Radio News
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Radio Talking Book Radio News September 2006 |
Current Edition: December 2006
Next Edition: January 2007
Previous News Editions: January 2006, February 2006, March 2006, April 2006, May 2006, June 2006, July 2006, August 2006, September 2006, October 2006, November 2006
Former Radio Supervisor Dies
On Wednesday, July 19, 2006, former Radio Talking Book supervisor Marilynn Alcott died unexpectedly at her home in Salem, New York. Ms. Alcott had been the supervisor of the Radio Talking Book from 1980 to 1989, and she left her position with the state to become the first Executive Director of the Friends of the Communication Center, a fundraising organization for all aspects of the Communication Center. In that capacity, Marilyn was responsible for starting the local reading services in Minnesota, personally working with volunteers in Fergus Falls, St. Cloud, Duluth, and Rochester. In addition to her work with the radio and the Friends, Marilyn was a former board chairwoman of Graywolf Press in St. Paul.
Marilynn Alcott was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, September 3, 1932. She attended Oklahoma State University, where she was president of Pi Beta sorority. She leaves her husband James Alcott, four children, and eight grandchildren. Service details were not known at the date of this printing. The family suggested donations could be made in Marilynn’s memory to a charitable children’s organization or Heifer International. Any letters of condolence will be forwarded by the Radio Talking Book to the Alcott’s home.
Books Available Through Faribault
All books broadcast on the Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network are available through the Minnesota Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped in Faribault. Their phone is
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 at www.klas.com/mnbph. 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.
Review old issues of Radio News on the Internet at www.mnssb.org/radionews/.
Chautauqua
Tuesday - Saturday 4 a.m.
The Swamp
Nonfiction by John Vaillant, 2005.
Once reviled with hopes of draining it, the Everglades are viewed as a national treasure, with a huge effort to save it.
Read by Alvin Apple.
17 broadcasts. Begins September 4.
A War Like No Other
Nonfiction by Victor Davis Hanson, 2005.
Over a generation, Athens and Sparta fought a war that resulted in the collapse of Athens and the end of its golden age.
Read by Arlan Dohrenburg.
20 broadcasts. Begins September 27.
Past is Prologue
Monday - Friday 9 a.m.
Manhunt
Nonfiction by James L. Swanson, 2006.
The murder of Abraham Lincoln set off the greatest manhunt in American history: the pursuit of John Wilkes Booth.
Read by Eric Thornton.
15 broadcasts. Began August 28.
The Master Plan
Nonfiction by Heather Pringle, 2006.
In 1935, Heinrich Himmler founded an institute to rewrite history. He was convinced archaeologists had ignored a race of blond conquerors, the Aryans. V,L -
Read by Dan Sadoff.
16 broadcasts. Begins September 18.
Bookworm
Monday - Friday 11 a.m.
Dear Senator
Nonfiction by Essie Mae Washington-Williams & William Stadiem, 2005.
Essie Mae stayed silent until her father, longtime senator Strom Thurmond, had died.
Read by Ann Carlson and Susan Niefeld.
10 broadcasts. Began August 29.
Rasputin’s Daughter
Fiction by Robert Alexander, 2006.
After the fury of the Revolution has swept the tsar from the throne, a commission focuses on Grigori Rasputin. It is up to Maria Rasputin to save her father from the conspiracies that seek his death. S -
Read by Isla Hejny.
9 broadcasts. Begins September 12.
Sweetness in the Belly
Fiction by Camilla Gibb, 2006.
When Lilly is eight years old, her British parents leave her at a Sufi shrine in Morocco. Three weeks later, she learns they’ve been murdered. Growing up in Africa, she always feels an outsider, but later in London, she feels an outsider there, too. S -
Read by Eleanor Berg.
12 broadcasts. Begins September 25.
Potpourri
Monday - Friday 2 p.m.
Finding George Orwell in Burma
Nonfiction by Emma Larkin, 2005.
Author George Orwell’s mother was born in Burma and he worked there as a young man. In today’s Burma, he is very much remembered in spite of the current police state.
Read by Barbara Struyk.
9 broadcasts. Began August 22.
No End in Sight
Nonfiction by Rachael Scdoris, with Rick Stever, 2006.
For the last eleven years, twenty-one-year-old Rachael Scdoris has been a musher. She is also legally blind. She dreamed of participating in the sport’s pinnacle competition, the Iditarod Trail International Sled Dog Race across Alaska.
Read by Audray Rees.
10 broadcasts. Begins September 4.
The Wit in the Dungeon
Nonfiction by Anthony Holden, 2005.
Leigh Hunt was a man whose gifts were only surpassed by the brilliance of his friends. Famous as a poet, playwright, literary and political essayist, editor, and critic, Hunt had a talent for bringing out the best in great writers.
Read by June Prange.
16 broadcasts. Begins September 18.
Choice Reading
Monday - Friday 4 p.m.
Mission to America
Fiction by Walter Kirn, 2005.
Mason LaVerle was raised in a remote Montana town, in a sect that keeps a distance from mainstream life. But the Apostles numbers are dwindling, so he is sent with another young man to mainstream America to bring home brides.
Read by John Gunter.
9 broadcasts. Began August 22.
The Hungry Tide
Fiction by Amatov Ghosh, 2005.
On the islands in the Bay of Bengal, American marine biologist Piya Roy is rescued from crocodiles by illiterate fisherman Fokir. Though they have no language in common, they are drawn to each other, and Piya engages Fokir in her work. L -
Read by John Mandeville.
16 broadcasts. Begins September 4.
Flush
Fiction by Carl Hiaasen, 2005.
Noah’s dad gets put in jail for trying to stop illegal dumping in the Florida Keys. So Noah decides to take on the polluting culprit himself - with a few allies. The odds aren’t good, but Noah has a plan.
Fiction read by Bill McNiff.
7 broadcasts. Begins September 26.
PM Report
Monday - Friday 8 p.m.
My Year in Iraq
Nonfiction by L. Paul Bremer III, 2006.
Bremer spent fourteen months as America’s proconsul in Iraq. During that time, he was witness to hidden struggles among both Iraqis and Americans.
Read by Leila Poullada.
19 broadcasts. Began August 22.
The Wal-Mart Effect
Nonfiction by Charles Fishman, 2006.
Wal-Mart is the most powerful company in the world. It is both the world’s most revered and the most reviled.
Read by Bill Studer.
12 broadcasts. Begins September 18.
Night Journey
Monday - Friday 9 p.m.
Mercy Falls
Fiction by William Kent Krueger, 2005.
Sheriff O’Connor finds a mutilated body above Mercy Falls - a wealthy Chicago businessman negotiating a contract with an Indian casino. He now fears for his and his family’s safety. L -
Read by Judy McGuigan.
14 broadcasts. Began August 17.
A Long Shadow
Fiction by Charles Todd, 2006.
Someone is hunting Ian Rutledge, and it may be because of the war, but he doesn’t know who or why. L -
Read by Charles Torrey.
11 broadcasts. Begins September 6.
Fiddlers
Fiction by Ed McBain, 2005.
A serial killer’s victims were all shot twice in the face, but they share nothing else in common. V,L,S - Read by Neil Bright.
8 broadcasts. Begins September 21.
Off the Shelf
Monday - Friday 10 p.m.
Torch
Fiction by Cheryl Strayed, 2006.
When Teresa Rae dies suddenly, people realize she was the anchor of her family and Minnesota community. L -
Read by Karen Wertz.
13 broadcasts. Began August 28.
The World to Come
Fiction by Dara Horn, 2006.
A Marc Chagall painting is stolen and the unlikely thief is Benjamin Ziskind who is sure the painting used to be in his parents’ house. As Ben evades police, he and his sister seek out the truth of the painting. V,L -
Read by Dan Sadoff. 14 Br. Begins September 14.
Evening Odyssey
Monday - Friday 11 p.m.
Specimen Days
Fiction by Michael Cunningham, 2005.
The novel is presided over by the prophetic figure of Walt Whitman. V,L,S -
Read by John Mandeville.
13 broadcasts. Began August 21.
The Tenth Circle
Fiction by Jodi Picoult, 2006.
Trixie Stone is fourteen when her world is turned upside down. The father she adores has reinvented his life, hiding his past even from his family. Now the secrets are known. L -
Read by Laura Rohlik.
14 broadcasts. Begins September 7.
S Is for Silence
Fiction by Sue Grafton, 2005.
34 years ago, Violet Sullivan disappeared. Some thought she’d run off with a lover, some thought she was murdered by her husband. Now her daughter Daisy is looking for explanations and closure. L -
Read by Barbara Morison.
13 broadcasts. Begins September 27.
Good Night Owl
Monday - Friday midnight
The Camel Club
Fiction by David Baldacci, 2005.
The Camel Club’s four members are ignored until they witness murder and are thrust into a plot that threatens the nation. V,L -
Read by Neil Bright.
19 broadcasts. Began August 14.
The Widow of the South
Fiction by Robert Hicks, 2005.
During the Civil War, Carrie McGavock tended to soldiers in her house, and when the local burial ground was to be dug up, she buried 1500 soldiers in her back yard. Now, many years later, an old soldier visits her. V,L -
Read by Licia Swanson.
16 broadcasts. Begins September 11.
After Midnight
Tuesday - Saturday 1 a.m.
Northern Lights
Fiction by Nora Roberts, 2004.
Nate Burke moved to Lunacy, Alaska, hoping his new job as police chief would be the calm change he needed. S -
Read by Eleanor Berg.
19 broadcasts. Began August 30.
Thud!
Fiction by Terry Pratchett, 2005.
Commander Sam Vimes is determined not to let anyone disturb his city’s peace, including a rabble-rousing dwarf, Grag Hamcrusher, who is reminding people of the combat from centuries ago when the dwarfs and the trolls fought each other. Then Grag is found dead.
Read by Katja Amyx.
13 broadcasts. Begins September 26.
Abbreviation Code: V - violence, L - rough language, S - sexual situations