Possible Government Shutdown

The Minnesota Legislature adjourned at midnight on May 23, 2011 without reaching an agreement to appropriate money to fund operations of state government. Unless the legislature reaches agreements soon, the non-critical operations of state agencies may be forced to cease effective July 1, 2011. If this occurs, it is possible that State Services for the Blind (SSB) would cease all operations until funding is secured. It looks likely that this would include sending out a signal for the Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network. If this happens, we will resume our programming where we left off on June 30; at that time, books will continue with the next broadcast. 

At some point, Governor Dayton will call a special session of the Minnesota Legislature. We hope our elected representatives can come to agreement on funding for state agencies during this special session and prevent state agency shut-downs.  However, it is important we be prepared for a shut-down by July 1 in the event that legislators cannot resolve budget issues by midnight June 30, 2011. Governor Dayton, his cabinet, and the other leaders of the Executive Branch are doing everything possible to persuade legislators to reach an agreement and appropriate adequate funds so that government operations can continue uninterrupted.  We are truly sorry for the inconvenience and hardship that this action may cause you.

 

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.

How We Age, Nonfiction by Marc E. Agronin, M.D., 2010. Drawing on moving personal experiences, those of his patients and their families, and on in-depth interviews with pioneers in the field, Doctor Agronin looks at what aging means today. Read by Yelva Lynfield. 11 broadcasts. Began June 28.

Self Comes to Mind, Nonfiction by Antonio Damasio, 2010. Damasio has spent the past thirty years studying how the brain operates. He believes the brain’s development of self becomes a challenge to nature’s indifference and opens the way for the appearance of culture. Read by Malcolm McLean. 14 broadcasts. Begins July 13.

 

Past is Prologue
Monday – Friday, 9 a.m.

We’re Gonna Win, Twins!, Nonfiction by Doug Grow, 2010. In 1961, the Twins brought major league baseball to the upper Midwest. Since that time, there have been great players and World Series games. And there have been plenty of interesting people associated with the last fifty years. Read by Jim Gregorich. 10 broadcasts. Begsn July 4.

The Poisoner’s Handbook, Nonfiction by Deborah Blum, 2010. In early 20th century New York, poison was the perfect weapon because forensics didn’t exist. Then came Charles Norris in 1918 and the poison game changed forever.  Read by Colleen Matz. 11 broadcasts. Begins July 18.

 

Bookworm
Monday – Friday, 11 a.m.

Safe from the Sea, Fiction by Peter Geye, 2010. Noah returns home to reconnect with his dying father, thirty-five years after the wreck of a Great Lakes ore boat that his father only partially survived. When his father finally tells the story of the disaster, the two men reconsider each other. Read by Bob Malos. 9 broadcasts. Began July 5.

My Name Is Memory, Fiction by Ann Brashares, 2010. Lucy Broward is an ordinary teenaged girl. But she has a crush on Daniel Grey who is not ordinary. Daniel has the memory, the ability to recall past lives and recognize souls of those he’s previously known. Read by John Beal. 12 broadcasts. Begins July 18.

 

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

Extraordinary, Ordinary People, Nonfiction by Condoleeza Rice, 2010. Condoleezza Rice has been diplomat, political scientist, and concert pianist. She was the first black woman to serve as Secretary of State. But in Birmingham, Alabama, where she grew up, blacks were expected to keep their heads down and do what they were told. Read by Jan Anderson. 10 broadcasts. Began July 6.

George Eliot in Love, Nonfiction by Brenda Maddox, 2010. As one of the most celebrated novelists in history, George Eliot’s books are as appreciated now as they were in the 19th century. Yet her nonconformist, captivating personal life is not well known. Read by Ilze Mueller. 8 broadcasts. Begins July 20.

 

Choice Reading
Monday – Friday, 4 p.m.

The Queen of Palmyra, Fiction by Minrose Gwin, 2010. In 1963, white residents of Millwood  avoid “Shake Rag,” the black part of town. One person who crosses the line is young Florence Forrest who attaches herself to her grandparents’ maid, Zenie.  L – Read by Connie Jamison. 15 broadcasts. Began July 4.

The Girl Who Fell from the Sky, Fiction by Heidi W. Durrow, 2010. Rachel, the daughter of a Danish mother and a black G.I., is the sole survivor of a family tragedy. Moving to a new city with her strict African-American grandmother as guardian, she is thrust for the first time into a mostly black community. Read by Karen Wertz. 6 broadcasts. Begins July 25.

 

PM Report
Monday – Friday, 8 p.m.

Making Our Democracy Work, Nonfiction by Stephen Breyer, 2010. Charged with the responsibility of interpreting the Constitution, the justices of the Supreme Court have the power to strike down laws enacted by our elected representatives. When their decisions are unpopular, how does the Court maintain the public’s faith? Read by John Demma.10 broadcasts. Began June 29.

I.O.U., Nonfiction by John Lanchester, 2010. Our financial implosion began with the proliferation of cheap credit, which led to an explosion of lending. Read by Hugh Jones. 10 broadcasts. Begins July 13.      

Were You Born on the Wrong Continent?, Nonfiction by Thomas Geoghegan, 2010. Thomas Geoghegan asks what our lives would be like if we lived them as Europeans. Social democracy may let us live nicer lives – it also may be the only way to be globally competitive. Read by Marylyn Burridge. 11 broadcasts. Begins July 27.

 

Night Journey
Monday – Friday, 9 p.m.

Angel with Two Faces, Fiction by Nicola Upson, 2010. Disillusioned with theater in May 1935, Josephine Tey is spending the summer with the Motleys at their estate in Cornwall. The Motleys are involved in an amateur theatrical production that becomes the stage for a real-life tragedy. L,S – Read by Ann Hoedeman. 12 broadcasts. Began June 30.

Freeze Frame, Fiction by Peter May, 2010. Forensics expert Enzo Macleod takes up a twenty-year-old murder case in which the victim left several clues to reveal his killer’s identity. But the residents of the area have no desire to be back in the news. L – Read by John Edmunds. 11 Br. Begins July 18.

 

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

The Storm, Fiction by Margriet de Moor, 2010. Armanda and Lidy look very much alike. On the morning that a horrible storm hits the Netherlands, Armanda asks Lidy to take her place on a visit. In turn, Armanda will care for Lidy’s daughter and go to a party. Read by Judy Woodward. 10 broadcasts. Began July 4      

Star Island, Fiction by Carl Hiaasen, 2010. Pop star Cherry Pye has a double who subs for Cherry whenever Cherry is too wasted for a personal appearance. So when Cherry is kidnapped, it’s actually her double, Ann DeLusia. The challenge is to rescue Ann without anyone knowing of her existence. L – Read by John Marsicano. 12 broadcasts. Begins July 18.

 

Potpourri
Monday – Friday, 11 p.m.

Travels in Siberia, Nonfiction by Ian Frazier, 2010. Officially, there is no such place as Siberia. No political or territorial entity has Siberia as its name and no people are known to speak a language called Siberian. But Siberia still hovers across the northern third of Asia. Read by Dan Sadoff. 22 Br. Began June 16.  

Unbroken, Nonfiction by Laura Hillenbrand, 2010. In May of 1943, Louis Zamperini’s bomber crashed into the Pacific, leaving him on a life raft amid thousands of miles of ocean and sharks. It was the beginning of an odyssey that would test his endurance with ingenuity, hope, humor, and rebellion. L – Read by Don Lee. 16 broadcasts. Begins July 18.

 

 

Good Night Owl
Monday – Friday, Midnight

Bliss, Remembered, Fiction by Frank Deford, 2010. At the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Sydney Stringfellow begins a love affair with the son of a Nazi diplomat. The affair ends when political forces tear them apart. Read by Judith Johannessen. 13 Br. Began July 4.

The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady, Fiction by Elizabeth Stuckey-French, 2010. Marylou Ahearn is going to kill Dr. Wilson Spriggs. In 1953, he gave her a radioactive cocktail without her consent as part of a government study. Fifty years later, she is still ticked off. L,S – Read by Kristi Sullivan. 12 broadcasts. Begins July 21.

 

After Midnight
Tuesday– Saturday, 1 a.m.

She’s Gone Country, Fiction by Jane Porter, 2010. When her husband left, Shey moved back to Texas with her teenage sons. But life on the ranch brings a new set of dramas. S – Read by Sue McDonald. 11 Br. Began July 7.

Veil of Night, Fiction by Linda Howard, 2010. Jaclyn loves her job as wedding planner but Carrie was a bridezilla. When Carrie is killed, Jaclyn becomes a suspect. L,S – Read by Lynda Kayser. 12 Br. Begins July 22.

 

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