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Humour in Asian Cultures: Tradition and Context (Routledge Studies on Asia in the World)

by Jessica Milner Davis

This innovative book traces the impact of tradition on modern humour across several Asian countries and their cultures. Using examples from Japan, Korea, Indonesia and Chinese cultures in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, the contributors explore the different cultural rules for creating and sharing humour. Humour can be a powerful lubricant when correctly interpreted; mis-interpreted, it is likely to cause considerable setbacks. Over time, it has emerged and submerged in different periods and different forms in all these countries but today’s conventions still reflect traditional attitudes to and assumptions about what is appropriate in creating and using humour. Under close examination, Milner Davis and her colleagues show how forms and conventions that differ from those in the west can also be seen to possess elements in common. With examples including Mencian and other classical texts, Balinese traditional verbal humour, Korean and Taiwanese workplace humour, Japanese laughter ceremonies, performances and cartoons, as well as contemporary Chinese-language films and videos, they engage with a wide range of forms and traditions. This fascinating collection of studies will be of great interest to students and scholars of many Asian cultures, and also to those with a broader interest in humour studies. It highlights the increasing importance of understanding a wider range of cultural values in the present era of globalized communication and the importance of reliable studies of why and how cultures that are geographically related differ in their traditional uses of and assumptions about humour.

I am Cat

by Peter Bently

A day in the life of a cat – told from the cat's point of view! A funny rhyming story from Peter Bently and Chris Chatterton, illustrator of the bestselling Ten Minutes to Bed series.I am Cat. Cat is me. A most superior thing to be.I am Cat. I need nap. Window? Cupboard? Dog Bed? Lap!Join one cheeky little cat for a busy day packed full of essential cat activities. From climbing and prowling, to playing and snoozing . . . Being head of the house is a full-time job!With a hilarious rhyming text and warm, funny illustrations, I am Cat is the perfect book for cat lovers of all ages. Just right for reading together, young children will love spotting all the little details and joining in with the rhythmic words.Also look out for I Am Dog!

I Did See a Mammoth

by Alex Willmore

THE FUNNIEST PICTURE BOOK OF THE YEAR!

I Feel That: Uplifting Quotes and Inspiring Pocket Wisdom for Every Mood

by Christina Scotch

Quotes are instant sympathy. A good quote says, "I've been there, too," in just a few words. And the perfect quote in the perfect moment can be just the reminder you need that you're not alone, and you're going to get through this.That is why Christina Scotch started @QuotesByChristie, her popular Instagram page - to reach out across the Internet void and embrace all of the people going through it, too. In this colourful collection, Scotch shares fan favourites and all new material to hit all of your highs and lows.Perfect for birthdays, graduations, and any other giftable occasion, I Feel That is sure to be an inspiration for readers everywhere.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler

by Casey McQuiston

From the bestselling New York Times bestselling author of Red, White and Royal Blue and One Last Stop comes a debut YA romantic comedy about chasing down what you want, only to find what you need . . .'[A] razor-sharp, intensely compassionate, subversive, sweet, electrifyingly romantic knockout of a book.' Becky Albertalli, author of Simon vs the Homo Sapiens AgendaA month before graduating from Willowgrove Christian Academy, the principal’s perfect daughter, prom queen Shara Wheeler, kisses Chloe Green and vanishes.On a furious hunt for answers, Chloe discovers she’s not the only one Shara kissed. There’s also Smith, Shara’s long-time sweetheart, and Rory, Shara’s bad-boy neighbour with a crush. Thrown into an unlikely alliance, Chloe, Smith and Rory follow Shara’s trail of annoyingly cryptic clues, and Chloe starts to suspect that there might be more to this small town – and to Shara – than she thought.Fierce, funny, and frank, Casey McQuiston’s I Kissed Shara Wheeler is about breaking the rules, getting messy, and finding love in unexpected places.

I Wouldn't Do That If I Were Me: Modern Blunders and Modest Triumphs (but Mostly Blunders)

by Jason Gay

The Wall Street Journal columnist and bestselling author of Little Victories takes a humorous and insightful look at life in the face of overwhelming societal change that we never anticipated—from the effects on parenthood, marriage, friendship, work, and play to all other aspects of the strange lives we find ourselves living. Like many of us, Jason Gay didn&’t see this coming: a reshaped world, on edge, often stuck at home, questioning everything, trying to navigate a digital landscape that changes how we think, parent, coach, and live. With a series of topical and interconnected personal pieces, Gay comically takes on this new state of being, looking for the optimism and joy in the face of discouragement. He embarks on a rowdy ride with his son to the Daytona 500, weeks before lockdown. He confides his hilariously banal texts with his wife. He allows his mom to kidnap the family cat. From the modest thrills of Little League parenting to reckoning with the impending death of a close friend, Gay's essays run the gamut of modern life and he approaches it all with humility, grace, and more than a few laughs.

I'd Like to Play Alone, Please: Essays

by Tom Segura

From a massively successful stand-up comedian and co-host of chart-topping podcasts &“2 Bears 1 Cave&” and &“Your Mom&’s House,&” hilarious real-life stories of parenting, celebrity encounters, youthful mistakes, misanthropy, and so much more. Tom Segura is known for his twisted takes and irreverent comedic voice. But after a few years of crazy tours and churning out podcasts weekly, all while parenting two young children, he desperately needs a second to himself. It&’s not that he hates his friends and family — he&’s not a monster — he&’s just beat, which is why his son&’s (ruthless) first full sentence, &“I&’d like to play alone, please,&” has since become his mantra. In this collection of stories, Tom combines his signature curmudgeonly humor with a revealing look at some of the ridiculous situations that shaped him and the ludicrous characters who always seem to seek him out. The stories feature hilarious anecdotes about Tom's time on the road, including some surreal encounters with celebrities at airports; his unfiltered South American family; the trials and tribulations of parenting young children with bizarrely morbid interests; and, perhaps most memorably, experiences with his dad who, like any good Baby Boomer father, loves to talk about his bowel movements and share graphic Vietnam stories at inappropriate moments. All of this is enough to make anyone want some peace and quiet. I&’D LIKE TO PLAY ALONE, PLEASE will have readers laughing out loud and nodding in agreement with Segura's message: in a world where everyone is increasingly insane, sometimes you just need to be alone.

If This Gets Out

by Sophie Gonzales Cale Dietrich

"If This Gets Out is an absolute showstopper! Equal parts edgy and adorable, this bright, joyful book has everything I look for in a queer YA romance." - Phil Stamper, bestselling author of The Gravity of UsOne of the world's biggest boy bands. A secret love. What happens if the world finds out? A queer YA boy band romance from Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich, perfect for fans of Only Mostly Devastated and What If It's Us.Eighteen-year-olds Ruben Montez and Zach Knight are two members of the boy-band Saturday, one of the biggest acts in America. Along with their bandmates, Angel Phan and Jon Braxton, the four are teen heartbreakers in front of the cameras and best friends backstage. But privately, cracks are starting to form: their once-easy rapport is straining under the pressures of fame, and Ruben confides in Zach that he's feeling smothered by management's pressure to stay in the closet.On a whirlwind tour through Europe, with both an unrelenting schedule and minimal supervision, Ruben and Zach come to rely on each other more and more, and their already close friendship evolves into a romance. But when they decide they're ready to tell their fans and live freely, Zach and Ruben start to truly realize that they will never have the support of their management. How can they hold tight to each other when the whole world seems to want to come between them?"Deftly explores the dark side of fame and the giddy thrill of first - and forbidden - love." - Mackenzi Lee, New York Times bestselling author"A sweet and swoon-worthy romance. Zach and Ruben are a pitch-perfect duet!" - Caleb Roehrig, author of Last Seen Leaving"Dazzles . . . with a narrative of queer boy-bandmates who wrestle with newfound fame, and newfound feelings for each other. Readers will fall in love." - Adam Sass, author of Surrender Your Sons"Blends the ache and the beauty of coming out under the lights of celebrity with the ways in which queer love is told to stay hidden, even when it's the only thing keeping the music going." - L.C. Rosen, author of Camp

I'll Die After Bingo: The Unlikely Story of My Decade as a Care Home Assistant

by Pope Lonergan

'From fearless and funny to heart-stoppingly raw' Evening StandardResident: I feel I want to keep talking.Me: Of course! What do you want to talk about?Resident: My heart.Me: What about your heart?Resident: I feel I want to touch it.Me: Your heart? You want to touch your heart?Resident: Yes, but I'm too frightened.Me: What are you frightened about?Resident: Everything. People. Things.Me: What's frightening you at this very moment?Resident: (Closes eyes). That I'll never be touched again. That I won't be able to get to my heart.Me: Metaphorically?Resident: More carrots please.Whether he's initiating a coup d'état against new regulations with the residents, or forging a bond with the 98-year old who once called him a fat slut, Pope Lonergan's work is infinitely varied. This no-holds-barred account shows what life inside a care home is really like, for both residents and carers. Featuring night-time drama, incontinence pads and the uniquely dark humour of one double-amputee Alzheimer's patient, here you can learn everything you ever wanted to know (and a few things you probably really didn't) about Britain's care system.This important memoir challenges us all to think differently about the value of our elderly, and also the carers who look after them.

I'm A Fan

by Sheena Patel

In I'm A Fan a single speaker uses the story of their experience in a seemingly unequal, unfaithful relationship as a prism through which to examine the complicated hold we each have on one another. With a clear and unforgiving eye, the narrator unpicks the behaviour of all involved, herself included, and makes startling connections between the power struggles at the heart of human relationships and those of the wider world, in turn offering a devastating critique of access, social media, patriarchal heteronormative relationships, and our cultural obsession with status and how that status is conveyed. In this incredible debut, Sheena Patel announces herself as a vital new voice in literature, capable of rendering a range of emotions and visceral experiences on the page. Sex, violence, politics, tenderness, humour—Patel handles them all with both originality and dexterity of voice.

I’m So Happy You’re Here

by Liz Climo

From internationally bestselling author Liz Climo comes I’m So Happy You’re Here, a book to remind us to love ourselves.

Impossible

by Sarah Lotz

This isn’t a love story. This is . . . ‘The book we all need right now’ SARAH PINBOROUGH‘Warm, funny, thrilling’ EMMA GANNON‘Unputdownable’ JENNIFER SAINT‘Holy s***’ GILLIAN MCALLISTER‘Breathtakingly good’ JOSIE SILVER Discover the book with the IMPOSSIBLE twist – read it to believe it …

In Case of Emergency: A feel good, funny and uplifting book that is impossible to put down

by Poorna Bell

'It is a joy to read a debut that has such heart, humour, and pathos' Taylor Jenkins Reid'The book of the summer' Stylist'A witty, thought-provoking read' Woman and Home___________________________________________When Bel Kumar leaves for work in the morning, the last thing she expects is to wake up in hospital later that day - with her ex from four years ago by her bedside.It turns out that:1) She has had a near-death accident outside work2) She urgently needs to replace her ex with another next of kin on her HR formBut who can Bel turn to in a crisis? She has never been good at asking for help, but she knows she needs to reconnect with the most important people from her past.Within days she is navigating complex family history, old school friendships and romantic encounters - with consequences she never could have predicted.Perhaps the worst day of Bel's life will turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to her . . .___________________________________________'An instant rom-com classic!' Lindsey Kelk'A novel of self-realisation and the freeing power of defying both familial and societal expectations. It's simply impossible not to root for Bel' CultureFly'This book reminds us all that no matter how capable we might be, we are nothing if not properly connected to those around us' Laura Jane Williams'A gorgeous read full of warmth, humour and relatable moments that make you realise you are less alone in the world. The perfect book to curl up with this summer. I adored it!' Salma El-Wardany'Funny and clever with a ton of swagger' Stacey Duguid'I inhaled this book. You really root for Poorna's characters. They are both relatable and relevant' Natasha Devon'We loved this warm and thoughtful read' Sun on Sunday'Journalist Bell writes with panache about a young woman finding herself... and finding what matters' Daily Mail'This smart and incisive debut novel explores the pressures placed on women and reflects the full intricacies, joys and nuance of life as a British South Asian woman in the UK today' Stylist'Bel is wonderfully flawed and relatable, and this is a witty, thought-provoking read. Great 90's references too' Woman Magazine'There is a moment in which the author describes the first sparks of love, a feeling so small yet unstoppable, with such aching delicacy it took my breath away' Ranvir Singh'In Case of Emergency explored some intricacies of growing up British Indian and the way Bel and her sister have taken radically different paths in life' Better Words

In A New York Minute: The laugh out loud romantic comedy and must read debut

by Kate Spencer

Their love story has gone viral. But it hasn’t even begun . . .Franny meets Hayes in the opposite of a meet-cute – when her dress gets caught in the subway doors on her way home and then rips, leaving her in the fashion equivalent of a hospital gown. Hayes is the stuffy suit whose one redeeming quality is giving Franny his jacket, saving her from showing her assets to half of New York. Franny is eager to forget the whole horribly embarrassing encounter as soon as possible, but neither of them anticipated a fellow commuter live-blogging them as #subwaybaes – turning their awkward run-in into click-bait and a manufactured love story for the ages . . .Quick to dismiss Hayes as just another a rich guy, Franny is sure she’ll never see him again, and she’s desperate to put her three minutes of viral fame behind her. But fate isn’t done with the would-be subway sweethearts just yet . . .A love letter to romance, friendship and the Big Apple, Kate Spencer's In a New York Minute is a fresh, modern take on romantic comedy for fans of The Flat Share, Our Stop and One Day in December.

In the Event of Love: A sweet and steamy Christmas rom-com! (Fern Falls)

by Courtney Kae

Goodreads Summer Romance Reading RecommendationBuzzfeed's Most Anticipated LGBTQ Romances of 2022'Exactly the slow-burn, second-chance, friends-to-lovers romance I was craving' ALI HAZELWOOD'The perfect holiday romance! . . . Move over, Stars Hollow. I'm moving to Fern Falls!' Lacie Waldon'The holiday romance of my dreams! The sweetness of a Hallmark holiday movie, set in a town that rivals Schitt's Creek, with plenty of steamy scenes to heat things up!' Falon Ballard'Wintry perfection, a cozy flannel blanket of a book that wraps its reader in the warmest hug' Rachel Lynn SolomonOffering a steamy, queer spin on the feel-good tropes Hallmark movie, this sweet, funny #OwnVoices rom-com is perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Alexandria Bellefleur!......................................... With her career as a successful Los Angeles event planner imploding, Morgan Ross isn't just heading home for the holidays, it's more of a strategic retreat. Breathtaking mountain backdrops, acres of pine trees, quirky townsfolk, and charming small businesses aside, Fern Falls is also the setting of Morgan's greatest heartbreak - and she'll do anything to avoid her one-time best friend turned first love, Rachel Reed. But when Morgan discovers that Rachel's struggling Christmas tree farm is the only thing standing between Fern Falls and a corporate takeover, she has to put her heartbreak on hold. Pouring her focus into planning the perfect Christmas event to save the town, Morgan finds herself spending more and more time with Rachel. Who can blame them if the romance of the season starts to get to them? Morgan knows one thing for sure though: she and Rachel will never have a heart-warming happy ending. And, anyway, she's only here for Christmas . . . right? .........................................'Sparkles with humor and charm. The residents of Fern Falls will draw you in with their warm banter and open hearts, while the sapphic romance will heat you up faster than a cup of hot cocoa on a snowy day' Sonia Hartl'Will make your heart soar. A sexy, sparkling debut' Annette Christie'Reads like a Hallmark Christmas movie and goes down like a mug of peppermint hot chocolate... Cozy, comforting, and surprisingly steamy - this is the queer Christmas story we deserve!' Alison Cochrun'Sweet as a cup of hot cocoa (with some spice mixed in) . . . the feel-good, queer, second-chance holiday romance we've all been waiting for' Anita Kelly'Kae's sparkling voice wraps you up like a warm blanket' Ava Wilder'Ultra cozy, heart-meltingly sweet, and full of warm wit. Courtney Kae shines with a fresh, bright voice and supremely relatable characters including a dreamy lumberjane who instantly stole my heart!' Rosie Danan'With its charming small town, snowy mountaintop kisses, and dreamy lesbian lumberjane, In the Event of Love is perfect for the holidays!' Helen Hoang

In the Weeds (Lovelight)

by B.K. Borison

'A delicious dwindling-days-of-summer indulgence' - CHLOE LIESE, author of Two Wrongs Make a RightIn The Weeds is a sweet and steamy second-chance romance about finding your happiness from TikTok favourite author, B. K. Borison. It features a grumpy farmer, a no-nonsense social media influencer, a small town of busybodies, and four very cute kittens.Evelyn St. James isn’t the kind of woman you forget.Beckett Porter certainly hasn’t. One incredible weekend in Maine, and he’s officially a man distracted. He’s not unfamiliar with hot and heavy flings- he knows how it goes. But Evie wove some sort of magic over him during their tumble in the sheets. He can’t stop thinking about her laugh. Her hand pressed flat against his chest. Her smiling mouth at his neck.So when she suddenly appears on his farm as part of a social media contest, he is … confused. He had no idea that the sweet and sexy woman he met at a bar is actually a global phenomenon: social media influencer Evelyn St. James. When she disappears again, Beckett resolves to finally forget her and move on.But Evelyn St. James has a problem.Feeling disconnected from her work and increasingly unhappy, she’s trying to find her way back to something real. She returns to the last place she was happy, Lovelight Farms and the tiny town of Inglewild. It has absolutely nothing to do with the hot farmer she spent two incredible nights with. Nothing at all. . .In the Weeds is the second book in a series of interconnected standalones following the three Lovelight owners.

In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes: A Spicy Small Town Grumpy Sunshine Romance (The Queen's Cove Series Book 3)

by Stephanie Archer

The deal is simple: the grumpy guy will pay off my debt if I find him a wife.Holden Rhodes is grouchy, unfairly hot, and has hated me for years. He's the last person I'd choose to inherit an inn with. As we renovate the inn and put his dating skills to practice, though, I see a different side of him. What if I was all wrong about Holden?When we add 'friends with benefits' to the deal, our chemistry is so hot the sparks could burn down the inn. Holden's a secret romantic, and I'm secretly falling for him. I'm terrible at bartending, a video of a bear stealing my toywent viral, and everyone in this small town knows my business, but Holden Rhodes is so much more than I expected. I don't want him to find love with anyone but me. A grumpy-sunshine, friends-with-benefits, small-town romantic comedy with lots of spice and an HEA. This is book 3 in the Queen's Cove series but can be read as a standalone.

Indiana Bones and the Lost Library (Indiana Bones #2)

by Harry Heape

Indiana Bones is back for a second dogtastic detective escapade!Once again he and his bestest friend, Aisha, have to gather their wits, courage and plenty of snacks to sniff out clues and solve a twisty mystery.Still on the hunt for the Avenger's lost treasure, the intrepid travellers set off on another trek, this time to the Temple of Diana at Ephesus. But nothing is ever simple for our heroes, and the slippery Serpent and stinky Ringo are still hot on their tails, determined to thwart their every move.An irresistible comical adventure.'Funny and clever . . . A heartfelt adventure story.' Kirkus

Industry of Magic & Light

by David Keenan

Industry of Magic & Light is a love letter to the counterculture of the 1960s and a requiem for its passing. The much-anticipated prequel to Keenan's cult classic debut, This is Memorial Device, Industry of Magic & Light is set in the same mythical Airdrie in the 1960s and early 70s and centres on a group of hippies running their own psychedelic light show. Told in two halves - the first in the form of an inventory of the contents of a caravan abandoned by one of the hippies, the second in the form of a tarot card reading - it is not so much a book about the 1960s as a direct channelling of the decade's energies, bringing to life how even the smallest and dreariest of working class towns felt so full of possibility in the wake of the psychedelic moment. Via artefacts from the time - everything from poetry chapbooks, record reviews and musical instruments through bubblegum wrappers, bicycle repair kits and mysterious cassette recordings - the book opens out into adventures along the hippy trail in Afghanistan and behind the Iron Curtain that leads a cast of new and returning characters - as well as the authorities - to believe that they are literally making magic. Simultaneously a forensics of the 1960s, a detective novel, an occult thriller, a vision quest, and the hallucinatory exposition of a moment where it felt like anything was possible, Industry of Magic & Life brings to life the streets of small working class towns as transformational sites of utopian joy.

Inside No. 9: The Scripts Series 4-6

by Steve Pemberton Reece Shearsmith

'The finest writing in the land. Limitless, joyous and terrifying' - RUSSELL T. DAVIESSteve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith's darkly comedic creations are an endlessly dazzling masterclass in storytelling. Inside No. 9: The Scripts features every episode from Series 4-6 of the award-winning BBC2 anthology, including the live Halloween special and an original foreword for each series from the show's creators.'One of the best pieces of British television in years' - INDEPENDENT

Into Every Generation a Slayer Is Born: How Buffy Staked Our Hearts

by Evan Ross Katz

Explore the history and cultural impact of a groundbreaking television show adored by old and new fans alike: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Over the course of its seven-year run, Buffy the Vampire Slayer cultivated a loyal fandom and featured a strong, complex female lead, at a time when such a character was a rarity. Evan Ross Katz explores the show&’s cultural relevance through a book that is part oral history, part celebration, and part memoir of a personal fandom that has universal resonance still, decades later.Katz—with the help of the show&’s cast, creators, and crew—reveals that although Buffy contributed to important conversations about gender, sexuality, and feminism, it was not free of internal strife, controversy, and shortcomings. Men—both on screen and off—would taint the show&’s reputation as a feminist masterpiece, and changing networks, amongst other factors, would drastically alter the show&’s tone.Katz addresses these issues and more, including interviews with stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Charisma Carpenter, Emma Caulfield, Amber Benson, James Marsters, Anthony Stewart Head, Seth Green, Marc Blucas, Nicholas Brendon, Danny Strong, Tom Lenk, Bianca Lawson, Julie Benz, Clare Kramer, K. Todd Freeman, Sharon Ferguson; and writers Douglas Petrie, Jane Espenson, and Drew Z. Greenberg; as well as conversations with Buffy fanatics and friends of the cast including Stacey Abrams, Cynthia Erivo, Lee Pace, Claire Saffitz, Tavi Gevinson, and Selma Blair.Into Every Generation a Slayer Is Born engages with the very notion of fandom, and the ways a show like Buffy can influence not only how we see the world but how we exist within it.

Into the Midnight Void (Beyond the Ruby Veil #2)

by Mara Fitzgerald

Fans of Holly Black and Kendare Blake will obsess over the conclusion to this deliciously dark YA fantasy duology!Emanuela has finally gotten what she's always wanted. Since escaping her catacomb prison, she's become the supreme ruler of everything under the veils. Finally, she has the power to throw aside senseless, old traditions and run things exactly the way they should be. But when cracks in her magic start to show, Emanuela begrudgingly allies herself with her enemies, including her frustratingly alluring archnemesis, Verene. Together, they discover deeper truths about the mysterious blood magic Emanuela and Verene both wield. There is a higher, otherworldly authority outside the veils, and in order to save Occhia and the other realms, Emanuela may just have to rip another crown off someone's head.

InvestiGators: A full colour, laugh-out-loud comic book adventure! (InvestiGators! #6)

by John Patrick Green

Alligator sewer surfing super-sleuths Mango & Brash are back in InvestiGators: Heist and Seek, the sixth volume in John Patrick Green's New York Times-bestselling series.When rare paintings go missing, the InvestiGators are called on the scene . . . the ART SCENE!Mango and Brash go undercover and under canvas as internationally renowned painters to expose a crook who has truly mastered the art of CRIME! Can they recover the missing masterpieces and save the city art museum’s fundraising gala before it's too late. . . and they run out of appetizers? Find out in this pièce de résistance of action-packed, fully illustrated graphic novel fun.

InvestiGators: Braver and Boulder (InvestiGators! #5)

by John Patrick Green

Our favorite sewer-loving secret agents are between a rock and a hard place in InvestiGators: Braver and Boulder, the newest chapter in the hilarious full-colour New York Times-bestselling graphic novel adventure series from John Patrick Green. The InvestiGators are having a hard time keeping a low profile with their new headquarters being a giant robot towering over the city! How can they be SECRET agents if everyone recognizes them? But with their ears to the ground, Mango and Brash hear mysterious rumblings about BOULDER BUDDIES . . . are they just the latest fad or part of a mob-run scheme? And could a rocky relationship from the InvestiGators' past be hiding beneath the surface? Find out in their most stone-cold dangerous mission yet!Continue the series with Investigators: Heist and Seek!

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