Books On Broadway

March 12, 2014

Mr Chuck Wilder
Books on Broadway
12 W Broadway, Williston, ND 58801


Hi, Chuck,

I have had many memorable “events” over the years, but few were more memorable or more rewarding than “mahjong night” at the Wilder residence. Thank youl

One of the things I always hoped to do was to learn to play mahjong.  And can you believe it: I learned at the table where a Chinese professor was slapping my hand every time I tried to pick up a tile from the wrong end of the dragon. I have ordered a set, and will teach my wife and two granddaughters. I expect to have many enjoyable evenings.

Please say “hi” to Jeff and Constance. I had donuts and coffee on the last two mornings before I left Williston. I think they are moving to a better location; I hope it works out for them.

Tell Joyce I really enjoyed meeting her. Her guest Lily was a most wonderful person; it was an unexpected treat to meet such a rare individual who seemed to be genuinely intrigued with a place like Williston.

Tell Nancy I think I paid for all my coffee before I departed Williston, but if I forgot, I will make it up when I return.

Now, to the books. I bought four books from Books on Broadway this trip. I am never disappointed in the selections I find in your store. We live in Grapevine, TX, a tourist destination of about 60,000 people a few miles northeast of Ft Worth/northwest of Dallas. It’s a wonderful city but there are NO bookstores. I asked one of the local businesswomen (on local city council) what their Main Street needed. She said the town needed something for the men, and a bookstore. That’s what I was looking for when I asked her the question. I was hoping she would realize the lack of a bookstore in that size of town if “frightening.” There is a Barnes and Noble about 5 miles away in the next town over but I’m talking about an independent bookstore. I really don’t have much need for a Barnes and Noble bookstore; I think “readers” prefer independent bookstores that “fit” the town where they are located.

I’m pretty much at the end of my book-quest. I’ve been reading voraciously since 2002. It is becoming more and more difficult to find something “new.” I don’t care for contemporary literature. For literature, I prefer the classics, or books, even if not classics, written by the titans, as it were.

Now, to the books. I bought On The Origin of Tepees; Crazy Horse by Kingsley Bray;  Grand Pursuit by Sylvia Nasar; and, the biography of Leonard Cohen.

I finished Tepees. I am reading Crazy Horse and Grand Pursuit now, and probably won’t read Leonard Cohen for quite some time.

Tepees is simply a “fun” travelogue; anyone who has grown up in the northern Great Plains can identify with the author’s observations. I’ve read a lot of books on the Plains Indians, but I think Jonnie Hughes does a superb job providing a 30-second sound bite on the displacement of the Great Plains Indians during the 1600’s and 1700’s. The book is filled with enough trivia to prepare one for multiple cocktail parties.

For someone who has no understanding of economics or no historical perspective, Sylvia Nasar would be a great place to start. I can’t think of a drier subject than economics, but, again, for the serious reader of literature, she mentions many authors of literature (Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot, Charles Dickens, etc) which puts the subject (economics) in perspective. For someone who knows nothing about economics but has read a lot of literature, this is a rewarding book.

Crazy Horse has to be read very, very slowly. Because the author does not use genealogy charts and the Native American names don’t lend themselves to following family lines, it can be difficult to follow family lines. However, as I write that, I wonder if that might be an interesting theme to follow up on American Indian culture, whether family ties or tribal ties are more important. I’m beginning to think there is a reason that family lines are not carried though their names like they are in Europe. It will be interesting to see if  I ever come across a book that talks about names of Indians and family ties.

There are probably few people that have visited as many independent bookstores as I have visited over the years around the world. I don’t think I have found a “better” bookstore than yours. I can only assume there were some lean times before the boom; I don’t know. All I can say now is that the 40,000 folks new to Williston are very, very fortunate to have Books on Broadway.

Bruce