition reads: ナイトクラブの広々としたフロアに、数十人の男女が、或る者は盃をあげてブラボーを叫び、（……）
The recording goes: 公共（？）のダンス場（？）ではないが、それに劣らぬ広々とした床の滑らかな一室に数十人の男女が（……）
After that it’s the same. If anyone does have access to that version, I’d love to know what it actually says. I’m not super confident I got the beginning part right.
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Law and Order 
I really like our lady thief, and am interested in her use of 僕. It’s kind of cute and fitting for her.
and so I started with a cautious 0.75x speed. It was a bit painful to listen for the first few minutes because the voice sounds quite strange, but towards the end I got used to it. Maybe next time I’ll try the normal speed to see how it compares.
Very interested. Wonder if I can get my hands on some of these!
(which one could have expected, given the time, but it never even crossed my mind…)