Volunteer Readers Sought

Radio Talking Book seeks volunteers to broadcast from our sites in Rochester and St. Paul. If you know someone who may be interested in volunteering, we’d like to hear from them. Please contact Roberta Kitlinski at 651-539-1423 to learn more.

 

Radio Talking Book App for Smartphones

Listeners can now enjoy Radio Talking Book on their handheld mobile devices. The SERO app is available on both Apple iOS and Android platforms.

• On iOS: go to the App Store and search for Sero. Select the “Serotek Corporation” button and download the app.
• On Android: go to the Play Store, pick the “Navigation Drawer,” and search for Sero. Select “Sero (formerly iBlink Radio)” and download the app.
• Once there: run the app and select the “Reading Services” category. Then search for Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network and select it. You’ll need a password to access the stream: call 651-539-2363 or toll-free 1-800-722-0550 to receive one.

 

Weekend Programming

• Your Personal World (Saturdays at 1 p.m.) presents “Living in a Mindful Universe” by Eben Alexander and Karen Newell, read by Beverly Burchett.
• For the Younger Set (Sundays at 11 a.m.) presents “The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding” by Alexandra Bracken, read by Jim Tarbox; followed by “Love Songs and Other Lives” by Jessica Pennington, read by Brenda Powell.
• Poetic Reflections (Sundays at noon) presents “Leonard Cohen: Poems and Songs”; followed by “I Laugh at These Skinny Girls” by Tolu’ Akinyemi, both read by Scott McKinney.
• The Great North (Sundays at 4 p.m.) presents “Gunflint Burning” by Cary J. Griffith, read by Tom Speich.

 

Podcasts

We’re updating our podcasts at Radio Talking Book. “Podcasts” are programs available in a digital format, which can be listened to or downloaded over the Internet. RTB’s podcasts feature information on dealing with blindness and vision loss, job search strategies, career management, teens’ issues, and topics of general interest. Check them out at https://mn.gov/deed/ssb/braille/podcasts

 

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

Soon – Nonfiction by Andrew Santella, 2018. A tongue-in-cheek exploration of why we procrastinate, and a look at history’s great procrastinators. Don’t put this one off. Read by John Mandeville. 6 broadcasts; began Thursday, August 9.

The Body Builders – Nonfiction by Adam Piore, 2017. As modern science understands the mysteries of human performance, we are able to exist beyond our expectations. Read by John Gunter. 14 broadcasts; begins Friday, August 17.

 

Past is Prologue, Monday –  Friday 9 a.m

Code Girls – Nonfiction by Liza Mundy, 2017. The untold story of the more than ten thousand young American women who cracked key Axis codes, securing Allied victory and revolutionizing the field of cryptanalysis. Read by Holly Sylvester. 15 broadcasts; begins Monday, August 13.

 

Bookworm, Monday – Friday 11 a.m.

Mirror Shoulder Signal – Fiction by Dorthe Nors, 2016. Sonja is a woman in her forties, trying to move in the right direction. But how do you find yourself when there’s no one to ask directions? Read by Anne Obst. 5 broadcasts; began Wednesday, August 8.

The Pierre Hotel Affair – Nonfiction by Daniel Simone and Nick Sacco, 2017. The true story of a 1972 professional hotel robbery that has become the stuff of legend.  Read by Neil Bright. 16 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, August 15. – V, L

 

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

The Man Who Caught the Storm – Nonfiction by Brantley Hargrove, 2018. An outsider to the world of science, Tim Samaras chased tornadoes with tools of his own invention and pushed closer to the twisters than anyone else dared. Read by Laura Young. 10 broadcasts; began Monday, August 6.

Sting-Ray Afternoons – Nonfiction by Steve Rushin, 2017. Sports writer and Minnesota native Steve Rushin tells of growing up in a Minneapolis suburb in the 1970s. Read by Glenn Miller. 10 broadcasts; begins Monday, August 20

         

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

If We Had Known – Fiction by Elise Juska, 2018. A teacher learns that a former student is the gunman in a mass shooting. Their past connection puts her in the middle of a controversy. Read by Pat Muir. 13 broadcasts; began Wednesday, August 8.

Waiting For Tomorrow – Fiction by Nathacha Appanah, 2015. Anita and Adam live in France with their young daughter, but their nanny’s secrets threaten to tear apart their settled lives. Read by Connie Jamison. 7 broadcasts; begins Monday, August 27.

 

PM Report, Monday – Friday 8 p.m.

Raven Rock – Nonfiction by Garrett M. Graff, 2017. A secret ring of bunkers surrounding Washington D.C. is designed to protect high-ranking government officials in case of an attack. Read by Linda Kayser. 22 broadcasts; began Thursday, July 19.

Unlikely Partners – Nonfiction by Julian Gewirtz, 2017. At a crossroads in the nation’s tumultuous twentieth century, China looked to the West for economic guidance. Read by Dan Sadoff. 13 broadcasts; begins Monday, August 20.

 

Night Journey, Monday – Friday 9 p.m.

Seconds to Midnight – Fiction by Philip Donlay, 2017. A plane crashes into a frozen Canadian lake. Then a survivor tells witnesses, “Don’t let them know I’m alive – they’ll kill everyone.” Read by Neil Bright. 12 broadcasts; began Thursday, August 2.

Dangerous Behavior – Fiction by Nancy Bush, 2017. Jules Ford washed up on a beach, with no memory of how she got there or how her husband died. But someone seeks to learn what she knows. Read by John Marsicano. 14 broadcasts; begins Monday, August 20. –  V

 

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

The Daily Show (The Book) – Nonfiction by Chris Smith, 2016. For seventeen years, “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” redefined television comedy, political satire, and opinionated news coverage. Read by Mike Piscitelli. 19 broadcasts; began Tuesday, July 24. – L

For Those Who Know the Ending – Fiction by Malcolm Mackay, 2016. Two low-level thugs leave multiple clues on a heist, leading the mob to search for the amateurs who beat them at their own game. Read by Neil Bright. 11 broadcasts; begins Monday, August 20. – L, V

 

Potpourri, Monday – Friday 11 p.m.    

The Pleasure Shock – Nonfiction by Lone Frank, 2013. The controversial “brain pacemaker” technology invented by Dr. Robert Heath has become mainstream fifty years later. Read by Carol McPherson. 10 broadcasts; beganTuesday, August 7.

It’s About Time – Nonfiction edited by Kathie Giorgio, 2016. Time dominates and directs us all. This collection speaks of the passing and pausing of time, in prose and poetry. Read by Jess Banks. 8 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, August 21. – L

 

Good Night Owl, Monday – Friday midnight

Beautiful Music – Fiction by Michael Zadoorian, 2018. A young loner, facing dysfunction at home and racial tensions at school, finds escape in 70s rock’n’roll. Read by Michele Potts. 10 broadcasts; began Wednesday, August 8. – L, R

Salem’s Cipher – Fiction by Jess Lourey, 2016. Code expert Salem Wiley uncovers an ancient plot to rule the world; an élite group of women stand in their way. Read by Diane Ladenson. 11 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, August 22. – V

 

After Midnight, Tuesday – Saturday 1 a.m.

Small Secrets – Fiction by Joan Jacobson, 2017. A Minnesota farm girl redeems her life through the kindness of strangers. Read by Judith Johannessen. 10 broadcasts; began Thursday, August 2. – L, S

The Small Backs of Children – Fiction by Lidia Yuknavitch, 2015. A photo of a youngster fleeing an explosion becomes an obsession for a photographer’s best friend. Read by Isla Hejny. 6 broadcasts; begins Thursday, August 16. – V, L, S

 

Abbreviations:

V – violence
L – offensive language
S – sexual situations
RE – racial epithets
G – graphic descriptions