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Wisconsin Public Radio - Chapter A Day.
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Chapter a Day® is heard daily at 12:30pm and 11:00pm
on the Ideas Network stations of Wisconsin Public Radio
The five most recent chapters are available for RealAudio
on-demand listening on the Chapter a Day® Webcasting page.
| Monday May 5 through Friday May 23, 2008 |
The Poet of Tolstoy Park: A Novel by Sonny Brewer
read by Karl Schmidt
(Ballantine Books ISBN-13: 978-0345476326)
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 A 67-year-old man, given a year to live by his doctors, decides instead to read Tolstoy and “perfect his soul.” |
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Theme: Ligeti: Cello Sonata; David Geringas (Teldec 8573-88262-2) |
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| Monday May 26 through Friday June 6, 2008 |
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and The Brain by Oliver Sacks
read by Jim Fleming
(Knopf ISBN13: 9781400040810)
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The renowned neurologist and author brings us stories of the power of music to affect patients’ lives, from a man who is struck by lightning and suddenly inspired to become a pianist to “brainworms” and sticky tunes, to dementia, music and identity. |
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Theme: selections from "Russian Piano School Vol 17: Vladimir Ashkenazy plays Chopin & Liszt (Melodiya 74321 33215 2) |
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| Monday June 9 through Friday June 27, 2008 |
Never Surrender: a novel of Winston Churchill by Michael Dobbs
read by Karl Schmidt
(Sourcebooks ISBN-13: 9781402210440)
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 This work of historical fiction examines three crucial weeks in 1940 when Churchill was at his lowest ebb, but England as a whole was lower. |
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Theme: John Adams: Violin Concerto - chaconne; Gidon Kremer, vln; London SO-Nagano (Nonesuch 79360-2) |
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| Monday through Friday |
The Appeal by John Grisham
read by Jim Fleming
(Doubleday ISBN13: 9780385515047)
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 John Grisham returns to form with the compelling story of the race for a Mississippi Supreme Court seat following a judgement against a polluting chemical company. |
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Theme: tba |
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***** SINCE THE BEGINNING OF 2007 *****
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| Monday December 25, 2006 through Friday January 12, 2007 |
A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906 by Simon Winchester
read by Jim Fleming
(Harper Collins; ISBN: 0060571993)
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 The author of Krakatoa brings the same sense of urgency and lasting impact to the story of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
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Theme: Scott Joplin: Heliotrope Bouquet & The Nonpareil; Southland Stingers with Ralph Grierson, piano (EMI CDC 7 47193-2) |
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| Monday January 15 through Friday February 2, 2007 |
Garlic & Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl
read by Karl Schmidt
(Penguin; ISBN: 1594200319)
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 She had to dress up to avoid being given special treatment, resulting in this comedic account of Reichl's life as a restaurant critic in New York.
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Theme: "Moonsweeper Blues" from the album "Old Friends" with Andre Previn, piano; Mundell Lowe, guitar & Ray Brown, bass (Telarc Jazz CD-83309) |
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| Monday February 5 through Friday February 23, 2007 |
Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan
read by Jim Fleming
(Harper Collins; ISBN: 0060817089)
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 When you bring home a Labrador Retriever you expect the kind of dog famous for its calm and helpfulness. Not Marley. One Hundred Pounds of pure exuberance, there is nothing and no one he can't bowl over. There are lessons here, but are they the ones you want to learn?
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Theme: Bernstein: Jet Song from "West Side Story"; Gershwin: Promenade "Walking the Dog"; Katia & marielle Labeque, pianos from their album "Encore!" (Sony SK 48381) |
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| Monday February 26 through Friday March 16, 2007 |
Truck: A Love Story by Michael Perry
read by Jim Fleming
(Harper Collins; ISBN: 0060571179)
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 The account of a year in which the New Auburn, WI writer “struggles to grow his own food...live peaceably with his neighbors...and sort out his love life.” It sounds simple, but it's who he meets and the words he finds for what they do that matter.
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Theme: "The Driving of the Year Nail" from the Leo Kottke Anthology (Rhino RZ 72585/72438 19111 29) |
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| Monday March 19, through Friday April 13, 2007 |
Forgetfulness: a novel by Ward Just
read by Karl Schmidt
(Houghton Mifflin; ISBN: 0618634630))
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 A compelling story of one man's attempt to extricate himself from his past, and its disastrous consequences.
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Theme: Shostakovich: Piano Concerto Nr 1 excerpts; I Musici di Montreal (Alekta AN 2 9898) |
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| Monday April 16 through Wednesday May 9, 2007 |
Water for Elephants: a novel by Sara Gruen
read by Jim Fleming
(Algonquin; ISBN-13: 9781565124998)
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 Jacob is ninety (or ninety-three, he can't remember) and in assisted living, but his memories of being twenty-three and joining the circus are sharp and clear. They are memories of colorful characters and showmanship, as well as romance and danger. And, of course, of Rosie the elephant. |
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Theme: Paul Hart: Circus Ring; North Texas Wind Symphony -- Eugene Corporon (Klavier KCD 11084) |
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| Thursday May 10 through Tuesday May 15, 2007 |
Uncommon Carriers by John McPhee
read by Karl Schmidt
(FSG; ISBN-13: 9780374280390)
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 John McPhee's books have always been about real people in real places. Here are his adventures with people who work in freight transportation. |
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Theme: Toots Footprints from Toots Thielemans Footprints (Emarch 846650) |
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| Wednesday May 16 through Friday June 8, 2007 |
Washington Square by Henry James
read by Karl Schmidt
(Crown; ISBN: 140008066)
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 A plain heiress and a handsome suitor - does he want her only for her money, or is there more? James' classic tale makes wonderful listening.
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Theme: Edward MacDowell: Fireside Tales, Op 61; Calico Winds (Albany Troy 693) |
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| Monday June 11 through Friday June 29, 2007
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Thunderstruck by Erik Larson
read by Norman Gilliland
(Crown; ISBN: 140008066)
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 The intertwined stories of the unlikely murderer Hawley Crippen and the inventor Guglielmo Marconi, the source of modern broadcast communication.
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Theme: Beethoven/Liszt: Symphony Nr 5 in c, Op 67 - allegro; Paul Badura-Skoda, piano (Harmonia Mundi France HMC 901195) |
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| Monday July 2 through Friday July 20, 2007 |
Jimi Hendrix Turns Eighty by Tim Sandlin
read by Jim Fleming
(Riverhead; ISBN: 1594489335)
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 Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh. AARP is going to Win!
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Theme: The Beatles: When I'm Sixty-Four |
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| Monday July 23 through Friday August 10, 2007 |
The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed by John Vaillant
read by Karl Schmidt
(Norton; ISBN: 0393328643)
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 "There was only one giant golden spruce in the world, and, until a man named Grant Hadwin took a chainsaw to it, in 1997, it had stood for more than three hundred years in a steadily shrinking patch of old-growth forest in Port Clements, on the banks of the Yakoun River, in the Queen Charlotte's Islands."
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Theme: Late Romantic Music for Cello & Piano; Karp Family (UW Madison School of Music) |
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| Monday August 13 through Friday August 24, 2007 |
Death in a Prairie House: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders by William R. Drennan
read by Jim Fleming
(Wisconsin; ISBN: 0-299-22210-1)
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 The brutal murders at Frank Lloyd Wright's Spring Green prairie cottage helped shape the rest of the famous architect's life. |
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Theme: Beethoven: String Quartet Nr 11 - allegretto ma non troppo; Quartetto Italiano (Philips 420 104-2) |
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| Monday August 27 through Friday September 14, 2007 |
Five Skies by Ron Carlson
read by Jim Fleming
(Penguin; ISBN: 0670038504)
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 A compelling novel about the friendship of three men working on a strange construction project in the Idaho Rockies. Their summer together will change their lives forever. |
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Theme: Ennio Morricone: Sergio Leone Suite; Yo-Yo Ma, cello; Roma Sinfonietta Orchestra - Morricone (Sony SK 93456) |
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| Monday September 17 through Friday October 5, 2007 |
Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog by Ted Kerasote
read by Karl Schmidt
(Harcourt; ISBN: 0151012709))
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 Merle came into the author's life on a camping trip and stayed with him for thirteen years. Those years proved important for them both, as Merle established himself as an individual. |
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Theme: from Yo-Yo Ma's album "Appassionato" - Yanzi (Swallow Song) with Kojiro Umezaki, shakahuchi (Sony 88697-02668-2) |
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| Monday October 8 through Friday October 26, 2007 |
Notes from Little Lakes by Mel Ellis
read by Jim Fleming
(Cabin Bookshelf; ISBN: 0-9653381-0-X)
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 Memories from one of Wisconsin's premier newspaper columnists |
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Theme: selections from "Beyond Six Strings: A Collection of New Music for Harp Guitar" (HGM-CD-001) |
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| Monday October 29 through Friday November 16, 2007 |
The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle
read by Susan Sweeney
(Macmillan; ISBN: 1416533249))
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 A charming debut novel about a twelve-year-old girl living on a horse ranch tells much about grieving and the pain of growing to adulthood. |
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Theme: Copland: Our Town; London Symphony Orchestra - Copland (CBS MK 42429) |
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| Monday November 19 through Friday December 7, 2007 |
Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World by Anthony Doerr
read by Karl Schmidt
(Scribner; ISBN: 1416540016)
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 The story of an author's year in Rome with newborn twins. Doerr brings the city to vivid life, and shares the process by which his experiences come to life on the page. |
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Theme: JS Bach: Concerto in G, BWV 972 from Harpsichord Solos played by Richard Egarr (Harmonia Mundi HMU 907329) |
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| Monday December 10 through Friday December 28, 2007 |
FDR by Jean Edward Smith
read by Jim Fleming
(Random House; ISBN: 1400061210)
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 Excerpts from a new biography of one of the Twentieth Century's most important leaders, from the excitement of the Hundred Days of the New Deal to the days leading up to World War II. |
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Theme: Gershwin: Strike Up the Band Overture; Buffalo Philharmonic - Michael Tilson Thomas (Sony 42240) |
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| Monday December 31, 2007 through Thursday January 24, 2008 |
Cage of Stars by Jacqueline Mitchard
read by Susan Sweeney
(Warner; ISBN-13: 9780446696722)
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 A twelve-year-old’s world is shattered when her sisters are murdered. Years later she decides to avenge them, in the process discovering the true meanings of crime and forgiveness.
Chapter a Day® will be preempted on Monday January 21 at 12:30 for a special Martin Luther King Jr Day Celebration. Monday evening 1/21 we will repeat the Chapter from Friday 1/18. The book will resume with a new chapter on Tuesday 1/22. |
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Theme: John Tavener: The Protecting Veil; Steven Isserlis, cello; London SO-Rozhdestvensky (Virgin 0946 3629321) |
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| Friday January 25, 2008 |
Uncommon Carriers by John McPhee
read by Karl Schmidt
(FSG; ISBN-13: 9780374280390)
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| John McPhee's books have always been about real people in real places. Here are his adventures with people who work in freight transportation. |
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Theme: Toots Footprints from Toots Thielemans Footprints (Emarch 846650) |
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| Monday January 28 through Wednesday February 20 |
American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies At The Founding of the Republic by Joseph Ellis
read by Jim Fleming
(Knopf ISBN-13: 9780307263698)
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Theme: Ives: Variations on "America" (arr. William Schuman); Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra - Leonard Slatkin, cond (RCA 09026-61282-2) |
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| Monday March 10 through Friday March 21 |
The One That Got Away: a memoir by Howell Raines
read by Karl Schmidt
(Simon & Schuster; ISBN: 0641802013)
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 Wry and funny memoir about fishing, and family, and the end of his newspaper career. |
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Theme: Bill Frisell: selections by the artist (ECM 440 014 198-2) |
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| Monday March 24 through Friday April 11, 2008 |
Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe’s America by Andrew Ferguson
read by Karl Schmidt
(Atlantic ISBN-13: 9780871139672)
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 We all know who our 16th President was, but who is he today? Andrew Ferguson travels America looking for Lincoln in contemporary society. |
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Theme: America the Beautiful & Amazing Grace; Charlie Haden & The Liberation Music Orchestra (Verve) |
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| Monday April 14 through Friday May 2, 2008 |
Playing for Pizza by John Grisham
read by Jim Fleming
(Random House ISBN-13: 9780385525008)
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 A 3rd string NFL quarterback finds the meaning of American football when he’s run out of town and finds himself playing in Parma, Italy. |
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Theme: Bolero from Serenata by Beppe Gambetta with Carlo Aonzo (Acoustic Music POB 1945) |
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If you have a comment or a question, send a message to Jim Fleming.
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