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Post by Mini Mia on Sept 6, 2010 20:32:51 GMT -6
They are romance books, but Jennifer's books don't bother me the way some others do. The female leads seem stronger, or become stronger, and they're full of snark. I love the snark. And I like her male leads better. Plus ... this one had GHOSTS!
Shoot, I don't know why I love her books so much. I just doooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
I've got a thread or two posted on her. Just check out the quick links thread.
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Post by stepper on Sept 6, 2010 21:02:08 GMT -6
Okay. Here's something you probably didn't expect. I'm re-reading Together by dick summer. He used to put his poetry to music on the radio and this, without music of course, is my favorite. My head is attached To our alarm clock Even while the rest of me Sleeps Wrapped around you From loving through the night.
So this morning At the pre-set time My head tried to drag us apart. But my fingers were tangled In your hair, And my legs were trapped Between you thighs.
My head buzzed with "You have bills to pay And things to buy."
Then you pressed your breast Against my chest And turned my mind off.
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Post by Phalon on Sept 9, 2010 22:04:01 GMT -6
How long ago was it that I wrote this? Over a month ago it was; the date on the post in The Box thread says July 31. I finally picked up the book again yesterday, and finished it this evening. It wasn't that I didn't find it interesting - it was, and the author has an almost lyrical quality to her writing. The setting though, is Northeastern Brazil and the writer is a Brazilian-American. A lot of the dialogue is peppered with Portuguese...which looks similar to Spanish....of which I speak neither. Difficulty in understanding some of the dialogue kept me from picking up the book again 'til now (and I've had it for years).
Although the book is a collection of short stories, the fish tale was the first of four intertwined tales that could stand alone, but complete a "novella". In addition to the fish, the cast of characters includes a young girl who competes in guitar slams (the ancient musical version of a poetry slam). There's a sexy priest who accidentally gives himself mercury poisoning, only to commit perhaps the one single sane act of his life, while at the same time going insane in a mission the jungle. Lastly, there is a 125 year old man who seeks out a prophet/alchemist to put an end to the curse of everlasting life laid upon him by a magical, luminous, miracle-granting fish who 55 years earlier was found swimming in an outhouse toilet.
Whew! It's over. And why'd I pick up this book again, and read over half of it in two nights? You two - Joxie, and Stepper - with your mention of romance books and poetry of love, (beautiful poem, btw) made me (gasp!) get a romance story at the library last night. My neighbor and I were sitting on the floor between the book shelves, giggling while reading passages from whatever we pulled off the shelf. One of the Library Biddies came around the corner and "shhhh"ed us, giving us a funny look at the same time. I think, from the sound of our laughter, she expected to be shhhhhing a couple of teenaged girls, not some middle-aged women laughing over cheesy romance passages.
The one I brought home though, looks less like a cheesy romance, and more like a mystery involving a revenge-seeking murderer disguised as a priest, and a woman who finds love-at-first-sight as she follows him. I wonder if there's a magical fish involved somewhere in the plot-line; romantic or not, they always seem to show up when you least expect them.
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Post by Phalon on Sept 9, 2010 22:15:23 GMT -6
OMG, I just went back a page - I actually started reading that book June 13th!!! Three months to read one book? Good thing about library books - I can't take that long to read them because the Biddies are breathing down my neck to get the books back on time.
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Post by Mini Mia on Sept 9, 2010 22:28:35 GMT -6
If you can't beat us, join us.
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Post by Phalon on Sept 11, 2010 21:07:42 GMT -6
Oh, god - does this now mean I'm gonna have to join the Harlequin Book-of-the-Month Club?
Actually I do like a book with a bit of good romance...as a sub-plot. If it's the main subject, it usually tends to follow one of two formulas:
Woman falls for bad boy, against the advice of her best friend who happens to also be a guy, and who has been secretly in love with her since the time they caught tad-poles in the pond when they were kids. She shuns best friend and his advice. Bad boy breaks her heart in some despicable way which causes her to doubt her self-worth. Best friend comes to the rescue, and she then realizes that it's he who she truly loves.
Or...
Strong, independent woman meets bad boy. They have a mutual hatred for each other, but against their will, find each other attractive, though they deny it to themselves vehemently. Some catastrophe occurs in which bad boy saves independent woman, who denies the need to be saved, while at the same time falling into his arms trembling with relief. They then admit to each other and themselves, that despite their previous hatred, they are deeply in love.
Blah.
In the last 10 years or so, I can only remember a handful of romance novels that I truly love: Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" and "Northanger Abbey", and Eric Kraft's "Leaving Small's Hotel" and "Herb and Lorna" - all which have a lot of sarcastic humor and quirky characters running throughout.
I'll let you know if this latest one I got, "The Train Home", falls into the typical formula or sarcastic quirk category....sometime soon, maybe; I haven't even opened it yet.
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Post by stepper on Sept 11, 2010 21:58:07 GMT -6
Add a few words and you've got your first romance novel! Add something about moms, old dogs and beat up trucks plus music and you've got yourself a song for the Grand Ole Opry! Or the opening song for the movie follow up to Deliverance.
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Post by Mini Mia on Sept 11, 2010 22:02:48 GMT -6
There are differences in Romance books. The Romance category line books are the ones that tend to irk me. Like the Harlequin line of books. It's the 'single title' Romance books I find I like better. (Not always, it depends on the genre, and the author.) Such as 'Chick-lit' books. I like Jennifer Crusie, Suzanne Enoch, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, & Toni McGee Causey.
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Post by Phalon on Sept 12, 2010 19:44:04 GMT -6
This reminds me of that old saying about playing a country record backward, (can you do that now with CDs?): you get your wife back, your dog back, your truck back, your trailer back.....
Yanno, you're right. When I think of romance books, it's the Harlequin type books that come to mind, even though I can't remember ever reading one in a line of books like that. The few "romance novels" I had read though - even though they're "single title" books - tend to fall into those two typical stereotype formats.
There is one other I liked that actually I didn't read too long ago. "Joy in the Morning" by Betty Smith is a sweet romance about growing up and facing the world as an adult. It slipped my mind when I posted last night, but I was reminded of it when I started reading "The Train Home". The main female character in both books has a very similar personality, and coincidentally, the same first name.
So far, so good with "The Train Home". I'm halfway through, and not a bit of romance. (eye-roll)
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Post by Mini Mia on Sept 12, 2010 20:40:30 GMT -6
hmm I wonder where "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" would fit in? Is it not a romance? I guess a YA romance? I've read that book several times. I loved the 'Marcy' books too. I've also read "Bianca" by Florence Stevenson & Patricia Hagan Murray several times too. My cousin gave it to me years ago.
So, when I say I don't like romances, I really only mean a certain kind/type/brand of romances. The two I gagged on earlier were both Harlequins. I should have ignored the titles, but they piqued my curiosity. And they weren't that expensive. If they'd been priced higher, I would not have gotten them. However, I do get, and have been, in the mood for them upon occasion, so ... Why, yes, I'm female. So, I'm allowed to change my mind whenever the whimsy takes me.
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Post by Phalon on Sept 12, 2010 21:05:51 GMT -6
I really don't remember much of "The Witch of Blackbird Pond"; I was still in grade school when I read it - it had to be thirty-five years or more ago, and was one of those school book club purchases. I distinctly remember the cover, the female character's name was Kit, and that she lived with her Puritan aunt and uncle, I believe. Other than that, it's pretty much a blank.
Weird, huh? I also distinctly remember the cover to another school book club purchase from third grade - "What the Witch Left". Again, despite the cover clearly being etched in my mind, I don't remember any details of the book.
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Post by Mini Mia on Sept 12, 2010 21:14:00 GMT -6
I don't think I've read that book. I'll have to see if I can find it and see what it's about.
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Post by Phalon on Sept 15, 2010 7:02:19 GMT -6
I looked it up to refresh my memory because all I really remember was the cover, and loving the story. Given your interest in writing stories for children, Joxie, I think you'd like this one if you could get your hands on a copy; it's currently out of print. Here's Amazon's page on "What the Witch Left"; it gets five stars in customer review ratings. www.amazon.com/What-Witch-Left-Ruth-Chew/dp/0590455311What's really interesting to me, was reading the comments from readers, and how well-loved and well-remembered, (unlike myself), even now decades later, this book was by those who read it. I would have liked to find those old books from my childhood when going through Mom's house. Shoot - she saved everything else from when we were kids, but I didn't find any of those books - the Nancy Drew mysteries, the Little House books; probably The Witch of Blackbird Pond would have been in the bunch, as well as Island of the Blue Dolphins, another favorite. They could be down in the basement, of course; we haven't gone through that yet. My room was cleared of my stuff long ago; being the oldest child, I was the first to leave home, and my room was given to one of my brother's so they wouldn't have to double-up. But drat - if they are in the basement, I know they'd be too musty to save. Musty books are hell on my allergies.
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Post by Mini Mia on Sept 15, 2010 16:43:05 GMT -6
I looked up the book and found it had good ratings. There are other books with 'Witch' in the title, but I didn't check to see if it was a series or just single stories about different witches. I found the author's website too. Maybe I should have posted it. Perhaps later.
I don't know if you like reading on the computer, but I read one person's comments on another site about how they scan all the pages of books they buy and read them on their computers. I think they tear the pages out, because they mentioned they'd buy two of their favorite books so they could have one for safe keeping.
You can also put the books in a storage container and add a bowl/jar/box of baking soda to absorb as much of the odor as possible, then add a bit of vinegar, baking soda & dishwasher detergent (non-suds) to a bucket of water and wipe the covers/edges of the books with a damp cloth. Then maybe put them in a dry/airy area to let them air out. If that doesn't work, and if they're in pretty good condition, you can sell them at a used book store/eBay, or donate them to a library. Or do the book swap/book crossing thing. -- I'd say give them to your daughters, but they'd probably have the same reaction as you do.
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Post by Phalon on Sept 15, 2010 22:11:26 GMT -6
I've tried vinegar, and also baking soda a couple of times - for books and other things, with mixed success. In an antique shop, I once found the matching dresser to one I had at home that was originally my grandmother's. I got the musty smell out of the drawers by washing them down with white vinegar and water, then placing bowls of baking soda in them, leaving it there for about a week. It did the trick.
I tried the baking soda thing with one of those old dictionaries I collect. While the musty smell wasn't as strong, it still made my nose crinkle and itch, and my eyes water even after being enclosed with baking soda for a week.
I think anything in Mom's basement would have to be closed up for months with baking soda, and power washed with vinegar. It's part of the reason we haven't tackled it yet. She had a water pipe down there burst a number of years ago, and flood the basement. Though everything that got wet was trashed or throughly cleaned, and the basement's been dry for years, it still smells dank. Not to mention the spiders. I think half the spider population in Michigan lives in Mom's basement!
So....I finished "The Train Home" tonight. A good book - enjoyable, but not mind-blowing. I loved the character development though, and the flashbacks that introduced me to them, and made me like them. It definitely was a love story, but as far away from a Harlequin-type romance as I think you could get. Not a single kiss in the entire book, except between secondary characters in past lives. The two main characters didn't even really meet or have a face-to-face honest-to-goodness conversation until the last chapter. It was mostly a love story about not losing a love for life for one character, and the rediscovery of how to love life for the other. In the end, they discover each other, and realize the possibility of love might exist for them. A sweet story.
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Post by Mini Mia on Sept 16, 2010 22:50:54 GMT -6
If I were you, I'd use a bug bomb on the basement before clearing it out. I'd also wear gloves to protect my hands from spiders. I did that today when putting the screens back in the windows. Don't want to feel any spiders crawling on my hands.
I read a couple of Harlequins written by the same author, and the heroines kinda/sorta thought the heroes were interested in them, but they were so busy with their jobs throughout most of the book, until the end, and the heroes were like, of course we love you silly, why couldn't you see that? BOTH BOOKS! I'll never read that author again. Shoot I can't remember the name of the author now, but I think I would if I ever saw it again.
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Post by Phalon on Oct 8, 2010 20:43:15 GMT -6
I read almost, but not quite, as much as Joxie read during the 17 books in 15 days of ice storm blackout - I got through 17 magazines in 7 days.
It was for a community project that takes place tomorrow - the 350.org 10/10/10 global work day. 350 is the parts per million of atmospheric carbon that will allow the earth to sustain itself in an equilibrium without global climate change progressing any. Right now we are above that level at just over 390 parts per million of carbon in the atmosphere. October 10, 2010 has been set aside for communities across the globe to take part in efforts to reach the 350 goal. Nearly 7,000 events in almost 200 countries will take place this weekend.
Our town is doing a recycling awareness event at the Farmer's Market tomorrow (the market is closed on Sunday, the 10th). For this event, I volunteered our family to get trashy in public. We saved all our recycling for one month to show what a typical family of four can do to reduce the carbon level in just a very short time. For example, a three foot stack of paper is the equivalent of one tree. One tree sequesters 60 pounds of carbon per year.
So...on to my 17 magazines; it's the perfect time to get rid of them, although I couldn't just put them in the recycling display - I had to read each and every one of them first. I had a small stack of a women's magazines Mom sent me; she thought I should become familiar with it, and then submit a story to the editors. I was actually published in the magazine twice (the last one was my bra story taken from my posts in the A-cup thread here...it was the last issue of the magazine; I've always wondered if it was coincidence it went out of business after my bra story appeared in it. eye-roll). I never read the magazines though; they've sat in a box next to my desk, under my to-be-read book stack for about three years. Into the recycling display they went....after I read finally sat down to read them.
The rest of the 17 were magazines I have subscriptions for that have piled up since August. I have four magazine subscriptions; one seems to send a magazine every two weeks. I only want two of these subscriptions....and have only wanted two for the last few years. I think Hubs, at one time, must have paid those "last chance; special offer" renewal orders every time they came. I've been waiting for those subscriptions to run out forever it seems.
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Post by Mini Mia on Oct 11, 2010 16:24:23 GMT -6
Insatiable by Meg Cabot
I didn't much care for the way this book ended.
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Post by Mini Mia on Oct 30, 2010 17:52:40 GMT -6
Okay. I thought that book was a stand-alone, but have learned it will be a trilogy ... so maybe I'll like this book better once I've read the whole completed story.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 3, 2010 16:33:08 GMT -6
Trust Me on This by Jennifer Crusie
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Post by Phalon on Nov 5, 2010 6:43:45 GMT -6
Thud! Oh why can't daylight savings time start today? I could have used an extra hour of sleep! I starting reading a book last night, and couldn't go to bed until I finished it.
It was "The Drowning of Stephan Jones" by Bette Greene; the book LX picked for her English class assignment for Banned Book Week.
The story is about a girl's choice to follow her moral obligation to stand up for what she knows is wrong, or follow the crowd just to fit in, be one of the popular kids, and have a boyfriend. When a gay couple moves to a small town in the Bible Belt, they are persecuted by religious zealots with a twisted sense of righteousness, and harassed and bullied by a group of high-school students, the ring-leader of which is the girl's new boyfriend. Does the girl speak up and stop the bullying even though the views of her new "friends" and her boyfriend disgust her. Eventually...but not until it's too late for one of the gay men.
The book was banned in schools in Texas, South Carolina, and Wisconsin for its homophobic language, and stereotypical views of religious righteousness. Ironically, the girl's mother in the book was a librarian who fought for any injustice that came her way, including the right to keep books on her libraries shelves that spoke out against what the townspeople saw as an affront to God and government.
A good book dealing with hatred, mob-mentality, homophobia, moral obligations, although it could have been more developed in places. But then again, its age group is 14 and up.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 5, 2010 22:08:40 GMT -6
I don't get banning books. If you don't want _your_ kids, grandkids, to read certain books, don't let them. Maybe even send a list to the teachers/libraries to let them know to keep them away from their kids ... but to ban books so not even kids whose parents are okay with _their_ kids reading them? No way.
Parent your kids, and let other parents parent theirs. Or send them to schools that think like you do, where there won't be such books for them to come across. Shoot. Homeschool.
I don't want the Bible or Christian books banned, so I'm not gonna go around banning books I don't like/agree with, cause it might come back to bite me big time. Freedom ... it's a double-edged sword. You can't take away someone else's rights and expect to keep your own.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 6, 2010 6:53:10 GMT -6
I agree, Joxie, that the banning books shouldn't be left up to school administrations. It's the parents who should restrict what their child reads if they see fit, and not try to impose those restrictions on children who are not their own. Objections raised by the parents of one child, shouldn't be imposed on the rest of the school or school district. I was surprised to learn that some of the school book bannings where due to the objections of the parent of just one child.
When LX had to choose what book she was going to use for the assignment, I was also surprised to see some of the titles on the banned book list. The Harry Potter series, for example, has been banned by Zeeland Public Schools....a school district not too far from here. And as late as 1987, the American Heritage Dictionary was banned in Anchorage, Alaska schools for containing "objectionable" words.
One of the most ironic bannings was "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury. The book itself is about censorship and those who ban books for fear of creating too much individualism and independent thought. It was removed from the required reading list in a school in Mississippi, when one parent complained that the phrase "god damn" appeared in the book. One parent, one phrase, and the book gets banned.
I honestly thought banning books was a thing of the past. What's really strange, I think, is when books are banned from public libraries!
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 6, 2010 18:00:29 GMT -6
Pastors at my church preach against horror movies/books, and Harry Potter books, etc. I LOVE scary movies/books, and I continue to watch/read them. I haven't read the HP books, but only because they haven't caught my interest. And I know of several kids at church who do read HP, so their parents are okay with it. It's the witchcraft, and spells, in the books that have them being made targets. "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." Glamorizing witchcraft is a no-no, it could turn susceptible kids away from the Bible.
I say, don't put blindfolds on ... that is what makes a child more susceptible down the road when alone. So let kids read books with viewpoints other than the ones you live, and explain to them where that viewpoint is wrong ... so when alone, and bombarded by peer pressure, they're less apt to falter.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 16, 2010 7:27:20 GMT -6
Sunday was an icky day here - cold, wet, and windy. The perfect kind of day to stay inside, wrapped up in a quilt with a book. Determined to get through the books I have, but haven't read, I just pulled one off my shelf without really caring what it was: "An Unexpected Family" by "USA Today bestselling author" Joan Medlicott.
This was not the type of book I'd normally purchase or check out from the library; it was in Mom's nightstand drawer when we cleaned out her stuff from the nursing home, and I just brought it home with me. It's more her type of book than mine - a Hallmark movie sort of story.
Apparently there's a whole series of books revolving around these same characters in a tiny hamlet of North Carolina. It was pretty predictable, and I thought the dialogue was flat; it didn't seem to contain the emotion that the situation warrented. When the often talked about bad guy finally makes an appearance, his character didn't fit with what was discussed in the story prior.
I can definitely see Mom liking it - an all's well that ends well type of story. I thought it was a so-so book, not one to entice me to read any other in the series, though it was a okay quick read for a lazy stay-inside Sunday afternoon.
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 16, 2010 22:45:06 GMT -6
Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris
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Post by Phalon on Dec 20, 2010 10:29:27 GMT -6
Over the last week, BP read to me one of her books from a Scholastic Book order (it's nice to know some things don't go out of style; I used to love ordering books from Scholastic when I was in school). It's a book she read a couple of times before - one I've heard of, but never read myself: Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner. OMG - I was sobbing throughout the entire last chapter. Why do all these classic dog stories end with the dog dying? She also ordered another dog story. Next up: "Old Yeller". Sigh.At least she hasn't got to "Where the Red Fern Grows" yet! Oh, and while I'm here... This is for you, Joxie. Don't feed it to the dog; I can't handle another sad dog story.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 27, 2010 7:19:36 GMT -6
Anyone get any books for Christmas?
I had one book on my list. I put it there because it was something I'd never buy for myself because I couldn't decide if I actually wanted it. I'd never check it out from the library either, because I'd never get through it before it was due, and then I'd have the Library Biddies breathing down my neck.
I'd browsed it many times in a shop downtown, reading a passage here, and a page there. Interesting stuff, but it's not a book I could sit down and read cover-to-cover. It's more the kind of book I'd pick up every once in a while, flip through, land on a page and start reading, maybe finishing the chapter, maybe not.
It's called "Everything You Can Do In The Garden Without Actually Gardening" by Philippa Lewis. With chapters like "A Place of Escape and Inspiration", "A Place For Eating, Drinking, and Smoking", "A Place for Love, Flirtation and Unwanted Advances", it's a history book of how, throughout the ages, humans have created "our own kingdoms to do precisely what we want" within the boundaries of our gardens. Pictures of famous paintings, of old gardening type advertisements, and photos break up the text on every page.
Hubs got it for me, and I decided I wanted it after-all.
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 27, 2010 20:33:08 GMT -6
Nope, no books for Christmas.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 29, 2010 8:03:02 GMT -6
Is that a good thing or a bad thing, Joxie? Do you prefer to choose your own books, or will you read anything that comes your way? Choosing what to read, I think, is often a very personal thing.
I'm kind of mixed. I love getting books, but my tastes are kind of strange. It's not often someone picks out a novel for me that I absolutely love, love, love. There are exceptions, of course. I've received books that I now cherish and will never part with, but usually I'm one of those people who has to read a bunch of pages first before I decide if I really want to either buy the book, or check it out from the library. Reading the synopsis just doesn't cut it most times, which is one reason I rarely mail-order or buy books online, even to give as gifts. I've ordered books that sounded great, and when they arrive, they're duds.
I'll read what ever is put in front of me, though.....eventually (I've still got books from last Christmas I haven't gotten around to yet, as well as a stack I purchased myself over the years).
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