Amtrak Reading

I just completed an Amtrak journey from Boston, Massachusetts, to Portland, with a 24-hour stop in Chicago, and a week-long stop in Williston, North Dakota.

These are the books I started out with and carried for the entire trip:

• The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution, Richard Dawkins
• Jesus and Yahweh: The Names Divine, Harold Bloom
• William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism, Robert D. Richardson

These are the books I bought in Wiliston, North Dakota and brought home:

• The North American Journals of Prince Maximilian of Wied, May 1832 to April 1833, Volume 1, University of Oklahoma Press
• The Boys: 1st North Dakota Volunteers in the Philippines, John Durand
• One Night in a Bad Inn, Christy Leskovar
• Acedia and me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life, Kathleen Norris

These are the books I just received from the Amazon Vine program:

• Mary Tudor: Princess, Bastard, Queen, Anna Whitelock
• Running the Books, Avi Steinberg

I'm reading Kathleen Norris' Acedia and me for a second time. It is one of her best, if not her best. I've posted comments about this book earlier.

The Prince Maximilian journals will eventually be a 3-volume set. The first volume is still in the original packing box; I'm not sure if I will ever open it. It is that precious. Volume 2 will be published and available within the next few months. Which reminds me: I need to remind the bookseller in Williston to save a copy for me. Volume 3 will be available in about three years.

Christy Leskovar's true story reads like a romance novel. I don't think fiction could be stranger than this book. I am reading it slowly to enjoy it. It's the kind of book that I can't put down, but on the other hand, might not read a second time, so I need to savor every bit of it the first time through.

As usual, Harold Bloom is difficult for me to understand. I assume I will re-read bits and pieces several times.

Mary Tudor by Anna Whitelock is going to be good. That's not surprising; this is yet another English book; English, Irish, and Scottish writers never fail to satisfy.

I don't care for his personality, but Richard Dawkins writes very, very well when he stays on topic; his insights are second to none. Reading Dawkins is like auditing an upper level college or graduate course in biology. I don't appreciate his "politics" and I definitely don't appreciate when he gets on his soap box in his books. I assume his editor wanted to tighten up the writing, remove some unnecessary passages, but Dawkins would not by the type of writer to allow any editing other than his.

Having gone through a "Henry James"  phase there was no question I had to read the William James biography when I happened to stumble across it.

I'm not sure about Avi Steinberg's book; I've read the first few pages and I'm not sure if I will like it or not. More to follow.