Status Updates From Mark Twain: Complete Works

I've stopped reading this due to:
- the poor quality of the text conversion - too many typos
- no ability to "share" sections on Goodreads
- Notes not able to be exported - THIS was the killer

I now buy only versions that don't have these problems.

2026-08-10 Just finished "Roughing it". Very funny. Twain is a master of telling wacky stories. Some based on real stuff, some probably totally made up. What a creative imagination. I loved so many parts of the book:
- Stagecoach/Pony Express realities: benefits & drawbacks
- 1860s journalism
- Mormon history/interactions
- Silver mining mania in NV
- SF life
- Hawaii history, volcanoes & culture
and more

2026-08-01 Getting into "Roughing It" and enjoying it very much. Twain has such colorful and lively ways of describing things: scenery, characters, morals, customs, modes of travel, etc. It is about two brothers travelling by "land coach" from Missouri to Sacramento, CA in the 1850s (before the civil war and the trans-continental RR. The movie version with James Garner narrating was quite good too. More later.

2026-08-01 I finished "The American Claimant" a week or so ago. It started out fairly strange, got much better - was really good at cutting down unearned aristocratic titles - but then finished up pretty strange and unclear. I'm looking forward to reading what others have said about this.