I told him, of course. 
But he is aware that my interest lies with Japan/Japanese, that’s why he talked about it in the first place. 
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@cat I started https://learnnatively.com/book/13f4cb524e/ yesterday as an audiobook (since it’s on audible’s 聞き放題) and I was wondering about your review.
This is a book where you’ll want to read between the lines.
I am in story/chapter 3 and so far, I feel the stories are fairly straight-forward. Am I missing something? 
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These are not stories, but chapters of the same story. You’ll need to watch out for narrator changes. If I remember correctly, it wasn’t clear from the beginning who was who or even whether they were male or female, but this soon clears up (maybe it’s obvious in the audiobook?). The writing is straightforward, and you don’t need to watch out for hidden meaning or tricks. I think the “read between the lines” comment is about understanding what the story is saying as a whole? Anyway, just enjoy it! I loved this book!
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There’s no change of voice, but the change of pronoun made it obvious to me.
But, yes, the first change in view point took me by surprise.
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Yes, the way people speak and the level of politeness they use, makes it imo fairly clear, who the speaker is. Though different narrators (or at least voices) would have been interesting for the audiobook. 
Thanks for your input. Will do. 
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Yep. I read some Japanese reviews after and was like, “wow, they totally missed the point of the book” 
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I have 3 US audible credits I need to use; does anyone have any suggestions for what I should pick up? My current JP audiobooks are:
- Harry Potter 1-3
- 星の王子さま
- 体育館の殺人
- コンビニ人間
I like mystery and fantasy!
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the 本好き audiobooks are extremely good, imo.
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仮面病院 or 硝子塔の殺人 would be my top picks.
殺人ライセンス and 変な家 are both good for listening without text, but the stories aren’t amazing imo. The writing style on the first is particularly meh.
I just downloaded 俺ではない炎上 and I think 真相をお話しします is on audible but I got it through another source.
赤ずきん、旅の途中 something something is on Audible, it was nominated for the mystery club and has a movie adaptation coming out this year I think? Haven’t listened yet.
I really liked 火車 but it’s pretty heavy with finance terms.
64 is amazing and I loved it, but it’s a harder book.
I’m probably missing some but that should be a good jumping off point and they’re all on Audible US!
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Thank you @Biblio and @cat! I’ve got lots of stuff to check out now. 
Edit: @cat, should that be 仮面病棟?
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Yep. Typing on mobile 
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Today’s fun coincidence was reading about 横溝正史（よこみぞせいし） in both 夜は短し歩けよ乙女 | L41 and ビブリア古書堂の事件手帖 (4) ~栞子さんと二つの顔~ | L31! And both of them even talked about how he spent some time editing a magazine in addition to being an author.
Between 本好き, ビブリア, this chapter of 夜は短し, and 本を守ろうとする猫の話 | L31 (which I’ve only barely started), I feel like I’m just reading books about books lately! 
Maybe it’s a sign I should pick up 図書館の大魔術師 (series) | L27 again too?
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so many books at the same time. 
Do you not find yourself wanting to finish a book before starting the next? And none of them are short, either. I only have multiple books going because of ebook vs. audiobook vs. physical.
I am having a good time with https://learnnatively.com/book/e85b4bd246/. It’s so much easier than I expected which makes it a really quick read and I have always liked character-driven books and this author does them well… though I kinda hate the husband in the second story… Only ever giving your wife 1 gift and when she accidentally sees it, you throw it away as what? punishment? huge a-hole. That wife is basically completely giving herself up for her husband even before he became sick. the author seems to be going for a “this is so romantic” kinda vibe but I felt a bit icky, ngl.
Not having as much fun with https://learnnatively.com/book/13f4cb524e/ So far, everyone seems to be a bit of an a-hole for different reasons, but I haven’t gotten that far into the book yet. Also, I can’t really remember who anyone is, since I am terrible with names and stuff… might just have to re-read it someday as an epub or something.
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WaniKani forum’s Advanced Book Club is reading この本を盗むものは starting Feb 4th if you need another one… 
That’s… Not going to change. 
It’s really the fun of the book.
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I’m definitely at my limit right now The reason I have this many is basically the same as what you said: they’re all different ‘kinds’ of reads for me. 夜は短し is hard, so I’m reading ビブリア in between for a break. Then 本好き are audiobooks, and 本を守ろうとする猫の話 is an ebook I just read if I’m bored somewhere and forgot to bring a real book (which is why I haven’t gotten far).
And I guess I also tend to have one or two manga on top of that… But that’s also a different thing, right? …right?
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Finished コーヒーが冷めないうちに | L29 yesterday and have mixed feelings. I overall liked the writing and it was an easy, quick read… However, the portrayal of women really made my feminist heart bleed. 
(Not saying women like this don’t exist and shouldn’t be portrayed, but the portrayal was very one-sided and especially the husband in one of the stories was close to, if not fully, a POS with some of his behaviour and that never got adressed)
I will continue with the series, though, especially since in book 2 we apparently learn what’s the deal with the woman always sitting in the coffee shop.
Since I have この嘘がばれないうちに | L29 and onward only as audiobooks, I will listen to that after finishing おいしいごはんが食べられますように | L29. And after that it’s on to the next 本好き.
Since the last was an ebook, I am now back to physical and I don’t really know what I am in the mood for, so I’ll just go with 探偵チームKZ事件ノート お姫さまドレスは知っている | L27 (i.e. the next in that series) since I have plenty of those to get through.
I should be finishing that around the time the next bookclub starts.
There is still time to get the book, if anyone is interested in joining, btw.
My plans for the near future are pretty much settled.
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Sometimes it’s not about the destination, but the friends we made along the way and then didn’t because time travel.
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I finished cocoon | L26, a fictionalized account of a Himeyuri girl (high schoolers used as nurses’ assistants toward the end of WWII) that does not hold back on the horrors they went through. While not perfect, I found it quite affective, and I really liked the central metaphor of the main character imagining they’re in a silkworm cocoon. Cocoons are safe and comforting places - but the majority of commercial silkworms are killed before they hatch. I’d probably struggle to remember words like 蚕 and 繭 if I just read them in a kimono book or something, but now they feel pretty stuck in my head.
(There was also something I didn’t pick up until the endnotes and I kicked myself a bit for not getting it the first time around, but I saw some people in Japanese saying it wasn’t easy to get, so I guess it wasn’t just me? I thought the guy saying お前は女じゃない was because she was engaged in the unfeminine activity of strangling him to death and he was obviously a bit out of it like everyone was by that point, not because she was a boy in disguise to avoid the draft.
)
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Over the last two days, I read volumes 1-3 of シャドーハウス (series) | L23 as well as サイレント・ウィッチ 沈黙の魔女の隠しごと | L29
Both were recommandations (the later one coming from the recommandation mega thread).
シャドーハウス wasn’t really my thing. As much as there are elements of the setting that are intriguing, I kept wishing for a rebellion to occur, killing off all the nobles. As a French person, I’d like to introduce them to the practical uses of the guillotine.
サイレントウィッチ was not bad, for a light novel. I expected something else for the plot (and was a bit disappointed when I realized “oh, it’s going to be one of those”), but it’s still way better than some other stuff I read for multiple volumes. Honestly, I may continue this series once I am done with my 積読 pile. (Or right now, depending how I feel about the preview of the next volume)
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