I am ahead too, and I do agree with you, @CursedKitsune. But what’s really interesting is that the book was actually published BEFORE the movie came out (movie came out in 1977, and the original edition of the book in November 1976). There are also, according to Wikipedia another, 2013, version, but from the first page on the Japanese edition, I think this is the translation of the original 1976 book (also, the author is credited here as Georges Lucas, while the “real” author is Alan Dean Foster).
It means that the “lore-dumping” was done not as fan-service, but maybe to induce fan-obsession, and at a time where the whole movie-marketing-scheme was nowhere near as developed as now.
It might also explain some weird discrepancies between the book and the movie (hint : chapter 12 notes; yes, I am ahead…)
BTW, there are a couple of weeks left, regardless of the official schedule and being ahead or not : should we start thinking about the next book ?
That is really pretty interesting - I wonder how the book was written. Presumably from the script and notes?
Just reporting finishing up this week’s chapter. Lately I’ve been very busy, so I might skip the next book and instead re-read this one in order to get more familiar with the vocabulary.
Also, given that chapter 13 is very short, we can technically finish this book in the next couple of weeks. You guys might want to consider discussing the next book!
Things I am personally wanting to read sometime soon are non-fiction books about European history or the Japanese language and I also want to get into some harder novels, preferably post-war, again as my “back to basics” thing will finish soon. Regardless, I am always open to trying anything although how dedicated I am will depend on how much I enjoy it, naturally. Are you guys more wanting to read non-fiction or fiction? I will try to choose one suggestion that hopefully everyone can enjoy.
I usually read fiction, but I have nothing, on the contrary, against trying new things. I’m also reading アンダーグラウンド with the WK advanced book club at the moment, and enjoying it very much. However, I wouldn’t be able to suggest a good non-fiction book in Japanese…
Finished reading this week’s chapter.
I took a glance at chapter 12 and it’s like 40 pages long! I’ll try to finish it next week, but…
.
Anyway, have a nice weekend everyone!
So one of my coworkers actually read this book when it first came out! I was saying how I don’t like reading action focused novels and he said something like “So you wouldn’t like reading Star Wars then” and I was like “I’m reading now!”. He is an English teacher so we discussed the translation a bit. He was 15 when it came out and he said him and his mates were obsessed with trying to work out what the force actually. They had one copy of the book and they all shared it. I never thought I’d know someone who actually read this book (in Japanese) so I was slightly shocked.
I’m slightly dreading the long chapter as I know it is mostly going to just being action scenes but I’ll probably just peck through it during my lunch breaks this coming week.
One thing I’ve noticed is that I cannot help but see Han as Harrison Ford. It’s impossible for me to remove the character from the actor.
As for the next book, I’ve made a shortlist but I’ll whittle it down to one for my nomination. I wanted to ask if you guys have a favourite genre or anything? I’ve been wanting to read some meatier modern mystery novels recently, something on the harder side (for a learner) but not a grind. I know you said you’re gonna skip the next one, Jose, but the discussion will stay up so you can always read it later if it’s something you’d want to read anyway and I’m sure I’ll reply even after the club is over so don’t hesitate to express your preference!
Not sure if it was the book choice but everyone ran away from this book club 泣 I’ve noticed the Super Cub one slow down as well actually so I may start posting a bit there to breathe some life into it. The issue I’ve had with both books is I just don’t have a massive amount to say. Super Cub is a simple slice of life story so there’s little to add and Star Wars is Star Wars. I think I’ll be able to write a longer and more considered review when I’ve finished though.
Thanks!
I’ve gotten very busy recently, and will be for a while, but I’ll take your suggestion and place my vote. I should have more time for reading in November though.
BTW, did you say your friend read Star Wars, in Japanese, when he was 15 yo?!
He is Japanese so that probably helped 笑 He actually bought in his original copy to work today so I took some pictures. He also had some English editions of the novelisations of some other movies that he used to study English at university.
See if you can find the year this edition was published. Also interesting that this edition has photos. My ebook version has none.
Oh, I see. I assumed that he was a native English speaker since you mentioned him teaching English. Being a native Japanese speaker does help a tiny bit though, lol.
And thanks for sharing those pics!! That looks amazing 
. It’s interesting to see how small the book looks in person though. I thought it’d be bigger for some reason.
Now that’s a collector item ! It says « first edition : Showa 53, May 30 ». So that’s ? …. 1978 (says Google). I’ve pretty much given up on being able to immediately translate japanese era year in Gregorian years….
Chapter 12 is very long, and Chapter 13 much shorter, so maybe instead of staying on 1 chapter a week, we could split Chapter 12 and finish in two weeks.
As for genre, I’m open to pretty much everything. Meaty modern mystery novels are very much welcome. I’m partial to 東野圭吾, but not every book is available as an e-book (it’s not a problem for me, but it could be for others). 百夜行 is, and 白鳥とコウモリhas just been released in paperback . There’s also 占星術殺人事件, by 島田 荘司, which I’ve read in french but not in japanese.
And if we go for slightly less modern, 点と線, or works by 江戸川乱歩 …
I’ve read 容疑者xの献身 and enjoyed it more than I thought I would (I don’t really read much mystery stuff in English).
Both are on my longlist although more out of cultural interest than anything. I suspect 江戸川乱歩 is not that good but just was “first”, although I could be very wrong. I’ve heard 点と線 be called a book about train schedules by a friend so… 笑
There were one or two other things I had in mind for mystery but I need to consult my list at home as they’ve totally slipped my mind now…
I just finished reading the rest of the book, including the author’s notes. No pressure btw, I just wanted to be done with it in order to regain time for other things. Though challenging at times, it was a fun read. Like I said, I think I’ll read it again but more slowly this time.
I finished it too… though I didn’t read the author’s note. I agree that it was fun, though of course I knew how it would end ! I guess it’s the language, but even at the end, it didn’t feel as fast-paced as the movie did.
Not re-reading it at the moment… probably in a couple of years.
So we’re back to the question : what next ?