Talking Book Newsletter
February 2009 Issue
New Director of SSB
In December, a new Director was chosen for State Services for the Blind. Richard Strong was chosen from the field of candidates. He had been acting in that position since Chuk Hamilton left it in July.
Richard Strong joined State Services for the Blind in 1982 and has held positions in nearly all units of the organization. Most recently, he was the director of the Communication Center and the Senior Services Unit. Strong earned a Masters in Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and a Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling from the School of Education, both at Syracuse University in New York.
Weekend Books
There are always two books that are broadcast on weekends that do not get listed with the books because they are aired as programs. The program Your Personal World airs on Saturdays at 1 p.m. and The U.S. and Us airs Sundays at 4 p.m. In February, Your Personal World will be ending What Matters Most, by James Hollis, and beginning The Secrets of the Bulletproof Spirit, by Azim Khamisa and Jillian Quinn. The U.S. and Us will be airing The Ojibwa Dance Drum, by Thomas Vennum.
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. The phone is 1-800-722-0550 and hours are 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The catalog is also online, and you can access it by going to the main website 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.
Chautauqua
Tuesday – Saturday 4 a.m.
Origins of the Specious
Nonfiction by Patricia T. O’Conner and Stewart Kellerman, 2008.
Some of grammar’s best known rules aren’t (and never were) rules at all. English is an endlessly entertaining, ever-changing language, and yesterday's blooper could be tomorrow’s bon mot. L -
Read by Judy Woodward. 8 broadcasts. Began January 25.
One Square Inch of Silence
Nonfiction by Gordon Hempton, 2009.
To raise the alarm about our nation’s fastest-disappearing resource, silence, Gordon Hempton crossed the country recording and preserving natural terrestrial sounds.
Read by June Prange. 14 Br. Begins February 4.
Shop Class as Soulcraft
Nonfiction by Matthew B. Crawford, 2009.
As the world becomes more abstract, people often feel a lack of connection to the material world. But manual trades help that connection.
Read by Andrew Haukebo. 7 broadcasts. Begins February 24.
Past is Prologue
Monday – Friday 9 a.m.
Red Orchestra
Nonfiction by Anne Nelson, 2009.
During the rise of Nazism, an intrepid band of German artists, intellectuals, and bureaucrats battled treacherous odds to unveil brutal secrets of their fascist employers and oppressors. The Gestapo called them the Rote Kapelle, the Red Orchestra.
Read by John Potts. 14 broadcasts. Began January 27.
The Last Days of Old Beijing
Nonfiction by Michael Meyer, 2008.
In Beijing’s oldest neighborhood, old houses and ways of life are increasingly destroyed to make way for modernity.
Read by Maria Rubinstein. 12 broadcasts. Begins February 16.
Bookworm
Monday – Friday 11 a.m.
Eve
Fiction by Elissa Elliott, 2009.
Eve’s life is the very essence of love, motherhood, faith and humanity. As their family is haunted by banishment, struggling in a new land, Eve sees her husband drifting further and further from who he was in the Garden.
Read by Eleanor Berg. 16 broadcasts. Began January 18.
German for Travelers
Fiction by Norah Labiner, 2009.
To unlock a family mystery, Lemon and her cousin Eliza set off for Berlin. Their trail leads to their great-grandfather, a pioneer of psycho-analysis in early 20th c. Germany. L-
Read by Leila Poullada. 7 broadcasts. Begins February 9.
Knitting Bones
Fiction by Monica Ferris, 2007.
The Embroiderers Guild has raised over $20,000 for the National Heart Coalition, but the representative who accepts the check disappears. Betsy Devonshire is laid up with a broken leg, so sleuthing will be a challenge for her.
Read by Karen Wertz. 7 broadcasts. Begins February 18.
Potpourri
Monday – Friday 2 p.m.
Yogi Berra: Eternal Yankee
Nonfiction by Allen Barra, 2009.
Yogi Berra is America’s most popular former athlete and the most quoted American since Mark Twain. The press saw him as part folk hero, part clown; competitors knew him as the winningest player in the game’s history.
Read by Malcolm McLean. 20 broadcasts. Began January 14.
The Magician’s Book
Nonfiction by Laura Miller, 2008.
When she heard about Christian meanings in Chronicles of Narnia, Miller researched Lewis and discovered a different man from the idealized image of the author.
Read by Andrea Bell. 12 Br. Begins February 11.
Choice Reading
Monday – Friday 4 p.m.
Follow Me
Fiction by Joanna Scott, 2009.
In 1946, teenager Sally Werner had an unexpected baby. Running away was the first of many moves for her. Now, years later, her granddaughter is piecing together her grandmother’s life.
Read by Kristi Sullivan. 10 broadcasts. Begins January 18.
The Laws of Harmony
Fiction by Judith Ryan Hendricks, 2009.
When Sunny’s boyfriend is killed, she discovers he was not who he told her he was. Seeking closure, she ends up on an island off the coast of Washington. L -
Read by Ann Hoedeman. 13 Br. Begins Feb. 10.
PM Report
Monday – Friday 8 p.m.
The American Future
Nonfiction by Simon Schama, 2009.
Critical debates were in place when Americans elected a new president in 2008. Those debates - on wars, religion, race and immigration, and the relationship between natural resources and prosperity - are not new. Schama asks how these problems look in the mirror of time.
Read by Dan Kuechenmeister. 18 broadcasts. Begins January 11.
Men to Boys
Nonfiction by Gary Cross, 2008.
When did maturity become the ultimate taboo? Men have been seduced by trends in advertising, popular culture, and consumerism.
Read by Del Adamson. 12 broadcasts. Begins February 4.
A Failure of Capitalism
Nonfiction by Richard A. Posner, 2009.
How could the financial and economic crisis of 2008 have happened after all we learned from the Great Depression? The reasons include heavy capital flows from abroad and the reckless lowering of interest rates by the Federal Reserve Board.
Read by Jim Gregorich. 8 broadcasts. Begins February 22.
Night Journey
Monday – Friday 9 p.m.
Grave Goods
Fiction by Ariana Franklin, 2009.
Henry II is struggling to put down a rebellion. If some skeletons are revealed to be Arthur and Guinevere, it will help Henry.
Read by Judy McGuigan. 13 Br. Began January 18.
All the Colors of Darkness
Fiction by Peter Robinson, 2009.
The man hanging from the tree is the set and costume designer for the theater. Was it suicide? Then the man’s lover is found dead. Was this a crime of passion? L -
Read by Bonita Sindelir.
14 broadcasts. Begins February 4.
Missing Mark
Fiction by Julie Kramer, 2009.
Riley sees a classified ad for an unused wedding dress and decides it will make a good TV sweeps piece. When the missing groom story turns to a murder investigation, she finds a startling motive for Mark’s disappearance. L -
Read by Diane Ladenson. 8 broadcasts. Begins February 24.
Off the Shelf
Monday – Friday 10 p.m.
The Little Stranger
Fiction by Sarah Waters, 2009.
Dr. Faraday is called to the residence of the Ayres family. The house and owners may be haunted with something sinister, and it will affect Dr. Faraday’s life as well. L, S -
Read by Leandra Peak. 18 Br. Begins January 11.
This Wicked World
Fiction by Richard Lange, 2009.
Former Marine Jimmy Boone looks into a mysterious death of a kid but Jimmy’s quest to get at the truth looks more like suicide than redemption. L -
Read by Dan Kuechenmeister. 12 Br. Begins February 4.
Lowboy
Fiction by John Wray, 2009.
Will Heller, a sixteen-year-old paranoid schizophrenic, sets out to save the world from climate change. He just needs to cool down his own overheating body. L,S -
Read by Ira Brooker. 10 Br. Begins February 22.
Evening Odyssey
Monday – Friday 11 p.m.
A Fortunate Age
Fiction by Joanna Smith Rakoff, 2009.
A group of Oberlin graduates maintain their friendship as they maneuver the beginnings of their adult lives in Brooklyn. They must navigate the shifting dynamics of their friendships and of the world around them. L, S -
Read by Laura Rohlik. 22 broadcasts. Began January 6.
Bright Shiny Morning
Fiction by James Frey, 2008.
LA is a city of lost souls. There are joys, horrors, and unexpected fortunes of life and death in Los Angeles. L,S -
Read by Adam Johnson. 14 broadcasts. Begins February 8.
Good Night Owl
Monday – Friday midnight
Driftless
Fiction by David Rhodes, 2009.
After decades of drifting, July Montgomery finds peace in a small town. Respected and cherished by these townspeople, he learns there is wisdom acquired through hard work, farming, and kindness. L -
Read by Amy Morris. 17 broadcasts. Begins January 12.
Tribute
Fiction by Nora Roberts, 2008.
Cilla, former child star, has retreated from Hollywood to Virginia, hoping to find a normal life by rehabbing her grandmother’s home. But peace may not come; she finds letters that open a mystery, which deepens with some cruel acts. S -
Read by Eleanor Berg. 17 broadcasts. Begins February 4.
After Midnight
Tuesday – Saturday 1 a.m.
The Bellini Madonna
Fiction by Elizabeth Lowry, 2009.
Thomas Lynch, once a brilliant young art historian, is now a disgraced one, overly fond of drink and young students. But he’s now on the trail of a lost masterpiece, and finding it will help restore his reputation. L,S -
Read by Del Adamson. 12 broadcasts. Begins February 1.
The Ex-Mrs. Hedgefund
Fiction by Jill Kargman, 2009.
Holly is married to the founder of Comet Capital but finds that her husband’s trips are not just for business. She is forced to choose between integrity and turning a blind eye. L,S -
Read by Maria Rubinstein. 7 broadcasts. Begins February 17.
Abbreviations: V - violence, L – offensive language, S - sexual situations.