CURRENTLY READING
The Piano Shop On The Left Bank by Thad Carhart
Monday, January 19 through Thursday, February 5, 2026
Read by Jim Fleming
Walking his two young children to school every morning, Thad Carhart passes an unassuming little storefront in his Paris neighborhood. Intrigued by its simple sign—Desforges Pianos—he enters, only to have his way barred by the shop’s imperious owner. Unable to stifle his curiosity, he finally lands the proper introduction, and a world previously hidden is brought into view. The Piano Shop on the Left Bank is at once a beguiling portrait of a Paris not found on any map and a tender account of the awakening of a lost childhood passion.
(Random House; ISBN-10: 0375503048)
THEME: John Bayless, piano: “Musetta’s Waltz” from Puccini’s “La Boheme” from The Puccini Album: arias for piano (Angel CDC 54801)
Readings are archived for one week following the broadcast day of the last chapter due to publisher copyright restrictions.
Latest Episodes
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The Piano Shop On The Left Bank 4 of 14 – A True French Friendship
When Luke first invites Thad to “stop by the atelier” whenever he feels like it, Thad feels he must have an excuse for making such a visit. Soon, he learns […]
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The Piano Shop On The Left Bank 3 of 14 – The Stingl Moves In
The baby grand moves into the first floor apartment where the Carharts live. It is a “moving” scene unlike any Thad has ever seen before. Can one man carry a […]
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The Piano Shop On The Left Bank 2 of 14 – Passion For The Piano
As Thad spends time in the atelier, he grows more in tune with Luke’s passion for the piano. The beauty, utility, craft, but also its essence, its life. One day, […]
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The Piano Shop On The Left Bank 1 of 14 – The Atelier
Each day as he walked his children to school, Thad Carhart would pass a small dusty store on a side street of his Paris neighborhood. Curiosity eventually takes him aside […]
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The Thief Of Words 4 of 4 – A World of Accordions / A Sea Story
A Polish insurance agent tries to explain his community in Superior and their connection to the motherland through their love of the Polonaise. He describes his pride for his part […]
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Coming Next
Walk With Me: A Biography of Fannie Lou Hamer by Kate Clifford Larson
Friday, february 6 through friday, february 20, 2026
Read by martha white
She was born the 20th child in a family that had lived in the Mississippi Delta for generations, first as enslaved people and then as sharecroppers. She left school at 12 to pick cotton, as those before her had done, in a world in which white supremacy was an unassailable citadel. She was subjected without her consent to an operation that deprived her of children. And she was denied the most basic of all rights in America―the right to cast a ballot―in a state in which Blacks constituted nearly half the population. And so Fannie Lou Hamer lifted up her voice.
