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The February 2025 book offerings from the Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network:

Chautauqua

Monday – Friday 6:00 a.m.

A City on Mars – Nonfiction by Kelly & Zach Weinersmith, 2023. A brilliant and hilarious off-world investigation into space settlement. Read by Jill Wolf. 13 broadcasts; began Thursday, January 16. Listen to A City on Mars description.

The Twentysomething Treatment – Nonfiction by Meg Jay, 2024. An explanation of why one's twenties are the most challenging time of life and a set of essential skills for handling the uncertainties surrounding work, love, friendship, mental health, and more during that decade and beyond. Read by Stevie Ray. 9 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, February 4. Listen to The Twentysomething Treatment description.

Who Owns This Sentence? – Nonfiction by David Bellos & Alexandre Montagu, 2024. A fascinating and original history of an idea that now controls and monetizes almost everything we do. Read by Silvester Vicic. 11 broadcasts; begins Monday, February 17. Listen to Who Owns This Sentence description.

Past is Prologue

Monday - Friday 11:00 a.m.

Emperor of Rome – Nonfiction by Mary Beard, 2023. A sweeping account of the social and political world of the Roman emperors by the world's most famous classicist. Read by Eileen Barratt. 15 broadcasts; begins Monday, February 3. – L, S, G. Listen to Emperor of Rome description.

The Bishop and the Butterfly – Nonfiction by Michael Wolraich, 2024. The riveting story of how the 1931 murder of a prostitute brought about the downfall of the mayor of New York City and an end to the dominance of Tammany Hall. Read by Jan Anderson. 13 broadcasts; begins Monday, February 24. Listen to The Bishop and the Butterfly description.

Bookworm

Monday – Friday 12:00 p.m.

The Prospectors – Fiction by Ariel Djanikian, 2023. A sweeping rags-to-riches story about claiming the American Dream, following a family transformed by the Klondike Gold Rush. Read by Lisa Bromer. 16 broadcasts; began Wednesday, January 15. Listen to The Prospectors description.

Doorman Wanted – Fiction by Glenn R. Miller, 2024. A man inherits an apartment building and goes undercover as its doorman. Read by Glenn Miller. 16 broadcasts; begins Thursday, February 6. – L. Listen to Doorman Wanted description.

The Paris Novel – Fiction by Ruth Reichl, 2024. A mouthwatering adventure through the food, art, and fashion scenes of 1980s Paris. Read by Holly Sylvester. 11 broadcasts; begins Monday, February 24. Listen to The Paris Novel description.

The Writer's Voice

Monday - Friday 1:00 p.m.

Vision – Nonfiction by David S. Tatel, 2024. A moving, thoughtful memoir by one of America's most accomplished public servants and legal thinkers—who spent years denying and working around his blindness, before finally embracing it as an essential part of his identity. Read by Yelva Lynfield. 16 broadcasts; began Monday, January 20. Listen to Vision description.

The Crystal Gavel – Nonfiction by Sue Cochrane, 2023. A memoir of how a family court judge, wounded and nearly broken by childhood trauma, brought compassion and love, wholeness and healing, to those in her courtroom—and to herself. Read by Jill Wolf. 7 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, February 11. Listen to The Crystal Gavel description.

Dear Jacob – Nonfiction by Patty Wetterling, 2023. With stunning detail, Patty Wetterling shares the untold story of the 27-year search for her son Jacob—and its astonishing conclusion. Read by Pat Kovel-Jarboe. 14 broadcasts; begins Thursday, February 20. Listen to Dear Jacob description.

Choice Reading

Monday - Friday 2:00 p.m.

How to Read a Book – Fiction by Monica Wood, 2024. A heartfelt, uplifting novel about a chance encounter at a bookstore, exploring redemption, unlikely friendships, and the life-changing power of sharing stories. Read by Michelle Juntunen. 12 broadcasts; begins Monday, February 3. – L. Listen to How to Read a Book description.

Beautiful Little Furies – Fiction by Laurel Osterkamp, 2024. A stunning novel of redemption and reinvention, about a Twin Cities English teacher. Read by Julia Brown. 11 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, February 19. – L. Listen to Beautiful Little Furies description.

Afternoon Report

Monday – Friday 4:00 p.m.

The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory – Nonfiction by Tim Alberta, 2023. An exploration of the changing face of American evangelicalism through the past several decades. Read by John Potts. 21 broadcasts; began Wednesday, January 29. Listen to The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory description.

Return of the Great Powers – Nonfiction by Jim Sciutto, 2024. An essential new book by a CNN anchor and chief national security analyst, identifying a new, more uncertain global order with reporting on the frontlines of power from existing wars to looming ones across the globe. Read by John Potts. 12 broadcasts; begins Thursday, February 27. Listen to Return of the Great Powers description.

Night Journey

Monday – Friday 7:00 p.m.

City in Ruins – Fiction by Don Winslow, 2024. An epic, genre-defining crime masterpiece... and the final novel of Winslow's extraordinary career. Read by Jim Gregorich. 10 broadcasts; began Tuesday, January 21. – L. Listen to City in Ruins description.

The Hunter – Fiction by Tana French, 2024. A divorced American detective tries to blend into rural Ireland. Read by Pat Ocken. 15 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, February 4. – L. Listen to The Hunter description.

Toxic Prey – Fiction by John Sandford, 2024. Lucas Davenport and his daughter, Letty, team up to track down a dangerous scientist whose latest project could endanger the entire world. Read by John Holden. 12 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, February 25. – L. Listen to Toxic Prey description.

Off the Shelf

Monday – Friday 8:00 p.m.

Help Wanted – Fiction by Adelle Waldman, 2024. A humane and darkly comic workplace caper that shines a light on the odds low-wage workers are up against in today's economy. Read by Holly Sylvester. 11 broadcasts; began Tuesday, January 21. – L. Listen to Help Wanted description.

Spirit Crossing – Fiction by William Kent Krueger, 2024. A disappearance and a dead body put Cork O'Connor's family in the crosshairs of a killer. Read by Tom Speich. 9 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, February 5. Listen to Spirit Crossing description.

Blue Ruin – Fiction by Hari Kunzru, 2024. A dark, smart, provocative tale of the perils of art making. Read by Carl Voss. 10 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, February 18. – L, S, R. Listen to Blue Ruin description.

Potpourri

Monday – Friday 9:00 p.m.

Magic – Nonfiction by Roland Lazenby, 2023. The definitive biography of the basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson. Read by John Gunter. 33 broadcasts; began Wednesday, January 22. – L. Listen to Magic description.

Good Night Owl

Monday – Friday 10:00 p.m.

Liberty's Daughter – Fiction by Naomi Kritzer, 2023. An endearing teenage protagonist earns money tracking down hard-to-find goods for clients in a dystopian future and becomes a detective along the way. Read by Brenda Powell. 11 broadcasts; began Monday, January 27. – L. Listen to Liberty's Daughter description.

The Sky Vault – Fiction by Benjamin Percy, 2023. The investigation of a mysterious weather phenomena in Fairbanks, Alaska, uncovers a government secret buried since WWII. Read by Stuart Holland. 13 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, February 11. – L. Listen to The Sky Vault description.

RTB After Hours

Monday – Friday 11:00 p.m.

Henry, Henry – Fiction by Allen Bratton, 2024. A novel retelling of Shakespeare's Henriad in which Hal Lancaster is a queer protagonist for a new era. Read by Stuart Holland. 14 broadcasts; began Tuesday, January 21. – L, S. Listen to Henry, Henry description.

Unsteady – Fiction by Peyton Corinne, 2024. A college romance between two damaged people, a hockey star and a figure skater—will love keep them on solid ground? Read by Michele Potts. 12 broadcasts; begins Monday, February 10. – L, S. Listen to Unsteady description.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine – Fiction by Charlotte Stein, 2024. A steamy, opposites-attract romance with undeniable chemistry between a grumpy retired soccer player and his fabulous and very sunshine-y ghostwriter. Read by Pat Muir. 12 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, February 26. – L, S. Listen to When Grumpy Met Sunshine description.

Weekend Books

Your Personal World (Saturdays at 1:00 p.m.) presents Reasons Not to Worry by Brigid Delaney, read by Bev Burchett. – L.

For the Younger Set (Sundays at 11:00 a.m.) presents Gather by Kenneth M. Cadow, read by Peter Danbury. – L.

Poetic Reflections (Sundays at noon) presents Carrying by Ada Limón, read by Jan Pettit. – L; followed by Bad Hobby by Kathy Fagan, read by Jan Pettit. – L.

The Great North (Sundays at 4:00 p.m.) presents Gunflint Falling by Cary J. Griffith, read by Jodi Lindskog.

Abbreviations

V – Violent content

R – Racial epithets

L – Strong language

G – Gory descriptions

S – Sexual situations

All listings are US Central Standard Time (CST)

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