WELCOME - NEW MEMBERS INTRODUCE YOURSELF HERE

[clong]

This is the place to say "Hello" and tell us a bit about yourself, including such things as:

1. Favorite Genre
2. Favorite Author
3. Favorite Author that's not in Favorite Genre
4. How/Why you picked your Member-Name
5. How you found IBDoF
6. Name one book you would never recommend to a friend
7. Top 5 books/series

You might also let us know whether you're entering the forums from the iblist site or ibdof. Cheers!


I'll get started. I'm clong, one of the site administrators. I've been a member of iblist since November 2003 or so, and of ibdof since November 2004 or so. I live in Dayton, OH, and manage a symphony orchestra for a living. I read a couple of books a week on average (not counting the many, many books I read to and with my 3 young children). I love to manipulate book ratings statistics, and play Volleyball (see the Quill and Fountain).

My answers:

1. Science Fiction
2. Cordwainer Smith
3. Steven Erikson
4. my user name is of course the distinctive sound made by the rare (and quite valuable, I might add) Nepalese "Chhepu the Protector" Gong. It's always been one of my favorite sounds.
5. Someone at iblist suggested that maybe we should try cooperating with other book sites.
6. The Reality Dysfunction by Peter Hamilton
7. The Lord of the Rings, The Malazan Book of the Fallen, The Brothers Karamazov, The Rediscovery of Man, Hyperion.

One of these answers is false.

[CodeBlower]

1. Favorite Genre
Science Fiction
Fantasy

2. Favorite Author
L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

3. Favorite Author that's not in Favorite Genre
Murphy & Sapir .. or .. Robert Ludlum

4. How/Why you picked your Member-Name
Nickname for my profession (computer programmer).

5. How you found IBDoF
A visitor to my website pointed me to the Modesitt forums.

6. Name one book you would never recommend to a friend
Susanna Clarke's "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Morrell"

7. Top 5 books/series
Herbert's "Dune" series
Modesitt's "Saga of Recluce" series
Rowling's "Harry Potter" series
Simmons' "Hyperion" series
Burrough's "John Carter of Mars" series

[violetblue]

Thanks to clong for starting this thread. Although I nagged to get this thread started, I'm not sure how to answer all the questions.

My name is Darla, I am 40, married with two daughters. I live in the Midwest in a strange university town. My town is strange because strange things happen here. At Halloween, we had a zombie outbreak. It is not uncommon for people to walk into other people's apartments and end up in the police blotter because they passed out on someone else's couch.

I am left-of-center, so I fit in well.

1. Favorite Genre -- Memoirs
2. Favorite Author -- Haven't really given this much thought, but I'd say Stephen King for horror, David Sedaris for memoirs
3. FANIG -- Again, Stephen King
4. I thought it a pretty play on the "roses are red" limerick, esp. as I was enamoured with SK's Tower series at the time, which features a rose in a vital role.
5. I was having trouble finding new books to read, and found it in a search engine. Stayed, because of it seemed a well-rounded forum.
6. I would never recommend any horror book written by (almost) anyone besides Stephen King.
7. The Drawing of the Three, Stephen King
Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris
Marley & Me, John Grogan
Odd Thomas, Dean Koontz
The Apprentice, Jacques Pepin

[gpackin]

My name is Greg, I already posted an introduction a few days ago but I'll do it again here. I'm 35, married, and have three kids. A 21 month old daughter, a 7 month old son, and a 13 year old step-son. I live in Brunswick, Maryland, and I work for a Federal Agency on a support team at the Department of State. I'll try to answer the questions the best I can, but I don't think I can narrow it down to one answer per question,

Favorite Genre: SciFi or Alternate History
Favorite Author(S): Stephen Baxter, Dan Simmons, Harry Turtledove
Favorite Not in Favorite Genre: Michael Connelly
How I Picked Member Name: Greg Packin thus gpackin
How I Found IBDOF: Searching for books found IBLIST
Book I Wouldn't Recommend: The Turner Diaries (never read it, could do without the hate)
Top 5 (I guess): Manifold Series by Baxter, In the Presence of Mine Enemies by Turtledove, Ilium/Olympos Series by Simmons, Titan by Baxter, The Forever War by Haldeman, and one more to make it 6, The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson

[laurie]

I'm Laurie, and I'm fast-approaching my 3rd anniversary as an IBDoF member. I live in what is called the "snow belt" of upstate New York and I'm a stickler - oh, okay, a NAZI - about correct spelling. I love anything and everything to do with British history, Broadway musicals, and Hugh Jackman (except as Wolverine).

1. Favorite Genre(s): historical romance, historical fiction, biography, history

2. Favorite Author(s): Mary Jo Putney, Diana Gabaldon, Julia Quinn, Sarah Bradford (for biography)

3. Favorite Author(s) not in Favorite Genre: William Shakespeare, J.K. Rowling

4. How/Why you picked your Member-Name: Actually, my Mom picked it - at my baptism

5. How you found IBDoF: Googled “Poldarkâ€

[mccormack44]

My name is Sue. I'm starting my third year here. About 18 months ago there was a discussion about who was the oldest person on the board. Someone suggested that I was; I admitted to my advanced age and no one has claimed to be older, so now I'm the "Grande Dame." I am married, have 3 grown children, 3 grown grandchildren, and 2 great-granddaughters, who will be 4 and 7 (I think) in about 6 weeks.
1. My favorite genres are Science Fiction & Fantasy, Romance, and Mystery.
2. I don't do "my favorite" very well. The list of authors whose worlds I revisit each year runs from Jane Austen through Murray Leinster to my newer acquaintances like Julia Quinn and Stephanie Laurens.
3. I suppose a candidate for favorite author not in the genres listed above might be Catherine Drinker Bowen, whose histories of law and government, moving backwards in time from Justice Holmes to Coke, have intrigued me for years.
4. I just used my email name, because I couldn't think of anything else.
5. I came here because I was searching for a book by a specific author and Google gave me IBDoF early in the search. I joined in order to ask about the book, and have had so much fun, I've stuck around. This was just before the Association with IBList, so I was lucky to expand my electronic friendships almost from the very first.
6. I have often been heard to say "I didn't care much for [book or author]; I couldn't finish it," in response to some statement, but I don't condemn (or praise) books beyond such statements of personal taste.
7. I couldn't possibly limit favorites to five (or rank them that way).

Sue

[Reede Kullervo]

My name is Jasminka, this's Croatian version of Jasmine . I'm 40 years old, year and half here. My English is awfull because I read in English a lot without speaking or writing much.
I'm online addict .

1. Fiction, all fiction
2. Marcel Proust
3. Authors of Dummies series
4. Reede Kullervo is a character in Joan D. Vinge's Summer Queen and I'm in love with him . I know, he is male, I'm female, but who cares .
5. I was looking in Google: Lois Mcmaster Bujold+forum and picked IBDoF.
6. The Last of the Mohicans
7. In Search of Lost Time or A la recherche du temps perdu by Marcel Proust
-- Vorkosigan's serie by Lois McMaster Bujold
-- Chalion's serie also by Lois McMaster Bujold
-- Mansfiled Park by Jane Austen
-- Gricka vjestica which means Witch from Gric, historical romance by Marija Juric Zagorka, Croatian novelist and Gric is old part of Zagreb, my hometown .

[LazyAngel]

Helloo! I made my own topic...sorry! My name is Sasha, I'm 20 and Australian.

1. Favorite Genre
Fantasy
Sci-fi

2. Favorite Author
-I haven't one fav author, so can I list? LMB, Cecilia Dart-Thornton and Kerry Greenwood are my current 3 favs.

3. Favorite Author that's not in Favorite Genre
Stephen Chbosky (Love 'Perks of being a Wallflower')

4. How/Why you picked your Member-Name
...I've always been LazyAngel online, since I was about 10. I'm rather lazy, and I try to be oh so angelic...

5. How you found IBDoF
LMB mailing list.

6. Name one book you would never recommend to a friend
...possibly 'Middlemarch' by George Eliot. There was another one, but it was so vile that I can't remember its details.

7. Top 5 books/series
-Chalion
-Bitterbynde
-TSK (haven't gotten very far yet )
-The Crowthistle Chronicles
-The Delphic Women

I'm cheating now.
-Pagan series
-LOTR
-RED DWARF!!!!

I can't make decisions.

[Noddy]

Hello everyone! My name is Andy, I'm 25, an archaeologist and live in Bradford in the UK. I've been a member of IBList member since the winter/spring of 2004 (I can't remember excactly when as I don't think I signed up for the forum straightaway!), but unfortunatly never seem to have enough time to spend participating in the forums and improving the databases! Anyway these are my answers

1. Favorite Genre?
Fantasy

2. Favorite Author?
George RR Martin (sorry if I always bang on about him)

3. Favorite Author that's not in Favorite Genre?
Alexander McCall Smith

4. How/Why you picked your Member-Name?
Main character of first books I remember being read too by my mum

5. How you found IBDoF?
(Old) ASoIaF forum

6. Name one book you would never recommend to a friend?
Anything by L. Ron Hubbard

7. Top 5 books/series? In no particular order
Lord of the Rings
Sandkings
The Bookseller of Kabul
Pride and Prejudice
ASoIaF

None of my answers are false

[daetara]

hello, i'm daetara (not daetera, please...). been here a tad over a year now. newly married, one cat-dog-rabbit and one dog, no human children. live in richmond virginia, like to read, cook, play volleyball, and i'm working on becoming a gardener. at least, i'm trying to.

1. Favorite Genre - the fantasy end of sci-fi/fantasy...haven't really delved into true sci-fi too much, although i intend to.
2. Favorite Author - i'd have to say mercedes lackey, with anne mccaffrey in close second.
3. Favorite Author that's not in Favorite Genre - diana gabaldon, followed by marion keyes
4. How/Why you picked your Member-Name - it was somehow involved in a dream, and when i woke up the only part i remembered was the name.
5. How you found IBDoF - was trying to make my own database of the books written by my top authors, and was trying to find more information about a couple people who didn't have websites. then thought, hey, there's a internet database of movies, maybe there's one for books...and that's how i found ibdof.
6. Name one book you would never recommend to a friend - "the vision" by dean koontz...read it when i was in late middle/early high school, when i was most assuredly NOT ready for the subject matter, and the thought of it makes me sick even now.
7. Top 5 books/series - anything by any of my authors listed above, plus anything by dave duncan.

[StefanY]

Hello. My name is Stefan. I am a moderator here at the forum from the IBDoF side. I am also the Jedi Librarian. I'm a 33 year old librarian from Kansas and have been a member of the board since May 2005. Along with moderating duties and data editing, I also take care of most of the adding of books and authors that are submitted via the Add an Author/Add a Book links on the IBDoF site.

Besides reading and collecting (i.e. hording) books, my other interests include: Spending time with family/friends, Football, Fantasy Football, Role Playing, Watching Movies and Collecting DVDs, Painting miniatures, Remodeling and landscaping my home and other duties/activities that come with living in the boonies.

1. Favorite Genre: If I had to pick a favorite genre, I'd go with fantasy. I also greatly enjoy horror.

2. Favorite Author: In the Fantasy Genre, I'd have to say that my current favorite author is John Marco. I've only read a couple of his books so far, but I own all of his work and frequent his blog regularly.

3. Favorite Author that's not in Favorite Genre: Definitely Stephen King. If you look at my reviews and books that I've rated, you can probably guess this. Even though he doesn't often write in my top genre, he is my favorite over all author.

4. How/Why you picked your Member-Name: I was particularly uncreative when I signed up for the site and chose to use my name. It was change a bit when I thought that I might be helping out with the Wiki (although I have yet to contribute anything.) Hence the capital letters at the beginning and end.

5. How you found IBDoF: I was trying to find an online site where I could catalog my book collection. I came across IBDof and subsequently the board and within seconds was addicted.

6. Name one book you would never recommend to a friend: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. This was one of the strangest books that I've ever read all the way through. If someone asked me about it I might tell them that it was worth a read, but I wouldn't suggest it unsolicited.

7. Top 5 books/series:In no particular order, my top five books/series are: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, The Stand, 'Salems Lot, The Tyrants and Kings Trilogy, The Magic of Landover series.

[blueworld]

I've been around iblist for over three years now (wow!), though I've been lazy in actually contributing lately. I'm 23, and I'm about to finally escape school. I live in Seattle, Washington, USA.

1. Favorite Genre?
Fantasy, Science Fiction

2. Favorite Author?
At this particular moment, George RR Martin

3. Favorite Author that's not in Favorite Genre?
Well, I just read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, and I loved it.

4. How/Why you picked your Member-Name?
It's a name I was using on other sites.

5. How you found IBDoF?
I found IBDoF from the forum merger, and IBList through Slashdot.

6. Name one book you would never recommend to a friend?
The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks

7. Top 5 books/series? Well, favorites in the last few months...
A Song of Ice and Fire (series) by George R.R. Martin
Bas-Lag (series) by China Miéville
Malazan Book of the Fallen (series) by Steven Erikson
The Dark Tower (series) by Steven King
Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner

[a_heavenly_body]

Hey everyone, names Khurram.

1.Favorite Genre:

Fantasy

2.Favorite Author:

Jonathan Stroud

3.Favorite Author that's not in Favorite Genre:

Ian Flemming

4.How/Why you picked your member name:

I have this name on all websites i am registered to. As to why i chose it, i don't remember since that was a good 4 years ago i think.

5.How you found IBDoF:

Google

6. Name one book you would never recommend to a friend

Wizard's Brew - Chris Fox

7. Top 5 books/series

1.Ptolmey's Gate - Jonathan Stroud
2.Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire - J.K Rowling
3.Talon of the Silver Hawk - Raymond E. Feist
4.Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
5.Fire-Starter - Stephen King

[sweetharleygirl]

My name is Wendy, I'm 32 as of this month, I'm married with one son 11 and two daughters 9 & 6. and live in western Iowa. I'm a children's librarian and stumbled onto this site while searching for a certain book on Google, I've been a member ever since.

My Favorite Genre: Fantasy

Favorite Author: I don't really have one.

Favorite Author that's not in Favorite Genre: Don't have one of thoes either.

How/Why I picked my Member-Name: Since it switched from wendy.doyel I guess I should explain why I picked sweetharleygirl, it's the name I usually use, I picked it because I am a Harley girl but not a rough and tough one, I'm a sweet Harley girl

How I found IBDoF: Searching for a book/author on Google.

A Book I'd never recomend to a friend: Magic by the book. I can't think of the authors name, but it was awful.

Top 5 books/series:

1. Pendragon series
2. Dragons in our Mists series
3. Oracles of Fire series
4. Harry Potter series
5. Merry Gentry series

I really like to read series books

[Kvetch]

How/Why I picked my Member-Name: It was an accident actually, what I usually use it sweetharleygirl, but I put in my real name by accident, wish I could change that.

You can actually - I'll pm you.

[Kuroc]

My name is Adam and I am 25.

1.All except romance and westerns.
2.Stephen King.
3.hard to answer.
4.I got the idea from a name generator in a MUD.
5. I came to this site from internet book list.
6.hard to say.
7.Dark Tower by Stephen King
, The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien ,
Corean Chronicles by L.E. Modesitt ,jr,
Council Wars by John Ringo,
and Alex Delaware by Jonathan Kellerman.

[kooch]

Hello,

I’m a retired exploration geologist. Years ago, 'kooch' was my citizen band (CB) radio handle. I’ve worked on mining and oil exploration projects in the Canadian Arctic, South America, and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. I currently reside in northern Minnesota, with frequent excursions to visit family in California.

I grew up in Koochiching County, Minnesota, a large, sparsely populated wilderness area just south of the Canadian border. My father was an early subscriber to John Campbell’s Analog/Astounding Science Fiction magazine. When I started reading in the early 50’s, I discovered boxes of these magazines in the attic, filled with serialized novels by noted science fiction authors. I’ve never looked back…

I’ve been reading two to three books a week for over 50 years. I’m a dedicated public library patron. I probably purchase less than five books a year, usually specialized non-fiction volumes that I don’t believe my library should purchase. I do request that my library purchase current fiction releases about four or five times annually, and my library almost always agrees with my choices.

I request over 95% of my library books online, and they are delivered to a branch library near my home. If the books are not available in my library system, I request them from other library systems, using Inter Library Loan (ILL) programs. Somewhere, in my five state Upper Midwest region, there is always a library with the book(s) I’m looking for… <grin>

Since retirement, I often read four books a week, sometimes more… If I enjoy a book by an unread author, I’ll methodically attempt to read every novel that author has published. Sometimes I strike it rich, other times I return books to the library after skimming through 100 pages, or less.

I’ve always read fantasy, but usually the authors were also writing in the science fiction genre. I have reread Jack Vance’s Lyonesse and Cadwell Chronicles trilogies many times. After 30 years, the storylines for C.J. Cherryh’s Morgaine and Faded Sun trilogies are still clearly etched in my mind; after 40 years, the same is true for Ursula Le Guin’s Rocannon’s World and Planet of Exile, both later repackaged as novels in the Hainish Series. Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age is always worth rereading. And I continue to believe that Geoffrey Household (Rogue Male, Rough Shoot, A Time to Kill) is every bit as good a storyteller as John Le Carre, and far better than Ian Fleming.

Favorite authors currently include L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Robin Hobb, Fiona McIntosh (The Quickening Trilogy), and any other authors who can write with clarity and beguile me with a well-told story.

kooch

[caley]

I just joined today, a couple of minutes ago actually, and I wanted to get right into the action, so here I am...

I'm seventeen (as of yesterday) and I read an awful lot. I was born in New Zealand, and at the ripe age of five moved to the other side of the world. So I live in a little town in Israel and it's really the best, besides the fact that new books take a wee bit longer to get here than some other places...

1. Favorite Genre- Fantasy
2. Favorite Author- Mercedes Lackey
3. Favorite Author that's not in Favorite Genre- Bernard Cornwell
4. How/Why you picked your Member-Name: It's my (real) nickname...
5. How you found IBDoF- I was looking for some company... Another thing about living in Israel is that there aren't so many people, so it's harder to find people who speak English and appreciate my kind of book.
6. Name one book you would never recommend to a friend- The Honorable Man
7. Top 5 books/series:
Valdemar series by Mercedes Lackey
Pern series by Anne McCaffrey
The Catch Trap by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell
Crown of Stars series by Kate Elliot

[Nighteyes]

Oops, I only just discovered this thread.

1. Favorite Genre

SciFi and Fantasy

2. Favorite Author

Pffft.. I always find that hard to answer... overall I guess Dan Simmons

3. Favorite Author that's not in Favorite Genre

That's pretty much a tie between E.A. Poe and Iain Banks (the one without the "M.")

4. How/Why you picked your Member-Name

It's a character from a fantasy series - maybe you recognize it? It was just my favorite nick at the time I joined this forum... tends to change a lot...

5. How you found IBDoF

Googling for some book, I think....

6. Name one book you would never recommend to a friend

Insomnia by Stephen King

7. Top 5 books/series

- The Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons
- The Gap Cycle by Stephen R. Donaldson
- The "Trilogy of Trilogies" (Farseer/Liveship Traders/Tawny Man) by Robin Hobb
- The Bas-Lag Cycle by China Mieville
- A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

[NiennaElensars]

Ok, not sure what to really say to be honest. I'm Nienna, or Sam as some people call me as well lol. Uhm, I actually stumbled across IBlist while searching for a review on a book and allow me to say, I've thuroughly enjoyed being able to find reviews and information on the books I've been reading. It really makes me happy to see other people enjoying the works that I enjoy myself. Enough with the blabbering, onto the other information.

1. Favorite Genre: It would have to be fiction: Scifi, Fantasy and just normal Fiction.
2. Favorite Author: I cannot claim a favorite author, I enjoy way too many books and normally if I enjoyed a previous book written by a specific author, I'll try thier other books out and I normally enjoy them in the end as well.
3. Favorite Author that's not in Favorite Genre : Uhm.. Not sure to be honest.
4. How/Why you picked your Member-Name : This has been my online name for over 8 years now, so you can see why I choose it.
5. How you found IBDoF : Doing a search for some information and reviews on a book.
6. Name one book you would never recommend to a friend : I can't answer that, all the books I've ever read I've really enjoyed. I just wouldn't recommend the ones that I know they wouldn't like that I love. Because then I would have to listen to them gripe about it.
7. Top 5 books/series : Dragonlance: Margret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Dragon Prince Series by Melanie Rawn. Forgotten Realms, Laurell K. Hamilton, Terry Goodkind Sword of Truth Series.

[Omar'alt]

First timer. I work in electronics and assist the people who use them. SF&F is a way for me to relax and re-charge after stressing all day. Having said that, you can guess the answer to #1 is SF&F. 2 would be, Modesitt, Salvatore, Gemmell, McCammon. 3? e.e. cummings/Cussler. 4. Real lancers don't play games. 5. I searched L.E. Modesitt 6. "Elements of Style"... too many rules. 7. Dirk Pitt, Drizzt, Recluce, Corean, Drenai and Wheel of Time (before it became too involved).

[magentastraberry]

1. Favorite Author
Ayn Rand

2. Name one book you would never recommend to a friend
Great Expectations

3. Top 5 books/series
Atlas Shrugged (Rand), The Fountainhead (Rand), The Bell Jar (Plath), Scoop (Waugh), Junky (Burroughs)

[StefanY]

A hearty welcome to all of the new members that have posted in here lately!!

I hope that you all enjoy the forum and all of the other cool stuff that IBDoF and IBList have to offer!

[bluestocking.megan]

Greetings!
I've been dreaming of a site like this for quite some time now, but have never bothered to try to find one until now. I'm glad to see this place exists.

1. Favorite Genre
Fiction. Particularly anything that looks at a serious subject with some humor.

2. Favorite Author
Kennedy Toole? Nabokov? Dahl? Gogol? I can't choose!

3. Favorite Author that's not in Favorite Genre
Stephen King or George MacDonald Fraser

4. How/Why you picked your Member-Name
Long story short, nine years ago I opened a dictionary and put my finger blindly on what would become my favorite word: Bluestocking. I read the definition, did some historical research and decided it was my word. It sums me up in just twelve letters.

5. How you found IBDoF
Wikipedia. We have a sinful relationship.

6. Name one book you would never recommend to a friend
Um, my friends don't like my taste in books... so I don't generally recommend anything to them. BUT I did read "A Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing" and I hated it, and it was a recommendation.

7. Top 5 books/series
Confederacy of Dunces
Lolita
1984
My Uncle Oswald
Bag of Bones

A bit about myself? I just graduated and spend my days toiling in a hot bakery. By night I'm supposed to be persuing a career as a writer, but as of yet I'm too exhausted to get anything on paper. But I can read for pleasure now, which is exciting.

[Blackwing]

Since this topic isn't just for newbies, here's my introduction.

I'm a freelance translator from Finland and my working languages are English and Finnish. I'm 34, single, childfree, and currently looking for a German Shepard puppy to adopt. Alas, since I don't have a car, it's proven to be trickier than I thought. I'm going to graduate with an MA in translation later this month (if I can get the professors to actually grade my final papers in time).

1. Favorite Genre: Fantasy and Mystery

2. Favorite Author: Several. Steven Brust, Neil Gaiman, Ursula LeGuin, Jacqueline Carey, Terry Pratchett, Patricia Wrede...

3. Favorite Author that's not in Favorite Genre: Lois McMaster Bujold. Although she has written fantasy, too, I'm one of the heretics who prefer the Vorkosigan saga.

4. How/Why you picked your Member-Name: I've been using it for some years now and on different forums. Originally, it comes from the In Nomine roleplaying game where the warrior angels have black feathered wings and so their nickname is blackwing.

5. How you found IBDoF: possibly from a link on someone's journal on Livejournal. I can't even remember clearly.

6. Name one book you would never recommend to a friend: err, I won't recommend books before I know their tastes (genre, action/character focused, character/plot/setting focused etc). Sure, there are a lot of books I wouldn't recommend to anyone.

7. Top 5 books/series: geez, that changes with my mood and sometimes with the new books I read. Some of them might be:
Sandman by Neil Gaiman
Vlad Taltos series by Steven Brust
Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold
Elfquest by Wendy and Richard Pini
Kushiel series by Carey
What? I ran out of slots already? grumble...