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Too Like the Lightning
Too Like the Lightning | Ada Palmer
Mycroft Canner is a convict. For his crimes he is required, as is the custom of the 25th century, to wander the world being as useful as he can to all he meets. Carlyle Foster is a sensayer--a spiritual counselor in a world that has outlawed the public practice of religion, but which also knows that the inner lives of humans cannot be wished away. The world into which Mycroft and Carlyle have been born is as strange to our 21st-century eyes as ours would be to a native of the 1500s. It is a hard-won utopia built on technologically-generated abundance, and also on complex and mandatory systems of labelling all public writing and speech. What seem to us normal gender distinctions are now distinctly taboo in most social situations. And most of the world's population is affiliated with globe-girdling clans of the like-minded, whose endless economic and cultural competion is carefully managed by central planners of inestimable subtlety. To us it seems like a mad combination of heaven and hell. To them, it seems like normal life. And in this world, Mycroft and Carlyle have stumbled on the wild card that may destablize the system: the boy Bridger, who can effortlessly make his wishes come true. Who can, it would seem, bring inanimate objects to life...
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blurb
majkia

Complex, futuristic world filled with interacting characters whose motives are hard to understand. The narrator is admitedly unreliable. A tiny bit of magic, the rest is futuristic and surprising. No nations left, religion rejected, morality left to self-chosen groups who all have differing ideas. A hard read, but a deeply intriguing one.

#Roll100 @PuddleJumper

PuddleJumper 🎉🎉 6mo
The_Book_Ninja Struggled with this book. I was equally baffled and bored. There‘s 3 more in the series I think 6mo
majkia @The_Book_Ninja Definitely not an easy read. 6mo
26 likes3 comments
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HeyT
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Pickpick

I can see why people say this series is really two duoligies. The end of this felt very much like a chapter ending versus a book ending and I‘m a bit sad I have other commitments causing me to put the next one off.

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HeyT
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#BookReport
Managed to finish two books this week but neither were super exciting to me. I'm also really close to finishing the tagged.

#WeeklyForecast
My goal this week is to finish the tagged and hopefully make good progress in My Real Children because I'd like to move on to Memory Called Empire and finish it before the end of the month.

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HeyT
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My commute book has now become my workout book since I‘m starting my fitness journey. The tagged is definitely different enough to hold its own against what ever noise is pumped through the gym speakers. I‘m about 50% through and have no idea where it‘s going. I‘ve been told the one big question I have about it doesn‘t really get addressed until book four. (!)

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HeyT
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#BookReport
Managed to finish both of the books I started last year but didn't finish. I enjoyed both very much!

#WeeklyForecast
Goal this week is to make inroads into the three books I have going now. Tagged is my commute book, Fuzz is for work, and Briar King is my BookSpin.

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JuliaTheBookNerd
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#Lightning ⚡️ #BookBinge 📚❤️📚

#BookNerd 🤓💙📚

Eggs Beautiful 💛⚡️🧡 1y
49 likes1 comment
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encinarus
Pickpick

I'm torn on pick vs pan. The parts I liked, I quite liked! But then the narration veers heavily into WTF am I reading right now? Then back to story and plot and intrigue and mystery and world building. It's a very confusing book. The first section had me wondering if I was just too dumb to understand, but got better from there, but then ends more like part 1 than book 1. Despite that, it's very interesting and different, so I'm moving on to #2.

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encinarus

About a sixth through this and... It's weird. Interesting. Futuristic. Some bits are maybe problematic, though I think there's potential world building which explains it away.

For the first 5-10% though, the narrative is awkward. Might be better read vs listened (I'm listening and have wanted to reference stuff 5-10 mins earlier). It seems to be getting better though so I'll stick with it at least a bit longer.

encinarus Made more progress on this. It's interesting, but at times the narration takes very jarring jaunts. Describing someone and then pausing the story to spend a bit of time being like DID I JUST TURN YOU ON DEAR READER? Also jarring are how hyper competent and trusted certain people in the story are, despite being like... 20 2y
3 likes1 comment
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traa
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Pickpick

I waffled on my rating for this one, but ultimately it‘s a pick because the parts I enjoyed, I really enjoyed - and I‘m planning to pick up the sequel (more the second half of the book than a sequel, really)

shanaqui I had a similar waffly feeling about this one! There was stuff I loved, and it felt so clever... but there was some stuff I really didn't care for, too. 3y
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Therewillbebooks
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Just started this, trying to work on my #tbr pile. It's a strange book, trying to figure out what's going on. In a good way though! More intriguing than frustrating.

#septemberbooks #scifi

Josee.lit.a.lu.et.lira What a singular premise. Thanks for the highlight, 📚 for me 🙂 4y
19 likes1 comment
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Feenbraut
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Hello everybody. Has any of you read this book? I am 30 pages in and cant understand shit 😩 Is it a bit complex or am I stupid?

WintersNight Hey! This is one of my favorite books of all time! I know this post was from a while ago so how‘s you make out? 3y
Feenbraut I did not make it through the book. Lets see what I remember. Somebody was able to bring mini soldiers to life aaaaand…mmmmh. Do you think I should give it another go? What made this book one of your favs? 3y
1 like2 comments
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twohectobooks
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Pickpick

Was reading this with my sister and I ploughed right through it in a hurry and I don‘t think she‘s even finished it yet ie this won‘t be for everyone.
Ada Palmer is an historian and she‘s used her knowledge of the past as a foreign country to create a very foreign and intriguing future. My main complaint is that I wish this book was more of a complete package - NOTHING is really resolved at the end. But the sequel is on my shelf, ready to read.

WintersNight One of my favorite books of all time. I‘m about to start the sequel! 3y
twohectobooks @WintersNight I didn‘t like the second book quite as much BUT I do have the third one on my shelf waiting for me to read it. 3y
WintersNight @twohectobooks just enough time for you to finish it before the final book comes out in October! 3y
14 likes3 comments
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twohectobooks
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Reading this with my sister. I‘m only 75 pages in but I‘m interested to see where it‘ll go.

Melissa_J I have all three books in this trilogy. Haven‘t read the first one yet so I hope I like it! Will be waiting for your review. 5y
17 likes1 comment
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shanaqui
Mehso-so

I... don't think I liked it? But I also feel like it's entirely possible the second book will flip everything round and make it all worth it. It's kind of infuriating.

There's a lot of interesting stuff here, it's just it's hard to judge it without the rest of the story. And I don't know if I have the stamina to read another book like this right now!

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shanaqui

There's a lot of fascinating stuff here and a satisfying denseness, but I feel like mostly I'm hanging on for the payoff, and it had better be good.

I really loathe the narrator and his gender essentialist crap. And I'm hoping his past actions remain monstrous and don't turn out to be for the best somehow, because ew.

Megabooks How‘s your bun? 5y
shanaqui @Megabooks He's still rolling when he gets overexcited, but I think he's a bit less disorientated? His head is still very twisted, though. I don't know how long it takes for those symptoms to start to resolve (if they're going to); our vet's been very vague on that and about when they're going to start assessing whether he's going to recover enough for his life to be worth it. :/ 5y
shanaqui @Megabooks Definitely no GI stasis, despite all the stress, which is one very good thing!

And though he's never been the kind of bun to groom anyone but his bonded friend, last night when I was holding him he started grooming me for the first time in his life. Despite all we've been doing to him with the meds and the cone! I burst into tears...
5y
Megabooks That is so sweet re: grooming!! From what I remember from school and from my first year in practice, it really hard to tell how well/if he‘s going to recover until everything has nearly resolved. It‘s just soooo difficult to treat! I‘m really glad he doesn‘t have GI stasis. That‘s fantastic!! 5y
shanaqui @Megabooks Yeah, we got one bun through GI stasis earlier this year so we used every trick we learnt from that to keep him going (mostly: really persistently get some food into him every three hours, including during the night -- all hail my wife for doing the night shift) and it's paid off. Despite how sick he is, we haven't had to worry at all on that front.

Thanks for sharing your experience, btw -- it's really helpful to just be able to chat.
5y
11 likes5 comments
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lorannen
Mehso-so

I don't think I've ever been fascinated by a book in which I so thoroughly hated the narrator before. Still debating whether I'll pick up the next one in the series.

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shanaqui

I'm having a hard time with this... I don't know if it's the book itself, or just worry making it hard to concentrate enough.

(Worry because one of our #BunniesofLitsy is sick. It's Breakfast, this time -- he's probably got E. cuniculi. It's early days, so no telling how things are going to go, but cross fingers for us.)

thegirlwiththelibrarybag Fingers crossed! 5y
rabbitprincess ♥️♥️♥️🐰♥️♥️♥️ 5y
Karkar Sending healing thoughts for Breakfast ❤️🐰 5y
Hufflepuffle Oh poor bunny! Lots of love and healing vibes sent to breakfast and you! ❤️ horrible being a bunny mum when they get sick 5y
shanaqui Thanks all. Things have got a bit worse so far, but we're told that happens with this. We're hanging in there. 5y
12 likes5 comments
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michaelmcgee
Panpan

2/5

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JuliaTheBookNerd
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1️⃣ Construction starts today on my new house 🙌🏻
2️⃣ I can‘t wait to move to my new neighborhood 😍
3️⃣ Too Like The Lightning by Ada Palmer ⚡️
4️⃣ The morning before work 🌅
5️⃣ Butternut Squash Soup 🥣 🥰

#friYAYintro #BookNerd 💙📚🤓

Susanita New house!! 💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽 6y
Littlestbookshelf How exciting!! 6y
Bklover I love dark green shutters!! 6y
tournevis 🕺💃🕺💃🕺💃 6y
66 likes4 comments
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JuliaTheBookNerd
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#FebruaryFavs ❤️ #LiteraryLove ❤️📚

#BookNerd 💙📚🤓

businessmermaid I love that series so much! 6y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 💗💗💗 6y
68 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Anton
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Pickpick

This book is wild. At times, nearly incomprehensible. I almost gave up on it a few times. But after a while things fell into place, and by the back half I couldn‘t put it down. Which isn‘t to say I‘m ready to dive into the next book in the series, because my brain needs a rest before spending another minute in the head of Mycroft Canner. But I will be continuing with Seven Surrenders soon. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

7 likes1 stack add
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shanaqui

I am all at sea with this one. Can definitely see Jo's influence, though: it reminds me of THE JUST CITY, like a similar idea from a different angle.

7 likes1 stack add
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slightlyfoxed
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Today in #bookmailisthebestmail: I supported a fundraiser for Volumes Bookcafe and this is my reward! I loved Too Like the Lightning the first time around, so I‘m excited to reread it and jump into the sequels. (Fun fact: Ada Palmer is a professor at UChicago, my alma mater!)

dylanisreading What does she teach? 7y
slightlyfoxed @Bianca History, mostly related to Italy and the Renaissance! 7y
13 likes2 comments
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Anton

“This time of day he would probably have mustered the baggy shirt and moplike straw brown wig he wore at home to keep visitors and low-ranking guards from recognizing him, but he was not yet awake enough to achieve pants.”

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Divinenanny
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Pickpick

Read this for the #torbookclub. When I read about this book on forums most people said they found it hard to get into, complicated. But I loved it. Rational/theological science fiction, that's my jam! I loved the world building, language used, style, and story. Can't wait to read the rest of the series (but budget says I must 😕). 5/5 stars #sf #near-future #theological #ebookonly #freebook

2 likes1 stack add
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Anton
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Tor.com had this book for free this month, so I decided to finally move it off my TBR list. It‘s a challenging read so far, but sometimes those are the ones that prove to be the most satisfying. (Other times they end up as DNFs.)

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BookishTrish
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Divinenanny
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Starting a new book with a baby sleeping on me. No better Saturday morning feeling! #readingwithbaby #baby #adapalmer #sf #torbookclub

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BookishTrish
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I love when the day of the year it actually is shows up in the book I‘m reading #itsthelittlethings

mandapants How often does that happen?! 7y
TorieStorieS I especially love when my birthday shows up in a book!! 🎉 7y
BookishTrish @mandapants Like rarely? 7y
marineko I love this book! 😍 7y
57 likes4 comments
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Vinjii
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I‘m still reading this wonderful science fiction book but at the same time I‘m cataloguing all my books on Library Thing and now I‘m sad I didn‘t discover this tool sooner. I will spend hours tagging and organising everything! So glad to have found this! 😍 #librarything

leahbird Welcome to LT! I'm new here from there and happy to find the community as friendly here as our LT home. 7y
Vinjii @leahbird I love what I‘ve seen of LT so far. Slowly adding my books! And I hope you like Litsy! 7y
leahbird @Vinjii I do! 7y
45 likes3 comments
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shanaqui

You can get this free from the Tor Book Club at the moment if you live in the US or Canada! I will be making a challenge for a readalong on Habitica, but anyone wanna buddy read on here?

My travel has begun now. Guy on platform eagerly opening your Amazon parcel full of books: yes! You are my people! Enjoy your books! I will not disturb your delight but simply enjoy it!

llwheeler I'd be up for it ☺ 7y
Jinjer Book sounds interesting! 7y
8 likes2 comments
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Vinjii
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This is the book of the month you can download for free if you live in North America, over at Tor‘s bookclub. It‘s been on my wish list for a while. It has a gorgeous cover. It was a finalist for the Hugo award in 2017. The events are set in 2454, it‘s science fiction and the writing style is surprisingly novel. So far, I‘m enjoying myself a lot.

DuckOfDoom I bought it on a whim when I visited my bookstore last time. They have so little sci-fi books that every time I see something new I have to buy it. Can't wait to get started! 7y
Vinjii @DuckOfDoom The prose takes some time to get used to but I‘m loving it! 7y
38 likes2 comments
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BooksAtNight
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Did you know Tor.com has an eBook club where they choose an eBook every month to share with SFF lovers? It‘s totally free and the books work on Kindle and iBooks. All you have to do is sign up for their newsletter. I just grabbed my copy of Too Like the Lightning today and can‘t wait to dive in since it‘s been on my TBR for basically forever.

dylanisreading This has been on my tbr too! 7y
BookishTrish Me too! 7y
18 likes2 comments
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Carolyn11215
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To all the Litten sci-if/fantasy lovers...are you a member of Tor‘s ebook club? Free download of one of their books each month during a window of about 3 days.

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Sue
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First page contains content warnings. Cool!

66 likes2 stack adds
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anabelstl
Pickpick

Complex, engaging world- and character-building mixed with examinations of philosophy, religion, and gender. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

RaimeyGallant Nice review. :) Welcome to Litsy! #LitsyWelcomeWagon Some of us put together Litsy tips to help new Littens navigate the site. It's the link in my bio on my page in case you're interested. :) 7y
2 likes1 comment
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slightlyfoxed
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For the @thereadingwomen #thereadingwomen #readathon challenge: all of my signed books by women authors. One of my favorite job perks is having the opportunity to get so many amazing books signed by amazing authors.

6 likes1 stack add
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HaphazardSE
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Going to read a few chapters of this before heading to bed.

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allusory
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Climbing back in bed with the cats to read for a bit. #catsoflitsy #lazyafternoon

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BookishTrish
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Today in #bookishconfessions I'm returning 7 of the beauties to the library utterly unread #TBRSOT (to be read some other time)

Zelma I do that all the time. I get a variety at the library and then realize none fit my mood when I actually start reading. 8y
BookishTrish @Zelma it's funny how that happens. 8y
Zelma @BookishTrish I honestly don't remember the last time I read my entire library stack. 😳😆 8y
See All 6 Comments
Jas16 I did that yesterday. I bought 12 books this week and have not read a single book from my own shelves this month. I am determined to change that this weekend 8y
8leagueboot I'm always over eager in the library and always end up with a stack of books I haven't completed! 8y
Suet624 I feel guilty when I return unread books. But I feel guilty quite easily. 😁 8y
55 likes1 stack add6 comments
review
jesstothefuture
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Pickpick

This book is about a future influenced by the Enlightenment, full of political intrigue, and does weird things with gender. In short, I loved it. 5/5 stars

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BuechergnomMimi
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Mehso-so

I really like the way she writes, but at the end, there's too much deity in it for me. But a nice read for anyone who's ok with that 😋

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BuechergnomMimi
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My read for the weekend

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kammartinez
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Pickpick

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ of 5 ⭐️s

Full review here: http://wp.me/p21txV-A3

If you don't like rambly prose or a minimal(ist) plot, you might not like this book. There isn't a lot of action, and much of it is lost in the midst of the twisting, tangled narration. But if you're the patient sort of reader, the kind who's willing to take the author's hand and let go, then this book will reward you with mindblowing worldbuilding and amazing ideas.

26 likes1 stack add
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kammartinez
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kammartinez
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kammartinez
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I've had this book in my TBR since release, and I'm getting on it now because it's the next book on the docket for the bookish podcast project my friend and I are working on :D.

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RobLef
Pickpick

Historically-influenced sci-fi

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MidwestCrazed
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So good and so unique. Definitely making waiting during gymnastics go faster. #allisnotlost

2 likes1 stack add
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Bokayokay
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Pickpick

I couldn't explain the politics, but I'm breathing them!