General

By now our listeners are very familiar with our mission: "Turning the written word into the spoken word so that the blind, print handicapped,  and those who cannot read for whatever reason can be every bit as informed as their sighted peers."  The spoken word is what comes through the speakers when you tune in to 88.3 FM any time of the day or night, thanks to the time and […]

   I'm not the type of person who likes to take trips alone.  I love how conversation makes the drive so much shorter, how easy it is to bond over mutually appreciated music, and how the sights and landmarks along the way seem more interesting and vivid if you've got a friend to point them out to you (because you really should be concentrating on your driving, after all.)  There […]

   If you've driven down Magazine Street this week, you've probably noticed that the front porch of our building has been dismantled and is in the process of reconstruction, due to water damage.  You may also have noticed that the pristine new sign now hangs in the front, so fresh and brand spanking new it practically radiates our name and message in lights.  The logo on the sign is different […]

    Last week the normally mild mannered and infinitely good tempered Lamont McLaughlin came out of recording studio #2, threw his reading material in the "read" basket, and proclaimed in a loud, frustrated voice, "That was torture!"Alarmed, I hurried into the room to check on him.  A dedicated and delightful reader, he's not a complainer--in fact, he is so wonderfully easygoing and pleasant it's hard to imagine him being bothered […]

In the next few weeks, I'm going to try to program some of George Saunders' short stories for the Midday Short Story program, because he's an eerie, disturbingly beautiful writer, and his book THE TENTH OF DECEMBER was one of the best books I've read all year.  Since I'm new to his work (although a zealous convert) I was glad to read something other than his fiction in the New […]

Last month I went out for Chinese food and my fortune said "The sign you have been waiting for will soon appear."  I've gotten some pretty puzzling fortunes before (such as, "You will soon meet the woman of your dreams" while celebrating my 35th wedding anniversary, or the cryptic "There is a nice cake waiting for you at home" when I don't eat sugar--maybe they were referring to a cake […]

I always found it oddly appropriate that WRBH, The Reading Radio station,  is located on Magazine Street.  I guess we would be equally well placed on Story Street, or on any of the Muse streets like Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), or Melpomene (tragedy), or even Basin or Canal when we have those unexpected intense downpours on summer afternoons and the cars parked in front of the station need to […]

Our newest nonfiction book, beginning on Wednesday, July 10th, is one of the most interesting, informative, and fascinating books you'll ever hear.  It's also one of the most graphic.  Be warned: it's not for the squeamish.    There are vivid descriptions of things our bodies do that may embarrass some of you, no matter how old you are and how much you've lived.  No, it's not filled with sex and […]

I was organizing a closet over the weekend, and came across a well used, somewhat battered Risk game with most of the pieces missing.  I considered throwing it away, but after unfolding the board and looking at the contents (and continents), I was overcome with nostalgia--for 16 years we brought this same Risk game with us on our shared beach vacations with another family, and our combined children would immediately […]