The July 2025 book offerings from the Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network:
Monday – Friday 6:00 a.m.
The Ancient Art of Thinking For Yourself – Nonfiction by Robin Reames, 2024. How rhetoric the art of persuasion - can help us navigate an age of misinformation, conspiracy theories, and political acrimony. Read by Judy Woodward. 10 broadcasts; began June 18. – L. Listen to promo of The Ancient Art of Thinking for Yourself.
The Extinction of Experience – Nonfiction by Christine Rosen, 2024. A reflective, original invitation to recover and cultivate the human experiences that have atrophied in our virtual world. Read by Jim Gregorich. 9 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, July 2. Listen to promo of The Extinction of Experience.
The Cult of Creativity – Nonfiction by Samuel W. Franklin, 2023. A history of how, in the mid-twentieth century, we came to believe in the concept of creativity. Read by Don Lee. 10 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, July 15. Listen to promo of The Cult of Creativity.
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; begins Tuesday, July 29. Listen to promo of Reading the Constitution.
Monday - Friday 11:00 a.m.
The Situation Room –Nonfiction by George Stephanopoulos, 2024. A recounting of the history-making crises from the place where twelve presidents made their highest-pressure decisions: the White House Situation Room. Read by Pat Ocken. 11 broadcasts; began June 26. – L. Listen to promo of The Situation Room.
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; begins Monday, July 14. Listen to promo of Age of Revolutions.
Monday – Friday 12:00 p.m.
Negative Space – Fiction by Gillian Linden, 2024. A young mother navigates the instabilities of teaching, parenting, and marriage in the wake of the pandemic. Read by Jodi Lindskog. 5 broadcasts; began June 30. Listen to promo of Negative Space.
Office Politics - Fiction by Wilfrid Sheed, 2024. A satire of 1960s intellectual New York and a celebration of that endangered species, the office, at its pettiest and most idealistic, as the proving ground where so much of grownup life takes place. Read by Jan Anderson. 12 broadcasts; begins Monday, July 7. Listen to promo of Office Politics.
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; begins Wednesday, July 23. Listen to promo of Aesop's Fables.
Monday - Friday 1:00 p.m.
Byron: A Life in Ten Letters – Nonfiction by Andrew Stauffer, 2024. A user-friendly biography of the major Romantic poet, framed around some of his most revealing missives. Read by Michele Potts. 12 broadcasts; began June 25. – S. Listen to promo of Byron: A Life in Ten Letters.
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; begins Monday, July 14. Listen to promo of The Rulebreaker.
Monday - Friday 2:00 p.m.
Ahnwee Days - Fiction by William E. Burleson, 2024. The story of a small town on the edge of extinction and the young mayor who rallies the residents to keep it going. Read by Pat Muir. 9 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, July 1. – L, S. Listen to promo of Ahnwee Days.
The Burrow – Fiction by Melanie Cheng, 2024. A wise and moving story about a family navigating grief, hope, and healing through a bond with a new pet rabbit. Read by Karen Ray. 5 broadcasts; begins Monday, July 14. – L. Listen to promo of The Burrow.
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; begins Monday, July 21. – L. Listen to promo of True Failure.
Monday – Friday 4:00 p.m.
Beyond the Big Lie – Nonfiction by Bill Adair, 2024. An informed, urgent, and alarming history of political deception and how to stop it once and for all. Read by John Potts. 9 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, July 1. Listen to promo of Beyond the Big Lie.
Morning After the Revolution – Nonfiction by Nellie Bowles, 2024. A former New York Times reporter takes a look at how some of the most educated people in America lost their minds—and how she almost did, too. Read by Jan Anderson. 8 broadcasts; begins Monday, July 14. – L. Listen to promo of Morning After the Revolution.
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; begins Thursday, July 24. – L. Listen to promo of Where Tyranny Begins.
Monday – Friday 7:00 p.m.
Still Waters – Fiction by Matt Goldman, 2024. A tale of siblings returning to their family-run resort in the Northwoods of Minnesota to investigate their brother's murder, uncovering the past before it's too late. Read by John Schmidt. 9 broadcasts; began June 19. – L. Listen to promo of Still Waters.
Lemons Never Lie – Fiction by Donald E. Westlake, 2024. Actor/thief Alan Grofield focuses on the perilous consequences of refusing an offer you can't refuse. Read by Paul Ranelli. 6 broadcasts; begins Monday, July 7. Listen to promo of Lemons Never Lie.
Ilium – Fiction by Lea Carpenter, 2024. A lonely young London woman is unknowingly drawn into a high-stakes intelligence campaign by the man she marries. Read by Eileen Barratt. 7 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, July 15. Listen to promo of Ilium.
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; begins Thursday, July 24. Listen to promo of The Last Devil to Die.
Monday – Friday 8:00 p.m.
Long Island Compromise –Fiction by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, 2024. An exhilarating novel about one American family and the dark moment that shatters their suburban paradise. Read by Tom Speich. 17 broadcasts; began June 19. – L. Listen to promo of Long Island Compromise.
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; begins Monday, July 14. – L. Listen to promo of The Cliffs.
Monday – Friday 9:00 p.m.
Devil's Contract – Nonfiction by Ed Simon, 2024. A devilishly fascinating tour of the Faustian bargain through the ages, from brimstone to blues and beyond. Read by Jill Wolf. 9 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, June 24. – L, S, G. Listen to promo of Devil's Contract.
3 Shades of Blue – Nonfiction by James Kaplan, 2024. The story of how jazz arrived at the pinnacle of American culture in 1959 with the iconic album, Kind of Blue. Read by Peter Danbury. 16 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, July 7. – L. Listen to promo of 3 Shades of Blue.
Shopkeeping – Nonfiction by Peter Miller, 2024. A love letter to the small shop, and shop owners everywhere. Read by Roger Sheldon. 3 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, July 29. Listen to promo of Shopkeeping.
Monday – Friday 10:00 p.m.
Rouge – Fiction by Mona Awad, 2024. A surreal, scary fairy tale for the modern age about a lonely young woman who's drawn to a cult-like spa in the wake of her mother's mysterious death. Read by Julia Brown. 16 broadcasts; began June 16. – L. Listen to promo of Rouge.
Fever House – Fiction by Keith Rosson, 2023. All hell breaks loose in Portland, Oregon, when a pair of thugs stumble into a world-breaking government conspiracy. Read by Jim Tarbox. 17 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, July 8. – L, V, G, R. Listen to promo of Fever House.
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; begins Thursday, July 31. – L. Listen to promo of Middle of the Night.
Monday – Friday 11:00 p.m.
The Safekeep – Fiction by Yael van der Wouden, 2024. A tale of desire, suspicion, and obsession between two women staying in the same house in the Dutch countryside during the summer of 1961. Read by Yelva Lynfield. 12 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, July 1. – S. Listen to promo of The Safekeep.
The City in Glass – Fiction by Nghi Vo, 2024. A beguiling fantasy and epic love story of redemption and desire strong enough to reduce a world to ashes and remake it anew. Read by Andrea Bell. 7 broadcasts; begins Thursday, July 17. – L, S. Listen to promo of The City in Glass.
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; begins Monday, July 28. – L, S. Listen to promo of The Finest Print.
Your Personal World (Saturdays at 1:00 p.m.) presents How to Be Authentic: Simone de Beauvoir and the Quest for Fulfillment by Skye C. Cleary, read by Bev Burchett.
For the Younger Set (Sundays at 11:00 a.m.) presents Krabat and the Sorcerer's Mill by Otfried Preussler, read by Julia Brown; followed by Where Wolves Don't Die by Anton Treuer, read by Stuart Holland.
Poetic Reflections (Sundays at noon) presents Hold Everything by Dobby Gibson, read by Mary Beth Redmond; followed by Lying In by Elizabeth Metzger, read by Jan Petit.
The Great North (Sundays at 4:00 p.m.) presents 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)
