Books

On Events, with Chris Gordon

by Chris Gordon

Here is my advice for this crazy ramshackle time (with a little help from some of the books in our events calendar). In this Electric and Mad and Brave year, where Everything Feels Like the End of the World, let authors’ words swim over you. It is after all the Desire of The Unbelieved and the Women I Know. The Map of Night has changed, with new political leaders and new means of understanding The Matter of Everything

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Mark's Say: August, 2022

by Mark Rubbo

One of the organisations the Readings Foundation is proud to partner with is Western Chances, a non-profit that supports young students in Melbourne’s west with educational scholarships and life-changing opportunities. Western Chances provides hope, encouragement and essential financial support to over 852 scholarship recipients to ensure their continuing education. The work that Western Chances does really aligns with the Readings Foundation’s aim to support organisations responding to the needs of marginalised communities, with a focus on literacy and education.

Many…

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The 2022 Age Book of the Year shortlists

The 2022 Age Book of the Year Shortlists have been announced! This year the award will once again include a prize for works of nonfiction as well as for fiction.

Fiction

In Moonland by Miles Allinson

Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au

After Story by Larissa Behrendt

The Signal Line by Brendan Colley

Bodies of Light by Jennifer Down

Love & Virtue by Diana Reid

Nonfiction

Whole Notes by Ed Ayres

Leaping Into Waterfalls by Bernadette Brennan

The Boy

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Our top 10 bestsellers of the week

Around the Table by Julia Busuttil Nishimura

Bodies of Light by Jennifer Down

Beatrix Bakes by Natalie Paull

Raised by Wolves by Jess Ho

The Diplomat by Chris Womersley

The Consul by Ian Kemish

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

So You Want to Live Younger Longer? by Dr Norman Swan

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

The Uncaged Sky by Kylie Moore-Gilbert

Debuting at number one this week is Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s glorious new cookbook. Readings staff had a…

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What we're reading: Gentill, Kennedy & Jasinska

Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films we’re watching, the television shows we’re hooked on, or the music we’re loving.

Joanna Di Mattia is reading Trespasses by Louise Kennedy

Sometimes you pick up a book, think it looks okay, and it turns out to be so much more than that. Trespasses by Louise Kennedy is one of those books. It arrived at the store with little fanfare, but I found myself drawn to…

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We test recipes from Around the Table

Recently we tested a selection of recipes from Around the Table, the latest cookbook from beloved local chef Julia Busuttil Nishimura.

We were of course thrilled to then have Julia herself stop by to taste test our attempts and judge the best replication.

Rosalind McClintock made ‘Leek and Feta Tart’

This recipe was so easy! The pastry didn’t take long at all, didn’t require much care beyond getting the quantities vaguely right and the fact that I cut the…

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Debut fiction to read this month

ongoing collection

The Dawnhounds by Sascha Stronach

A queer, Maori-inspired debut fantasy about a police officer who is murdered, brought back to life with a mysterious new power, and tasked with protecting her city from an insidious evil threatening to destroy it.

Basin by Scott McCulloch

A nomad swallows poison and drowns himself. Resuscitated by a paramilitary bandit named Aslan, Figure is nursed back into a world of violence, sexuality and dementia. Together, Figure and Aslan traverse a coastline erupting…

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The 2022 Booker Prize longlist

The longlist for the 2022 Booker Prize has been announced! The Booker Prize has brought recognition, reward and readership to outstanding fiction for over 50 years. It is awarded annually to the best novel of the year written in English and published in the UK or Ireland.

Below are the 13 longlisted titles:

The Colony by Audrey Magee

After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz

Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

Maps

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Our top 10 bestsellers of the week

Bodies of Light by Jennifer Down

Sundressed by Lucianne Tonti

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

Lying Beside You by Michael Robotham

Stone Town by Margaret Hickey

Quarterly Essay 86: Sleepwalk to War: Australia’s Unthinking Alliance with America by Hugh White

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

Bootstrap by Georgina Young

Sunbathing by Isobel Beech

Chinese-ish by Rosheen Kaul & Joanna Hu

Our best-seller from the past week is recent Miles Franklin Literary Award winner, Bodies of Light. Our head book buyer Alison…

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What we're reading: Fallada, Turton & Lizzo

Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films we’re watching, the television shows we’re hooked on, or the music we’re loving.

Mark Rubbo is reading Lilly and Her Slave by Hans Fallada

Lilly and Her Slave is a recently discovered collection of stories by the German writer Hans Fallada.

Best known for his novel Alone in Berlin, Fallada died just after war and struggled with mental illness and drug addiction throughout his life…

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Australian fiction titles to pick up this month

The Diplomat by Chris Womersley

1991, Fresh out of detox and five years after his involvement in the theft of Picasso’s masterpiece The Weeping Woman from the NGV, Edward Degraves - art forger and drug addict - returns to Melbourne for a new start. All he needs to do is make one last visit to The Diplomat, a seedy motel renowned for its drug dealers and eccentrics.

‘What is most remarkable about The Diplomat is the prose. It is beautiful…

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New and noteworthy biography + memoir

This month we have a complete – and compelling – gamut of both local and international memoir. Blurring the lines between cultural studies, memoir, and graphic novel or visual diary - July releases offer unforgettable insight into another’s experiences of the world.

Big Beautiful Female Theory by Eloise Grills

big beautiful female theory is an anarchic and vital memoir unlike anything you’ve read before. Part feminist manifesto, part comic book, it is a carnivalesque exploration of the ways identity is…

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Compelling friendships in fiction

by Clementine

Clementine recently joined us on work experience at Readings. As part of her placement, she put together this excellent piece on 5 great books that centre friendship.

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

Conversations with Friends is the debut novel of a most celebrated author of recent times, Sally Rooney. In her book, Rooney’s honest and raw writing style is found within the intersecting lives of the four main characters. Conversations with Friends illustrates the restricting and destructive nature of…

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Jennifer Down wins the 2022 Miles Franklin Literary Award

Jennifer Down has been named the winner of this year’s Miles Franklin Literary Award for her novel Bodies of Light. The Miles Franklin Literary Award recognises a novel of the highest literary merit that presents Australian life in any of its phases.

A profound book about the effect childhood trauma can have on a life, Bodies of Light cements Down as one of the most accomplished writers of her generation.

Bookseller Bec Kavanagh says of the work: ‘Down has…

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Interview with Jess Ho

We were thrilled to have the chance to chat with author Jess Ho about their recently published memoir, Raised by Wolves. They talk to us about where the work began, the writing process, advice for their younger self, and the future of food writing.

Congratulations on the publication of Raised by Wolves! Can you tell us in your own words a bit about the book? Where did it originate for you and what made you want to write…

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Spotlight on recent children's books in translation

by Angela Crocombe

A number of wonderful, quirky (and often hilarious) children’s books in translation have been released recently. Here are some of our recent favourites:

It’s My Rubber Band by Shinsuke Yoshitake

Translated from Japanese by Sofiane Kohen

Have you ever wanted something that was just yours? It’s My Rubber Band explores how a cherished everyday object can become a catalyst for curiosity, play and a profound sense of connection. With a special object of one’s very own, the possibilities are as…

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Our children's and YA top 10 bestsellers of the week

Crash Course: Wolf Girl 7 by Anh Do

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Floof by Heidi McKinnon

Completely Normal (and Other Lies) by Biffy James

The Guardians: Wylah the Koorie Warrior 1 by Jordan Gould & Richard Pritchard

Pig the Rebel by Aaron Blabey

Trains (See Inside) by Usborne

World of Dinosaurs (See Inside) by Usborne

Maybe by Kobi Yamada

Heartstopper 4 by Alice Oseman

Our top-selling title this week is the latest book in the bestselling…

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The National Biography Award shortlist 2022

The State Library of New South Wales (SLNSW) has announced this year’s shortlist for the National Biography Award! This Award is presented annually to a published work of biographical or autobiographical writing aiming to promote public interest in these genres.

Each shortlisted author will receive $2000 while the winner will receive $25, 000.

The shortlisted works are:

Car Crash by Lech Blaine

Leaping Into Waterfalls by Bernadette Brennan

One Day I’ll Remember This: Diaries 1987-1995 by Helen Garner

The Mother

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What we're reading: Rennex, Shamsie & Sehee

Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films we’re watching, the television shows we’re hooked on, or the music we’re loving.

Gabrielle Williams is reading Life With Birds by Bronwyn Rennex

I’ve just finished reading Life With Birds by Bronwyn Rennex, an unexpected delight that Dan from Readings Carlton recommended to me.

Surprisingly funny and gentle and quirky, Bronwyn Rennex is an artist and writer whose dad was a Vietnam veteran who died when…

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Recipe extract from Chinese-ish

Chongqing Hot and Sour Noodles

A punchy, simple and deliciously warming noodle recipe from Chinese-ish, the new cookbook by Rosheen Kaul, head chef at Melbourne northside favourite Etta, and illustrator Joanna Hu.

Also known as suan la fen (酸辣粉), this sichuan street food dish of bouncy potato noodles in a sour and numbing broth is flavourful, textural, bright, fresh and packed fullof toppings. All you need are some basic Chinese pantry ingredients to build this bowl of seriously good

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Our top picks of the month for book clubs

For book clubs who love dining out…

Raised by Wolves by Jess Ho

Growing up Cantonese in the racist outer suburbs was hard enough for Jess Ho, but add in a dysfunctional family who only ever made peace over food (and then only until the bill arrived), and it was clear that a normal life was never on the menu. She emerged from her childhood with two important traits: a major psychological complex, and a kick-arse palate. Both would help…

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Angela's five go-to horse books for all ages

by Angela Crocombe

As a self-confessed horse girl, since the age of five I read every single book I could get my hands on that featured horses. I talked of nothing else, and begged and harrassed my parents until the age of 11, when they finally relented and bought me a pony. These days, I can’t afford to own horses, but I still practically gallop towards any book that features the noble steed. I can definitely recognise a writer who lives with horses…

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Recommended children's books and news for July

by Angela Crocombe

Our Book of the Month in July is a beautiful story about a unique friendship from award-winning author, Pip Harry. We are also featuring a story about two sisters adjusting to a new life in Australia, a picture book that gives a guide to some of life’s challenging moments, as well as one about a very special unicorn. We have two adventure stories from Eddie Woo that feature (of course!) exciting maths challenges, and a beloved classic story set in…

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Recommended YA books and news for July

by Angela Crocombe

So many exciting books this month to dive into! Our Book of the Month is a funny, queer romance about an aspiring comedian. We have a new Meg Rosoff, set in New York during a languid, steamy summer - just what we need to warm up! We also have a novel featuring a complicated love triangle, the first in a new dystopian trilogy, a feminist novel set in an alternate 1950s with dragons, and a non-fiction title on financial literacy…

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The best food & gardening books of the month

Chinese-ish: Home Cooking, Not Quite Authentic, 100% Delicious by Rosheen Kaul & Joanna Hu

I’m calling it. If you only buy one cookbook this year, make it Chinese-ish. Here are my reasons:

It is filled with utterly delicious recipes but is also a joy to read.

It celebrates the blending of cultures and identity through food, with a bounty of Chinese- influenced dishes from all over South-East Asia.

It is divided into different sections under the banners of: Chinese…

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Our top 10 bestsellers of the week

The Diplomat by Chris Womersley

Marrul: Aboriginal Identity & the Fight for Rights by Inala Cooper

Mezcla by Ixta Belfrage

Big Beautiful Female Theory by Eloise Grills

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (translated by Geoffrey Trousselot)

Raised by Wolves by Jess Ho

Chinese-ish by Rosheen Kaul & Joanna Hu

How Veganism Can Save Us by Emma Hakansson

Our best-seller for another week is Chris Womersley’s latest novel, The Diplomat

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Win a dinner for two at Etta

This month we’re offering the chance to win a dinner for two at Etta!

Simply purchase a copy of

A random draw will be held on 5 August, and only the winner will be contacted. This offer ends 31 July 2022 and is not available online. The voucher is valid for 36 months and must be redeemed in one single transaction. The voucher is not redeemable for cash nor transferrable.

Chinese-ish

celebrates the confident blending of culture and identity through…

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What we're reading: Zambra, Heti & McCulloch

Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films we’re watching, the television shows we’re hooked on, or the music we’re loving.

Ruth McHugh-Dillon is reading Chilean Poet by Alejandro Zambra (translated by Megan McDowell)

Alejandro Zambra is a big name in Latin America and I’ve been meaning to read him for a while. Chilean Poet is his latest work and comes with glowing reviews from lots of other trustworthy writers - but, when I…

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The best new crime reads in July

by Fiona Hardy

Our crime specialist shares 10 great crime reads to look out for this month.

CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH

Stone Town by Margaret Hickey

A teenage boy takes a girl and her sister to Stone Town’s eerie bushland in the dark of night, in the hopes of impressing her with the alarming shrieks of a Barking Owl – but they find the dead body of local developer Aidan Sleeth instead. Sleeth’s death by gunshot sees local Senior Sergeant Mark Ariti…

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Four anthologies from First Nations voices

This year, NAIDOC week is running from 3 – 10 July and focuses the theme of Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!. This year’s theme centres on the ongoing need for sincere and tangible action. By amplifying and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices, we ‘can narrow the gap between aspiration and reality, good intent and outcome.’ We recommend reading the full explanation behind the 2022 focus (and exploring how you can become more involved this NAIDOC week) here

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Six bilingual picture books from First Nations creators

This year, NAIDOC week is running from 3 – 10 July and focuses the theme of Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!. This year’s theme centres on the ongoing need for sincere and tangible action. By amplifying and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices, we ‘can narrow the gap between aspiration and reality, good intent and outcome.’ We recommend reading the full explanation behind the 2022 focus (and exploring how you can become more involved this NAIDOC week) here

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Dear Reader, July 2022

by Alison Huber

A few of us at Readings have just returned from the first in-person Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) conference since 2019. It was held in Sydney, after two years online– such a treat to travel out of the state! – and it was a great opportunity to catch up with booksellers and publishers from around the country. Our own children’s specialist and Readings Kids shop manager, Dani Solomon, was a brilliant contributor to a session called ‘De-centering whiteness and traditional forms…

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Our books of the month, July 2022

OUR FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH

The Diplomat by Chris Womersley

Reviewed by

‘The Diplomat is a tremendously moving tale of regret, atonement and redemption; I can’t remember the last time I read a book that manages this with such aplomb. It is easily the best Australian novel I have read since the wonderful In Moonland by Miles Allinson.’

Read the full review

OUR CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH

Stone Town by Margaret Hickey

Reviewed by

‘Hickey takes the genre…

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On Events, with Chris Gordon

by Chris Gordon

One of my favourite Melburnian traits is how resilient we all are. We understand how to dress in the middle of winter (wear layers), we make pots of soup (and freeze leftovers), we seek indoor entertainment (bookshops, art after dark, hidden bars) and we will not be deterred by sleet or wind that blasts through to our soul. We are tough and we do not stop for weather.

Our July month of events is designed to get you active. The…

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Our top 10 bestsellers of the week

The Diplomat by Chris Womersley

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

Things We Bury by Matthew Ryan Davies

Am I Black Enough For You? by Anita Heiss

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (translated by Geoffrey Trousselot)

Stone Town by Margaret Hickey

Quarterly Essay 86: Sleepwalk to War by Hugh White

Grimmish by Michael Winkler

Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton

Eat Weeds by Diego Bonetto

Our best-seller from the past week is Chris Womersley’s, The Diplomat

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What we're reading: Stronach, Cleeves & Yang

Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films we’re watching, the television shows we’re hooked on, or the music we’re loving.

Ele Jenkins is reading The Dawnhounds by Sascha Stronach

I’m reading this Māori-inspired debut New Zealand fantasy, in which a disillusioned beat cop is murdered, but brought back to life by mysterious entities to defend her home city.

A queer fungal-punk romp with all the world-building richness of China Mieville’s Bas-Lag novels, and…

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Six LGBTQIA+ fantasy & sci-fi must-reads

Six fantastic LGBTQIA+ fantasy and sci-fi novels to sink your teeth into.

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction - but assassins are getting closer to her door. Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society…

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Old But Gold - Classic YA that deserves a revisit

by Angela Crocombe

Some books are just classic. Movies are made of them and thousands of words are written about them. They have weaved their way into popular culture so fully that it seems as if they have always been there. But the following books are classics for good reason. Their authors are masters at their craft, who hook you in, demand you keep reading, and don’t let you go until they toss you out at the end, forever changed.

You may think…

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Petite novels for distractible minds

For those who are struggling to hold the threads of longer narratives right now, we recommend these six short novels for their brevity and staying-power. You’ll be thinking about each of these stories long after their final page.

At 112 pages:

Assembly by Natasha Brown

A blistering and unignorable literary debut about Blackness and whiteness in modern Britain.

Over the course of twenty-four hours, the whip-smart young narrator of Assembly receives a cancer diagnosis, decides not to tell her posh…

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A spotlight on translated fiction this month

This month we’re reading novels translated from Dutch, Korean, Japanese, Finnish, and Arabic.

The Old Woman and the Knife by Gu Byeong-mo (translated from Korean by Chi-Young Kim)

Hornclaw is a sixty-five-year-old female contract killer who is considering retirement. A fighter who has experienced loss and grief early on in life, she lives in a state of self-imposed isolation, with just her dog, Deadweight, for company. While on an assassination job for the ‘disease control’ company she works for, Hornclaw…

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Top picks for Kids and YA book clubs

by Angela Crocombe

Below are our top picks for book clubs from the recent crop of new releases for young people.

For readers aged 5-8

Open your Heart to Country by Jasmine Seymour

A moving account of reconnection to Country from a First Nations perspective. This picture book invites readers to reflect on the importance of place, not only for First Nations’ peoples but for everyone.

Themes include:

Country

language

identity

Explore the full teacher’s notes

What to Say When you Don’t Know

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Five sapphic must-reads for teens

by Lucie Dess

I’m back with another YA post for Pride month. This time, I’m focusing on sapphic books and I have some great ones for you! Be prepared to ‘add to cart’ after reading about these glorious titles.

She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott

If you love romcoms, rollerskating and first kisses in libraries, then this adorable book is for you! Plus just look at that cover!

Alex Blackwood is a little bit headstrong, with a dash of chaos and a…

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Our top 10 bestsellers of the week

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

How to Lose Friends and Influence White People by Antoinette Lattouf

The Seamstress of Sardinia by Bianca Pitzorno (translated by Brigid Maher)

Eat Weeds by Diego Bonetto

Dancing With the Enemy by Diane Armstrong

Anna by Amy Odell

Bedtime Story by Chloe Hooper

Dropbear by Evelyn Araluen

An Exciting and Vivid Inner Life by Paul Dalla Rosa

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentil

Our best-seller from the past week is the historical novel from…

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What we're reading: Bunyan, Madden & Joy

Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films we’re watching, the television shows we’re hooked on, or the music we’re loving.

Mike Shuttleworth is reading Wayward: Just Another Life to Live by Vashti Bunyan

In the mid-1960s under the guidance of the Rolling Stones’ manager Andrew Loog Oldham, Vashti Bunyan released several singles…all of which bombed. While The Beatles were filming Let It Be in 1969 Vashti Bunyan was traveling to the Isle of…

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