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 July 26 through Friday August 13, 2010

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout read by Susan Sweeney (Random House; ISBN: 9780812971835)

Olive is a retired schoolteacher in Crosby, Maine who observes the characters around her. Some she approves of, others she doesn’t, but in everyone she sees and reports what others might miss.

theme: "Time Remembered" from "Kronos Quartet Music of Bill Evans (www.savoyjazz.com)

Monday August 16 through Friday August 27, 2010

Chronicles: Volume One by Bob Dylan read by Karl Schmidt (Simon & Schuster; ISBN: 9780743244589)

Excerpts from the memoirs of an extraordinary musician.

theme: selections from Bob Dylan: Biograph

Monday August 30 through Friday September 17, 2010

Lucy: a novel by Laurence Gonzales read by Jim Fleming (Knopf; ISBN: 9780307272607)

An exciting novel that pushes the boundaries of what we think defines our humanity. A young girl is raised with apes, forced to flee for her life a civil war, and then forced to defend her right to live in human society.

theme: Bobby McFerrin: Circlesongs (Sony)

Monday September 10 through Friday October 8, 2010

Wolf: The Lives of Jack London by Jack L. Haley read by Norman Gilliland Basic Books; ISBN-13: 978-0465004782)

Jack London was a man of contradictions. The author of best-selling stories like The Sea Wolf and The Call of the Wild and for a time the highest-paid writer in America, he was often broke. This is the story of the forgotten Jack London, author and crusader.

theme: Richard Strauss Horn Concerto 1 - andante; Eric Ruske, horn; IRIS Chamber Orch - Michael Stern, conductor (Albany Troy 782)

Monday October 11 through Friday October 29, 2010

I Thought You Were Dead: A Love Story by Pete Nelson read by Jim Fleming (Algonquin; ISBN: 9781565125971)

A lot of things have gone wrong for Paul, in his writing and in his life, but there’s one advisor who has never let him down - his labrador retriever Stella.

theme: tba

Monday November 1 through Friday November 19, 2010

Work Song by Ivan Doig read by Jim Fleming (Riverhead; ISBN-13: 978-1594487620)

Morrie Morgan, the itinerant schoolteacher and charmer from Doig’s The Whistling Season returns to Montana, to Butte in 1919 and “the richest hill on earth.” The story of copper mining and union/management conflict reveals an important moment in American history.

theme: selections from “Fiddle Fever” (Flying Fish FF 70303)

***** SINCE THE BEGINNING OF 2009 *****

Wednesday January 8 through Friday January 30, 2009 (There will be no 12:30 p.m. broadcast on 1/19 & 1/20)

The Forever War by Dexter Filkins read by Karl Schmidt (Knopf; ISBN-13: 978-0307266392)

The New York Times correspondent takes us to the front lines of the wars in the Middle East.

excerpt from Saint-Saens Symphony #1; Vienna SO - Georges Pretre (Erato MusiFrance 2292-45695-2)

Monday January 19 and Tuesday January 20, 2009 - 11 PM ONLY

The Case of Laker Absconded by Arthur Morrison read by Ken Ohst (from the Chapter a Day Archives)

A This is a classic tale from the Chapter a Day archives. Inspector Martin Hewitt was the creation of Arthur Morrison and featured in many tales. Ken Ohst was for many years the voice of Chapter a Day.

Theme: tba

Monday February 2 through Friday February 20, 2009

Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan read by Jim Fleming (Harper Collins; ISBN: 0060817089)

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?

Theme: Bernstein: Jet Song from "West Side Story"; Gershwin: Promenade "Walking the Dog"; Katia & marielle Labeque, pianos from their album "Encore!" (Sony SK 48381)

Monday February 23 through Friday March 13, 2009

Mayhem in B-flat by Eliot Paul read by Jim Fleming (Dover; ISBN: 0-486-25621-9)

Elliot Paul's Homer Evans mysteries are classics of the form. In Mayhem in B-flat Paul tells the story of Evans and his stylish, pistol-packing companion Miriam Leonard as they tackle on a series of strange events. Against a richly evoked background of Paris in the 1930's, Evans and Leonard mix detection and comedy to find a murderer, rescue a notorious violin, and encourage romance.

Theme: Fritz Kreisler: Liebesfreud & Liebeslied; Gil Shaham, violin; Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (DG 449 923-2)

Monday March 16 through Friday April 3, 2009

The Guernsey Literary and Potato-Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows read by Susan Sweeney and Jim Fleming (Dial Press; ISBN-13: 9780385340991)

A work of fiction in the form of letters about the power of books to nourish people living in hard times. The letters tell the story of the Isle of Guernsey during WWII.

Theme: Eric Coates: Summer Days Suite; Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra - John Wilson, conductor (Avie AV 2070)

Monday April 6 through Friday May 1, 2009

The Eleventh Man by Ivan Doig read by Jim Fleming (Harcourt; ISBN-13: 978-0151012435)

A greatest generation story of the members of a Montana football team who go to war. One is selected by the army propaganda arm to tell their stories.

Theme: Cole Porter: Anything Goes; Stephan Grappelli & Yo-Yo Ma (CBS MK 45574)

Monday May 4 through Friday June 5, 2009

Driftless by David Rhodes read by Karl Schmidt (Milkweed; ISBN 978-57131-059-0)

A story from the “driftless” area of Wisconsin, about a town apparently left out of time. It’s an unforgettable slice of life in rural America

Theme: Haydn: The Seven Last Words - introduction; Emerson Quartet (DG B0002053-02)

Monday June 8 through Friday July 3, 2009

How Far is the Ocean From Here by Amy Shearn read by Susan Sweeney (Random House; ISBN-13: 9780307405340)

An unmarried surrogate mother flees her Chicago home and heads for the Southwest. This novel explores how people care for each other, whoever and wherever they are.

Theme: First Impressions from Appalachia Waltz by Mark O'Connor; Yo-Yo Ma; Edgar Meyer; Mark O'Connor (Sony SK 68460)

Monday July 6 through Friday July 17, 2009

Sweet and Sour Pie: A Wisconsin Boyhood by Dave Crehore read by Jim Fleming (Terrace Books; ISBN13: 9780299230609)

In 1950 the Crehores, 7-year-old Dave and his parents, moved from Ohio to Manitowoc, WI. His memoir is filled with the satisfying life and adventures of a Wisconsin in the middle of the 20th Century.

Theme: Rube Bloom: Spring Fever, Duke Ellington: Solitude; Alan Feinberg, piano from the disc "Fascinatin' Rhythm" (Argo 444 457-2)

Monday July 20 through Friday August 14, 2009

The Other by David Guterson read by Karl Schmidt (Knopf; ISBN13: 9780307263155 )

A novel about youth and idealism, adulthood and its compromises, and two powerfully different visions of what it means to live a good life.

Theme: Nico Muhly speaks volumes (HVALUR 1)

Monday August 17 through Friday September 11, 2009

Roads to Quoz: An American Mosey by William Least Heat-Moon read by Jim Fleming (Little, Brown ; ISBN: 978-0-316-11025-9))

The author of Blue Highways returns to the back roads of America in search of “quoz” - things strange, incongruous, or peculiar.

Theme: Chuck Suchy; Blue Missouri Hills #1 from the album Different Line of Time

Monday September 14 through Friday October 2, 2009

Without a Map by Meredith Hall read by Susan Sweeney (Beacon Press; ISBN13: 9780807072738)

Meredith Hall's moving but unsentimental memoir begins in 1965, when she becomes pregnant at sixteen. Shunned , kicked out of her mother’s house and banished by her father, she gives up her baby up for adoption. Finally she returns to New England and stitches together a life that encircles her silenced and invisible grief.

Theme: Lars Erik Larson, Adagio from "Adagio: Music for Silent Moments" (Arte Nova Classics 74321 378702)

Monday October 5 through Friday October 16, 2009

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)

The brutal murders at Frank Lloyd Wright's Spring Green prairie cottage helped shape the rest of the famous architect's life. Now available as a 4-CD audiobook. To order, call 1-800-747-7444.

Theme: Beethoven: String Quartet Nr 11 - allegretto ma non troppo; Quartetto Italiano (Philips 420 104-2)

Monday October 19 through Friday November 6, 2009

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: a novel by Jamie Ford read by Jim Fleming (Ballantine ISBN-13: 978-0345505347)

Henry Lee came of age in WWII era Seattle, and vividly remembers when the Japanese were interned. Now as he recovers from the cancer death of his wife, those days are brought back to life by the discovery of artifacts in an old hotel.

Theme: I Got it Bad, and That Ain't Good - Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington

Monday November 9 through Wednesday December 9, 2009

Exiles in the Garden by Ward Just read by Karl Schmidt (Harcourt ISBN-13: 9780547195582)

The new novel by America’s great Washington writer takes on individual responsibility in the public world.

Theme: Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 17 in d minor, Op 31 No. 2 - 2nd mvt; Helene Grimaud, piano (Deutsche Grammophon)

Thursday December 10, 2009 through Friday January 1, 2010

Christmas Books by Charles Dickens read by Jim Fleming

including The Cricket on the Hearth (12/10-12/17), The Holly Tree (12/21-12/23), and The Chimes: A Goblin Story of Some Bells That Rang An Old Year Out and a New Year In (12/24-1/1)

”Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day” & “Greensleeves” from “A Midnight Clear: A Celtic Christmas” with Robin Bullock (Dorian DOR 93250)

Friday December 18, 2009

Sweet and Sour Pie: A Wisconsin Boyhood by Dave Crehore read by Jim Fleming (Terrace Books; ISBN13: 9780299230609)

A Christmas story from his Wisconsin memoir.

Theme: Rube Bloom: Spring Fever, Duke Ellington: Solitude; Alan Feinberg, piano from the disc "Fascinatin' Rhythm" (Argo 444 457-2)

Monday January 4 through Friday January 22, 2010

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert read by Susan Sweeney (Penguin ISBN-13: 978-0143038412)

A travelogue of soul-searching and self-discovery.

theme: Ray Lynch: Over Easy (from "Nothing Above My Shoulders but the Evening" (Windham Hill)

Monday January 25 through Friday February 12, 2010

Coop: a Year of Poultry, Pigs, and Parenting by Michael Perry read by Jim Fleming (Harper; ISBN-13: 9780061240430)

The author of Truck returns to tell the story of his new life in the country.

theme: "The Driving of the Year Nail" from Leo Kottke: Anthology (Rhino)

Monday February 15 through Friday February 26, 2010 Also Available as an Audio Book through the Radio Store 1-800-747-7444

The Land Remembers: The story of a farm and its people by Ben Logan read by Karl Schmidt (Itchy Cat Press; ISBN: 9780976145059)

Ben Logan's classic memoir of farm life and growing up in Wisconsin. With a new Afterword by the author.

Theme: Triptique for String Orchestra-Berceuse & Andante; Akutagawa - Angel S-36577

Monday February 15 through Friday February 26, 2010 Also Available as an Audio Book through the Radio Store 1-800-747-7444

The Land Remembers: The story of a farm and its people by Ben Logan read by Karl Schmidt (Itchy Cat Press; ISBN: 9780976145059)

Ben Logan's classic memoir of farm life and growing up in Wisconsin. With a new Afterword by the author.

Theme: Triptique for String Orchestra-Berceuse & Andante; Akutagawa - Angel S-36577

Monday March 1 through Friday March 5, 2010

Notes from Little Lakes by Mel Ellis read by Jim Fleming (Cabin Bookshelf; ISBN: 0-9653381-0-X)

Excerpts from a book of memories from one of Wisconsin's premier newspaper columnists. The chapters on the web and at night will differ from the chapters heard at 12:30 this week.

Theme: selections from "Beyond Six Strings: A Collection of New Music for Harp Guitar" (HGM-CD-001)

Monday March 8 through Friday March 26, 2010

Homer and Langley by E.L. Doctorow read by Norman Gilliland (Random House; ISBN-13: 9781400064946)

A perfect little novel about those extraordinary New York hermits, the Collyer brothers.

theme: Schumann: Traumerei - from "Piano Classics: Popular Works for Solo Piano" (Telarc)

Monday March 29 through Friday April 16, 2010

Into the Story: A Writer's Journey Through Life, Politics, Sports and Loss by David Maraniss read by Karl Schmidt (Simon & Schuster ISBN13: 9781439160022)

The Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter for The Washington Post presents a series of essays covering everything from the personal to the public, from politics to sports.

theme: Bill Frisell: Disfarmer Theme (Nonesuch)

Monday April 19 through Friday May 7, 2010

Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy read by Susan Sweeney (Algonquin; ISBN-13: 978-1565126756)

This is a novel about the surprises and changes that come with aging.

theme: Svendsen: Romance in G major, Op 26; Gil Shaham, violin; Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (DG 449 923-2)

Monday May 10 through Friday May 28, 2010

Once a Spy: a novel by Keith Thomson read by Jim Fleming (Doubleday; ISBN 9780385530781)

Drummond Clark was a legendary spy of legendary proportions, now confused by Alzheimer's disease. But the CIA wants to contain him--and so do some other shady characters who send Drummond on a wild chase that gives father and son quality time a whole new meaning.

theme: Ellington: "I'm Just a Lucky So and So" Ramsey Lewis & Billy Taylor (CBS MK 44941)

Monday May 31 through Friday June 18, 2010

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein read by Norman Gilliland (Harper; ISBN 9780061537967)

A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope--a captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life . . . as only a dog could tell it

theme: "Dog Asleep" from Schickele: Thurber's Dogs, suite for orchestra; Pro Musica Chamber Orch -- Timothy Russell (D'Note DNF 1010)

Monday June 21 through Friday July 2, 2010

Day Out of Days: Stories and Journals by Sam Shepard read by Karl Schmidt (Knopf; ISBN: 9780307265401)

A selection of stories by one our great playwrights and storytellers, most of them set in the landscape of the American West.

theme: "Focus" & Peter Miller's Discovery" from "Disfarmer" by Bill Frisell

Monday July 5 through Friday July 23

Union Atlantic by Adam Haslett read by Jim Fleming (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday; ISBN: 9780385524476)

A test of wills between a young banker and a retired schoolteacher is at the heart of this debut novel revealing the new gilded age - the first decade of the twenty-first century.

theme: "Just a Gigolo" & "Round Midnight" from: Thelonius Monk: Riffin (Sony A 50998)

If you have a comment or a question, send a message to Jim Fleming.