RTB Radio News
The August 2025 book offerings from the Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network:
Chautauqua
Monday – Friday 6:00 a.m.
Reading the Constitution – Nonfiction by Stephen Breyer, 2024. A retired Supreme Court Justice deconstructs the textualist philosophy of the current Supreme Court's supermajority and makes the case for a more pragmatic approach of the Constitution. Read by John Holden. 15 broadcasts; began Tuesday, July 29. Listen to promo of Reading the Constitution.
Golden Years – Nonfiction by James Chappel, 2024. An account of the history of old age in modern America, showing how we created unprecedented security for some and painful uncertainty for others. Read by Yelva Lynfield. 18 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, August 19. Listen to promo of Golden Years.
Past is Prologue
Monday - Friday 11:00 a.m.
Age of Revolutions – Nonfiction by Fareed Zakaria, 2024. An exploration of the revolutions―past and present―that define the polarized and unstable age in which we live. Read by Stevie Ray. 15 broadcasts; began Monday, July 14. Listen to promo of Age of Revolutions.
Half-Life of a Secret – Nonfiction by Emily Strasser, 2023. A poignant journey of discovery, revealing the secrets, stories, and human and emotional cost of the facility that helped develop the first atomic bomb. Read by John McClure. 12 broadcasts; begins Monday, August 4. – V. Listen to promo of Half-Life of a Secret.
The World Will Never See the Like – Nonfiction by John L. Hopkins, 2024. An examination of the 1913 Civil War reunion through the lens of the veterans within the context of society, politics, and the national mood at the time. Read by Mary Beth Redmond. 9 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, August 20. – L, R. Listen to promo of The World Will Never See the Like.
Bookworm
Monday – Friday 12:00 p.m.
Aesop's Fables – Fiction by Robin Waterfield, 2024. A new translation of classic, succinct fictional stories that illustrate moral lessons. Read by Stuart Holland. 8 broadcasts; began Wednesday, July 23. Listen to promo of Aesop's Fables.
Season of the Swamp – Fiction by Yuri Herrera, 2024. A thoughtful portrait of one revolutionary's remarkable resilience, far from home in nineteenth-century New Orleans. Read by Lisa Bromer. 5 broadcasts; begins Monday, August 4. Listen to promo of Season of the Swamp.
Paradiso – Fiction by Dante Alighieri, 2025. A new translation of the epic poem that employs language and references recognizable to its readers. Read by Stuart Holland. 6 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, August 11. Listen to promo of Paradiso.
The Sweet Blue Distance – Fiction by Sara Donati, 2024. A young midwife travels west to the New Mexico Territory to care for women in need and faces dangers more harrowing than the ones she's fleeing in this epic tale of survival, redemption, and love. Read by Bonnie Swenby. 29 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, August 19. Listen to promo of The Sweet Blue Distance.
The Writer's Voice
Monday - Friday 1:00 p.m.
The Rulebreaker – Nonfiction by Susan Page, 2024. A biography of the most successful female broadcaster of all time, Barbara Walters. Read by Carol McPherson. 17 broadcasts; began Monday, July 14. Listen to promo of The Rulebreaker.
You Never Know – Nonfiction by Tom Selleck, 2024. An intimate memoir from one of the most beloved actors of our time, a highly personal story of a remarkable life and thoroughly accidental career. Read by Jim Gregorich. 13 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, August 6. Listen to promo of You Never Know.
Hot Dish Confidential – Nonfiction by George Sorensen, 2024. A Minneapolis man embarks on a year-long gastronomic journey with a group of amateur culinary experts. Read by Stuart Holland. 9 broadcasts; begins Monday, August 25. Listen to promo of Hot Dish Confidential.
Choice Reading
Monday - Friday 2:00 p.m.
True Failure – Fiction by Alex Higley, 2024. A twisting examination of life under late capitalism and the deceptions we inhabit to invent our own success stories. Read by John Potts. 10 broadcasts; began Monday, July 21. – L. Listen to promo of True Failure.
Remember You Will Die – Fiction by Eden Robins, 2024. An audacious and unforgettable novel that captures the exhilaration, heartbreak, and passion of a life fully lived. Read by Pat Ocken. 8 broadcasts; begins Monday, August 4. – L. Listen to promo of Remember You Will Die.
The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus – Fiction by Emma Knight, 2025. A witty, atmospheric novel that offers compelling portraits of womanhood, motherhood, and female friendship, along with the irresistible intrigue surrounding an extraordinary British family. Read by Holly Sylvester. 12 broadcasts; begins Thursday, August 14. – L, S. Listen to promo of The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus.
Afternoon Report
Monday – Friday 4:00 p.m.
Where Tyranny Begins – Nonfiction by David Rohde, 2024. How Donald Trump used threats, co-option, and conspiracy theories to bend DOJ and FBI officials to his will to a greater extent than publicly known. Read by Pat Muir. 10 broadcasts; began Thursday, July 24. – L. Listen to promo of Where Tyranny Begins.
Social Justice Fallacies – Nonfiction by Thomas Sowell, 2023. A renowned economist demolishes the myths that underpin the social justice movement. Read by Jan Pettit. 6 broadcasts; begins Thursday, August 7. Listen to promo of Social Justice Fallacies.
Free and Equal – Nonfiction by Daniel Chandler, 2024. A student of the philosopher John Rawls applies his ideas to a brand of politics capable of shaping a good society. Read by William Heisley. 14 broadcasts; begins Monday, August 18. Listen to promo of Free and Equal.
Night Journey
Monday – Friday 7:00 p.m.
The Last Devil to Die – Fiction by Richard Osman, 2023. A delightful mystery featuring four British old-age pensioners who solves crimes. Read by Philip Lowry. 10 broadcasts; began Thursday, July 24. Listen to promo of The Last Devil to Die.
Man in the Water – Fiction by David Housewright, 2024. When his wife finds the body of an army veteran in the lake, it is inevitable that former cop, now unofficial P.I. Rushmore McKenzie will get enmeshed in a complicated case of possible murder. Read by John Holden. 10 broadcasts; begins Thursday, August 7. – L. Listen to promo of Man in the Water.
Scandal of Vandals – Fiction by Frank F. Weber, 2024. A novel based on a true crime story in Minnesota that was once touted as the crime of the century. Read by Stuart Holland. 11 broadcasts; begins Thursday, August 21. Listen to promo of Scandal of Vandals.
Off the Shelf
Monday – Friday 8:00 p.m.
The Cliffs – Fiction by J. Courtney Sullivan, 2024. An absorbing novel of family, secrets, ghosts, and homecoming set on the seaside cliffs of Maine. Read by Brenda Powell. 17 broadcasts; began Monday, July 14. – L. Listen to promo of The Cliffs.
Cahokia Jazz – Fiction by Francis Spufford, 2024. A smoky, brooding noir set in the 1920s that reimagines how American history would be different if, instead of being decimated, indigenous populations had thrived. Read by Gary Rodgers. 19 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, August 6. – L, V, G, R. Listen to promo of Cahokia Jazz.
Potpourri
Monday – Friday 9:00 p.m.
Charlie Hustle – Nonfiction by Keith O'Brien, 2024. A captivating chronicle of the incredible story of one of America's most iconic, charismatic, and still polarizing figures—baseball immortal Pete Rose—and an exquisite cultural history of baseball and America in the second half of the twentieth century. Read by Roger Sheldon. 18 broadcasts; begins Monday, August 4. – L. Listen to promo of Charlie Hustle.
Jane Austen and the Price of Happiness – Nonfiction by Inger Brodey, 2024. An enlightening examination of the question: Do Jane Austen novels truly celebrate—or undermine—romance and happy endings? Read by Carol McPherson. 11 broadcasts; begins Thursday, August 28. Listen to promo of Jane Austen and the Price of Happiness.
Good Night Owl
Monday – Friday 10:00 p.m.
Middle of the Night – Fiction by Riley Sager 2024. A man must contend with the long-ago disappearance of his childhood best friend—and the dark secrets lurking just beyond the safe confines of his picture-perfect neighborhood. Read by Tom Speich. 12 broadcasts; began Thursday, July 31. – L. Listen to promo of Middle of the Night.
Ink Blood Sister Scribe – Fiction by Emma Törzs, 2023. A tale of two estranged half-sisters tasked with guarding their family's library of magical books who work together to unravel a deadly secret at the heart of their collection. Read by Parichay Rudina. 18 broadcasts; begins Monday, August 18. – L. Listen to promo of Ink Blood Sister Scribe.
RTB After Hours
Monday – Friday 11:00 p.m.
The Finest Print – Fiction by Erin Langston, 2024. A steamy, historical romance about love in a printer's shop. Read by Mary Beth Redmond. 12 broadcasts; began Monday, July 28. – L, S. Listen to promo of The Finest Print.
The Rule Book – Fiction by Sarah Adams, 2024. College exes break all the rules when they reunite years later in this enemies to lovers, second-chance romance. Read by Pat Muir. 12 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, August 13. – L, S. Listen to promo of The Rule Book.
Weekend Books
Your Personal World (Saturdays at 1 p.m.) presents How to Be Authentic: Simone de Beauvoir and the Quest for Fulfillment by Skye C. Cleary, read by Bev Burchett; followed by Fight Right by Julie and John Gottman, read by Dan Sadoff.
For the Younger Set (Sundays at 11 a.m.) presents Where Wolves Don't Die by Anton Treuer, read by Stuart Holland.
Poetic Reflections (Sundays at noon) presents The Blue Mimes by Sara Daniele Rivera, read by Mary Knatterud; followed by The Rose by Ariana Reines, read by Mary Beth Redmond.
The Great North (Sundays at 4 p.m.) presents They Would Not Be Moved by Bruce White, read by Yelva Lynfield.
Abbreviations
V – Violent content
R – Racial epithets
L – Strong language
G – Gory descriptions
S – Sexual situations
All listings are US Central Daylight Time (CDT)