Christmas Programming
Every year, we give the volunteers a short break from their normal recording and give you a chance to enjoy Christmas stories of the past and present. This year, our Christmas programming begins after the reading of the evening newspapers on Friday, December 24, and will continue up to the reading of the morning newspapers on Sunday, December 26. We hope you enjoy the stories.
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 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Their catalog is also online, and you can access it by going to the main website, http://education.state.mn.us, and then clicking on the link. If you live outside of Minnesota, you may obtain copies of books by contacting your own state’s Network Library for the National Library Service.
Listen to the Minnesota Radio Talking Book, either 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.
See interesting information about current RTB events on the Facebook site for the Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network. Register for Facebook at www.facebook.com.
Chautauqua
Tuesday – Saturday, 4 a.m.
What on Earth Evolved?, Nonfiction by Christopher Lloyd, 2009. Why have creatures evolved as they are? Which species have had the biggest impact on the world? Read by Dan Kuechenmeister. 25 broadcasts. Begins November 3.
The Wolf in the Parlor, Nonfiction by Jon Franklin, 2009. Building on research, science, and watching his own dog, Franklin posits that man and dog are more than inseparable; they are part and parcel of the same creature. Read by Ann Reed. 10 Br. Begins December 8.
Bright-Sided, Nonfiction by Barbara Ehrenreich, 2009. Ehrenreich says the down-sides of positive thinking are personal self-blame and national denial. She claims it directly contributed to our economic disaster. Read by Marylyn Burridge. 8 Br. Begins December 22.
Past is Prologue
Monday – Friday, 9 a.m.
As If an Enemy’s Country, Nonfiction by Richard Archer, 2010. When British troops occupied Boston, it gave colonists a sense of identity separate from their mother country. Read by Terri Horsmann. 11 Br. Begins November 29.
The Last Train from Hiroshima, Nonfiction by Charles Pellegrino, 2010. On two August days, nuclear devices detonated over Japan changing life on earth forever. Thirty people fled Hiroshima for the safety of Nagasaki, arriving just in time to survive yet another atomic bomb. V,L -Read by Sherri Afryl. 14 Br. Begins December 14.
Bookworm
Monday – Friday, 11 a.m.
The Tale of Halcyon Crane Fiction by Wendy Webb, 2010. Hallie James’s father always told her that her mother had died long ago. But it turns out her mother was alive until recently. What really happened to her family thirty years ago? Read by Mary Hall. 8 broadcasts. Begins November 29.
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, Fiction by Kelly O’Connor McNees, 2010. When she was twenty-two, Louisa May Alcott’s family spent the summer in New Hampshire and she fell in love with a neighbor. But the neighbor may not be free to love her back. Read by Diane Ladenson. 9 broadcasts. Begins December 9.
Lost, Fiction by Alice Lichtenstein, 2010. On a cold January morning, Susan’s husband wanders off alone. Suffering from dementia, he can no long feed or clothe himself. Now he is lost. Over the course of the weekend, a massive search for him takes place. L,S – Read by Michele Potts. 8 broadcasts. Begins December 22.
Writer’s Voice
Monday – Friday, 2 p.m.
You Can’t Do That!, Nonfiction by Carl Masters and Marv Davidov, 2009. For decades, Davidov has worked on peace and justice issues from Mississippi to Minnesota, from protesting racism to organizing against a powerful arms manufacturer. Read by June Prange. 12 broadcasts. Begins November 22.
She Looks Just Like You, Nonfiction by Amie Klempnauer Miller, 2010. Amie and Jane had been talking about having children for ten years. As her partner became the biological mom-to-be, Amie had to negotiate and discover what her future role was. It was somewhere in between mother and father. Read by Kristi Sullivan. 9 broadcasts. Begins December 8.
And One Fine Morning, Nonfiction by Nick Hayes, 2010. Nick Hayes came from an Irish Catholic family that was a part of Minneapolis’s North Side in the early decades of the twentieth century. His father Mark was one of Minnesota’s most successful modernist architects. L – Read by Dan Kelly. 9 broadcasts. Begins December 21.
Choice Reading
Monday – Friday, 4 p.m.
Unfinished Desires, Fiction by Gail Godwin, 2010. At Mount St. Gabriel’s girls’ school, Tildy Stratton befriends newcomer and recently orphaned Chloe Starnes. It fills a void for both but also sets in motion a profound change of events. L – Read by Judy Woodward. 16 Br. Begins November 23.
Daughters of the Witching Hill, Fiction by Mary Sharratt, 2010. Bess Southerns is haunted by visions and gains a reputation as a cunning woman. Drawing on Catholic folk magic, she heals the sick and foretells the future. A local magistrate, though, is eager to make his name as a witch finder. Read by Pat Kovel-Jarboe. 13 broadcasts. Begins December 15.
PM Report
Monday – Friday, 8 p.m.
Freefall, Nonfiction by Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2010. The Great Recession has had more impact than any crisis since the Great Depression. Government policy and personal and corporate behavior created the current financial meltdown. Read by William Stout. 15 broadcasts. Begins November 30.
Horse Soldiers, Nonfiction by Doug Stanton, 2009. After 9/11, a band of Special Forces secretly entered Afghanistan to battle the Taliban. They were ambushed and ended up fighting for their lives. L – Read by Del Adamson. 14 broadcasts. Begins December 21.
Night Journey
Monday – Friday, 9 p.m.
Deadly Stillwater, Fiction by Roger Stelljes, 2009. When Shannon Hisle is kidnapped, it is just the beginning in a case of betrayal and revenge sixteen years in the making that will strike at the heart and soul of the St. Paul Police Department. L – Read by Joe Sadowski. 11 Br. Begins November 22.
The Information Officer, Fiction by Mark Mills, 2010. In 1942, Max Chadwick is the British officer responsible for Malta, the Nazi’s stepping stone to North Africa. He learns of a murder possibly done by a British officer and needs to investigate. L – Read by Judy McGuigan. 13 broadcasts. Begins December 7.
The Fleet Street Murders, Fiction by Charles Finch, 2009. It is 1866. Amateur sleuth Charles Lenox is celebrating Christmas, his engagement, and a run for Parliament when he hears of the death of two journalists. Read by Charles Torrey. 10 broadcasts. Begins December 27.
Off the Shelf
Monday – Friday, 10 p.m.
Black Hills, Fiction by Dan Simmons, 2010. When Paha Sapa lays his hands on a dying General Custer, he believes Custer’s ghost enters his body. From then on, he sees into the memories and futures of others. L,S – Read by Don Lee.
36 Arguments for the Existence of God, Fiction by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, 2010. Cass is a celebrity atheist. But each new encounter with significant people reinforces his theory that religious impulse spills over into life at large. L – Read by Maria Rubinstein. 13 Br. Begins December 21.
Potpourri
Monday – Friday, 11 p.m.
Country Driving, Nonfiction by Peter Hessler, 2010. China once built walls against foreigners but is now building roads and factory towns that look to the outside world. Read by John Schmidt. 17 broadcasts. Begins November 18.
The Baseball Codes, Nonfiction by Jason Turbow, 2010. Baseball has intricate regulations, but what really governs the game is a set of unwritten rules. Some are openly discussed and some are fairly unknown. L – Read by Denny Laufenburger. 11 Br. Begins December 13.
Getting Ghost, Fiction by Luke Bergmann, 2010. Luke Bergmann returned to Detroit to study the incarceration of inner-city youth. He became more than an observer, intervening with a probation officer and being another’s contact when he fled the city. V,L,S – Read by Dan Sadoff. 13 Br. Begins December 29.
Good Night Owl
Monday – Friday, Midnight
Pirate Latitudes, Fiction by Michael Crichton, 2009. In 1665, Port Royal is a rough town where Captain Charles Hunter makes his plans to take the Spanish galleon which is awaiting repairs in a nearby harbor. L – Read by John Beal. 10 broadcasts. Begins December 6.
A Week in December, Fiction by Sebastian Faulks, 2010. Sebastian Faulks follows seven diverse people over seven days, including a Tube train driver whose train joins these lives together. L – Read by Jim Gregorich. 14 broadcasts. Begins December 20.
After Midnight
Tuesday– Saturday, 1 a.m.
The Girl with Glass Feet, Fiction by Ali Shaw, 2010. Ida Maclaird is turning to glass. She has returned to where this started to happen to search for a cure. Read by Jenny O’Brien. 9 broadcasts. Began November 24.
Love in Mid Air, Fiction by Kim Wright, 2010. An encounter on an airplane sends Elyse into a tailspin. Suddenly she is willing to risk her marriage, her perfect life, and her position in the community. L,S – Read by Colleen Matz. 12 Br. Begins December 7.
Wormwood, Nevada, Fiction by David Oppegaard, 2010. Tyler and Anna move to a town of cowboys, alien cultists, meth dealers, doomsday prophets, and the broken-hearted. Then a meteorite lands in town. Read by Andrea Bell. 7 Br. Begins December 23.
