If you have idle time at 5 p.m. EST Monday through Friday, tune in with RealPlayer or your equivalent to an always stimulating radio program that frequently includes author interviews. Dave Beck's The Beat broadcasts on Seattle's NPR station. Although today's show, featuring an interview with novelist Octavia Butler (author of Kindred), will not be available immediately after the broadcast, it may appear in the "Online Archives" in about a week's time. Check out the archives for details about other programs. FYI, Nancy Pearl, the Seattle librarian and author of Book Lust, reviews books at the end of the program every Monday afternoon.

An update: I am so overwhelmed by all the unread books in my office, my brain is on a perpetual buzz.