As alluded to in my post for the site’s one-year anniversary, I’ve decided to try something new for this summer: a little reading program where anyone who wants to can read one or two specific light novels to discuss from week to week.

For June, the two books we will read and discuss are Kagerou Daze (volume 1) and Mimizuku and the King of Night.

Yen Press will release volume 1 of Kagerou Daze on May 26th, so you will want to either pre-order the book online (Amazon -- Barnes and Noble -- Book Depository) or try reserving a copy at your local bookstore (e.g. Barnes and Noble) if that is a possibility. It appears there will also be ebook versions of Kagerou Daze available for a lower price. For some reason, the Kindle version has its own separate page listed on Amazon. (The Nook version meanwhile can be found along with the paperback edition on the previously-linked Barnes and Noble page.)

Synopsis: Shintaro Kisaragi is about to have a terrible day. After two years of being an unemployed shut-in, Shintaro Kisaragi is forced out of his room and into the wide, uncaring world by a disastrous series of events involving his computer’s keyboard and a bottle of soda. What begins as a simple errand soon spirals out of control as his luck turns from bad to worse. It starts with a hostage situation and only gets weirder from there–and it turns out Shintaro Kirasagi isn’t the only person whose life is going to be changed forever this blistering summer afternoon!

As for Mimizuku and the King of Night, you can find an English fan translation of it here on Baka-Tsuki. If you’d like to get a copy of the Japanese novel, you can order it online (Amazon.jp — Books Kinokuniya — YesAsia).

Synopsis: Mimizuku, a small girl with chains on her wrists and ankles and the numbers “332” branded onto her forehead, wanders into the Forest of Night seeking to be eaten by a monster. However, when the ruler of the monsters, the mysterious and beautiful “King of Night,” refuses to eat her, she tries to formulate a way to convince him otherwise.

Here is a general idea of the schedule I have in mind for our discussions:

• June 14th — discuss the first act
• June 21st — discuss the second act
• June 28th — discuss the third act

(Edit: A more detailed schedule is posted here. e.g. For June 14th, read the chapters titled “Kagerou Daze I” and “Jinzou Enemy” in Kagerou Daze; read the prologue and chapters 1, 2, and 3 in Mimizuku.)

In other words, the first post and its subsequent commentary will be for first impressions after a couple weeks have passed (mainly to give everyone enough time to pick up Kagerou Daze and read the first third of it [and/or the first third of Mimizuku]). Then a week later will be for how we feel about the directions the books are taking, along with predictions for how they might conclude. And finally upon the last week, we can discuss the endings and share our thoughts on how much we liked the books as a whole.

The discussions will just be in the comments section of the weekly posts I put up. I considered putting together a forum, but that feels like an unnecessary hurdle for everyone to deal with (i.e. signing up, figuring the interface out, etc). Comments on this site should suffice; everyone can respond to each other’s observations and inquiries easily enough.

There will be two books up for discussion, but you’re free to choose to read just one (i.e. if you only have time for one novel, or you’re only interested in one of them). And if you don’t care for either Kagerou Daze or Mimizuku, there’s always the next month! The plan is for an official release and a fan translation to read for each month: June, July, and August.

I hope that covers everything, but go ahead and post a comment if you have any questions. I’ll be sure to post a reminder for this in the next monthly articles post and on my Tumblr, and to stick a note in the left sidebar telling what chapter to read up to each week (so we’re all on the same page, as it were).