Volunteer Readers Sought

Volunteers at Radio Talking Book broadcast local news and information to blind and print-impaired listeners from sites in Duluth, Fergus Falls, Grand Rapids, Mankato, Rochester, St. Cloud, and St. Paul. We provide timely information to listeners throughout Minnesota and across the nation. If you know someone who may be interested in becoming a volunteer, we’d like to hear from them. Please contact Roberta Kitlinski at 651-539-1423 to learn more.



Handiham Program

The Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute’s Handiham Program connects people with vision loss or physical disability with the challenging, exciting, and rewarding world of ham radio. To learn more call 866-426-3442, or go online to www.handiham.org.



Weekend Program Books

Your Personal World (Saturday at 1 p.m.) presents “How Healing Works” by Wayne Jonas, read by Beverly Burchett. For the Younger Set (Sunday at 11 a.m.) presents “Running Full Tilt” by Michael Currinder, read by Don Gerlach; followed by “Expelled” by James Patterson and Emily Raymond, read by John Mandeville. Poetic Reflections (Sunday at noon) presents “Your Father Walks Like a Crab” by Tolu’ Akinemi; followed by “Cowboy Poetry: A Gathering” edited by Hal Cannon, both read by Scott McKinney. The Great North (Sunday at 4 p.m.) presents “Homemade” by Beatrice Ojakangas, read by Esmé Evans; followed by “You’re Sending Me Where?” by Eric Dregni, read by John Beal.

 

Books Available Through Faribault

Books broadcast on the Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network are available through the Minnesota  Braille and Talking Book Library in Faribault, MN. Their phone is 1-800-722-0550 and hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Their catalog is also online, and you can access it by going to the main website, www.mnbtbl.org, and then clicking on the link Search the Library Catalog. If you live outside of Minnesota, you may obtain copies of our books via an inter-library loan by contacting your own state’s Network Library for the National Library Service.    

Listen to the Minnesota Radio Talking Book, live or archived programs from the last week, on the Internet at www.mnssb.org/rtb. Call the staff at the Radio for your password to the site.  

Audio information about the daily book listings is also on NFB Newsline. Register for NFB Newsline by calling 651-539-2363.

Donate to the State Services for the Blind at mn.gov/deed/ssbdonate.

 

Chautauqua Tuesday,  Tuesday – Saturday 4 a.m

A Big Bang in a Little Room. Nonfiction by Zeeya Merali, 2017. How was the universe created? Could we create our own? Modern science may hold the answers. Read by Arlan Dohrenburg. 13 broadcasts, began Thursday, March 29

Storm in a Teacup. Nonfiction by Helen Czerski. Though the universe seems vast and incomprehensible, the key to unveiling its secrets is as close as the nearest kitchen toaster. Read by Myrna Smith. 12 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, April 17.

 

Past is Prologue, Monday –  Friday 9 a.m

Ike and McCarthy. Nonfiction by David A. Nichols, 2017. President Dwight Eisenhower worked behind the scenes to bring down the reign of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Read by Robb Empson. 12 broadcasts; began Monday, April 9.

Sons and Soldiers. Nonfiction by Bruce Henderson, 2017. Nearly 2,000 German Jews fled Nazi Germany to America, and then returned to Europe to join the Allied victory. Read by Esmé Evans. 13 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, April 25.

 

Bookworm, Monday – Friday 11 a.m.

Dance of the Jakaranda. Fiction by Peter Kimani, 2017. At the beginning of Kenya’s independence, three men’s lives interconnect when they are involved with the controversial birth of a child. Read by Jeffrey Weihe. 12 broadcasts; began Wednesday, April 4.

This Is What Happened. Fiction by Mick Herron, 2018. An introverted, socially isolated young woman is enlisted to infiltrate and thwart an international plot. Read by Pat Muir. 8 broadcasts; begins Monday, April 23.

 

The Writer’s Voice, Monday, Monday – Friday 2 p.m.

What Happened. Nonfiction by Hillary Rodham Clinton, 2017. The former First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State shares her view of the 2016 election and its aftermath. Read by Patricia Kovel-Jarboe. 17 broadcasts; began Thursday, April 5.

Give a Girl a Knife. Nonfiction by Amy Thielen, 2017. A chef journeys from her rural Minnesota home to New York City – and back – in search of her culinary roots. Read by Judith Johannessen. 11 broadcasts; begins Monday, April 30.

         

Choice Reading, Monday, Monday – Friday 4 p.m.

Chicago.  Fiction by David Mamet, 2018. A reporter in 1920s Chicago seeks the truth after seeing his best friend’s girlfriend murdered. Read by Chris Colestock. 9 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, April 10. – V

White Houses.  Fiction by Amy Bloom, 2018. The relationship between Lorena Hickock and Eleanor Roosevelt grew into one of the most memorable friendships in American history. Read by Connie Jamison. 8 broadcasts; begins Monday, April 23.

 

PM Report, Monday – Friday 8 p.m.

Europe’s Last Chance. Nonfiction by Guy Verhofstadt, 2017. Verhofstadt, Belgium’s former Prime Minister, thinks Europe needs a union patterned on the US government. Read by Stephen Smith. 10 broadcasts; began Thursday, April 5.

All the Single Ladies. Nonfiction by Rebecca Traister, 2016. When women gained options beyond marriage, their independence sparked social change. Read by Marylyn Burridge. 15 broadcasts; begins Thursday, April 19. – V, L, S

 

Night Journey, Monday – Friday 9 p.m.

The Darkest Lies. Fiction by Barbara Copperthwaite, 2017. A woman’s daughter is beaten almost to death. As she learns what happened, she finds her daughter has secrets. Read by Isla Hejny. 15 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, April 11. – V

Threads of Suspicion. Fiction by Dee Henderson, 2017. Detectives Evie Blackwell and David Marshal are assigned to revisit cold cases across Illinois. Read by Nan Felknor. 15 broadcasts; begins Monday, April 30.

 

Off the Shelf, Monday – Friday 10 p.m.

The Man Without a Shadow. Fiction by Joyce Carol Oates, 2016. Researcher Margot Sharpe devotes her life to Eli Hoopes, whose memory is devastated by illness. Read by John Marsicano. 12 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, April 11. – V, L, S

Human Acts. Fiction by Han Kang, 2017. A young boy is killed during a student uprising in South Korea. Years later, the effects of the event continue to reverberate. Read by Michele Potts. 7 broadcasts; begins Friday, April 30. – V, L, S

 

Potpourri, Monday – Friday 11 p.m.    

The Far Away Brothers. Nonfiction by Lauren Markham, 2017. Twin brothers journey afar to escape El Salvador’s brutal gangs. Read by John Potts. 11 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, April 10. – L

Mad Enchantment. Nonfiction by Ross King, 2016. Claude Monet’s paintings were created at a challenging time, both for him and across the world. Read by Carol Lewis. 13 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, April 25.

 

Good Night Owl, Monday – Friday midnight

Underground Fugue. Fiction by Margot Singer, 2017. A woman in London befriends an Irani neighbor, but fears his son may be involved in a terrorist attack. Read by Laura Rohlik. 10 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, April 10.

The Price of the Haircut. Essays by Brock Clarke, 2018. A collection of first-person narratives, based in a world where usual rules of behavior don’t apply. Read by Mike Piscitelli. 8 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, April 24.

 

After Midnight, Tuesday – Saturday 1 a.m.

The Immortals. Fiction by Jordanna Max Brodsky, 2016. The Greek gods still walk among us. Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and protector of women and girls, has taken the name of Selene DiSilva and works as a detective in Manhattan. Read by Cintra Godfrey. 18 broadcasts; began Tuesday, April 3. – L

American War. Fiction by Omar El Akkad, 2017. Civil war begins in America in 2074 after an environmental crisis. A family moves to a relocation camp, and becomes involved in a devastating act of revenge. Read by Jack Rossmann. 16 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, April 25. – L

Abbreviations: V – violence, L – offensive language, S – sexual situations