Koushun Takami's Battle Royale
I bought this from a bargain shelf in a dingy little Monmouthian book shoppe. So far, pushing 200 pages, I'm not disappointed on the lost 4 and half pounds and hours. I've intentionally yet to watch the movie, having bought the book a year ago and been able to watch the movie several times but deciding against it, simply because I don't wish to spoile yet another pulp classic. Yes, that was a pure assumption, I get it. However, I might give the book a rest and watch the movie, since I have no doubt that there's a ton of nuances and flavor lost in translation and the action doesn't seem to transfer well in to text form, or rather that the translator has messed up all the fight scenes.