Guardian Novel Read-along round 5!

[trobadora]

Hooray the readalong! Hooray for everyone who's hosted a post so far, been part of the discussion, and for those who are lurking, too! We hope you're enjoying it as much as we are.

We're well into volume 3 of the Official Translation, so this is the home stretch. If you've been toying with the idea of hosting a post, now is the time.

Fans of the novel, the drama, or both are very welcome! You don't have to be keeping up with the reading – it's absolutely fine to just react to the quotes. We want to hear what you think! As you'll have noticed if you've dipped into the discussions so far, we also talk about the drama adaptation and do a lot of compare-and-contrast.

Please consider hosting a post or two, if you're willing and able to! Comment with a date from the schedule below! Posts should ideally be made sometime on the Friday or Saturday, in any time zone.

Schedule for the end of the rest of volume 3

Weekend of 20 June - vol 3, chapters 13 & 14: china_shop
Weekend of 27 June - vol 3, chapters 15 & 16: trobadora
Weekend of 4 July - vol 3, chapters 17 & 18: facethestrange
Weekend of 11 July - vol 3, chapters 19 & 20: china_shop
Weekend of 18 July - vol 3, chapters 21 & 22: trobadora
Weekend of 25 July - vol 3, chapters 23 & 24: facethestrange
Weekend of 1 August - vol 3, chapter 25 & epilogue: china_shop
Weekend of 8 August - vol 3, bonus stories - Sage 1 & Sage 2: facethestrange
Weekend of 15 August - vol 3, bonus stories - The Mountain Spirit: trobadora
Weekend of 22 August - vol 3, bonus stories - Pocket Dimension: china_shop

Comments

[facethestrange]

If I may have a suggestion - maybe the last two bonus stories could be separate posts? They're the length of about 2 average chapters each, so right now it would be the equivalent of 4 chapters in one week - a bit much to write up/read maybe. :) (This doesn't apply to the Sage extras, those are tiny. :))

Also, most importantly *clings to the readalong* ♡♡♡ There's so little of it left anymore!

[trobadora]

That's a good suggestion, yeah - makes complete sense. I'll edit the post.

(We have plans for what to do next after the readalong is finished, so the 60-billion-comment club will hopefully continue. *g*)

[facethestrange]

Oh, yay! ♡

(EEEEEE, OMG?? :D :D :D ♡♡♡ Why am I even surprised, of course you have plans! :D :D *60 billion kudos to the Mods* :D)

[china_shop]

:D :D :D :D :D

[trobadora]

♥ ♥ ♥

[china_shop]

Hi, I'll take next weekend if no one else wants it. :-)

[trobadora]

Awesome! It's yours. :)

[facethestrange]

I'll take 17 & 18 if available. :D

[trobadora]

Yes, they're yours! :D

[facethestrange]

Yay, thanks! :D

[facethestrange]

Dang, I always forget to ask because I'm so used to having the summaries that are no longer a thing. :P When you have a moment sometime this week, can you check for the equivalents of chapters 17 & 18? ♡

[trobadora]

Yeah, will do! ♥

[trobadora]

Official translation chapters 17 & 18 = JJWXC/fan translation chapters 98-99, though the chapter divide is in a different place. :)

[facethestrange]

Thank you!! :)

[facethestrange]

If available, can I have 23 & 24, and then the Sage extras? And that's probably all, aw. *CLINGS TO THE READALONG* ♡♡♡

[trobadora]

Yes, of course, they're yours! ♥

This has been so much fun, yeah! Hopefully you'll enjoy what comes next, too. :)

[facethestrange]

Yay, thanks! ♡

"Hopefully you'll enjoy what comes next, too. :)"

I know I will! :D I don't even need to know what comes next to know that. :D

(I'll ask for the equivalents of 23 & 24 now, before I forget about it, but obviously it's not urgent at all. ♡ And I'm assuming the bonus stories are their own equivalents. :D)

[trobadora]

I'm not entirely sure about the extras, but I'll look it up and will let you know all the equivalents when I've had a chance to catch up a bit. ♥

[trobadora]

Official translation vol. 3 chapters 23 & 24 = JJWXC/fan translation from a little less than half-way through chapter 105 to the end of that chapter.

Sage 1 is Extra 2 in the fan translation, and Sage 2 is Extra 3. (This is also true of the version from JJWXC that I have saved, but I'm not sure about the current state on JJWXC. There were edits in March 2025 for the final chapter and all the extras, and it says "original extra removed", whatever that means. I don't have VIP access so I can't check the chapters themselves.)

[facethestrange]

Thank you so much for doing all the work!! ♡♡♡