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The Comfort Of Saturdays (Isabel Dalhousie Novels #5)
by Alexander McCall SmithIsabel Dalhousie is a new mother and a connoisseur of philosophy; she'd rather not be a sleuth. But when a chance conversation at a dinner party draws her into the case of a doctor whose career has been ruined, she cannot ignore what may be a miscarriage of justice. Because for Isabel ethics are not theoretical at all, but an everyday matter of life and death. As she attempts to unravel the truth behind Dr Thompson's disgrace, Isabel's patient intelligence is also required to deal with challenges in her own life. There is her baby son Charlie; Cat's deli to look after, not to mention her vulnerable assistant Eddie; and a mysterious and unlikeable composer who has latched on to Jamie, making Isabel fear for the future of her new family. Isabel treads a difficult path between trust and gullibility, philanthropy and interference, while keeping in her sights the small but certain comforts of family, philosophy and a fine Saturday morning.
The Comforters (Virago Modern Classics #350)
by Muriel Spark'The greatest Scottish novelist of modern times.' Ian RankinIn this first novel by Muriel Spark - author of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - the only things that aren't ambiguous are Spark's matchless originality and glittering wit.With an introduction by Ali Smith.Caroline Rose is plagued by the tapping of typewriter keys and the strange, detached narration of her every thought and action. She has an unusual problem - she realises she is in a novel. Her fellow characters are also possibly deluded: Laurence, her former lover, finds diamonds in a loaf of bread - could his elderly grandmother really be a smuggler? And Baron Stock, her bookseller friend, believes he is on the trail of England's leading Satanist.'A master of malice and mayhem.' Michiko Kakutani, New York Times'Brilliantly original and fascinating.' Evelyn Waugh'A light, clever, mirthful tour de force ... It disrupts and charms its readers with its combination of wit, precision, intelligence and hilarity. As vibrant as ever, more than fifty years after its first appearance.' Ali Smith
The Comforters (Vmc Ser. #698)
by Muriel Spark'The greatest Scottish novelist of modern times.' Ian RankinIn this first novel by Muriel Spark - author of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - the only things that aren't ambiguous are Spark's matchless originality and glittering wit.With an introduction by Ali Smith.Caroline Rose is plagued by the tapping of typewriter keys and the strange, detached narration of her every thought and action. She has an unusual problem - she realises she is in a novel. Her fellow characters are also possibly deluded: Laurence, her former lover, finds diamonds in a loaf of bread - could his elderly grandmother really be a smuggler? And Baron Stock, her bookseller friend, believes he is on the trail of England's leading Satanist.'A master of malice and mayhem.' Michiko Kakutani, New York Times'Brilliantly original and fascinating.' Evelyn Waugh'A light, clever, mirthful tour de force ... It disrupts and charms its readers with its combination of wit, precision, intelligence and hilarity. As vibrant as ever, more than fifty years after its first appearance.' Ali Smith
The Comic Everywoman in Irish Popular Theatre: Political Melodrama, 1890-1925 (Palgrave Studies in Comedy)
by Susanne CollearyThis book is a comprehensive study of comic women in performance as Irish Political Melodrama from 1890 to 1925. It maps out the performance contexts of the period, such as Irish “poor” theatre both reflecting and complicating narratives of Irish Identity under British Rule. The study investigates the melodramatic aesthetic within these contexts and goes on to analyse a selection of the melodramas by the playwrights J.W. Whitbread and P.J. Bourke. In doing so, the analyses makes plain the comic structures and intent that work across both character and action, foregrounding comic women at the centre of the discussion. Finally, the book applies a “practice as research” dimension to the study. Working through a series of workshops, rehearsals and a final performance, Colleary investigates comic identity and female performance through a feminist revisionist lens. She ultimately argues that the formulation of the Comic Everywoman as staged “Comic” identity can connect beyond the theatre to her “Everyday” self. This book is intended for those interested in theatre histories, comic women and in popular performance.
The Comic Imagination in Modern African Literature and Cinema: A Poetics of Laughter (Routledge Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Literature)
by Maik NwosuThis book is a seminal study that significantly expands the interdisciplinary discourse on African literature and cinema by exploring Africa’s under-visited carnivalesque poetics of laughter. Focusing on modern African literature as well as contemporary African cinema, particularly the direct-to-video Nigerian film industry known as Nollywood, the book examines the often-neglected aesthetics of the African comic imagination. In modern African literature, which sometimes creatively traces a path back to African folklore, and in Nollywood — with its aesthetic relationship to Onitsha Market Literature — the pertinent styles range from comic simplicitas to comic magnitude with the facilitation of language, characterization, and plot by a poetics of laughter or lightness as an important aspect of style. The poetics at work is substantially carnivalesque, a comic preference or tendency that is attributable, in different contexts, to a purposeful comic sensibility or an unstructured but ingrained or virtual comic mode. In the best instances of this comic vision, the characteristic laughter or lightness can facilitate a revaluation or reappreciation of the world, either because of the aesthetic structure of signification or the consequent chain of signification. This referentiality or progressive signification is an important aspect of the poetics of laughter as the African comic imagination variously reflects, across genres, both the festival character of comedy and its pedagogical value. This book marks an important contribution to African literature, postcolonial literature, world literature, comic imagination, poetics, critical theory, and African cinema.
The Comic Toolbox: How To Be Funny Even If You're Not
by John VorhausA workbook approach to comedy writing as creative problem-solving. It offers tools of the trade such as Clash of Context, Tension and Release, The Law of Comic Opposites, The Wildly Inappropriate Response, and The Myth of the Last Great Idea to writers, comics, and anyone else who wants to be funny.
The Coming of Bill
by P. G. WodehouseThis book tells the story of Kirk Winfield, his marriage to Ruth, and their child called Bill. Bill's upbringing is threatened by the interference of Ruth's busybody writer aunt, Mrs Lora Delane Porter.
The Company: A Novel of the CIA
by Robert LittellThis realistic New York Times–bestselling epic spy novel captures the thrilling story of CIA agents in the latter half of the Twentieth Century.The New York Times bestselling spy novel The Company lays bare the history and inner workings of the CIA. This critically acclaimed blockbuster from internationally renowned novelist Robert Littell seamlessly weaves together history and fiction to create a multigenerational, wickedly nostalgic saga of the CIA—known as “the Company” to insiders. Racing across a landscape spanning the legendary Berlin Base of the ’50s, the Soviet invasion of Hungary, the Bay of Pigs, Afghanistan, and the Gorbachev putsch, The Company tells the thrilling story of agents imprisoned in double lives, fighting an amoral, elusive, formidable enemy—and each other—in an internecine battle within the Company itself. “Compulsive reading from start to finish.” —The Boston Globe“Hugely entertaining . . . A serious look at how our nation exercises power. . . . Popular fiction at its finest.” —The Washington Post Book World“As it happens, this longest spy novel ever written turns out to be one of the best.” —Chicago Tribune“Reads like a breeze . . . guaranteed to suck you right back into the Alice-in-Wonderland world of spy vs. spy.” —Newsweek“If Robert Littell didn’t invent the American spy novel, he should have.” —Tom Clancy“It's gung-ho, hard-drinking, table-turning fun.” —Publishers Weekly
The Compendium of (Not Quite) Everything: All the Facts You Didn't Know You Wanted to Know
by Jonn ElledgeThe Compendium of (Not Quite) Everything is a treasure trove of random knowledge. Covering everything from the furthest known galaxies to the murky origins of oyster ice cream, inside you will find a discussion of how one might determine the most average-sized country in the world; details of humanity's most ridiculous wars; and, at last, the answer to who would win in a fight between Harry Potter and Spider-Man.Bizarre, brilliant and filled with the unexpected, The Compendium covers the breadth and depth of human experience, weaving its way through words and numbers, science and the arts, the spiritual and the secular. It's a feast of facts for a hungry mind.Includes entries on the cosmos, the human planet, questions of measurement, history/politics, the natural world, leisure and many 'oddities' that don't fit elsewhere...
The Compendium of (Not Quite) Everything: All the Facts You Didn't Know You Wanted to Know
by Jonn ElledgeThe Compendium of (Not Quite) Everything is a treasure trove of random knowledge. Covering everything from the furthest known galaxies to the murky origins of oyster ice cream, inside you will find a discussion of how one might determine the most average-sized country in the world; details of humanity's most ridiculous wars; and, at last, the answer to who would win in a fight between Harry Potter and Spider-Man.Bizarre, brilliant and filled with the unexpected, The Compendium covers the breadth and depth of human experience, weaving its way through words and numbers, science and the arts, the spiritual and the secular. It's a feast of facts for a hungry mind.Includes entries on the cosmos, the human planet, questions of measurement, history/politics, the natural world, leisure and many 'oddities' that don't fit elsewhere...
The Compendium of (Not Quite) Everything: All the Facts You Didn't Know You Wanted to Know
by Jonn ElledgeBizarre, brilliant and filled with things you didn't know you didn't know - The Compendium of (Not Quite) Everything evokes a sense of wonder at the scale of this planet, and the universe in which it sits.The Compendium of (Not Quite) Everything is a treasure trove of random knowledge. Covering everything from the furthest known galaxies to the murky origins of oyster ice cream, inside you will find a discussion of how one might determine the most average-sized country in the world; details of humanity's most ridiculous wars; and, at last, the answer to who would win in a fight between Harry Potter and Spider-Man.Bizarre, brilliant and filled with the unexpected, The Compendium covers the breadth and depth of human experience, weaving its way through words and numbers, science and the arts, the spiritual and the secular. It's a feast of facts for a hungry mind.Includes entries on the cosmos, the human planet, questions of measurement, history/politics, the natural world, leisure and many 'oddities' that don't fit elsewhere...(P) 2021 Headline Publishing Group Ltd
The Competent Authority
by Iegor Gran'Great is the Soviet Union, vast its territories, warm its entrails...' 1959. Whispers of dissidence are spreading in the U.S.S.R. Texts published in the West are circulating in samizdat, tormenting the secret police. Lieutenant Ivanov of the K.G.B, under pressure from his enraged superiors, is handed the case.Leads emerge, flare up, vanish. Years pass. 'Abram Tertz' publishes another short story, a new novel, mocking the competent authority. Shielded by his fierce wife Maria Vasilyevna Rozanova, Andrei Sinyavsky, one of the Soviet Union's most renowned and brilliant figures of resistance, waits in his wired apartment, drinking, sure his days as a free man are numbered.But as Rozanova continues to taunt Ivanov with her cheerful intransigence, a crisis of confidence opens up within the regime's resolve, causing the young lieutenant to wonder, 'are we actually as competent as we claim to be?''With the unique insight afforded by his mother, Rozanova, Gran pays remarkable homage to Andrei Sinyavsky, his father, reimagining the six long years leading up to his infamous arrest, trial and conviction. Framed within a riveting cat-and-mouse dynamic; irreverent and darkly comic, Gran balances a satirical lightness with deeper meditations on dogma and freedom of expression, state control and creative resistance, the ghosts of which, at a time when political criticism is being crushed once again, are as present today as ever before.
The Compleat Guth Bandar
by Matthew HughesIn Old Earth's penultimate age, humanity's collective unconscious has long since been fully explored and mapped by the noönaut scholars of the Institute for Historical Inquiry. But something is threatening the integrity - perhaps even the very existence - of the noösphere, and aspiring academic Guth Bandar finds his career plans diverted by a collective unconscious that appears to be waking up.The Compleat Guth Bandar brings together the full series of Bandar stories originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and later assembled into a "fix-up" novel: The Commons.Praise for Matthew Hughes:"Criminally underrated" - George R.R. Martin"Heir apparent to Jack Vance" - Booklist"Hughes's boldness is admirable"- New York Review of Science Fiction"Hughes effortlessly renders fantastic worlds and beings believable"- Publishers Weekly"A towering talent"- Robert J. Sawyer
The Compleat Motherfucker
by Jim Dawson"I've had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane!" shouted Samuel Jackson in the movie Snakes on a Plane. It was the use of the famous expletive that brought on huge promotional buzz. The best-selling book On Bullshit won its audience from its shockingly unapologetic treatment of its title rather than its fairly pedestrian academic inquiry.The Compleat Motherfucker is an entertaining and informative investigation into the offensive slang, touching on African American culture and other curious seeds of American subcultural and pop cultural movements.Author Jim Dawson also wrote the brisk-selling previous study of fartology, Who Cut The Cheese.
The Complete A**hole Dad
by Dan IndanteDan Indante is a bitter, vindictive attorney most famous for writing the seminal relationship book The Complete A**hole's Guide To Handling Chicks, quite possibly the most offensive work in the history of American literature. Now, still lacking any sense of maturity but beholden to two kids and a wife, 40-plus-year-old, fat, balding, unrepentant Dan pretends to be a model parent during PTA meetings and Little League games while secretly writing hateful screeds (like this book) which rage against the banality of modern parenting. Dan lives and works in Beverly Hills until the creditors from his various real estate projects catch up to him.
The Complete A**hole's Guide to Handling Chicks
by Dan Indante Karl MarksCongratulations, man! By picking up The Complete A**hole's Guide to Handling Chicks, you are just pages away from finally understanding:- How a five-dollar date can get you laid- How to stop being friends with girls and start getting them in the sack- Where you'll have the best odds of finding a one-night stand, and how to get rid of the chick the next morning - How to trick a woman into thinking you're classy, even if you have holes in your underwear- Why fat chicks always try to keep you from banging their hot friends, and how to finally stop these evil creatures- How to stop your wife from nagging you into an early grave- Why it's possible to watch six hours of football, put the moves on your neighbor's hot daughter, and leave the toilet seat up in the same day- And much moreThe Complete A**hole's Guide isn't like all the other candy-ass relationship books on the market; it doesn't cover issues like romance, love, and finding Miss Right. So, if that's what you're looking for, there are plenty of other books you can hide under your skirt as you skip out of the store. This book is about controlling the women in your life, and never having to say you're sorry . . . EVER AGAIN!We'll take you from the day you're born to the day you die and show you how women can be manipulated, frustrated, and ultimately dominated throughout the course of a man's life. By illustrating the insanity of the female mind, we'll show you why the flawed chick psyche causes them to continuously fall for the a**hole, no matter how many times they get burned. If you're not interested, that's fine. We're sure there are ballet classes you need to attend before your wine and cheese party. However, if you are ready, then grab a six-pack, order a pizza, and get your hand out of your pants because you're about to read the most perverse, sadistic, and hysterical relationship book ever written. Enjoy!
The Complete Adventures of Curious George
by Margret Rey"This is George. He lived in Africa. He was a good little monkey, and always very curious. ” With these words, H. A. and Margret Rey introduced the world to Curious George in 1941, and the world has loved him ever since. The tales of this cheerful and resilient little hero have kept generations of readers enthralled and entertained. Now, in recognition of the sixtieth anniversary of his debut, Houghton Mifflin proudly presents a special edition of George’s best-loved adventures. With an introduction by critic Leonard Marcus, a retrospective note by publisher Anita Silvey, and a cataloged history of the Reys by curator Dee Jones, this collection offers a fun and fascinating portrait of a classic character and his unique creators.
The Complete Book of Cat Names (That Your Cat Won't Answer to, Anyway)
by Bob EcksteinNaming a cat is the most important step in your kitten’s life—New Yorker cartoonist Bob Eckstein can help. Reader, beware! A cat’s name will set the tone for the rest of their personal and professional life. Recent studies from dubious cat blogs have shown that 80 percent of cat owners regret the name they gave their feline friends. The number one reason: it became too popular. Fear not. Whether the goal is a name to carry on family tradition or to find something new and different, The Complete Book of Cat Names is packed with options, along with all-new, cat-themed cartoons by Eckstein, making this crucial step in owning a pet a pleasure. Here, you will find the most popular cat names (to avoid), bookstore cat names (Homer or Pip), cat names for foodies (S’more or Capers), James Bond villain cats (Golden Paws or Jinx), and many more. In addition, Eckstein provides handy charts for identifying a cat’s type (inside or outside, sassy or sweet). It’s the perfect gift for any cat owner.
The Complete Book of Farts
by Alec BromcieFrom the publisher of the bestselling "Gross" series comes our grossest book yet! flat*u*lence (flach-u-lens) n. Female: an embarrassing by-product of digestion Male: an endless source of entertainment, self-expression, and male bonding Since the dawn of time, farting has been with us in all its rich and varied guises. Every nation in the world has developed its own ripe and extensive vocabulary to express the function of farting. Qui a pété? (Who's farted?) the French would ask, while the Chinese have to Fon Pei Ha, the Germans furzen, and the Swedes to fisa. Farting is a universal fascination, and every generation of boys and young men seem to revel in all things farting. For everyone fascinated with farts (and you know who you are!) comes The Complete Book of Farts. Filled with hilarious, real-life experiences and stories (and a lot of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and methane), this is the perfect companion for all those who fart, and those who don't (or won't admit it). Now, in a single volume, readers will discover: history's greatest farters; recipes for fantastic farts; farting etiquette; farting vocabulary for world travelers; funniest farting jokes, limericks, and quips; true farting confessions; and much more! No other book on farting gives us as much information and hilarity as this year's best gift for every boy (of all ages!) in your life. While there might be other farting-book imitators, only The Complete Book of Farts is the ultimate guide to all things gaseous!
The Complete Brigadier Gerard: Stories (Canongate Classics)
by Arthur Conan DoyleThese charming adventures of the 19th century French brigadier by the creator of Sherlock Holms are &“unjustly forgotten tales by a great master&” (Michael Chabon). Though Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is best known for his immortal character Sherlock Holmes, his tales of comic adventure featuring Brigadier Etienne Gerard, a French cavalry officer in the tine of the Napoleonic Wars, were equally beloved in their day. An old man who has retired in Paris, Gerard now recounts his escapades of younger days. In Napoleon&’s service, he fights battles, breaks hearts, and confounds the English all across Europe. This volume collects all of Doyle&’s Brigadier Gerard stories, originally published in The Strand Magazine between 1894 and 1903. In The Complete Brigadier Gerard Stories &“you will find adventure, action, romance, love and self-sacrifice, hair's-breadth escape and reckless courage, gallantry, panache and a droll, backhand humor that rivals that of P.G. Wodehouse. You will also find yourself, even more than with the celebrated stories of Holmes and Watson, in the hands of an indisputable artist. For more than any other adventure stories I know, these stories have a power to move the reader… unjustly forgotten tales by a great master" (Michael Chabon for NPR's You Must Read This). "The Brigadier Gerard stories display all the narrative gusto of Doyle's more famous Sherlock Holmes, together with an irresistible warmth and humor."—Philip Pullman
The Complete Dangerous Davies
by Leslie ThomasAs plain-clothes men go, Dangerous Davies looks like a non-starter. The small fry of petty larceny and minor disturbances in the backwaters of north-west London are his daily round. His philosophising Welsh drinking companion Mod, his outsized and unruly dog Kitty, his quarrels with his landlady Mrs Fulljames - none of these bodes well for the efficient solving of crimes and outwitting of villainy. But Davies is encouraged by his beautiful friend Jemma, and every so often he stumbles upon something really big.Gathered together for the first time in one volume, here are Leslie Thomas's three books about the most endearing comic hero he has ever created.
The Complete How to Speak Southern
by Steve Mitchell Sam C. RawlsThe laugh sensation that swept the nation, How to Speak Southern and More How to Speak Southern, is now collected in one complete-and completely hilarious-volume. Embraced by Southerners everywhere and dedicated to all Yankees in the hope that it will teach them to talk right, this uproarious book decodes "Suthun" wit and wisdom for "Nawthun" upstarts everywhere. From "aig" (a breakfast food that may be fried, scrambled, boiled, or poached) to "zackly" (as in "precisely"), here's just a sampling of what you'll find inside: ATTAIR: Contraction used to indicate the specific item desired. "Pass me attair gravy, please."EVERWHICHAWAYS: To be scattered in all directions. "You should have been there when the train hit that chicken truck. Them chickens flew ever which aways."YONTNY: Do you want any. "Yontny more corn bread?" Funny as well as informative, this laugh-out-loud dictionary will keep you laughing and learning-no matter where you fall on the Mason-Dixon Line! From the Hardcover edition.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Comedy Writing
by James MendrinosComedy is serious business—and serious money. In this guide, comedian, writer, and teacher James Mendrinos explains the principles of comedy and how to apply them to forms from stand-up to sitcoms- including fiction, film, speeches, articles, essays, and more. He also includes exercises designed to hone the craft, break through writer&’s block, and tailor a piece to its intended audience. In this Complete Idiot&’s Guide®, you get: • Foolproof advice for writing scripts, feature films, plays, cartoons, stand-up jokes—even working humor into your presentation at work. • Terrific techniques for brainstorming, free associating, and drafting lists to make your writing better—and funnier. • Stand-up tips on identifying with and writing for your audience and genre. • Navigation tools for the inroads to marketing and selling your comedy.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Ventriloquism
by Taylor MasonThe art of "bellyspeaking" isn't for dummiesThe Complete Idiot's Guide® to Ventriloquism teaches everyone to speak from their bellies, create and substitute sounds, use all the registers of their voice, and create diversions to attract the listener's ear—whether they invest in a fancy puppet or create their own figure out of a sweat sock. • Includes tips for making, manipulating, and talking with their dummy and for it—both at the same time • Advice for getting an act together and taking it on the road-getting gigs, getting paid, and how to improve performances • How to write dialogue and jokes and rehearsal techniques
The Complete Jessica Darling Series
by Megan MccaffertyGrowing Up Can Be Perfect in Its Imperfection The Jessica Darling series chronicles one young woman's coming-of-age in the first decade of the 21st century. Over five books and ten years, Jessica Darling fumbles her way into adulthood. She evolves from a sixteen-year-old cynic, snarking in her diary about catty cliques, unrequited crushes, and other high school indignities, into a jet-setting twenty-six-year-old urbanite searching for more meaning in her life. Through all her misadventures in high school, college, and beyond, Jessica gets long-distance support from her best friend, Hope. But it's her on-again/off-again love of her life, Marcus Flutie, who can always be counted on to complicate her life in ways that are infuriating, intoxicating, and ultimately irresistible. SLOPPY FIRSTS: Meet Jessica Darling--and fall for Marcus Flutie--in this high school comedy of many, many errors. A fresh, funny, utterly compelling fiction debut, Sloppy Firsts is an insightful true-to-life look at sixteen-year-old Jessica's predicament as she embarks on another year of teenage torment--from the dark days after her best friend, Hope, moves away through her months as a type-A personality turned insomniac to her completely mixed up feelings about Marcus Flutie, the intelligent and mysterious "Dreg" who works his way into her heart. SECOND HELPINGS: Can Jessica survive senior year without losing her mind . . . or her heart?This time, Jess is going through the social and emotional ordeal of her last year at Pineville High. Not only does the mysterious Marcus Flutie continue to distract her, but Hope still lives in another state, and she can't seem to escape the clutches of the Clueless Crew, her annoying so-called friends. To top it off, Jessica's parents won't get off her butt about choosing a college. Will Jess crack under the pressure of senioritis? CHARMED THIRDS: Jessica is in college . . . and smart girls have more fun!Jessica has finally left her hometown/hellhole for Columbia University; she's into Marcus more than ever (so what if he's at a Buddhist college in California), and she's making new friends. But Jess soon realizes that her bliss might not last. As she and Marcus hit the rocks, will she fall for her GOPunk, neoconservative RA . . . or for the hot grad student she's assisting on a summer project . . . or for the oh-so-sensitive emo boy down the hall? Will she even make it now that her parents have cut her off financially? And what do the cryptic one-word postcards from Marcus really mean? FOURTH COMINGS: Is the real world ready for Jessica Darling?At first it seems like she's living the New York City dream. She's subletting an apartment with her best friend, working for a magazine that actually cares about her psychology degree, and is still deeply in love with Marcus. But when Marcus proposes--giving her only one week to answer--Jessica must decide if she's ready to give up a world of late-night literary soirees, art openings, and downtown drunken karaoke to move back to New Jersey and be with the one man who's gripped her heart for years. PERFECT FIFTHS: Does Jessica and Marcus's journey end here? Or is it just the beginning? . . . Now a young professional in her mid-twenties, Jess is off to a Caribbean wedding. As she rushes to her gate at the airport, she literally runs into her former boyfriend, Marcus Flutie. It's the first time she's seen him since she reluctantly turned down his marriage proposal three years earlier--and emotions run high. They have both changed dramatically, yet their connection feels as familiar as ever. Is their reunion just a fluke, or has fate orchestrated this collision of their lives once again?