Friday, October 25, 2019

Starting a New Book (Reading or Writing!)


LUCY BURDETTE: Recently a line from a blog post by editor/author/former agent Nathan Bransford caught my attention. (And yes, he’s the namesake for my Detective Bransford.) He talked about the idea that it takes a lot of energy to begin reading a new book—with new characters, new setting, new stakes, new style, new everything. It’s a leap of faith for the reader to trust her/his investment will be worthwhile. This is why a book’s opening is so important—something about it must draw the reader in quickly. 

I’ve noticed that choosing what to start reading next can also depend on my mood. If I’m tired or discouraged, I would rather pick something familiar.  Last week I chose The Glass Room, an Ann Cleeves Vera book and Many a Twist by Sheila Connolly instead of Barbara O’Neal’s When We Were Mermaids or Ryan Stradal’s The Lager Queen of Minnesota. I know I’ll love both of the latter, but I wanted the bar for entry into the world of the book to be set low. Hence, picking up series books where I’d already met the characters, rather than everything feeling new, like a foreign country. 

Readers, does this ring true in your book choices? Writers, do you think about this when beginning a new book?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Reading one? Or writing one? I'm very fond of standalones, so everything is new most of the time. I have very few series that I'm devoted to--so my book choices are more like to be whole new worlds.  (Ask me about J Ryan Stradal, Lucy, I just shared a signing table with him and he is adorable) When it come to writing ,I'm doing standalones, too, so my goal indefinitely to get the reader instantly intrigued and situated. You could also look at it, I suppose, that the bar for entry to a standalone is LOWER, because you're not required to remember anything. Hmm. VE-ry interesting. 

HALLIE EPHRON: I've written both standalones and series, and they each have their bonuses. For me a book sets its own 'bar for entry' in its opening pages... not in the previous book. Having said that, I've been having so much fun the last few weeks rereading ALL of the Harry Potter books. Now I'm dawdling along near the end of the final one, reluctant to be on the exit ramp. 

RHYS BOWEN: I love writing standalones, knowing I'm going to create a whole new world, and when I'm done to walk away from it (however many letters I get demanding a sequel, which happens each time). But starting a new book in my series is like a reunion with old friends. So comforting to be back where I know everybody, I know my way around. The challenge is always to assume there will be new readers, and how to fill them in on back story without becoming boring to established readers. As a reader I go through the same emotions, excited to start a new book in a beloved series yet sometimes wanting to try something quite different.

JENN McKINLAY: I've just written my first stand alone. It has been quite an experience. All that world building for one book just seems so exhausting. Then again, I am currently working on the next book in my library lover's series and while revisiting my old characters and setting is comforting, I also get impatient trying to think of new and different ways to describe the familiar. As a reader, series are my jam. I love the comfort of revisiting characters that are near and dear to me. When I am feeling more adventurous, I'll reach for a stand alone.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I have always loved series novels. So much so that when I got the idea for a novel, it never occurred to me that it should be anything other than a book in a series. I also read standalones (just finished Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, which I adored) but I have to admit it takes more mental and emotional energy to dive into a completely new world with new characters. When I'm feeling a little overwhelmed I will turn to the comfort of familiar characters and settings.

So far, at least, I haven't felt driven to write a standalone, because I get to explore so many new places and characters in my series books.

Red readers, do you find that it takes a lot of energy and commitment to begin a new book? Does this change depending on whether it's a series book or a stand alone?

53 comments:

  1. I hadn’t given this any thought at all, so I suppose the answer is that I don’t find it takes a lot of energy and commitment to start a new book. I’ve always found it easy to fall back into a series, but stand-alone books are always intriguing and I enjoy their unfolding stories.

    I read a lot of books and most of the time I just go from one to the next without anxiously hunting for something special. [The only exception to that, of course, is when I get a Jungle Red’s book; everything waits then until I’ve read it.]

    The one thing that does have a bearing on what I read next is whatever library books I’ve gotten from my friend [we trade every Sunday] . . . those always go to the top of the pile so they’re finished before the end of the week.

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    1. that's so interesting Joan, that you go from finishing a book to starting another with no angst! How many books do you read in a year?

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    2. About two hundred seventy so far this year [not counting the children’s books I read with the grandbabies] . . . .

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  2. I don't find it takes any more energy for me to read a series or a standalone. But I am influenced by my mindset. If I've just read something heavy, I'm more likely to reach for the familiar comfort of a series. Or at least a stand-alone that is lighter in tone.

    And how am I the second commenter this morning? Yeesh.

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    1. Wow, you were up early Liz:). Me too on alternating lighter with darker.

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  3. I relate to this very much. So much so that I’ll confess that I revert to reading my favourite childhood pony books when I don’t have the energy to enter new worlds. When I go back to adult books, I love series for their familiarity of characters. I like them as people, to whom I happily give my time.

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    1. I love that description Amanda, that you love them as people!

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    2. I so agree - favorite children’s
      Books are my prozac

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    3. Oh, Hallie: so nice to know I’m not alone in this comforting regression!

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  4. I usually grab whatever happens to strike my fancy at the time I'm picking up a new book to read. I don't think it is based on how tired I am but I guess that could factor into whether I end up choosing a series I already read versus a new series or standalone.

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    1. that makes sense Jay. Do you have a pile that you choose from?

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    2. Pile? Surely you jest. PILES is more like it. And I have 5 books checked out from the library alongside what I have purchased at the stores, signing or book sales.

      I think I'm the reason that Facebook meme about buying and reading books being separate hobbies was created.

      I'm re-reading A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton for the library's Mystery Book Club, but before that I read a Neely Tucker book because I saw the 2nd book in that series on a store shelf when I went to a signing. The book before that was by Humphrey Hawksley because I saw an ad for it online. And I want to get a Mary Willis Walker book that Hank just reviewed for Criminal Element. I'm apparently easy to influence.

      If only my bank account was so easily influenced.

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    3. Oh, and when I get new review books, those go to the top of the list of course.

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  5. Reading short stories habitually means meeting new people all the time, being thrust into their world for a brief, significant moment or event. I like the in and out. On the other hand, I love to settle into a looooong novel, but leaving is a wrench. I guess I am a reader of extremes.

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    1. I am thinking that we could develop a personality test based on reading habits and reactions! Would you describe yourself as an extrovert Ramona?

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    2. I am, Lucy, mostly. On the flip side, I need and crave private time. I think being an extrovert takes a lot of energy for me, and the recharge is important.

      I love the personality test based on reading habits and reactions! I would take that in a heartbeat.

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    3. I’d be afraid to take that personality test. Is pro bay one off as a serial killer!

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  6. This is such an interesting topic. Like Hank, in many ways, I find a series novel more challenging because I feel I need remember everything little thing that has come before. Now, of course, this is more about me than either the book or the author. Since I am a reviewer, I feel as though I need to orient the book both as part of the overall series *and* as a totally separate entity within the context of the review. That is more work without a doubt.

    Whereas, with a stand-alone, I can just go for the ride and experience all the new things the author has planned for me.

    This is not to say that I don't absolutely love some series, but that I have to limit them because I know that I will become obsessive about those characters. The characters created by Ann Cleeves, Louise Penny, Sophie Hannah - those characters are friends of mine, so I know where they have been and I spend time thinking about where they will go in the future. That's a lot of work for a reader. ;) (No, I am not complaining.)

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    1. Mind is whirring Kristopher, thinking about questions for the quiz😁

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  7. Exactly, Kristopher! I am now reading the new Michael Connelly, which is fantastic, as well as a truly fun standalone called Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts. They are both wonderful. It makes me realize of don’t think of the Bosch as a series, think of it as a standalone. Even though there is backstory, it doesn’t feel like that. And you don’t need to have read all of them.

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    1. Hank, I'm glad you are reading the new Michael Connelly. I got an advance copy and got to do the Mystery Scene review. I really liked it as well.

      But I would definitely be unable to consider any of the books as standalones. I'm way to obsessive about that kind of thing. I HAVE to pick up all the books in a series prior to when I discover them. I always seem to start at the beginning. I don't think I first discovered Sue Grafton until she'd released "G", but I bought A-F and read those first.

      I was only one book behind when it came to Michael Connelly so that was an easier catch up.

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    2. I am reading Michael Connelly's books for the first time and pretty much in order. Since many characters show up in other books of the Bosch series, I am now trying to read all of his books in order of publication. They are terrific stories and some are really scary.

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  8. I think Roberta is completely right about it taking more/different energy to start different kinds of books. I was feeling more than a bit overwhelmed with work stuff this past summer, and turned to reading as my escape. But I found that I just didn't have the mental energy for complex, emotionally difficult fiction. I turned to a familiar series, with characters I have known and liked for years, and wound up reading almost all of them, one after another simply because I liked living in that world. Some series will do that for me: create a world I like to live in. Deb's books do, as do the other Reds and, surprisingly, my sister, who published her first novel in the spring. I discovered that I really liked her world, and enjoyed slipping back into it when she asked me to read her first draft of the second novel in the series.

    Right now I'm reading, and enjoying, the memoir "Educated," by Tara Westover. She captures a fascinating but painful world, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been up to reading it last summer, no matter how much I'm enjoying it now.

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    1. I need to read educated at some point also, GG. Do we know about your sisters book? Have we had her visit here?

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    2. I want to read Educated, too, Gigi, so save it for me!

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    3. I read Educated last summer. It was a tough go. How Westover managed to survive, much less graduate from Cambridge, or was it Oxford, one of those anyway, was beyond belief.

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    4. My sister, Jan S. Gephardt, writes SF, so I haven't talked about it much here, Roberta.
      I will definitely save "Educated" for you, Deb. And yes, Ann, I can't imagine how Westover survived that crazy childhood.

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  9. I love series novels! I do think of the characters as old friends. And, I can become obsessive about the stories. Like Hallie, I have reread the Harry Potter books. In fact, each summer, I would reread all of the previous books before the new one came out!!
    Then there is Deb's Gemma and Duncan series. I had some serious doubts after the conclusion of Garden of Lamentations that she would write another one, because it really ended perfectly. So, I waited. When news that she was writing another book reached my eyes, I immediately called the friend I'd introduced to the series to let her know there would indeed be another. When my husband came home, it was the first thing I told him. Yeah, I'm that attached.
    I am also a mega fan of James R. Benn's Billy Boyle WWII mysteries and that is another series I reread in between reading other authors. I usually read 2 or 3 books a week, and I intersperse reading different authors with rereading some of my favorites. The best stand alone that I read this year: A Gentleman in Moscow. It is such a satisfying story.

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  10. My son and I were talking about that very thing the other day but I hadn't thought about it in terms of energy. What is really tough is when I have read an absolutely wonderful book and then I try something else, which often pales in comparison. I know that is not fair so I try for the book after the great book to be something completely different. But it still takes time to get into the rhythm of the new book and learn about new characters while I still have those old characters in the back of my mind.
    When a book is very good and we know it is a stand alone even though I want to know what happens next, then I will have to use my imagination and figure it out for myself.

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    1. Yes, I agree with this. It’s very hard to follow a terrific book with something that isn’t quite that good. And I like your idea about making sure it’s something quite different

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  11. "Red readers, do you find that it takes a lot of energy and commitment to begin a new book? Does this change depending on whether it's a series book or a stand alone?"

    What a good topic for a gloomy fall day up here on the tundra.

    Starting a new book is a joy, and I read both stand alones and series in equal parts, chewing through 2-3 books a week, more if short, fewer if I find an 800 page opus. I used to keep track, starting in elementary school when I got a gold start for each book read. I'm over that.

    If I had to choose, stand alones or series, I couldn't. I love Deb's books, and Ann Cleeves, and Louise Penny's, and I wouldn't change a thing. I adore Dandy Gilver but look forward to Catriona's stand alones. I often alternate something heavy and dark with something light and bright, and with few exceptions, I never ever read a cozy or a rom com. I do read a certain amount of non-fiction but prefer fiction. I do read prize winners, devour the Booker and National Book Award selections, love seeing who wins a Pulitzer, but I just threw the sample LINCOLN IN THE BARDO back in the pond for the umpteenth time. I can't get through the first chapter. It hurts my brain. I give up.

    I read classics when I was in school. I read WAR AND PEACE in the past ten years, my vote for the best book ever written, and don't argue with me about that. I've read everything Kate Atkinson and Hilary Mantel and Donna Tartt ever wrote, and they never wrote anything I didn't love. I've read most of Stephen King and liked the majority of his books, but I put a few down with a "seriously"?

    I don't read James Patterson or Dan Brown. You can't make me.

    The older I get, and the less physical labor I need to accomplish in a day, the more I read. And since Julie and I made that trip to Phoenix a few years ago, to LCC, I look forward to a conference every year or two, to seeing some of my favorite writers and more potential favorites in the flesh, so to speak. I can't imagine not having coffee with the Jungle Reds each morning, and I can't wait to see you all in Dallas next week.

    So, Halloween. Have you chosen your costumes? I have. xox

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    1. Ann, I tried to be fair and tried that big Dan Brown book--you know the one. Couldn't make it through the first few pages and have never looked back. Too many other wonderful wonderful books out there!

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    2. Ann, I tried a few James Patterson books but found them to be merely OK at best and don't really read much of his stuff anymore. However, the NYPD Red series he did/does with Marshall Karp is undoubtedly entertaining to me.

      And to go with FChurch's reply, I actually did just quit a book because it was not grabbing me at all. Thankfully it was a library book so it didn't cost me anything.

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    3. Jay, I have a long list of books I’ve thrown back in the pond. An advantage of Kindle is the sample. So I usually know before I buy something.

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  12. I don't consider whether something is a standalone or part of a series when I reach for a book. While I have series' authors whose works I would mostly drop anything and everything to read, my choice really depends on my mood at the time. For example, I adore Louise Penny's books--but they aren't light reading. I put off reading her latest for a bit because I needed something easier. And I have old favorites that I will reach for even when there are new books awaiting me, they are like comfort food. I find it amazing how I can become totally caught up yet again in a book I've read many times. And find the ending just as satisfying.

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  13. Lucy, I enjoy reading both book series and standalones.

    Whenever I am in a reading slump, I read easier books like children's books or Young Adults. Depending on my mood, sometimes I want to read a novel by an author I love. I have several go-to authors, knowing that I can read anything by these authors. I was just reading a new to me novel, though I had met the author from Iceland at Bouchercon. There was a line that resonated with me. The character was trying to read a novel and it could not hold his attention because of his mood. After a while, he was able to go back to the novel and this time he could focus on the book. This has happened to me.

    Recently I tried a new novel a few weeks ago that I had been wanting to read for about a year because I saw a lot of posts about it on bookstagram. I could not get into the story so it was a DNF for me. it had Witch in the title.

    For me, when I start a new novel by a new author, it has to be well written and it has to grab my attention. There are some novels on the best seller lists of the Sunday New York Times that I have tried to read and I just could not get into the story. I mentioned to friends that I think I need a PhD to be able to read these books. LOL

    And I have discovered new novels that I loved. I often get surprised because I discover that I like the book. it is rare for me to like a book that is on the best seller lists. And I put off reading Where the Crawdads Sing, thinking that I would not like it. To my surprise, I got into the story! It really grabbed my attention!

    Diana

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    1. I haven’t read crawdads Diana. I guess I better give it a try!

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    2. It’s good Lucy Roberta. Trust me. I put it off for months, afraid it might be sentimental crap. It isn’t.

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    3. Lucy, for me, Where the Crawdads Sing reminded me of Huckleberry Finn in some ways. Instead of a boy, it is a girl. I thought it was well written.

      Diana

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  14. What a timely post since I am going to start a new book today.

    I've never thought about it in those terms, but maybe that is why I find the first 100 pages of a book the hardest to get through. Once I get through those, the pages just fly by.

    I do find some authors' style harder to get into than others. I usually adjust in the first 100 pages as well.

    I used to pick more by mood. But now, what I read is mostly dictated by what I have already agreed to read. The occasional hole in my reading schedule is filled by series I'm trying to catch up on. So it is rare that I pick up a book solely because I am in the mood for it.

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    1. And does that seem OK with you Mark, that you’re not picking up books strictly because you want to?

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    2. I've gotten used to it. It helps that I agree to read books I'm already interested in reading.

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  15. Since I love to read I’d never thought of it in terms of energy or commitment. I love series since I get totally invested in the characters and worry about them. I’m looking at you, Ian Rutledge, and you too, Richard Jury. But stand alones are also a joy to read. My only problem with them is unfamiliarity with the characters. I may pick up the book the next day and wonder who the heck this person is again and why does it matter. Oh well. The little grey cells don’t always spark. I do tend to alternate kinds of stories by genre, time period, serious, funny and so forth so I don’t get bogged down.

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  16. So interesting, Lucy, and something I hadn't thought about so concretely. So much of what I read is dictated by things I've committed to read, or need to read for book related research. So when I have a chance to read something entirely for fun it is a real treat, and depending on my mood and what strikes me it could be either a series novel or something completely new and different. When I am very stressed, as in too much travel or finishing-a-novel exhaustion, I reread Dick Francis novels.

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  17. It doesn't take a lot of energy to begin a new book when it is well written. When it is not , I'll stop reading it.
    I love series and as many here, I become attached to characters , and want to know what they will be going through next.
    I appreciate cozy mysteries and mysteries without too much graphic violence.
    My choices will change with my moods and sometimes I'll return to some of my favourites.

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  18. Agree with Nathan a new book does take a bit of energy, if it takes too long to get into a book I might put it to one side. I'm a 'restless' reader so I tend toward stand alone books. Also very much a seasonal reader - quicker reads for the summer, deeper layered books say winter to me.

    Work/clients keep me busy, personal reading time is carefully guarded so it is not wasted. Which brings me back to if I'm struggling to get into the rhythm of the author's narrative I will choose a different book.

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    1. I can understand that Jill. I don’t have as much time to read it as I wish I did either, so it’s hard to continue with something that feels like a slog

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  19. I love series, although I do read some stand alones. Sometimes when I start the first book of a series, I wish it were the second or third so I would know the characters better.

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    1. That’s such an interesting comment about wishing that her first book was the second or third. I wonder if that has something to do with how well the characters were developed in the first one, or whether a first book is always a little bit hard. As a writer, I would have to say that I simply don’t know the characters that well when I start writing a series. But they develop over the course of several books

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    2. I just started the first book in a series at the same time that I was reading an older series on my Nook. I think they had the murder about the same time in the books but with the older book, I was happy to catch up with the characters. With the new book, I was impatient for them to find the body and start detecting. I tolerate more from established series than first books or stand alones. Just as I put up with more from family and friends than from strangers.

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  20. I know my comments are very late, but I've been gone for a few days, and I hate not commenting on my favorite blog. I absolutely adore series, and I have at least ten (probably closer to 13) that I follow with glee. However, I do love stand-alones, too. The best of both worlds is when you have a favorite author who writes a series and stand-alones. Hmmm, who could those authors be? Hahaha!

    How I choose a book is, like many bloggers, often dictated to me by an ARC I need to read and review by or before its publication date. That's usually fine, because most of the books I read and review are by authors I truly enjoy. And, it's wonderful to be surprised by a new author I'm reading to review, like Jamie Mason this year. I have started to make a concerted effort to fit in books that I just want to read, not for review purposes, but just because I want to read it. I'm happy I'm doing that.

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  21. I've tried twice to post a comment. I don't know why it won't go through. :(
    I am definitely a series girl (and I need to read them in order). I really enjoy finding a new series and knowing I have a sure thing on my TBR list. I love watching the characters evolve over time - when they are well-written, I find I miss them in between books, like good friends. I really love reading, so it doesn't take any energy for me to read whether it's a stand alone or a series. Except in the rare cases when I'm struggling to get through a book. In fact when I do find a new series I enjoy, it energizes me. The only hard part is when I've caught up to the author's last book and have to (not so) patiently wait for the next one. Sometimes it's been so long I even find myself forgetting what happened in the last book (or two).

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