On the airwaves, book lover is a real page-turner

By Doug Norris/Arts & Living Editor

Robin Kall of "Reading with Robin" started her talk radio career as a caller.

If you're a book-lover in Rhode Island, you've heard of Robin Kall.

The host of "Reading with Robin," the state's only radio talk show dedicated to a love of literature, Kall brings readers and authors together to share their insights on books from 7 to 8 a.m. every Saturday on WHJJ 920AM.

"I think anything you do that you have a passion for, that passion comes through," she said. "The show takes on a life of its own."

Kall, an East Greenwich resident, found her calling in a roundabout way with a phone call. A regular listener to Imus in the Morning, she debated him on-air one morning on the value of Danielle Steel's romance novels. She continued calling, offering a humorous, Rhode Islander's perspective on Operation Plunder Dome, the Buddy Cianci saga that was making national headlines.

Before long, she was also calling John DePetro's show, which follows Imus on WHJJ, and the two of them developed a comfortable rapport.

"In a sense, I began my radio career as a caller," she said. "I was Robin from Providence."

Eventually Kall joined DePetro in studio, contributing to a "Soprano's" wrap-up and segments called "Rhode Island Jeopardy." Once in a while she filled in for DePetro when he was on vacation. She learned the technical side of the job and opened the station on Saturdays, when it was still located in East Providence. Soon she began to have an idea for a new program.

"Oprah had just announced that she was ending her book club," Kall said. "I thought, 'Well, I'll just pick up where Oprah left off.' Of course, I wasn't the only one who had that idea. 'Good Morning, America,' Kelly Ripa, everybody all of a sudden had a book club. But there wasn't much on radio. NPR did book topics, and Nancy Pearl in Seattle had a show called 'Book Lust,' but that was about it. I thought there was a place for this in Rhode Island."

Kall's first program was aired in November 2002. She said it took about a year for her to feel as if the show found a comfortable groove. By then the elements were solidly in place. She traditionally has a guest, often an author, either live in studio or on the phone. Then readers call in.

In a way it's not so different from when she was a young girl, reading and talking about books with anyone who would listen.

"We had 'turnabout day' in elementary school," she said. "Kids get to be teachers. I got to be the librarian. When we stayed inside during research, I'd be shelving books for her, sorting the card catalog. I even tried to get her to stop smoking. I sent her a box of Bazooka bubble gum each week in the hope that she would stop. I'm not sure if it ever worked."

This impulse to help is part of the appeal of Kall's show. While she will book national names as guests, she is more concerned with promoting the work of local authors and illustrators, who have more need for the exposure. When The Station fire occurred, Kall dedicated a program to the tragedy, bringing on author Brooke Noel, who wrote "I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye."

"We had a great response to that," she said. "One of our best ever."

In a state like Rhode Island, where everybody knows everybody else's business, Kall's program has the feel of a book club chat, and that's the way she wants it. Traditionally, each program is divided into four segments called "chapters." Segments include announcements about local authors and events and books in the news, trivia questions, introducing the guest, some interviewing and a round-robin calling format.

Produced by Laura Robert, the show manages to combine structure with a spontaneous streak, including musical sound bites that allude to discussions of the work.

"The guests are always so interesting that we usually have another hour or so in the hall," Kall said. "Some great stuff never even makes it on radio."

Kall estimates that she reads about two hours each day, averaging around 15 hours a week. She's also a member of a mother-daughter book club and writes a book column for Motif, a new publication covering the arts in Rhode Island. For years she has served on various boards and committees involved in literary programs for schools, hospitals and libraries.

Future projects include a luncheon at the Westin Hotel in Providence for Jennifer Weiner, author of "Good in Bed." It will be a kick-off event for her team, "Walking with Robin . . . Chapter 2," which is pledging to raise funds for the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. She's also promoting her "Splash Into Summer Reading" contest, inviting students with summer reading to participate.

More information on her projects and her radio program is available on Kall's Web site, www.readingwithrobin.com.

"I've stumbled onto something that I love doing," she said. "You know that feeling when you're reading a great book that you don't want to end? That's how I feel."