For July we're going to read and discuss Psycome volume 1 and Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash volume 1. You can choose to follow along with both books, or just go with one of the two. (Or neither, and participate next month?)

Yen Press has recently released volume 1 of Psycome, so you can pick that up either at a bookstore or online (Amazon -- Amazon (Kindle) -- Barnes and Noble -- Book Depository -- RightStuf). The book is available either as a paperback or in various ebook formats.

Synopsis: Accused of a crime he didn't commit, Kyosuke Kamiya is sent to Purgatorium Rehabilitation Academy. Suddenly, he's surrounded by a variety of fetching lasses–each one a murderer! Worse, he's famous for being the “Dozen Demon,” a killer responsible for twelve deaths! When the busty, gas mask-wearing beauty Renko Hikawa approaches him, the difference between death and desire becomes very narrow indeed. How is Kyosuke gonna graduate alive?

As for Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash (AKA Hai to Gensou no Grimgar), you can find an English translation of it here on NanoDesu. If you'd like to get a Japanese copy of the novel, you can order it online (Amazon.jp -- Books Kinokuniya).

Synopsis: Why are we here? Why are we doing this? Before Haruhiro had realized what happened, he was surrounded by darkness. Why was he here? Where was here? Even now, he still didn’t know. Those around him were the same as him, no one remembered anything other than their own names. And when they emerged from the darkness, the world that awaited them seemed like something out of a video game. In order to survive, Haruhiro forms a party with the others, learns fighting skills, and as a soldier in the reserve force, takes his first steps into the world of Grimgar. What awaits him there, he doesn’t know… This the story of an adventure born from the ashes. Below you will find our reading schedule for June. We will discuss these two books on Sundays, one-third at a time.

Psycome (volume 1):

July 10th -- discussion for up to the chapter titled “Third Period: Destructive Hurricane.” (This is location 982 on my Kindle. My ebook isn’t listing page numbers unfortunately, so I don’t know what page that will be in the physical edition.) Be sure to read the “First Bell,” “First Period,” and “Second Period” chapters before this discussion post goes up.

July 17th -- discussion for up to the chapter titled “Fifth Period: Lucifer in the Cocytus.” (This is location 2213 on my Kindle.) So you will need to read “Third Period” and “Fourth Period” chapters for this post.

July 24th -- discussion for the remainder of the book (“Fifth Period,” “After School,” and “Supplementary Lessons”). We will discuss the ending and the book as a whole for this post.

Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash (volume 1):

July 10th -- discussion for up to the chapter 9: “Heavy Resolution.” On my Kindle, this is page 83 (or location 1262, 32% through the book).

July 17th -- discussion for up to chapter 16: “Aiming for the Top.” On my Kindle, this is page 163 (or location 2496, 64% through the book).

July 24th -- discussion for the rest of the book, ending at page 240 (location 3676).

I will have a reminder in the sidebar for how far to read each week. If you choose to read ahead, that's fine–just be sure to not spoil anything that happens past the assigned reading. (And, obviously, for those of you who have enjoyed anime or manga adaptations, don't spoil anything from those either.)

The discussions will just be in the comments section of the weekly posts I put up. Everyone feel free to share your thoughts on the reading for each week, and to comment on each other's observations. I'll have some questions in the posts that can serve as prompts for discussion, but you don't have to answer any of them.

If anything about the reading program is confusing, you can ask questions here.