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Year of Reading Dangerously
Year of Reading Dangerously | Andy Miller
98 posts | 53 read | 155 to read
Andy Miller has been living a lie. But then again, who hasn't? How many books have you claimed to have read but never actually finished, or started, or even heard of? Books you've really wanted to read, or should have read, but never had the time, or the inclination? Tackling the canon single-handedly, Miller decides to rectify his twenty odd years of lies and silence his nagging guilt and become the literate man he's always claimed himself to be.
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rwmg
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Andy Miller decides to atone for the number of times he's said he's read books which in fact he hasn't by reading the books on the List of Betterment he compiles.

Variable. I suspect there are stylistic jokes which are going over my head for the books I don't know. The author's pop music world isn't mine so some names mean nothing to me. But where we share points of reference he is a genial companion talking about his life and reading.

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rwmg
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Aimeesue I've been meaning to get to this one. Every time I start listening to Backlisted I think about it, but then they mention so many OTHER books during the podcast that I forget about it 😂 1y
18 likes1 comment
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vivastory
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#AlphabetGame
Title that begins with the letter Y
Andy Miller's informal reading memoir The Year of Reading Dangerously is one of my favorite books about the power of books to change your life. I frequently mention Backlisted, the literary podcast co-hosted by Andy Miller & John Mitchinson. Backlisted is unimaginable without Andy's plan for betterment, written with both humor & an infectious love in his book. Whenever I am in a reading slump one

vivastory of my go-to solutions is a favorite literary memoir. I find that reading about other people's love for reading can help reenergize me. A few months ago when I was in a slump I reread Year of Reading Dangerously & it def worked as I immediately tackled Moby Dick. 2y
merelybookish I need to read this! I also enjoy Backlisted. 2y
Graywacke I‘ve loved Backlisted, even if I haven‘t listened too much. I haven‘t read a review of this book before. Sounds terrific. 2y
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Nebklvr
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Mehso-so

Some books about reading focus mainly on the stories while others focus on the profound impact the stories have made on the reader. This one felt like a slow pinball machine…glancing off of each of these options to head down various rabbit holes. It was ok but I wanted it to be fabulous.

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Magpiegem
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Charity shops book haul and Italian treats. Happy Sunday everyone! 🥰 📚

Dodi The words Italian and treat go very well together 🇮🇹☺️ 2y
29 likes1 comment
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rachaich
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Finally started this with just 4 days until the group meet!!! Think it's going to increase my TBR list... 🤔😆😉😉😙

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Ruthiella
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Pickpick

This was okay as these books go. I often find them to be more autobiographical than I want and not enough attention is given to the actual books. Miller doesn‘t actually write about all 50 books.

But he did make me really want to read War and Peace, so mission accomplished! 😀 And how can I not give a thumbs up to someone who also loves Douglas Adams and agrees that Beyond Black by Hillary Mantel is brilliant?

#FabulousFebruary - book three

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Peaceful_Reader
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I had a fantastic year of reading! One bonus of 2020‘s pandemic.

Freespirit Wow amazing total!! 3y
16 likes1 comment
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vivastory
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📚 Yellow Wallpaper/Year of Reading Dangerously
🖋Yaa Gyasi
🎬Y Tu Mama Tambien/Young Poisoner's Handbook
🎸Young the Giant/Yo La Tengo
🎶 You Get (Cat Power)
#manicmonday #lettery @JoScho

NikkiM5 Loved Y Tu Mama Tambien. And I am reading the Yellow Wallpaper this week 😊 4y
vivastory @NikkiM5 I recently read it again. It feels different in the age of lockdown. I've heard that Herland is worth reading, too. 4y
NikkiM5 @vivastory Herland sounds good, I just added it TBR 4y
41 likes3 comments
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Michellesibs
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Pickpick

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this as essentially its a non fiction about a guy reading fiction and i wasnt sure that this would be something I'd enjoy in book format but i did.

Andy has a List of Betterment, 50 books (pretty much all classics apart from one Dan Brown) and he reads dangerously for one year, joins a book club, ropes his wife into reading War and Peace and starts a blog.

I added so many books to my TBR, really enjoyed this.

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barbwire
Pickpick

Part memoir, part homage to books, “The Year of Reading Dangerously“ isn't is a set of book reviews, or a definitive set of criteria that define Literary Greatness. Andy Miller, quoting another Miller -- Henry, notes that what defines greatness is that a book speaks to him. That criterion is going to play out differently for each of us, and that's the point: we all need get to define “great“ for ourselves. We just keep reading and refining.

Lcsmcat I enjoyed this one a lot. (I remember laughing out loud during the chapter on Dan Brown.) And it exploded my TBR! 5y
barbwire Oddly enough, maybe because my take-home message was “Define for yourself what‘s great,” the only one I might add to my TBR is “War and Peace.” I‘ll admit I‘ve only read three of Miller‘s 50: one I loved, and one I threw across the room in frustration when I finished it (it was required reading for class, else I‘d never have plodded through it). That said, I‘m picking up a nice, virtually hefty biography of Walter Cronkite to read next. (edited) 5y
5 likes2 comments
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barbwire
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“Somebody once described the Internet as a library where all the books have been taken off the shelves and dumped in the middle of the floor. Disorganization, however, is not the issue. The Internet is the greatest library in the universe; unfortunately someone has removed all the ‘no talking‘ signs.“ _pp 215 - 216.

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barbwire

“On two occasions we crossed over to East Berlin, which I much preferred to the decadent West. Yes, it was dour and repressed — but I was too.” __p 56

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TheEllieMo
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This book is subtitled in some editions as “How Fifty Great Books Saved My Life”

#HowToSaveALife
#SeptemberSins
@jenniferw88

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Booksnchill
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Completed in 2018 thanks in part to the great #NashvilleLittens I have met this year!!! Here‘s to 2019!!!!

ferskner Yayyyyy!!!!! I'm so happy to have met you too! ❤️ 5y
britt_brooke 💚💚💚 See you Sat!! 5y
HeatherBookNerd ❤️❤️❤️ 5y
68 likes3 comments
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Reviewsbylola
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Pickpick

Andy Miller found himself in somewhat of a reading slump after his son was born. We‘ve all been there at one point or another. For me, Litsy was what got me back into reading, after having two kids in two years seriously wiped out the amount of reading I typically accomplished. For Miller, it was his List or Betterment. 50 books that he wanted to read in one year. These are his musings as he tackles the list. I found myself relating to him.

mreads Looks interesting, did make you want to read any of the 50 books? 5y
Reviewsbylola It actually did. I have to say, I‘m definitely considering reading War & Peace now. However, Miller and I do seem to be opposites as far as taste. One example that struck me was his disdain for Pride & Prejudice but his adoration for Anna Karenina. I‘m the opposite when it comes to those two. My feelings are a bit more general though in the sense that this book did encourage me to read more thoughtfully and purposefully. @mreads 5y
mreads Thanks, I'll have to check it out I always worry with these types of books that they'll all be white male authors . I hesitated to do a century read challenge (1 book from 1918 to 2019) for the same reason, then decided I would read women, poc or translations. 5y
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Megabooks That sounds really cool and interesting! 5y
Susannah I really liked this book. It made me determined to read more classics (or listen, as the case may be; I mostly listen to classic works of lit since I tend to get bogged down in the language when I read them). 5y
Reviewsbylola I came away feeling inspired too. Not necessarily to read the books he talked about but just to read more classics in general. @Susannah 5y
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Birdsong28
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This is me every year as books and you lovely littens help to keep me sane. Love you all 😘❤️📚📖

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CatLass007

When I first began this book last year, I seem to recall enjoying it. But for some reason, I stopped reading it a little over halfway through. This was when I was trying to read more than one book at a time. Now I‘m finding it somewhat tedious and have started to skim. I will finish it soon and use it as a reference book, I think.

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ThisIsLilli
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This was my reading list from May, all of which I really enjoyed! A very successful month of reading, as was June, which I‘ll be posting soon 😊A Skinful of Shadows was a favourite, as was A Court of Frost and Starlight, and The Year of Reading Dangerously was a great read about reading. All excellent, all 4 or 5 stars! #reading #list #May #monthly #updates

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comics_librarian
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Pickpick

It can't but come across a bit snobbish, but Andy Miller's chronicles of reading for betterment is still inspiring, funny, and honors the importance of literacy and culture in our lives.

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LeslieO
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OMG! I love my #2018NFBE books and goodies. Thank you so much @guinsgirlreads , you nailed it! My favorite genres (books about books and books about Paris!), post-its and cute wine bottle caps!! And the Paris book is include recipes. Can't wait to read these.

guinsgirlreads I had to find some sort of wine goodies for you! Glad you like 👍🏻 6y
heikemarie What cute post it‘s! 6y
LeslieO @guinsgirlreads I love wine goodies! 6y
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shortsarahrose
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Mehso-so

I liked the concept of the author‘s project, and occasionally he hits on something profound about what classic texts can do and mean and why reading them still matters. But too often, he just comes off as being smug and pretentious.

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TaciturnWhenReading
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And so THIS is what was IN all those boxes!!! Woot woot!!!

2BR02B Impressive haul! 👏👏 6y
AmandaL Nice! 6y
AmyG So many wonderful books! 6y
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emilyhaldi Wow!! Nice 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 6y
CoverToCoverGirl My favorite thing... a 🌈 of books! 6y
ElishaLovesBooks Wow! Awesome books! 6y
53 likes6 comments
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2BR02B
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Oddly, I read 18 more books than last year but 2,000 fewer pages. I think I fell into reading ruts more frequently and had to use graphic novels and audiobooks to hoist myself out. Hopefully this year will feature more novels.

#2017stats #Goodreads

HardcoverHearts Great job! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 6y
MrBook Wow! Fantastic! 😁👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Same thing with me: more books read but fewer pages. 6y
PurpleyPumpkin Well done!👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 6y
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Redwritinghood 👏👏👏👏 6y
Eggs 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 6y
DivineDiana 👏🏻📚👏🏻 6y
66 likes6 comments
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megnews
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I did not meet my Goodreads reading challenge of reading 1 more book than last year but I did read quite a few great books this year. The tagged book has inspired me to add some classics for 2018. I‘m going to use Serial Reader for that so I can read in small, less overwhelming segments. Happy reading to all in 2018!

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megnews
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“...I always preferred indoors to outdoors because indoors was where the books were kept.”

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shortsarahrose
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“When I was a boy, I loved reading in just the way Alex does now. But life had separated me from that boy; books had got in the way. Because if I had learned one thing from the List of Betterment, it was that a love of reading and a love of books are not necessarily the same thing.”

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shortsarahrose
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Next up - this looks fascinating and might be good inspiration to tackle some of the classics in 2018 (I almost can‘t believe that we are almost finished with 2017).

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Purrfectpages
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Here's my year in reading...so far! Hope to add a few more to the list before 2018!

DivineDiana 👏🏻📚👏🏻 6y
55 likes1 comment
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Lcsmcat
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Serious reading can be #dangerous. To ignorance, to arrogance, and other assorted ills. #reindeerreads @Jess7

Joanne1 Sounds intriguing. 6y
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megnews
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One chapter in. I can already tell I‘m going to love this book of books. I just hope it doesn‘t expand my tbr too much. 😂

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RobinGustafson
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The footnotes are always worth reading 📖

CrowCAH I agree! 6y
14 likes1 comment
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RobinGustafson
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Time for some dangerous reading before bed

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CatLass007

“I stole away to the spare bedroom when the Pictionary came out. This was not just a great book; it was a great book I could love. Of course, I love my family too, never more so than when in another part of the house, reading about someone else‘s family, long ago and far away.” What reader hasn‘t felt this way?

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CatLass007
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“However, although The da Vinci Code did a whole heap of things defectively, it did one thing stupefyingly well. It was as though Brown had jettisoned all traces of style and credibility from his novel because he had realized, in a flash of Leonardo-like scientific insight, that style and credibility were the very properties preventing his theoretical story balloon from taking flight....

CatLass007 “So they had been tossed over the side, along with beauty, truth and 500 years of literary progress.... (edited) 6y
CatLass007 “To be clear, Dan Brown knows how to tell a story – but there is more to telling a story than just telling the story. Stephen King understands this, as Dew Lee Child and Audrey Niffenegger.” 6y
E.Bolhafner This sounds like my husbands review. We have been listening to his podcast here and there. Very amusing 6y
CatLass007 @Elka 😁 (edited) 6y
64 likes4 comments
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CatLass007
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“I would like Donald Trump‘s billions, without necessarily committing myself to his hair style.”

Tamra Bahahaha! 6y
Rachbb3 Lol 6y
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ReadingSusan 🤣🤣 6y
Mamashep 😂😂😂 6y
WhovianNerd 😆🤣 6y
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DrSabrinaMoldenReads
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Pickpick

Just like my new friend, Andy Miller, I decided to seriously get back into my reading this year. I definitely related to almost all he had to say about the life of a serious reader. So, again, like in many of my favorite books lately, he has helped me really feel less alone. There were some parts I had to skim but when he was hot, he was hot, expressing the reader‘s life, profoundly and eloquently. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BarbaraBB Great picture as well as a great review! 6y
43 likes2 comments
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DrSabrinaMoldenReads
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What was it I got from reading as a child? It fired my imagination and provided me with an escape. Everything in the world of stories was harmonious and fair and I often found it easier to spend time there than in the muddy, idiotic, confusing world of other people.

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DrSabrinaMoldenReads
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“Anna Karenina” was like the real world, only better.

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DrSabrinaMoldenReads
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I think I will keep this theme going a few days. 😍

juliannebenford I picked up a copy of this a few days ago! 6y
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Booksnchill
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#Bookhaul #TbrListExplosion #BookSale awesome books all 10.00 or less and some great editions- sigh, no rest for the weary!

Leftcoastzen Love New York Trilogy! 7y
Booksnchill @Leftcoastzen this is a great cover for this edition! 7y
Susannah These are terrific! I loved The Year of Reading Dangerously. 7y
Booksnchill @Susannah I am looking forward to reading it- I am glad it's good, I bought it because I love a book memoir! 7y
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Lihbih
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Pickpick

Books about books 👌🏽

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Lcsmcat
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And with the tagged book, I completed my #LitsyAtoZ! Here's a collage of the 26 books I read for the challenge.

britt_brooke Great work!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 7y
LeahBergen So many of my favourites in there! ❤️ 7y
JoeStalksBeck 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 7y
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KarenUK 🙌🙌🙌🙌💕 7y
Jas16 Congratulations!🙌🏽 7y
Jbakesmcgee3 Good batch of books! 7y
erzascarletbookgasm So many good ones! Congratulations! 💪🏼👏🏼 7y
BarbaraTheBibliophage Congrats!! 👏🏻👏🏻📚📚🎉🎉 7y
Lcsmcat @JoeStalksBeck, @KarenUK, @Jas16, @Jbakesmcgre3, @etzascarletbookgasm, @BarbaraTheBibliophage Thanks! I loved this challenge because it allowed me to choose a mix of books, lots of which had been on my TBR forever. 7y
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Lcsmcat
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Pickpick

While I didn't agree with Miller's assessment of the books all the time, I do agree with the premise that reading good, or great, books changes you, and that reading is a muscle that gets stronger with use. And the chapter on Dan Brown alone is worth the price of admission. Some of the books on his "List of Betterment" I would not count as "great books" but most are recognized classics. Funny & insightful. #LitsyAtoZ #LetterY @BookishMarginalia

BookishMarginalia 👍🏼👏🏼 7y
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jillannjohn

But do not read, as children read, for fun, or like the ambitious read, for training purposes. No, read for your life. --- Gustave Flaubert

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jillannjohn
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Mehso-so

It wasn't what I expected. I wanted more about the books and less memoir but he did talk me into trying Moby Dick again. And maybe War and Peace.

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Lcsmcat
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