Name Change for The U.S. and Us
The Radio Talking Book began the program The U.S. and Us many years ago when volunteer John Sweetser suggested the program. John was an amazing researcher, finding obscure sources for his material. When he died, we began reading books about Minnesota and the Upper Midwest, but kept the name The U.S. and Us. Beginning this month, we have changed the name of that program, which airs on Sundays at 4 p.m., to more closely reflect what is heard there. New books will be introduced as The Great North. We hope you like the title.
Weekend Program Books
Your Personal World (Saturday at 1 p.m.) is airing Super Better, by Jane McGonigal; For the Younger Set (Sunday at 11 a.m.) is airing Will in Scarlet, by Matthew Cody, and Playing with Fire: School for S.P.I.E.S., by Bruce Hale ; Poetic Reflections (Sunday at noon) is airing Empty Chairs, by Xia Liu, and black cat bone, by John Burnside; The U.S. and Us (Sunday at 4 p.m.) is airing Degrees of Freedom, by William D. Green, and Tony Oliva, by Thom Henninger.
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.
Audio information about the daily book listings is also on NFB Newsline. Register for NFB Newsline by calling 651-539-1424.
Chautauqua Tuesday, Tuesday – Saturday 4 a.m
Work Rules!, Nonfiction by Lazlo Bock, 2015. 13 Br. Began March 3. Lazlo Bock, head of People Operations at Google, says, “We spend more time working than doing anything else in life. It’s not right that the experience of work should be so demotivating and dehumanizing.” Read by Art Nyhus.
Wide-Open World, Nonfiction by John Marshall, 2015. 16 Br. Begins March 22. John Marshall needed a change. His marriage was falling apart, his son was about to leave home and his daughter was lost in cyberspace. He decided his family would volunteer their time and energy to others in far-flung locales. Read by Bonnie Smith-Yackel.
Past is Prologue, Monday – Friday 9 a.m
The Oregon Trail, Nonfiction by Rinker Buck, 2015. 18 Br. Begins March 17. Spanning two thousand miles and traversing six states from Missouri to the Pacific Coast, the Oregon Trail is the route that made America. Yet this huge land migration is almost forgotten. To understand it better, Buck and Nick Rinker traveled from Missouri to Oregon with three mules and a covered wagon. Read by John Potts.
Bookworm, Monday – Friday 11 a.m.
The Royal We, Fiction by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, 2015. 17 Br. Begins March 14. American Bex goes to Oxford and meets dreamy Nick across the hall. But it turns out that she has accidentally found herself in love with the heir to the British throne. The problem is he comes with unimaginable baggage. L – Read by Mary Hall.
The Writer’s Voice, Monday, Monday – Friday 2 p.m.
Billy Martin: Baseball’s Flawed Genius, Nonfiction by Bill Pennington, 2015. 22 Br. Began March 7. Billy Martin is considered a baseball genius, but he is remembered more for his bad behavior. He was combative, fiery, intimidating, bombastic – and yet endearing and beloved by everyday fans. Read by Jim Gregorich.
Choice Reading, Monday, Monday – Friday 4 p.m.
Dinner with Buddha, Fiction by Roland Merullo, 2015. 13 Br. Begins March 9. Years after the skeptic Otto Ringling and world-renowned spiritual master Volya Rinpoche became friends, they travel to the center of America seeking the answer to “What does the future hold?”
Read by Jack Rossmann.
Sweet Forgiveness, Fiction by Lori Nelson Spielman, 2015. 12 Br. Begins March 28. The Forgiveness Stones craze is sweeping the nation – a pouch of stones that come with a chain letter and two requests: to forgive and then seek forgiveness. But talk show host, Hannah Farr has privately kept her pouch for two years. L – Read by Judith Johannessen.
PM Report, Monday – Friday 8 p.m.
God and government, Nonfiction by Rev. Barry W. Lynn, 2015. 14 Br. Begins March 3. Rev. Barry Lynn has been on the front lines of the fight for the marginalized and disadvantaged. He says that from cradle to grave, the Religious Right is concerned about every choice you make. His work is defending freedom against theocratic illness. Read by Dan Sadoff.
Missoula, Nonfiction by Jon Krakauer, 2015. 12 Br. Begins March 23. Acquaintance rape is a crime like no other; unlike any other felony, the victim comes under more suspicion than the perpetrator. This reality explains a lot of why acquaintance rape is the most underreported crime in America. L – Read by John Demma.
Night Journey, Monday – Friday 9 p.m.
Rock, Paper, Scissors, Fiction by Naja Marie Aidt, 2015. 13 Br. Began March 9. Thomas and Jenny’s criminal father dies. While trying to fix a toaster he left behind, Thomas discovers a secret, setting into motion a series of events leading to the dissolution of his life, and plunging him into a dark, shadowy underworld of violence and betrayal. V,L,S – Read by Pat Kovel-Jarboe.
Descent, Fiction by Tim Johnston, 2015. 12 Br. Begins March 28. The Courtlands hope a family vacation in the Rockies will repair their marriage, and it lures 18-year-old Caitlin as the ultimate test of her runner’s heart. When Caitlin and her younger brother, Sean, go out for an early morning run and only Sean returns, the Rocky Mountains become as terrifying as they are majestic. V,L –
Read by Ann Hoedeman
Off the Shelf, Monday – Friday 10 p.m.
The Automobile Club of Egypt, Fiction by Alaa Al Aswany, 2015. 20 Br. Begins March 14. Abd el-Aziz Gaafar took on menial work at the Automobile Club, a place of refuge and luxury for European members but where Egyptians may only appear as servants. Read by Michael Piscitelli.
Potpourri, Monday – Friday 11 p.m.
The Invention of Voicemail, Nonfiction by David P. Andersen, 2013. 7 Br. Begins March 14. Retired computer design engineer, David P. Andersen, writes about his memories and the things that fascinate him. Read by Jack Rossmann.
The Dad Report, Nonfiction by Kevin Cook, 2015. 8 Br. Begins March 23. Almost two hundred father-son pairs have played in baseball’s big leagues. But more than carrying the legacy, this is often a way to bond, father to son. L – Read by Phil Rosenbaum.
Good Night Owl, Monday – Friday midnight
Wonders of the Invisible World, Fiction by Christopher Barzak, 2015. 8 Br. Began March 2. Aiden Lockwood’s world is haunted by stories of the past, stories someone has tried to prevent him remembering. Visions from this invisible world come to him unbidden – whether waking or sleeping. And someone is waiting to collect on a family debt. Read by Greg Olson.
Crooked, Fiction by Austin Grossman, 2015. 15 Br. Begins March 14. What if our nation’s worst president was really a pivotal figure caught in a desperate struggle between ordinary life and horrors from another reality? Here, Nixon finally reveals the secret history of modern American politics. L – Read by Arlan Dohrenburg.
After Midnight, Tuesday – Saturday 1 a.m.
Armada, Fiction by Ernest Cline, 2015. 14 Br. Began March 3. Zack Lightman has spent his life dreaming that the real world could be a little more like the science-fiction books, movies, and videogames he spends his life consuming. And then he sees the flying saucer and his life changes. V,L – Read by Dan Sadoff.
The Secret Sister, Fiction by Brenda Novak, 2015. 12 Br. Begins March 23. Maisey returns to her old island home; her brother has asked her to come. Then she finds a box of photographs that evoke memories of a little girl that must have been her sister. But her mother claims there was no sister. L,S – Read by Lynda Kayser.
Abbreviations: V – violence, L – offensive language, S – sexual situations
