I N T E R C H A N G E
Newsletter of the Nebraska Library Commission
Talking Book and Braille Service
September 2004                            Vol. 28 No. 5
 
Cassette Magazines for Fall Reading

Many Nebraskans look forward to fall when the harvest season brings back memories of family, and of cooking and baking. Taste of Home, a bimonthly magazine produced by Associated Services for the Blind, offers satisfying, easy-to-prepare recipes that come from the readers themselves. Featured are recipes for main dishes, desserts, and snacks-all made using standard utensils and ingredients you are likely to have on hand.

Another magazine for homemakers, Family Circle, also produced by Associated Services for the Blind, offers health and beauty tips, recipes for family meals, and advice for homemakers and home decorating. This magazine is issued 17 times per year.
 Leaves
Redbook, a monthly magazine produced by the Florida Regional Library, offers short stories, advice on child rearing and family relations, home decorating ideas, and fashion and beauty tips. For a focus on rural living, consider Country. Produced in our own studios, this magazine includes country diaries, travel, features, and recipes.
If fall weather means home or car maintenance, you might like Popular Mechanics, a monthly magazine which offers articles on auto mechanics, woodworking, electronics, and even photography. Published ten times a year, Family Handyman covers home remodeling, repair and maintenance, and energy efficiency. Both magazines are produced by Associated Services for the Blind.
To sign up for these free cassette magazines, please use the order form below or call your Readers Advisor.
Volunteer Profile--Bryan Block

Talking book borrowers have never heard Bryan Block's voice, yet he plays a key role in producing books and magazines in our studios. That is because primarily Bryan operates our recording equipment and monitors the accuracy of what is being read. Though he passed our audition to become a volunteer narrator, Bryan agreed to serve as a producer when he saw our need for volunteers on the control-room side of the glass.

A volunteer since March 2003, Bryan has helped to produce Nebraska Life, Capper's, and Nebraska Farmer, and is working on the recording of a western and a biography. Bryan volunteers in order to help someone else enjoy the things in life we tend to take for granted.

Co-director of Lincoln's Wyuka Funeral Home and Cemetery, Bryan has served in the funeral industry since 1989. His favorite foods are nachos, grilled brats, and anything with gravy. His favorite movie is Much Ado About Nothing, and he enjoys watching replays of the 1996 Fiesta Bowl. His favorite authors are Harvey MacKay, Ray Comfort, Shakespeare, and Hugh Ross.

Bryan's hobbies are gardening, yard work, and collecting neckties.

Volunteer Profile--Tim Sparks

A library volunteer since October 2003, Tim Sparks puts his planning skills to work by helping to organize the print copies of magazines so they can be recorded in our studios. He writes notes which tell the producer which article, caption, sidebar, or table to read next. He may need to rewrite the table of contexts according to page order. He writes reminders of where the index tone should go at the end of articles and estimates the side number for each article in the table. He says he enjoys seeing our "neat" magazines, but he also volunteers because he tutors a man with dyslexia who loves receiving talking books from us.

Tim is an engineer at Molex who enjoys sports and gardening in his spare time. His favorite author is C. S. Lewis, and his favorite books are J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy (RC 47486, 47487, 47488). The most recent book Tim has read is The Wandering Hill, by Larry McMurtry.

Tim's favorite food is Archway soft sugar cookies. His favorite movie is Lady and the Tramp. He enjoys listening to blues over KZUM while on the computer.
New Cassette Books

Non-Fiction

RC 919 Born to Fly: The Untold Story of the Downed American Reconnaissance Plane
by Shane Osborne, with Malcolm McConnell
2 cassettes
A graduate of the naval ROTC program at the University of Nebraska, Shane Osborn worked tirelessly until he advanced from navy pilot to mission commander. All of his skills were put to the test when a Chinese fighter jet collided with his plane during a U.S. surveillance mission through international airspace. Having landed his crippled plane safely on the Chinese island of Hainan-saving the lives of his twenty-three crewmates-Lt. Osborn was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Some strong language. Narrated by David King and Dennis Lorance.

RC 936 The Good Old Days
by Van C. Duling and Jerry Mapes
2 cassettes

Longtime Lincolnites contributed their own stories about living in Nebraska's capital city. This compilation of events, spanning over a century, is not limited to the "good ol' boys' club" but open to everyone-young, old, male, and female. Mom and pop small enterprises abounded; keys were left in cars; concerts were held in the park; and people acknowledged each other on the street. Narrated by Norman Simon.

RC 943 My Journey Through the Twentieth Century
by Frank B. Morrison
2 cassettes

In this autobiography, Frank B. Morrison, three-term governor of Nebraska, revisits his youth, his days as a teacher, a lawyer, a candidate, and an elected official. A confidant of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, he was called to the White House immediately after the assassination of President Kennedy. Well into retirement, former Governor Morrison led the way to the development of the Great Platte River Road Archway near Kearney, Nebraska. Narrated by Roy Bailey.
 

Books for the Electoral Season

Electing a president has often been a time of controversy and intrigue. Here are some fascinating books about the rocky road to the White House:

RC 43310 The Choice, by Bob Woodward

A political history tracing the preparations of candidates Clinton and Dole for the 1996 presidential election. Examines the personal and political relationships among key policy makers and provides inside views on the federal budget battles, the top-secret Bosnian strategy sessions, and the making of major campaign decisions. Strong language. Bestseller.

RC 49821 No Way to Pick a President, by Jules Wiltcover

A reporter, who has covered every presidential election since Eisenhower's, recommends reforms for choosing candidates. Uses anecdotes to describe how the current system of campaigning has been corrupted by television, money, and ambition. Suggestions include dismantling the electoral college, banning soft money, and shortening the primary season.

RC 52306 At Any Cost: How Al Gore Tried to Steal the Election, by Bill Sammon

Partisan analysis of the 2000 U.S. presidential election crisis when, for thirty-six days, the results of the race were contested by Democratic candidate Al Gore. Describes how the Gore campaign's efforts in Florida came to an end when George W. Bush's electoral victory was assured by a Supreme Court decision.

RC 52784 The Betrayal of America: How the Supreme Court Undermined the Constitution and Chose Our President, by Vincent Bugliosi, forewards by Molly Ivins and Gerry Spence

Former Los Angeles prosecutor asserts that U.S. Supreme Court justices Rehnquist, Scalia, Thomas, O'Connor, and Kennedy "did not act impartially in the case of Bush v. Gore" when they stopped the recount of contested Florida votes during the 2000 presidential election. Developed from an article that originally appeared in The Nation.

RC 54835 The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: An Investigative Reporter Exposes the Truth About Globalization, Corporate Cons, and High-Finance Fraudsters, by Greg Palasi

A polemical analysis of instances of global corporate fraud, political corruption, and financial manipulation. Topics include policies of such entities as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World International Trade Organization and the circumstances surrounding the contested 2000 United States presidential election. Some strong language.

RC 56458 Fraud of the Century: Rutherford B. Hayes, Samuel Tilden, and the Stolen Election of 1876, by Roy Morris, Jr.

Traces the post-Civil War presidential election, which in America's centenary year pitted Ohio Republican governor Rutherford Hayes against New York Democrat governor Samuel Tilden. An electoral commission declared Hayes the winner after disputed southern returns and four months of backroom political intrigue by both parties.

Helpful Hint...

Question: How can I tell if tapes are missing from my book?

Answer: Every so often we hear from a borrower who thinks tapes are missing from a book. On occasion, this might happen; but usually it is just a matter of understanding how our four-track tapes work and learning how to listen to all four sides.

The tapes are numbered 1, 5, 9, 13, and so on; so typically, if you understand this sequence, you will find that no tapes are missing. Tape number 1 contains sides one through four. Tape number 2 starts with side 5 and continues through side 8. Tape number 3 begins with side 9.

Each tape contains up to four recorded tracks, or sides. These are different from conventional tapes, which are recorded on only two tracks.

It is helpful to listen to the recorded instructions at the end of each side. The narrator tells you what to do to continue reading. On odd sides, the instructions are "turn the cassette over." On even sides, the instructions are to change the side selector switch and turn the cassette over. However, whenever you begin a cassette, be sure the side selector switch is pressed to side 1-2.

The side selector switch is the rocker switch just above the tone control. It enables you to listen to the third and fourth tracks of each tape. You play sides 1 and 2 with this switch pushed down to the left, and you play sides 3 and 4 with the switch pushed to the right. For the next cassette, remember to move this switch back to the 1-2 (left) position and repeat this procedure.

Call your Readers Advisor if you need assistance using the cassette player. Local: 402-471-4038 or toll-free 1-800-742-7691.
 

Volunteer Profile-Carolin Roehr

One of our newest narrators, Carolin Roehr has already used her voice to help record our Westerns and Pioneer 2002 catalog (RC 926), as well as Nebraska Farmer, Midwest Living, Report on Disability Programs, Great Plains Game and Fish, Country, Nebraskaland, Trail Tails, Nebraska History, Nebraska Life, and Midwest Living. Carolin is currently recording a book that honors Nebraska's veterans.

Carolin learned about the Talking Book and Braille Service while serving on the library board in Sidney, Nebraska. An avid reader and a fan of audio books, she finds narration to be a good match for her interests. In addition to being able to help others, she is able to learn more about Nebraska and about Nebraska authors. As a Speech-Language Pathologist, Carolin has used books for years with her students. The latest books she has read on her own are The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown (RC 55735) and The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger (RC 57102).

In her spare time, Carolin enjoys landscaping, bicycling, travel, walking, and serving as a TeamMates mentor. She enjoys playing golf with her husband and two sons, as well as e-mailing friends and learning more about various subjects through the Internet.

 "Golden Oldies' From Our Nebraska Collection

Here is the third installment of cassette books recorded in our own studios. These great books were recorded years ago and are wonderful to read. To order, please check the box next to the RC number and mail this page to the Talking Book and Braille Service; or contact your Readers Advisor. 

New Cassette Books

If summertime makes you appreciate life in the country and living close to nature, then we have the cassette magazines for you. Capper's, a biweekly publication with a focus on small-town and rural living, includes reader contributions, recipes, poetry, nationally-known columnists, and a continuing story. Country, published bimonthly, offers feature stories and columns for those who live in or long for the country. It includes country diaries, travel, features, and recipes. For those who live off the land, Nebraska Farmer provides crop reports, articles on farm life, and new agricultural methods and technology. Gardening How-To, published bimonthly by the National Home Gardening Club, is filled with gardening tips, techniques, and equipment reviews. These first three magazines are produced within the studios of the Talking Book and Braille Service. The fourth is produced by Associated Services for the Blind.

For information about destinations a little further from home, National Geographic Traveler, a bimonthly produced by the Florida Regional Library, offers six to ten travel articles, mostly about the United States. An additional section gives full data, such as cost, phone numbers, and addresses for the destinations discussed. To request these magazines, please use the order form below or call your Readers Advisor. This arrangement might be easier for you than having to mail your player back to us.

Order Form and Ordering Instructions

You may place your order by mailing or e-mailing it to the Talking Book and Braille Service, or by calling your Readers Advisor.

For mailing, please mark the magazines and books you wish to order and enclose this page in an envelope. Instead of using a stamp, you may put "Free Matter for the Blind or Handicapped" on the corner of your envelope. Send your request to the Nebraska Library Commission Talking Book and Braille Service, 1200 N Street, Suite 120, Lincoln, NE 68508-2023. Be sure to include your name, address, city, state, zip code, and telephone number.

For e-mailing, send your order information to the Talking Book and Braille Service. Please include your name, address, city, state, zip code, and telephone number.

You may reach a Readers Advisor toll free by calling 1-800-742-7691. Be prepared to give your name, address, city, state, zip code, and telephone number.

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