The May 2025 book offerings from the Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network:
Monday – Friday 6:00 a.m.
Sixty Harvests Left – Nonfiction by Philip Lymbery, 2023. A provocative and original history of the scientists and writers, artists and philosophers who took drugs to explore the hidden regions of the mind. Read by Jim Gregorich. 12 broadcasts; began Tuesday, April 29. Listen to promo of Sixty Harvests Left.
The Laws of Connection – Nonfiction by David Robson, 2024. A groundbreaking study revealing how social connections are far more important than we thought and showing us the steps we can take to build better relationships and improve our lives. Read by Carol McPherson. 11 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, May 15. Listen to promo of The Laws of Connection.
Monday - Friday 11:00 a.m.
The Achilles Trap – Nonfiction by Steve Coll, 2023. The definitive story of the decades-long relationship between the United States and Saddam Hussein, and an investigation into how human error, cultural miscommunication, and hubris led to one of the costliest geopolitical conflicts of our time. Read by Mary Beth Redmond. 20 broadcasts; began Tuesday, April 29. Listen to promo of The Achilles Trap.
Triumph of the Yuppies – Nonfiction by Tom McGrath, 2024. The entertaining and insightful first history of the Yuppie phenomenon, chronicling the roots, rise, triumph and (seeming) fall of the young urban professionals who radically altered American life between 1980 and 1987. Read by Pat Ocken. 12 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, May 27. – L. Listen to promo of Triumph of the Yuppies.
Monday – Friday 12:00 p.m.
Playground - Fiction by Richard Powers, 2024. A story of friendship, technology, oceans, and an engaging, eloquent message for this fragile planet. Read by Carol McPherson. 17 broadcasts; begins Thursday, May 1. Listen to promo of Playground.
Lesser Ruins – Fiction by Mark Haber, 2024. A breathless novel of delirious obsession – a spiraling meditation on ambition, grief, and humanity's ecstatic, agonizing search for meaning through art. Read by Stuart Holland. 12 broadcasts; begins Monday, May 26. Listen to promo of Lesser Ruins.
Monday - Friday 1:00 p.m.
The Essential Dear Dara – Nonfiction by Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, 2023. A portrait of a place and its people through the writings and musings of one of the Twin Cities' most beloved and prolific writers. Read by Andrea Bell. 13 broadcasts; began Wednesday, April 16. Listen to promo of The Essential Dear Dara.
In True Face – Nonfiction by Jonna Mendez, 2024. A riveting, courageous story of being a female spy at the height of the Cold War. Read by Michelle Juntunen. 10 broadcasts; begins Monday, May 5. Listen to promo of In True Face.
The Braille Encyclopedia – Nonfiction by Naomi Cohn, 2024. A poignant, playful, and wry literary reckoning of the technical and emotional aspects of facing the loss of sight. Read by Michelle Juntunen. 4 broadcasts; begins Monday, May 19. Listen to promo of The Braille Encyclopedia.
The House of Hidden Meanings – Nonfiction by RuPaul, 2024. A deeply intimate memoir of discovery, found family, and self-acceptance from an international drag superstar and pop culture icon. Read by Lannois Neely. 9 broadcasts; begins Monday, May 26. – L. Listen to promo of The House of Hidden Meanings.
Monday - Friday 2:00 p.m.
Wolf at the Table – Fiction by Adam Rapp, 2024. A harrowing multigenerational saga about a family harboring a serial killer in their midst. Read by William Heisley. 16 broadcasts; began Monday, April 21. – L. Listen to promo of Wolf at the Table.
Practice – Fiction by Rosalind Brown, 2024. An astonishing novel about a day in the life of a young student who experiences her thoughts, fantasies, and wishes as she writes about - or tries to write about - Shakespeare’s sonnets. Read by Jan Pettit. 6 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, May 13. – L, S. Listen to promo of Practice.
Daisy Sale Forever – Fiction by Catherine Dehdashti, 2024. A charming tale of the Twin Cities institution gone by: Dayton’s. Read by Holland Richner. 11 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, May 21. – L. Listen to promo of Daisy Sale Forever.
Monday – Friday 4:00 p.m.
The Alternative – Nonfiction by Nick Romeo, 2024. A provocative debunking of accepted wisdom, providing the pathway to a sustainable, survivable economy. Read by Stevie Ray. 13 broadcasts; began Tuesday, April 29. Listen to promo of The Alternative.
How Migration Really Works – Nonfiction by Hein De Haas, 2024. An authoritative guide to global migration that corrects decades of misunderstanding and misguided policy, defying orthodoxy on all sides of the debate. Read by Greg Olson. 16 broadcasts; begins Monday, May 19. Listen to promo of How Migration Really Works.
Monday – Friday 7:00 p.m.
The Princess of Las Vegas – Fiction by Chris Bohjalian, 2024. A Princess Diana impersonator and her estranged sister find themselves drawn into a dangerous game of money and murder in this twisting tale of organized crime, cryptocurrency, and family secrets on the Las Vegas strip. Read by Rick Seime. 13 broadcasts; began Tuesday, April 29. – L. Listen to promo of The Princess of Las Vegas.
The Wealth of Shadows – Fiction by Graham Moore, 2024. An ordinary man joins a secret mission to bring down the Nazi war machine by crashing their economy in this thrilling novel based on a true story. Read by Pat Ocken. 12 broadcasts; begins Monday, May 19. – L. Listen to promo of The Wealth of Shadows.
Monday – Friday 8:00 p.m.
Caledonian Road – Fiction by Andrew O'Hagan, 2024. A biting portrait of British class, politics, and money told through five interconnected families and their rising - and declining - fortunes. Read by Stuart Holland. 26 broadcasts; began Monday, April 21. – L. Listen to promo of Caledonian Road.
Last Acts –Fiction by Alexander Sammartino, 2024. A riotous, irreverent yet big-hearted debut novel about a broke father-son duo who go all-in on some of America’s deadliest obsessions. Read by Jeffrey Weihe. 7 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, May 27. – L, S. Listen to promo of Last Acts.
Monday – Friday 9:00 p.m.
What This Comedian Said Will Shock You – Nonfiction by Bill Maher, 2024. A brilliantly astute and acerbically funny vivisection of American life, politics, and culture, from controversial host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher. Read by Stevie Ray. 15 broadcasts; began Tuesday, April 15. – L. Listen to promo of What This Comedian Said Will Shock You.
Doctors and Distillers – Nonfiction by Camper English, 2022. A definitive guide to the medicinal origins of every bottle behind the bar: how today's tipples were the tonics of old. Read by Joseph Papke. 11 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, May 6. Listen to promo of Doctors and Distillers.
The Blues Brothers – Nonfiction by Daniel De Visé, 2024. The story of the epic friendship between John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, the golden era of improv, and the making of a comedic film classic that helped shape our popular culture. Read by Nathan Hunter. 14 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, May 21. Listen to promo of The Blues Brothers.
Monday – Friday 10:00 p.m.
Nightwatching – Fiction by Tracy Sierra, 2024. A fiercely feminist and viscerally terrifying tale of a woman and her young children trying to elude a home invader. Read by Jodi Lindskog. 12 broadcasts; began Monday, April 21. – L. Listen to promo of Nightwatching.
The Ministry of Time – Fiction by Kaliane Bradley, 2024. This exhilarating debut novel is a time travel romance, spy thriller, workplace comedy, and ingenious exploration of the nature of power and the potential for love to change it all. Read by Holly Sylvester. 12 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, May 7. – L, S, V. Listen to promo of The Ministry of Time.
The Familiar – Fiction by Leigh Bardugo, 2024. In 16th-century Madrid, a crypto-Jew with a talent for casting spells tries to steer clear of the Inquisition. Read by Andrea Bell. 14 broadcasts; begins Monday, May 26. Listen to promo of The Familiar.
Monday – Friday 11:00 p.m.
The Other Side of Disappearing – Fiction by Kate Clayborn, 2024. A pitch-perfect, radiantly transporting love story about an unexpected road trip, true crime obsessions, and hard won vulnerability… Read by Pat Muir. 13 broadcasts; began Wednesday, April 16. – L, S. Listen to promo of The Other Side of Disappearing.
Just For the Summer –Fiction by Abby Jimenez, 2024. Two “cursed-in-love” people see if their curses can cancel each other out in this dramatic romance. Read by Carol McPherson. 12 broadcasts; begins Monday, May 5. – L, S. Listen to promo of Just For the Summer.
Margo’s Got Money Troubles – Fiction by Rufi Thorpe, 2024. A heartwarming and laugh-out-loud funny story about one young woman’s attempt to navigate adulthood, new motherhood, and her meager bank account in our increasingly online world. Read by Karen Ray. 13 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, May 21. – L, S. Listen to promo of Margo’s Got Money Troubles.
Your Personal World (Saturdays at 1:00 p.m.) presents Living For Pleasure by Emily A. Austin, read by Lannois Neely.
For the Younger Set (Sundays at 11:00 a.m.) presents Roof Over Our Heads by Nicole Kronzer, read by Stuart Holland.
Poetic Reflections (Sundays at noon) presents Solutions for the Problem of Bodies in Space by Catherine Barnett, read by Mary Knatterud – L, S; followed by A History of Half-Birds by Caroline Harper New, read by Mary Knatterud.
The Great North (Sundays at 4:00 p.m.) presents Turnout by Joan Anderson Growe, read by Michelle Juntunen; followed by They Would Not Be Moved by Bruce White, read by Yelva Lynfield.
V – Violent content
R – Racial epithets
L – Strong language
G – Gory descriptions
S – Sexual situations
All listings are US Central Standard Time (CST)
