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Martin's Must-Reads

There are one million new books published each year.  With so many books and so little time, where do you begin to find your next must-read? There’s the New York Times Bestseller list, the Goodreads app, the Cape Library’s Staff picks shelf and now Martin’s Must-Reads.

Every Wednesday at 6:42 and 8:42 a.m., and Sunday at 8:18 a.m., Betty Martin recommends a must read based on her own personal biases for historical fiction, quirky characters and overall well-turned phrases. Her list includes WWII novels, biographies of trailblazers, novels with truly unique individuals and lots more. Reading close to 100 titles a year, Betty has plenty of titles to share. Tune in each Wednesday and visit KRCU.org for previous must-reads.

Local support for "Martin's Must Reads" comes from the Cape Girardeau Public Library and the Poplar Bluff Municipal Library.

Latest Episodes
  • “Every woman who enters the sea carries a coffin on her back, “ she warned the gathering. “In this world, in the undersea world, we tow the burdens of a hard life. We are crossing between life and death every day."
  • There’s a lot to "The Marsh Queen" — a mystery to solve, family secrets, interesting facts about birds and even a love story.
  • The one thread that connects all the meetings/investigations is the sound of a violin piece. The story poses several questions: is life, in fact, a simulation? And, if you were able to travel back in time and lengthen someone’s life by warning them of imminent danger, would you?
  • If you’re looking for a book that, as the jacket says, deals with themes of familial duty, mental health, racism and the lifesaving power of friendship, then you must read Maame by Jessica George.
  • “She has watched while a parade of young women, raising fists and rifles, marched past the bus taking her to Bahir Dar. They stared at her an aging woman in her long drab dress, as if they did not know those who came before them. As if this were the first time a woman carried a gun.”
  • “In their heyday, the 'Lost Friends' ads, published in the Southwestern Christian Advocate, a Methodist newspaper, went out to nearly five hundred preachers, eight hundred post offices, and more than four thousand subscription holders. The column header requested that pastors read the contents from their pulpits to spread the word of those seeking the missing.”
  • “In their heyday, the 'Lost Friends' ads, published in the Southwestern Christian Advocate, a Methodist newspaper, went out to nearly five hundred preachers, eight hundred post offices, and more than four thousand subscription holders. The column header requested that pastors read the contents from their pulpits to spread the word of those seeking the missing.”
  • Bryan Stevenson in his book Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption recounts his work with Walter McMillian, a black man convicted of capital murder of a white woman in a white, racially bigoted county in Alabama.
  • Bryan Stevenson in his book Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption recounts his work with Walter McMillian, a black man convicted of capital murder of a white woman in a white, racially bigoted county in Alabama.
  • The novel "Homegoing" gives us a glimpse into three hundred years of black history and the injustices perpetrated on people with dark skin. It follows the family history of two half sisters who were born into two different villages in Ghana in the eighteen century.