Do you know someone who needs our services?

Since we are part of Minnesota’s State Services for the Blind, many people forget that the Communication Center services are available to anyone who cannot read the printed page for a physical reason. That may be brain trauma or dyslexia; or it may stem from the inability to hold a book or turn pages, such as a person might experience with MS, cerebral palsy, or quadriplegia. If you know someone who could benefit from the services of the Communication Center, whether it’s the Radio Talking Book or our providing custom recording services, please tell them about us and urge them to call us at 1-800-722-0550.

 

 

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

Superforecasting, Nonfiction by Philip E. Tetlock and Dan Gardner, 2015. 11 Br. Begins May 10. Everyone would benefit from seeing further into the future, whether buying stocks, crafting policy, launching a new product, or simply planning the week’s meals. Unfortunately, people tend to be terrible forecasters. Read by Chris Colestock.

Changing the Subject, Nonfiction by Sven Birkerts, 2015. 11 Br. Begins May 25. The digital world affects the way that we read literature and experience art. There is an unprecedented shift underway toward distraction, loss of personal agency, and an increasing acceptance of “hive” behaviors.  Read by Jeffrey Weihe.

 

Past is Prologue, Monday –  Friday 9 a.m

The Forgotten Spy, Nonfiction by Nick Barratt, 2016. 11 Br. Began May 3. Ernest Holloway Oldham was drafted into the Communication Department of the British Foreign Office, and over the next decade, Ernest was drawn into the underworld of pre-Cold War espionage toward a double-life that became the darkest of secrets. Read by Eileen Barratt.

The Wright Brothers, Nonfiction by David McCullough, 2015. 10 Br. Begins May 18. On a winter day in 1903, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Wilbur and Orville Wright entered history. The age of flight had begun with the first heavier-than-air powered machine carrying a pilot. Read by Bonita Sindelir.

 

Bookworm, Monday – Friday 11 a.m.

Kitchens of the Great Midwest, Fiction by J. Ryan Stradal, 2015. 11 Br. Began May 9. Midwestern chef Lars Thorvald has three loves in his life: his kitchen; his wife, Cynthia; and his newborn daughter, Eva. When Cynthia leaves, he’s left to raise Eva on his own, and devotes his life to sharing his passions with his only child.  Read by Don Gerlach.

The Enlightenment of Nina Findlay, Fiction by Andrea Gillies, 2015. 12 Br. Begins May 24. For her whole life, Nina has been in a love triangle with two brothers: Paolo, whom she married, and Luca, with whom she was always in love and who was her best friend throughout her marriage. Now she is alone, estranged from Luca and separated from Paulo.  Read by Ann Hoedeman.

 

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

Still Wearing My Heels, Nonfiction by Michelle Frazzetto, 2014. 7 Br. Began May 5. Michelle’s new career was taking off and her first love was flourishing with a young executive – despite a female office rival. Then, just as everything seemed perfect, it came to an abrupt halt. Read by Lynda Kayser.

As Always, Nonfiction by Madeleine Gagnon, 2015. 15 Br. Begins May 16. In her memoir, Madeleine Gagnon examines who she has become in the last seven decades: little girl, sister, lover, mother, intellectual, feminist, and writer. She has become an important voice in the international women’s movement. The complex social changes around her are reflected in her life.  Read by Pat Muir.

         

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

Fishing with RayAnne, Fiction by Ava Finch, 2015. 11 Br. Began May 3. Having fled the male world of pro fishing to settle in Minneapolis, RayAnne unexpectedly lands as host of the first all-women fishing and talk show. As RayAnne sheds her uncertainty, she’s faced with gut-wrenching choices; will she live by the rules or by her heart? L,S – Read by Sue McDonald.

The Swans of Fifth Avenue, Fiction by Melanie Benjamin, 2015. 11 Br. Begins May 18. Under Babe Paley’s flawless appearance – with money, friends, and fame, she longs for love and connection. Truman Capote gives that to her, but she never imagines the destruction he will leave. L – Read by Mary Hall.

 

PM Report, Monday – Friday 8 p.m.

Dancing with the Devil in the City of God, Nonfiction by Juliana Barbassa, 2015. 13 Br. Began May 2. Rio de Janeiro is a city of extremes, with delightful fun-loving culture to a history of corruption. But Rio is ready to remake itself into a global, modern capital ready for its turn on the world stage. Read by Carol McPherson.

The Other Paris, Nonfiction by Luc Sante, 2015. 14 Br. Begins May 19. Paris, the City of Light, has always included the darker side as well: the city of the poor, outcast, criminal, eccentric, and nonconforming. That city has nearly vanished, but its traces are in the bricks and stones of the contemporary city.  Read by Michael Piscitelli.

 

Night Journey, Monday – Friday 9 p.m.

Real Tigers, Fiction by Mike Herron, 2016. 14 Br. Begins May 12. London’s Slough House is where disgraced MI5 operatives are reassigned to spend the rest of their spy careers pushing paper. But when one of these “slow horses” is kidnapped, the agents must breach defenses of Regent’s Park to steal valuable intel in exchange for their comrade’s safety.  L – Read by Constance Crane.

 

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

Esther, Fiction by Rebecca Kanner, 2015. 14 Br. Began April 26. When the king’s most trusted adviser promises to pour vast wealth into the treasury if the king allows him to   wipe out the Jews, it is up to the queen to stop him. She must violate the king’s law, risk her life, and save her people. Read by Rachael Freed.

The Lake House, Fiction by Kate Morton, 2015. 21 Br. Begins May 16. Before the night is over, this country house will be a backdrop to a tragedy and the birth of a secret. 70 years later, Detective Constable Sadie Sparrow is seeking answers to the secret. L – Read by Don Gerlach.

 

Potpourri, Monday – Friday 11 p.m.    

The Art of Perspective, Nonfiction by Christopher Castellani, 2016. 4 Br. Begins May 11. There are ways writers solve the point-of-view problem. Castellani offers answers to one of writers’ most important questions. Read by Bob Malos.

Natural Born Heroes, Nonfiction by Christopher McDougall, 2015. 17 Br. Begins May 17. Ancient Crete was the birthplace of classical Greek heroism, skills still practiced today. They enabled Resistance fighters in World War II to abduct a German general from the heart of Nazi occupation. Read by Arlan Dohrenburg.

 

Good Night Owl, Monday – Friday midnight

Welcome to Braggsville, Fiction by T. Geronimo Johnson, 2015. 13 Br. Began May 5. D’aron, a freshman at UC Berkeley, becomes friends with three more that don’t fit in the hyperliberal pond. He lets it slip that his town has a Civil War reenactment called “Patriot Days” and the four descend on Braggsville. L,RE – Read by Philip Habeeb.

Among the Ten Thousand Things, Fiction by Julia Pierpont, 2015. 9 Br. Begins May 24. An anonymous package arrives with the power to destroy Jack and Deb’s marriage. As their marriage spins apart, their children are on the brink of adulthood feeling freedom for the first time. L,S – Read by Julie Bolton.

 

After Midnight, Tuesday – Saturday 1 a.m.

Bell Weather, Fiction by Dennis Mahoney, 2015. 14 Br. Begans May 6. When Tom rescues a mysterious woman from the flooded river, he sense their fates will intertwine. At first she claims no memory and rumor animates the town of Root. As the town inspects its new inhabitant, she encounters a world teeming with wonders and oddities. V,L,S – Read by Anne Obst.

Seeker, Fiction by Arwen Elys Dayton, 2015. 13 Br. Begins May 26. The night Quin Kincaid takes her Oath, she will become what she has trained to be her entire life – a Seeker. As a Seeker, Quin will fight to protect the weak and the wronged, standing for light in a shadowy world. Read by Janelle Mattson.

 

 

 

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