Radio Talking Book host for International Conference
From June 6 to June 8, the Minnesota Radio Talking Book was host to the annual conference for the International Association of Audio Information Services. This organization, under several different names, has existed since the early 1970s, inspired by the existence of the Radio Talking Book, which was the world’s first reading service for the blind. Though the annual conference travels to various hosts each year, it returned to Minnesota this year, and the theme chosen for the conference was “Remembering the Past, Looking Forward to the Future.” One of the presenters at the conference was Minnesota’s Engineer Emeritus, Robert Watson, who made the Radio Talking Book possible in 1969.
Weekend Program Books
Your Personal World (Saturday at 1 p.m.) is airing 8 Habits of Love, by Ed Bacon, and Weight Loss for People Who Feel Too Much, by Colette Baron-Reid; For the Younger Set (Sunday at 11 a.m.) is airing The Mostly True Story of Jack, by Kelly Barnhill; Poetic Reflections (Sunday at noon) is airing Pity the Beautiful, by Dana Gioia, and Mother Desert, by Jo Sarzotti; The U.S. and Us (Sunday at 4 p.m.) is airing Minnesota Mayhem, by Ben Welter, and Thirty Rooms to Hide In, by Luke Longstreet Sullivan.
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, 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
The Virtues of Poetry, Nonfiction by James Longenbach, 2013. 7 Br. Began July 12. In twelve essays, Longenbach describes the way in which a particular virtue is enacted in poetry. He says the notions of excellence we derive from art are fluid, never fixed. Read by Stuart
Holland.
The End of Men, Nonfiction by Hanna Rosen, 2012. 11 Br. Begins July 23. Men have been the dominant sex since the dawn of mankind, but it is no longer true. Women are not just gaining on men; they have pulled ahead by every measure. It will be helpful to all to adapt to the new reality and channel it for a better future. L – Read by Nancy Bader.
Past is Prologue
Monday – Friday 9 a.m.
The Story of America, Nonfiction by Jill Lepore, 2012. 12 Br. Began July 4. America’s democracy is bound up with the history of print. Over the centuries, Americans have read and written their way into a political culture of ink and type. Read by Leila Poullada.
From the Jaws of Victory, Nonfiction by Matt Garcia, 2012. 17 Br. Begins July 22. The United Farm Workers, UFW, had a meteoric rise and precipitous decline. The union’s grape boycott became the defining feature of the movement and drove growers to sign contracts in 1970. As the union expanded and the boycott spread, Cesar Chavez found it more difficult to organize workers and fend off rival unions. Ultimately, the union was victim of its own success. Read by Jack Rossmann.
Bookworm
Monday – Friday 11 a.m.
Save Me, Fiction by Lisa Scottoline, 2011. 12 Br. Began July 1. Rose McKenna was volunteering as a lunch mom because her daughter Melly had been being teased; she wanted to see it first-hand. Then an emergency happened, she had to make split-second decisions, and her life changed forever. L – Read by Sue McDonald.
Hand Me Down My Walking Cane, Fiction by Carla Hagen, 2011. 8 Br. Begins July 17. Emil grew up in Faunce Ridge, near the Canadian border. Now the Roosevelt government has asked him to photograph the poverty of the village to sell Congress on resettlement in accord with the New Deal. Read by Carol Lewis.
The Smart One, Fiction by Jennifer Close, 2013. 12 Br. Begins July 29. Weezy and Will raised Martha, Claire, and Max to be kind, smart, and independent. Their parents did their best preparing them for the world. So why is Martha living in her childhood bedroom after a career flameout? Why has Claire canceled her wedding and locked herself in her New York apartment? And how has Max managed to get himself into a girlfriend fiasco? L – Read by Natasha DeVoe.
The Writer’s Voice
Monday – Friday 2 p.m.
Wild, Nonfiction by Cheryl Strayed, 2012. 14 Br. Began July 2. At Twenty-two, with nothing more to lose and with no wilderness experience, Cheryl decided to hike the Pacific Crest Trail on her own. The experience broke her down further and built her back up again. Read by Jan Anderson.
My Mother’s Wars, Nonfiction by Lillian Faderman, 2013. 13 Br. Begins July 22. Like many Eastern European Jewish immigrants of the time, Mary Lifton left her family in Latvia in pursuit of a better life in New York. She found work, and she found love. But worse than his romantic betrayals, Moishe kept her from doing what she needed to do: find a way to get her family out of Latvia before being trapped by Hitler’s Holocaust. Read by Yelva Lynfield.
Choice Reading
Monday – Friday 4 p.m.
John Saturnall’s Feast, Fiction by Lawrence Norfolk, 2012. 16 broadcasts. Begins June 24. An orphan, John is taken into the home of Sir William Fremantle, with his only legacy a book about an ancient feast. In the kitchens, John shines with his elaborate culinary creations, eventually putting him in contact with Sir William’s daughter,Lucretia. Read by Arlan Dohrenburg.
The Fall of Alice K., Fiction by Jim Heynen, 2012. 12 broadcasts. Begins July 16. In her senior year, Alice falls in love with the son of Hmong immigrants. Caught at a moment of personal and community transformation, they must navigate through vastly different traditions while fighting to create new ones of their own. Read by Michele Potts.
PM Report
Monday – Friday 8 p.m.
A Nation of Deadbeats, Nonfiction by Scott Reynolds Nelson, 2012. 14 broadcasts. Began June 26. The story of America is a story of dreamers and defaulters. As far back as 1792, our country’s financial panics boiled down to one question: would Americans pay their debts, or are we just a nation of deadbeats? Read by John Demma.
The Dictator’s Learning Curve, Nonfiction by William J. Dobson, 2012. 14 Br. Begins July 16. The Arab Spring is only the latest front in a worldwide battle between freedom and repression, a battle that rages in a dozen other countries. Until recently, dictators have been winning hands-down. Read by Leila Poullada.
Night Journey
Monday – Friday 9 p.m.
The Sanctuary, Fiction by Ted Dekker, 2012. 11 Br. Began July 8. Priest Danny Hansen is in prison for murdering two abusive men. On the outside, the woman he loves, has received demands that can result in either her or Danny’s death. L – Read by Joy Fogarty.
Don’t Turn Around, Fiction by Michelle Gagnon, 2012. 9 Br. Begins July 23. Noa wakes up on a table with an IV in her arm and no memory of how she got there. A computer hacker living off the grid, she needs help to find out who’s hunting her and why. L – Read by Diane Ladenson.
Off the Shelf
Monday – Friday 10 p.m.
Telegraph Avenue, Fiction by Michael Chabon, 2012. 21 broadcasts. Began June 17. Archy Stallings and Nat Jaffe, longtime friends and bandmates, are co-owners of Brokeland Records, a kingdom of used vinyl. Their shop is threatened when a megastore is planned nearby. Their wives, too, are caught up in a battle for their professional existence, and the teenage son of Archy (never acknowledged) shows up and becomes the love of Nat’s son’s life. L- Read by John Mandeville.
Niceville, Fiction by Carsten Stroud, 2012. 14 Br. Begins July 16. A young boy disappears from a sleepy Southern town and Nick, a cop with a dark side of his own, and his wife, Kate, a family practice lawyer are drawn into a shadow world between life and death. V,L – Read by Dan Kuechenmeister.
Potpourri
Monday – Friday 11 p.m.
In the Valley of the Shadow, Nonfiction by James L. Kugel, 2011. 9 Br. Begins July 2. When Kugel was diagnosed with cancer, he experienced a new state of smallness in relation to the world, a theme he’d encountered in his study of ancient religions. Read by Scott Brush.
Rez Life, Nonfiction by David Treuer, 2012. 13 Br. Begins July 15. Of the over three hundred Indian reservations in the U.S. today, some are rich, some poor, but all are vibrant. L – Read by Dan Sadoff.
Good Night Owl
Monday – Friday midnight
Tiger Hills, Fiction by Sarita Mandanna, 2012. 16 Br. Began July 9. Devi is born in 1878. Her fate is intertwined with Devanna, a gifted boy whose mother died. The two become inseparable until Devi meets Machu, the tiger killer, a hunter of great repute. L – Read by Ann Hoedeman.
Ghosts of Manhattan, Fiction by Douglas , 2012. 11 Br. Began July 24. Nick Farmer’s bond trader life style is taking a toll on his marriage and on him but he seems addicted to the seven figure income, the annual bonus, and all the perks that the money can buy. Then he’s presented with an ethical dilemma. L,S – Read by Bill Studer.
After Midnight
Tuesday – Saturday 1 a.m.
Tony and Susan, Fiction by Austin Wright, 2011. 12 Br. Begins July 10. Fifteen years ago, Susan Morrow left her first husband, Edward Sheffield, an unpublished writer. Now a doctor’s wife, her ex sends her the manuscript of his first novel, asking her to read it. L – Read by John Demma.
Osama, Fiction by Lavie Tidhar, 2012. 8 Br. Begins July 26. In an alternate world without global terrorism, a private detective is hired to track down the creator of a fictional vigilante, Osama Bin Laden. Joe’s identity slowly fragments as his quest takes him across the world. L – Read by Don Lee.
Abbreviations: V – violence, L – offensive language, S – sexual situations
