#when he broke the car and tom snitched

[littlealexhorne]

When s14 was on I remember some people taking issue with the uk version using nz tasks, which I didn't agree with at all, since I think actually its fun to know what's coming up and seeing what a different group will do.

The only problem I did have was that I think they should have been kept more the same, because I think some of the changes limited the chaos that that made those tasks particularly memorable in thrir original form-sabatage task excluded because that was still great that to John being the perfect pick for it.

Also, less an unpopular opinion maybe but TMAu has been really strong so far, I'd say more so that s1 of the NZ version, and to wish more people were talking about it, and am also I'm surprised with how many qualities he has as a TM contestant that people here seem to love, at how little appreciation Luke McGregor is getting on here. He's so good (and by good I mean an absolute disaster at tasks and awkward as anything)

I agree with all of this tbh! NZ has a TON of strong tasks and i can’t blame Alex for taking some inspiration! I do wish they stuck a bit closer with something like the grape escape. it would’ve been boring if it was the EXACT same puzzle, but they changed it too much by having the multiple grapes inside, the fake grapes outside, etc.

and yeah i think the only task that was better in the UK version was the sabotage one. it just made for better television than the balloon one

and YESYESYES i LOVE taskmaster australia!! it’s soo good so far. love the TM. love the assistant. and absolutely love Luke McGregor. he def needs more love and recognition 💕 what an icon

[readerbookclub]

Before introducing our newest book list, I want to say sorry about this month. It’s been underwhelming to say the least. So far this year was very chaotic (packing up to move countries, having the plane tickets cancelled, and getting into Oxford?!). Between everything that happened, I neglected this club. But I’m very excited and well-prepared for next month, so it won’t happen again at least in the foreseeable future. We also have several enthusiastic new members who’ve messaged me, so hopefully our discussion will be even more lively this time!

Now back to our newest book list. Not to brag, but I think this is the best one yet. Time Warp is a collection of books that bend and play with time. It’s such an interesting topic that includes books from many different genres. Several of your recommendations also fit in perfectly. So let’s jump right in!

Typically stories play out over the span of weeks, months, or even years. But what if a writer were to shrink that timeline? Not to days or hours, but the mere seconds it takes to ride an elevator? Well, that’s what Jason Reynolds did in our first book, a story that lasts for a single elevator ride:

Long Way Down, Jason Reynolds:

A cannon. A strap. A piece. A biscuit. A burner. A heater. A chopper. A gat. A hammer A tool for RULE Or, you can call it a gun. That’s what fifteen-year-old Will has shoved in the back waistband of his jeans. See, his brother Shawn was just murdered. And Will knows the rules. No crying. No snitching. Revenge. That’s where Will’s now heading, with that gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, the gun that was his brother’s gun. He gets on the elevator, seventh floor, stoked. He knows who he’s after. Or does he? As the elevator stops on the sixth floor, on comes Buck. Buck, Will finds out, is who gave Shawn the gun before Will took the gun. Buck tells Will to check that the gun is even loaded. And that’s when Will sees that one bullet is missing. And the only one who could have fired Shawn’s gun was Shawn. Huh. Will didn’t know that Shawn had ever actually USED his gun. Bigger huh. BUCK IS DEAD. But Buck’s in the elevator? Just as Will’s trying to think this through, the door to the next floor opens. A teenage girl gets on, waves away the smoke from Dead Buck’s cigarette. Will doesn’t know her, but she knew him. Knew. When they were eight. And stray bullets had cut through the playground, and Will had tried to cover her, but she was hit anyway, and so what she wants to know, on that fifth floor elevator stop, is, what if Will, Will with the gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, MISSES. And so it goes, the whole long way down, as the elevator stops on each floor, and at each stop someone connected to his brother gets on to give Will a piece to a bigger story than the one he thinks he knows. A story that might never know an END…if WILL gets off that elevator.

***

Our next book warps time in a slightly different way. What if every time you woke up, you found yourself in the same day (a sort-of Groundhog Day situation)? But unlike Groundhog Day, you wake up in different bodies. This thrilling book was suggested to me by one of you, and I absolutely loved the premise:

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton:

Aiden Bishop knows the rules. Evelyn Hardcastle will die every day until he can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest at Blackheath Manor. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others. With a locked room mystery that Agatha Christie would envy, Stuart Turton unfurls a breakneck novel of intrigue and suspense. For fans of Claire North, and Kate Atkinson, The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a breathlessly addictive mystery that follows one man's race against time to find a killer, with an astonishing time-turning twist that means nothing and no one are quite what they seem.

***

Now we move on to an exciting genre: time travel! This next book was recommended to me by @earphonesandquills​​ and I just had to put it on the list. A sci-fi love story between two people on opposite sides of a war:

This is How You Lose the Time War, Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone:

Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future. Except the discovery of their bond would mean death for each of them. There's still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war.

***

Typically, the protagonists of time-travel books are very intelligent people. But what would happen if someone wasn’t so competent? What if they fucked it up? That’s exactly what the protagonist in our next book does. Coming from a perfect reality, he messes up and finds himself in a horrifying dystopia (aka our world):

All Our Wrong Todays, Elan Mastai:

You know the future that people in the 1950s imagined we'd have? Well, it happened. In Tom Barren's 2016, humanity thrives in a techno-utopian paradise of flying cars, moving sidewalks, and moon bases, where avocados never go bad and punk rock never existed . . . because it wasn't necessary. Except Tom just can't seem to find his place in this dazzling, idealistic world, and that's before his life gets turned upside down. Utterly blindsided by an accident of fate, Tom makes a rash decision that drastically changes not only his own life but the very fabric of the universe itself. In a time-travel mishap, Tom finds himself stranded in our 2016, what we think of as the real world. For Tom, our normal reality seems like a dystopian wasteland. But when he discovers wonderfully unexpected versions of his family, his career, and—maybe, just maybe—his soul mate, Tom has a decision to make. Does he fix the flow of history, bringing his utopian universe back into existence, or does he try to forge a new life in our messy, unpredictable reality? Tom’s search for the answer takes him across countries, continents, and timelines in a quest to figure out, finally, who he really is and what his future—our future—is supposed to be.

***

Our final book is something I never knew I needed until I found it. I have spent way too much time day dreaming about a scenario where I find myself in the distant past. I imagine myself telling people about electricity and planes and modern medicine. But if they asked me to actually make something, I wouldn’t be able to. And that bothers me. This book is the solution. It’s a non-fiction guide on what to do if you were to find yourself in such a scenario (as unlikely as it may seem):

How to Invent Everything: A Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler, by Ryan North:

What would you do if a time machine hurled you thousands of years into the past. . . and then broke? How would you survive? Could you improve on humanity's original timeline? And how hard would it be to domesticate a giant wombat? With this book as your guide, you'll survive--and thrive--in any period in Earth's history. Bestselling author and time-travel enthusiast Ryan North shows you how to invent all the modern conveniences we take for granted--from first principles. This illustrated manual contains all the science, engineering, art, philosophy, facts, and figures required for even the most clueless time traveler to build a civilization from the ground up. Deeply researched, irreverent, and significantly more fun than being eaten by a saber-toothed tiger, How to Invent Everything will make you smarter, more competent, and completely prepared to become the most important and influential person ever.

***

That’s it for this month’s list. Hope you like these books as much as I do! As always, please vote here.

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[mrs-hollandstan]

Okayyyyyy please do part 2 for that cute little bit of Tom’s babies being scared of his haircut! My heart broke and melted at the same time 🙏🏻💖

Imma do a part three with the other part two request I got. :)

[[MORE]]

"Yesssss, my little loves." Your heart flutters as Tom finally speaks, the first time you've heard it in four weeks. You were grateful he'd told you to wear sweaters when you landed in Cleveland because if you'd worn your normal clothes, he would definitely spit the change in your belly, now that you were a little over eight weeks pregnant with his third little one. One baby this time.

He gathers Tristan and Nathan in his arms who, now that they see himin person, know his face. He lifts them both and you can only imagine the biceps that bulge beneath his sweater, despite the grueling dieting and workout he'd been doing in the months before he left. He kisses each of the boys, glancing up at your face. He let's out a little breathless noise before stepping forward and kissing your lips softly,

"God I missed you three." Four, you think, but how could he miss a baby he's never met? By the time it's time for you to leave again, he'll be saying four, but while he doesn't know, you let him say three, smiling into him,

"We missed you more baby boy." You reassure, following your boys. Tom leads the twins to the car outside with a hold of their hands, listening to their every word and reacting with such passion, it makes your heart swell. He carries them into his house he'd been gifted for the time being and into the small room he'd set aside for them so the two of you could be alone. And the toys and games he'd bought for them in the last few weeks preoccupied them enough for you and Tom to sneak away.

He held you in his arms, lips on your throat as you swayed at the foot of the king sized bed. Your eyes closed and each time your tummy fluttered, you were reminded how in love with Tom you are. He draws back, staring into your eyes. He reaches up to caress your cheek,

"Fuck I'm so in love with you. You are so fucking beautiful and those boys. God, those boys... so perfect. I think about you guys daily." He admits. You smile, rubbing your hands up his arms,

"Yeah?" He nods, wide smile across his face as you reach up to rub over his still shaved head,

"Us too. We missed you like crazy. They missed their daddy so much. They loved to cross off the days til we could come out here." You describe to him. He smiles, letting you run your hands down the back of his head and neck. Your body jolts with excitement and nerves as you lick your lips,

"I have something for you." You tell him. He raises his eyebrows,

"Oh yeah?" You nod, finding your purse. Tristan pokes his head in the room,

"Mumma, don't forget to tell him bout baby sister." He mutters. You glance up, wide eyed to watch Tom's face furrow. When Tristan giggles and runs from the room, Tom glances up,

"What's he mean?" He asks. You swallow, reaching into your bag, finding the pregnancy test and sonogram,

"I uhh, wow, he's a little snitch, uhm, here. See if you can... decipher that." You ramble, handing him the row of sonograms that show all your baby's little limbs and face. He looks them over, tears welling in his eyes as he reads over the little labeled parts of her. Feet, hands, covering her face, legs crossed. He sniffles, looking up at you,

"You're pregnant?" He poses as if he isn't sure. You nod, a tearful laugh leaving your lips as you hold the pregnancy test up,

"I found out after you left. They couldn't tell what the baby was yet, cause I'm only about eight weeks along, I just told the boys to pray for a baby sister cause I know you want a girl."

"My God I'm happy with whatever we have, you're pregnant." He says, pulling you into his arms. You guys laugh and let tears slip, Tom running his hands up under your sweater,

"You're so fucking amazing. I don't know what I did to deserve you." He mutters. You smile, kissing him softly,

"If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have any of my babies. You're an amazing husband and father and I can't imagine life without you." You tell him. He smiles, nodding and holding your hips to kiss you again,

"You're beautiful. I love you." He says. You rub up his arms,

"I love you more. I'm hoping it'll be a girl. I know how much you wanted a girl." You tell him. He nods, taking hold of your hand,

"But you see how I am with our boys. I'll love them regardless." He promises, pulling you towards the doorway, headed for Tristan and Nathan. He pauses in the hallway,

"By the way... hope you know you're sleeping naked. Now that I know you're pregnant I totally wanna see how different your tummy looks. At like... every stage." He tells you. You giggle, shrugging as he drags you into the small room set aside for the boys,

"So... who's prayin for a baby sister?"