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Lucky Jim
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
Regarded by many as the finest, and funniest, comic novel of the twentieth century, Lucky Jim remains as trenchant, withering, and eloquently misanthropic as when it first scandalized readers in 1954. This is the story of Jim Dixon, a hapless lecturer in medieval history at a provincial university who knows better than most that there was no end to the ways in which nice things are nicer than nasty ones. Amiss scabrous debut leads the reader through a gallery of emphatically English bores, cranks, frauds, and neurotics, with each of whom Dixon must contend in one way or another in order to hold on to his cushy academic perch and win the girl of his fancy. More than just a merciless satire of cloistered college life and stuffy post-war manners, Lucky Jim is an attack on the forces of boredom, whatever form they may take, and a work of art that at once distills and extends an entire tradition of English comic writing, from Fielding and Dickens through Wodehouse and Waugh. As Christopher Hitchens has written, if you can picture Bertie or Jeeves being capable of actual malice, and simultaneously imagine Evelyn Waugh forgetting about original sin, you have the combination of innocence and experience that makes this short romp so imperishable.
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review
sisilia
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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Pickpick

3.5⭐️ Funny and entertaining, this book is such an easy read. I think I would‘ve appreciated it more if I read this in my younger days. The madness would have been more relatable back then. Nevertheless, it‘s an entertaining novel and I had some good laughs thanks to Jim Dixon‘s shenanigans.

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sisilia
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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Rushing Lucky Jim for our book club meeting this Sunday. I‘m back in my hometown for 2-week break 🥳 and today I spent some time at the most popular cafe in town Coffee & Beyond. My drink is called Kermit the Frog, which is dirty matcha. Not bad at all 😃

BarbaraBB I read Lucky Jim when I was very young and found it extremely funny. I can imagine however I‘d think differently today. 5mo
sarahbarnes Great pic! 4mo
sisilia @BarbaraBB I can totally understand that. My bookclub buddy was a junior lecturer in his 20s. He didn‘t like the book when he read it at that time, but he loves it so much now and gave it 4.5⭐️ 4mo
42 likes4 comments
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The_Penniless_Author
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

1. Either to play the piano or to ski 🎿

2. Lucky Jim (Kingsley Amis) if you want to poke fun at academia. Sideways Stories from Wayside School (Louis Sachar) if you want goofy, surreal fun set in an elementary/middle school.

Tag: @RaeLovesToRead @IndoorDame @StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego @Ruthiella @CBee @BarbaraBB

RaeLovesToRead Why not both at the same time? 🎿🎹 12mo
The_Penniless_Author @RaeLovesToRead I guess I could slide down a hill while sitting on top of a piano. That would be a lot easier than either of the things I mentioned. 😂 12mo
TheSpineView Used to Ski when young. Now I am thinking about how hard it would be to get up if I fell. 12mo
The_Penniless_Author @TheSpineView That's why I never bothered to learn, even though we've been in Vermont for so long. I can't take a fall like I used to. 🤕 12mo
TheSpineView @The_Penniless_Author Getting old is not for the faint of heart!! 12mo
24 likes5 comments
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Leftcoastzen
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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#TemptingTitles #WithLuck ONE I‘ve been meaning to read for years now.

Eggs It sounds so good! The cover seems to match it well 2y
Ruthiella Me too! It‘s supposed to be funny and I really wonder if it still holds up…🤔 2y
41 likes2 comments
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asterese
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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When I said I wanted to read more classics this year, I did not have this one in mind. I saw this being sold online and no one seemed to want it. The cover was intriguing to me, as well as the title, and after a quick search of the summary, I found myself putting in an offer for the book, and here it is. 😂 #bookmail

BarbaraBB I read this ages ago but remember I laughs out loud a lot. Not sure if I still would, I was very young at the time. 3y
batsy Like @BarbaraBB I also remember finding it funny, if a bit "laddish", as it were. 3y
asterese @BarbaraBB @batsy Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Looking forward to reading this now. 😃 3y
11 likes3 comments
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Emilymdxn
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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Pickpick

It took me a while to understand what this book was getting at but once I did, I enjoyed it! I loved the cynicism and quiet wit. It never felt like it was trying too hard to be funny and relatable, which made it more enjoyable when it was funny and relatable. Having worked in university administration, this was definitely relatable for me…

Anna40 Just started reading Lucky Jim :) 3y
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Emilymdxn
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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Reading on a plane for the first time in a while! Next time I post I‘ll be in Cyprus 🥰

thegirlwiththelibrarybag ✈️ have fun! 3y
JackOBotts Safe travels; enjoy! 3y
Simona Enjoy❣️ 3y
BarbaraBB I loved this book when I was young. It was one of the first books I read in English. Have a great trip! Have you read 3y
Emilymdxn @BarbaraBB I have the island of missing trees at home but I‘m too cheap to pay to bring a suitcase and the hardback was too big! I‘ll have to read it when I‘m home 3y
71 likes5 comments
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Lissy1
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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Panpan


It‘s fair to see I wasn‘t really a fan of this book and I didn‘t want to give up on it so I followed it to the end. Firstly, whoever said this book was a comedy needs a lesson on what comedy means. I maybe laughed once. Unfortunately the books feels kind of pointless because nothing interesting or of merit really happened for most of the book. It was all crammed into the last 2 chapters so you could get away with just reading those
I give 2 stars

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Lissy1
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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Ooooh I am loving this info graphic 😱 amazing! Today I finished this book in just 5 days :) review to follow

#book #books #bookly #read #reading #bookshelf #comedy #classics #newbook

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Lissy1
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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So the app kinda had a glitch where it went from the 40 minutes where I was at back to when I‘d previously paused it at 18 minutes so now the app must think I‘m an absolute speed demon 😂 0.7 pages a minute lmaoooo
#book #books #read #reading #bookshelf #bookly #comedy #funny #glitch #luckyjim #kingsleyamis

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Lissy1
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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I‘ve just downloaded this app after I saw someone use a graphic from it for there end of book review. Do any of you guys use it? And is it worth get a subscription?

#book #books #read #ios #app #read #reading #luckyjim #kingsleyamis #bookshelf #bookly #comedy #penguin #classic #classics #penguinclassics #bookapp

BarbaraBB I‘ve never even heard of it 🤷🏻‍♀️ 4y
Lissy1 @BarbaraBB neither had I until I saw someone on here post about it 4y
8 likes2 comments
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Lissy1
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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The_Penniless_Author
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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Pickpick

This might be considered a strange pick for a beach read, but it's what I grabbed off my shelves before heading to Aruba a couple years back. Then again, maybe not. Humor works on the beach, and this is always on the short list of "funniest 20th-century novels". Much is still relevant- the phoniness and pretension of academia, the debasing quest for a tenured university job. Feels less groundbreaking 70 years on, but still good for some laughs.

The_Penniless_Author @Milara Sorry 😊 I alternate between books I'm reading now and ones I've read in the past, so I'm sure with the previous books I'm being selective. Maybe I can plumb my memory for some real losers to mix in there for you. 😄 4y
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Therewillbebooks
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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New episode just came out! We discuss college professors, the muppets, and select our December book of the month. Enjoy!

https://open.spotify.com/show/6A6hXZ7eaOG7BtHOSJpCTI

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EadieB
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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Day 3 - #3Books #ThatMadeMeLaugh
#LuckyJim #KinsleyAmis #Candide #Voltaire #TheOldReliable #PGWodehouse

I read these books and found them very humorous!

OriginalCyn620 😂📚😂 4y
BarbaraBB I thought of Lucky Jim too. I read it when I was 14 and remember it as enormously funny but it is so long ago that I didn‘t dare mentioning it here. I‘m glad you do! 4y
EadieB @BarbaraBB I read in 2016 when I was reading from the 1001 list. 4y
51 likes3 comments
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EadieB
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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Day 21 - #LuckyOne #FebruaryFeels
#LuckyJim #KingsleyAmis

I read and enjoyed this 4 years ago!

KathyWheeler I read this in grad school 1000 years ago. I should probably reread it. 5y
Eggs Looks like a fun read! 5y
EadieB @KathyWheeler It‘s a fast read too! 5y
EadieB @Eggs Yes it is a fast and funny read! 5y
49 likes4 comments
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Kav138
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
Pickpick

Fun , but it would mostly appeal to those working in the academe. Read January 2020

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Lcsmcat
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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These are my #MayStats. Nine print books, one eBook, and two audiobooks. In addition I‘m reading The Song of the Lark for the #catherbuddyread, A Midsummer Night‘s Dream for the #shakespearereadalong, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame for #Hugonuts. Not a bad month! Tagged book is the one with no visible title.

StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego An excellent month! 💖📚💖 6y
53 likes1 comment
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Lcsmcat
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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Pickpick

I think I would have liked this book better if 1) I were a man; 2) I had read it a few decades ago; and, 3) if I hadn‘t read the hype. Being told that something is the “finest, and funniest, comic novel of the twentieth century” makes one expect more. There were certainly amusing moments, but there was so much sophomoric humor, and deep cynicism, mixed with a dose of misogyny, that I could only give it 3 stars. OK, but not genius.

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Lcsmcat
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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“to say of him now that he looked like an artist of some sort would have been true without being too offensive.” 🤣
This is supposed to be a really funny book. I‘m not finding it that funny most of the time, but this is a great comedic line.

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Lcsmcat
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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Sometimes I buy books for their beautiful bindings, but only if I intend to read them. Diving in to this one tonight.

Leftcoastzen Lovely! 6y
Reviewsbylola Gorgeous! 6y
LeahBergen So pretty! 😍 6y
Lcsmcat @Leftcoastzen @Reviewsbylola @LeahBergen Thanks! I buy a lot of my books secondhand and always like finding pretty bindings. 6y
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Tonton
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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Pickpick

Spring is in the air, the plum trees are blossoming. I find myself unconsciously re-reading books my dad and I shared from our library hauls or authors he recommended as March approaches. Here‘s one: a hilarious, cynical look at British academia; comedy of manners so superbly done! And the bonus is the cover by Edward Gorey.Thanks, Dad❤️

DivineDiana Thank you for sharing this memory. ❤️ Stacked. 6y
batsy I enjoyed this one, as well! Great cover by Gorey 😍 And it's a lovely memory of your father. 6y
gradcat Oh, I LOVED this book! 🥰 6y
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Wilkie
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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‘You think you‘re sensitive, but you‘re not: your sensitivity only works for things that people do to you. Touchy and vain, yes, but not sensitive‘. This quote is a real revelation. I had a friend who claimed to be very sensitive and everyone had to be very careful with what they said so to protect her ‘sensitive nature‘. She had no problem stepping on the feelings of others. This has set me free from all the guilt I had from ending the friendship

BarbaraBB I loved this book when I read it in high school. So funny. I wonder if I would still like it today! 7y
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Wilkie
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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What is better? A shelf full of books waiting to be read or an empty shelf waiting for books to be bought? #shelfie

Ranchan An empty shelf waiting for books to be bought! I LOVE bookshopping 😍 7y
MicrobeMom It‘s A Tie! 7y
Sarah83 Good question. 🤔 I think both is great. 7y
EvieBee An empty shelf! But it‘s been so long since that‘s been the case for me. I wish I could rewind and really be mindful about the choices I made and the reader I am. 7y
Wilkie @oOArankaOo @MicrobeMom @Sarah83 @EvieBee I like both too and thanks to a new bedroom renovation I get both😁❤️ 7y
42 likes5 comments
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Wilkie
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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Change the title to Lucky Libby.

AmyG Nice view! 7y
Wilkie @AmyG I can‘t complain! 7y
38 likes2 comments
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Sarah83
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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My new #folio arrived today. 😍

It seems like Friday is the day of the week, Folios love to arrive in my library. 😍

#foliofreaks

rubyslippersreads 😍😍😍 7y
batsy Nice!! 7y
Sarah83 @Wanderingwithwords here is one 😉 7y
Sophoclessweetheart Pretty! 😍 7y
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bookish.mum
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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These are two #unreadbooks that I would like to tick off my TBR list this year 😊

#kingsleyamis #luckyjim #pgwodehouse #carryonjeeves #bookworm #booksandtea

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batsy
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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#alltheyoungdudes in the books by the Amis men are dudes I would probably cross the street to avoid. Some witty, sharp prose in both books that made me laugh at the characters, which I think is the only reaction these dudes deserve. #SeptemBowie @Cinfhen @Marchpane

TrishB Absolutely 👍 7y
Cinfhen That cover is 👀not familiar with either book 🙈 7y
batsy Haha yes @Cinfhen this was a "read at home" book because of the cover ? 7y
See All 11 Comments
erzascarletbookgasm Have never read Amis ☺️ 7y
batsy @erzascarletbookgasm These two are worth starting with for both of them! I also enjoyed this one by Martin Amis 7y
Lacythebookworm I read Lucky Jim as an undergrad and quite enjoyed the wit. 15 years later, I'm not sure if I'd feel the same. Probably not one that I'll reread so that I can keep the fond memories! 7y
batsy @Lacythebookworm Yes, you're quite right... I think that's how I feel about it, too! 7y
Billypar Haven't read Kingsley or Rachel Papers, but there are two of MA's with female protagonists I've read- Other People- which has some of the worst male behavior ever as far as who she encounters, and Night Train- female cop - not as bad gender-wise (she is more masculine so not much conflict...racist cop behavior though). First one I liked but for Amis fans only, I think. 2nd I can recommend @erzascarletbookgasm 7y
batsy @Billypar MA is a distinctive prose stylist but there is indeed that misogyny to wade through. I'm not sure how much can be attributed to merely the story or characterisation. 7y
readordierachel I read The Rachel Papers (I bought it because my name was in the title 😊) years ago and couldn't get past the misogyny you mention. Do his other books have thay same flavor? 7y
batsy @ReadOrDieRachel I haven't read very many. Money was a satire of 80s greed and excess but the repugnant main character is a straight male and he is meant to be repugnant and thus misogynist. I think this is an element in all of MA's work, where the male character is gross, but it's hard to tell if the text itself is reproducing misogyny or simply representing it as a matter of derision and ridicule. 7y
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shawnmooney
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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😂😂

lisakoby I will be saying that to absolutely everyone. My 8 yo wants a snack? 10 yo needs a ride to soccer practice? Boss asking for project follow up? Be off with you! 8y
LeahBergen 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 8y
TrishB It's quite a common Brit saying (in the more posh quarters)...😀 8y
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CopyAndTea
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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Pickpick

To get me started... a quick pic of a page from one of my favourites. Lucky Jim. #book #favouritebook #amis #reader #readingcorner #page

DebinHawaii Welcome to Litsy!! 🎉📚👍😀 8y
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freckledmoments
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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Pickpick

I enjoyed this quick read. At a mere 257 pages, Amis reflects the silly life of James (Jim) Dixon, a first year teacher at some sort of college. Dixon experiences many missteps on his path to find success and love, but it is a funny story that is both unbelievable and coincidental in the extreme. I found many moments funny and realistic to the life of the imperfect.

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HotCocoaReads
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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Mehso-so

I didn't love this book. Sometimes it was a bit funny, but I have a hard time rooting for a protagonist who isn't a good person. He spent his time being lazy, writing letters to upset others, tricking people. Then I'm supposed to hope he gets the girl?!? 😒 The ending picked up the pace a bit and it all ended happily for our lazy, selfish protagonist, but I'm not actually sure that's what I wanted!

MrBook Love your review and, as always, your gorgeous picture! 8y
HotCocoaReads Thank you @MrBook! ☺️ 8y
MrBook No, thank *you* for bringing some unexpected beauty into my day ☺️👏🏻👍🏻. 8y
11 likes3 comments
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HotCocoaReads
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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If you can't annoy somebody, there is little point in writing.

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Lacythebookworm
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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This book cracked me up as an undergrad! Lucky Jim is written in the tradition of the English comic novel complete with dry wit and satire - perfect! #augustofpages #bookphotochallenge

TheSpinecrackersBookClub Such a cute photo. 8y
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ohbthr
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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Mehso-so

Everyone described this book as "deeply funny." I'd instead describe it as "interesting, but deeply cynical."

Rootleaf I think the cynicism is one of the best, and wittiest things about the book! I loved it! 8y
3 likes1 comment
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meghankoneill
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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Loving this book! Laugh out loud example of British humour at its best. #Dixon4Life

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Grrlbrarian
Lucky Jim | Kingsley Amis
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Funny as advertised? Even more so! 😝

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