User Profile

Jason 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🇨🇦

jaywll@bookwyrm.social

Joined 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Calgary based owner of a dog. My wife recently got a new e-reader which means I in turn got a new (to me) e-reader, and I'm finding it much easier to get back into the habit of reading as a result. You can also find me in the fediverse at mstdn.ca/@jaywll or at ja.son-williams.ca

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Jason 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🇨🇦's books

Currently Reading

John Grisham: Camino Ghosts (2024, Diversified Publishing)

Camino Ghosts

The final book in the Camino trilogy, and it feels like less happens in this installment than either of the other two. That's not necessarily a bad thing: the second book in particular was a bit much to the point of being far-fetched. This is a calmer read and better for it.

Dan Brown: Secret of Secrets

Secret of Secrets

I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I was going to. It's been a long time since I've read the others in the series and I think I'd forgotten how good a read they are. The puzzles Robert Langdon solves throughout the story are easy enough that you can solve them before the solutions are revealed, and hard enough that you feel smart for doing so, and the real-life places and organizations referenced are enough to make the story feel relatable even when it's actually pretty far-fetched. Recommended!

Benjamin Stevenson: Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone (Hardcover, 2023, HarperCollins Publishers)

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone

This was a fun read that didn't take itself too seriously, written in a style that's a departure from the norm and allows the book to stand out as a result.

Another reviewer says that the journey is better than the destination. I'd agree, and the journey was good enough that I'll forgive it that.

There's at least one other book in the series, and whether or not I want to read it too is the real test for me. I do, and I will.

Bob Mortimer: Hotel Avocado (2024, Simon & Schuster, Limited)

WARNING - this book includes: heavy crimes, car journeys, dreadfulness, large fruits, romance, planning applications, …

Hotel Avocado

Definitely not as good as the first book in the series – the plot was much slower moving and it didn't feel to me like the characters were in any real jeopardy until the last 30 pages or so. It was still entertaining enough to keep me reading though, thanks largely to the author's humour.

David Sedaris: Calypso (2018)

David Sedaris returns with his most deeply personal and darkly hilarious book.If you've ever laughed …

Calypso

This was a great audiobook for a roadtrip – a series of self-contained, slightly rambling essays that don't require too much attention to follow along with. I'm not sure if I'd have enjoyed it quite as much in another format, but I liked it enough that I think I will try something else from the author to find out.

Ransom Riggs: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Paperback, 2013, Quirk Books)

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs. It all waits …

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Not my typical content, but it filled some roadtrip hours in audiobook form and was interesting enough. Other reviews suggest the photographs in the printed book are part of the reading experience here, which of course were missing for me. In fairness, the narrator did provide a URL to get them in PDF form, but that's not much use if you – like me – are the driver.

Ransom Riggs: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Paperback, 2013, Quirk Books)

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs. It all waits …

I've learned during this roadtrip that my wife likes to have more than one audiobook on the go at once, and then switches back and forth between them. I don't like that. The book, on the other hand, is fine.