Lit Society: Books and Drama (Kari Herrera and Alexis Honoria)

"As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.." The most kafkaesque book we've ever read is about isolation, capitalism, and the meaning of family - we think.

The book: The Metamorphosis

The author: Franz Kafka

LET'S GET LIT!!!

 

 - View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod

 Find Alexis and Kari online: 

 Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod

 Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod

 Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod

 Our website — www.LitSocietyPod.com. 

 Subscribe to emails and get free stuff: http://eepurl.com/gDtWCr 

The theme this week: We Heart 70s Rock. And before y'all start – no. We ain't nowhere near the age of those that created this music, but we love it nonetheless! Then it's on to our book: Comprised entirely of dialogue, this is the first-hand account of one band's meteoric rise to fame in the 1970s. It openly relates the few triumphs and many failures that took them from top to bottom and everywhere in between. More importantly, this story is about the destructive and healing power of love. The name of the band is Daisy Jones and Six. Our book is Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Let's get LIT!... Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

Remember "The Bubble Boy," the episode of Seinfield from season four? In it, George is taunted by a cantankerous boy who must spend life inside a protective shield because of his disease. It's funny. However, the actual disease is not. Alexis takes away one of our remaining joys in life by sharing the story of the real "Bubble Boy." Then, on to our book...

Deathly allergic to everything on earth, Maddy must spend her life inside her home with only her mother and nurse for company. She passes the time with surprising optimism, reading books, watching movies, and playing games. But when a new family moves in next door with their teenage son Olly, Maddy learns something about herself that tears her world apart and nearly destroys herself and everyone she knows.

The book is Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon.

 

LET'S GET LIT!

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

Does therapy work? What do we need to do to get the most from treatment? Alexis breaks down specific tips to help us unpack our baggage while speaking with a specialist. Then, on to our book.

 

In this memoir, she gets frank about her struggles under the hands of an abusive stage mom in an industry that could care less if she lived or died. Others chose her path starting at the age of eight. Ever since, she has been pretending for her family, herself, and the world.

 

The actress: Jennette McCurdy

The Book: I'm Glad My Mom Died

 

And you're listening to LIT Society.

Let's GET LIT!

 

 Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

 

Caste is a history book somewhat like any other you'd find in a well-stocked high school classroom. The difference is that its contents dissect a country's most embarrassing and evil parts, lighting the anger and disbelief of purposely obtuse skeptics. However, it is complete with sources, and none of its information is new. It reminds us that no matter how embarrassed or angry we become by it, history does not change. 

 

The book? Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents 

 

The author? Isabel Wilkerson

 

LET'S GET LIT!

 

NOTE: Article from THE GUARDIAN is accidentally referenced as being from THE ATLANTIC: https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/feb/06/race.usa

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod; 

Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod; 

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod; 

Website — www.LitSocietyPod.com

Convenience Store Woman is the deadpan tale of one woman's happy life in a simple occupation before conformity-obsessed friends, family members, and strangers pressure her into confusion and despair. Will she find her way back, or will she end up like a sandcastle, washed away by the current of conventionality? As Beyoncé said, "This is for the 30-somethings that didn't turn out exactly how mom and dad wanted you to be."

Before diving into this dry humor, we discuss if anyone can indeed find happiness and fulfillment from their job. 

This is LIT Society. Let's Get LIT! 

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

Am I my sister's keeper? Before diving into one of the most talked-about books of 2019, we discuss sadistic siblings. Who's to blame when a kid goes bad? And have you heard of the Han twins? Allow us to serve up a little true-crime for your mind. A little Serial with your cereal. In this week's book, a Nigerian woman whose sister has an inconvenient habit must decide where her loyalty truly lies. Will she continue to protect her sister, no matter the cost, or will she finally free herself? Her name is Korede. The book: My Sister the Serial Killer, and you’re listening to Lit Society. Let’s get LIT! ... Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

This week, we're trying something new. We know many of you run out of time to read along with us each week. To not spoil the book before you've had a chance to finish reading it, we're experimenting with SPOILER-FREE episodes. This is our first try at the new format, and we couldn't have chosen a more conversation-inducing book – Deacon King Kong by James McBride.

Before we discuss the book, we'll try to cure you of the stresses of going back into the office after enjoying over a year of working from home. We'll share a few helpful tips for everyone who must now start wearing pants again and aren't sure what to do.

Then, on to our book: In broad daylight, seemingly for no reason, an old widower shoots a young drug-dealing orphan in the head. What happens next involves nearly everyone in one dying Brooklyn neighborhood.

LET'S GET LIT!

Find Alexis and Kari online:

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod

Twitter — https://twitter.com/litsocietypod 

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod

and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com 

We’re on vacation until the start of season four, Thursday, February 2nd! Until then, we’re ecstatic to share the shows still living rent-free in our heads. Here’s a favorite from our archives.

This week, Alexis makes Kari read the world's longest book (just kidding), written by a man some consider to be the greatest author of all time (not kidding). The setting is 19th-century Russia: Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the countryside. Noblemen and women are eating, drinking, marrying, and living. Among these aristocrats stands one woman who personifies beauty and grace. This woman catches the eye of an equally attractive officer. Driven by an undeniable chemistry, the two start down a path of deception and destruction from which neither may recover. 

 

The officer's name is Alexei Vronsky. 

The woman's name is Anna Karenina, and this is part one of our two-part episode. 

Before diving in, we discuss the usefulness of healthy distractions and learn how to escape in ways that don't destroy us. 

This is LIT Society. 

Let's get LIT! 

 

... Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

If you watch us on YouTube or follow us on IG, you know how much we loved reading The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson. This book made us sit with the matriarchs of our family to learn their journeys, struggles, and successes. Not to be dramatic, but it brought us closer to knowing who we are. 

We're super excited to revisit that episode with you during this, our week off. We've remastered that episode from season one, trimmed the fat, and added a few more details and corrections that we missed initially.

 

Enjoy, and we look forward to seeing you anew next week when we dive into Jane Eyre (the third (and FINAL!) Bronte book we'll ever read).

 

This is LIT Society.

Let's get LIT!

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

Visit Brooklinen.com today and receive a special discount plus free shipping on orders of $100+ with code [litsociety].

 

Grab Kari's "MORRISON" t-shirt here: https://www.litsocietypodshop.com/products/womens-relaxed-t-shirt

 

A member of the Thursday Murder Club has received a letter from a dead man inviting her over for tea. The mystery that unravels next will involve more than the police. To crack this case, they'll need a drug dealer, an international broker, MI5, and 20M in diamonds. 

The member of the club: Elizabeth

The book: The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

 And you're listening to LIT Society.

 LET'S GET LIT!

 

- View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod

Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod

Our website — www.LitSocietyPod.com. 

 

Subscribe to emails and get free stuff: http://eepurl.com/gDtWCr 

 

America's first Black-American established towns are our theme this week, inspired by the author's hometown in the state of Florida. How did these towns form, and what's the story behind them? Alexis has the details. Then, it's on to our book...

This Harlem Renaissance classic is the story of a woman too beautiful to be trusted and too innocent to be cautious. She battles nearly debilitating loneliness, floating through life unseen, despite marrying twice. At a time she least expected, she finds love and that love takes her on a journey of self-discovery to inner, untouchable liberation.

 The book is Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.

 Let's Get LIT!

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

This week we’re skipping YA and going all the way to the baby book aisle for a lovable true tale (who knows. Maybe.) about a farm, an intelligent spider, and a piglet with a heart of gold. Truth be told, we selected this book to give our brains a break this week. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find our hearts sincerely moved by this classic, Charlette’s Web, by E.B. White. This week’s book also got us to thinking: “Why have we never read this story? What were we reading while all the other kids were reading this?” Hence, our theme of the week was born: The books that Shaped our Childhoods. So gather around kids, it’s about to get silly! This is LIT Society. Let’s get LIT! … Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

 

It's the first Thursday of the month, and you know what that means The Importance of Being Ernest (Video Podcast) — a wild card episode. Or, should we say "Wilde" card, because this week we're reviewing The Importance of Being Earnest, the first play of our series on theatrical works. As official as that sounds, you should know that this episode is as unhinged as all others. We've also recorded the entire show for YouTube, so feel free to go over there and see our faces. Enjoy!

LET'S GET LIT!

 Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

This week we're discussing the real-life men and agents who inspired the fictional James Bond. These folks jumped out of planes fought Nazis while enduring chase and torture—incredible stuff. A suave super-spy with both daddy and mommy issues must use his skill with the cards to play his way out of death in a fancy French casino. His goal? Stay alive and gain victory for his country. His game? Baccarat. His weakness? Fast cars and faster women.

 

The AGENT? James Bond

The book? The graphic novel adaptation of Ian Flemming's Casino Royale by Van Jensen and Dennis Calero.

 

LET'S GET LIT!

 

Favorite line: "The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning."

 

Sources for our theme:

Business Insider

Meet The Spy Who Inspired The Creation Of James Bond https://www.businessinsider.com/the-inspiration-for-james-bond-2012-9

 

Esquire Magazine: 

The Real Spies Who Inspired James Bond Are Far More Fascinating Than the Big Screen 007s

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a30533681/james-bond-true-story-real-life-inspiration-ian-fleming/

 

History Extra: 

James Bond in real life: where did Ian Fleming's inspirations come from?

https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/james-bond-who-based-on-inspiration-ian-fleming-villains-q-m/

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod; 

Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod; 

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod; 

Website — www.LitSocietyPod.com

Hey, y'all! This is Kari. Alexis and I are still enjoying a much-deserved vacation. So, here's another favorite episode from our past! Remember, we return with a NEW episode on January 13th, 2022, the start of our THIRD SEASON. 'Til then, we're ecstatic to share with you the shows still living rent-free in our heads.

Is fear the hairline to your inner Lebron James? Does it stop you from being great? Do you sometimes hear a negative voice inside of your head telling you you're not good enough? One psychologist wants you to take control of that voice with a system of positive thinking that leads to power. 

Her name is Susan Jeffers. 

The book is Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway. And you're listening to Lit Society. 

Let's get LIT!

Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

Obi Okonkwo, grandson of deceased village leader Okonkwo, is returning to Nigeria from England after earning a proper British education. He quickly finds his world is riddled with bribes and corruption, but Obi is determined never to accept an illegal payment and never compromise his principles. But as his black-and-white world becomes grey, he must wrestle with who he truly is versus who he'd like to believe himself to be. Does his African culture and Western lifestyle render him a hypocrite, and if so, which world is to judge him, the black world or the white?

LET'S GET LIT!

- View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod

 Find Alexis and Kari online: 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod

Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod

Our website — www.LitSocietyPod.com. 

Subscribe to emails and get free stuff: http://eepurl.com/gDtWCr  

Ellice Littlejohn escaped her dead-end town while healing from her traumatic childhood to earn an Ivy League law degree and become a firm's only black corporate attorney. But she is full of secrets even her closest friends don't know. When she arrives at work one morning and finds the married man she's dating, a man who happens to be her boss, is dead, her secrets are revealed publicly, one by one, to her horror.

 

The book: All Her Little Secrets

The author: Wanda M. Morris

LET'S GET LIT!!!

 

- View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod

 Sources for theme discussion: https://www.history.com/news/secret-societies-freemasons-knights-templar

Note: We read this book for free using Hoopla, the free library app. See if your library carries audio and ebook versions of All Her Little Secrets by clicking here: https://www.hoopladigital.com.

Find Alexis and Kari online: 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod

Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod

Our website — www.LitSocietyPod.com. 

Subscribe to emails and get free stuff: http://eepurl.com/gDtWCr 

Hey readers! Here's the chat we couldn't fit into the last episode.

     

 

 

Willa Noble is on a quest to discover who killed the person dearest to her. She discovers nearly everyone she knows is a suspect. Dancing with danger, she soon finds herself in the nation's capital alongside her benevolent employer, a strange and mysterious woman invested in the case's outcome.

 

The benevolent employer: Emily Dickenson

The Book: Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Amanda Flower

 

LET'S GET LIT!!!

 

- View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod

 

 Find Alexis and Kari online: 

 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod

 

Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod

 

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod

 

Our website — www.LitSocietyPod.com. 

 

Subscribe to emails and get free stuff: http://eepurl.com/gDtWCr  

This week's episode is OUT OF THIS WORLD! First, we'll start with all the petty details of how NASA originated. It's like when that juice box bar opened in Chicago; Everyone went once for the IG pic and then never again. It's like that. By the way, did you know that only 12 men have walked on the moon? Unrelated fact, but true. Then it's on to our book...

Chris Hadfield is a real-life astronaut. His first novel is set in an alternate reality where Apollo 13 is happening, not as an exploration mission but as a military operation. The crew's task is to take down a foreign space station designed to spy on American citizens. Soviet activity forces American hands to action, but the Soviets are prepared with a canon-laden vessel and an American mole secretly working for them aboard the US spaceship. When the smoke clears, who will be left standing?

LET'S GET LIT!

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

This week's theme: How to Find Success After Losing Your Job. This theme is inspired by this week's book: The country has just suffered a civil war. Households are divided, as is the nation. From the last generation of men and women born into slavery, an industrious group of individuals will become the first Black American self-made millionaires. One book tells their true story. The book is Black Fortunes: The Story of the First Six African Americans Who Escaped Slavery and Became Millionaires . . . Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

 

 

 

Last week, we saw young Dodo captured and tied to a bed in a sanitorium. He faces imminent danger constantly and can confide in only one friend, a young boy with cerebral palsy who shares the bed next to him. Will his family be able to rescue Dodo, or will he spend his final days in the hands of men with evil aims? Meanwhile, as Chona wastes away in a hospital bed due to a series of seizures, will the truth about her attack come to light? Let's find the answers in this week's review of the conclusion to The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride.

Let's get LIT!

 

- View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod

Find Alexis and Kari online: 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod

Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod

Our website — www.LitSocietyPod.com. 

Subscribe to emails and get free stuff: http://eepurl.com/gDtWCr 

In an intimate letter to his son, a father explains his identity and fears within the galaxy of America, its race invention, and the mythology it has produced.

 The father: Ta-Nehisi Coates 

The Book: BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME BY TA-NEHISI COATES

LET'S GET LIT!!!

 

*Businesses from our theme of the week:

• Not Ok (App) by Hannah and Charlie Lucas: https://www.notokapp.com/
• George Hofstetter: https://www.georgehofstettertechnologies.com/about
•  Moziah and Mo's Bows: https://mosbowsmemphis.com/meet-moziah-1
• Mr. Cory and Mr. Cory's Cookies: https://mrcoryscookies.com

 

View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod

 

 Find Alexis and Kari online: 

 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod

 

Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod

 

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod

 

Our website — www.LitSocietyPod.com. 

 

Subscribe to emails and get free stuff: http://eepurl.com/gDtWCr  

A silent killer lives among us and is everywhere. I've met him. So have you. So has everyone you know. Still, we prefer to pretend he doesn't exist. Hello, Loneliness, my old friend. This is your story. SEEK YOU brings to light the shameful parts of the human experience, namely our relatable need to touch, converse with, and receive recognition from the people around us. From the birth of the laugh track to what we choose to post on social media, she breaks down how we pacify ourselves when this need is not fulfilled and asks what is necessary to form the connections that feed us.

This week's book is a graphic novel, Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness by Kristen Radtke.

LET'S GET LIT!

 Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

Popular obsession with genealogy has some twisted roots. Let's talk about it - but first: An award-winning actress and gladiator receives a call from her parents on a routine afternoon. Their nervous hesitations let her know something is wrong. She turns her car around, drives to the home, and sits in the living of the people she's known all her life as mom and dad, her protectors, her withholding parents. There, in that familiar home, they share a secret that begins to unravel the loose ends of her childhood memories.

 

The Gladiator: Kerry Washington

The book: Thicker than Water by Kerry Washington

 

LET'S GET LIT!

 

View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod

 

Theme of the week discussion's source: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/05/09/our-obsession-with-ancestry-has-some-twisted-roots-maud-newton-ancestor-trouble

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod

 

Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod

 

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod

 

Our website — www.LitSocietyPod.com. 

 

Subscribe to emails and get free stuff: http://eepurl.com/gDtWCr  

Before we get into this week's book, we discuss forgiveness. Can you imagine? What does it take to forgive someone, and how do you know you've genuinely forgiven a person in your heart? Also, why do we need to be forgiving in the first place? We'll get into it. And then it's on to the book that inspired this week's discussion. It's the early 1900s, and one quiet woman lives a happy life with her happy husband on a beautiful farm in Iowa. All is as it should be until a single act of betrayal puts her at odds against everyone she knows and trusts.

That woman's name is Margaret Stewart. The book is Remembering Laughter, and you're listening to LIT Society. Let's get LIT! Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

When should you give your kids cell phones, and what's the best way to teach a child about technology? We discover the answer in this episode's theme of the week, but first — It is a riveting story of a company that toppled global giants before succumbing to the ruthlessly competitive forces of Silicon Valley. 

The book: Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry 

The authors: Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff 

LET'S GET LIT!

 

- View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod

Find Alexis and Kari online: 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod

Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod

Our website — www.LitSocietyPod.com. 

 

Subscribe to emails and get free stuff: http://eepurl.com/gDtWCr 

 

Having abandoned her husband and son, one woman lives life one train ride at a time with her beautiful beau and new baby girl — but her decision to risk it all for "love" isn't without consequences. Will following her heart lead this woman to peace, misery, or the greatest happiness? The woman's name: Anna. And it's time to enjoy part 2 of Anna Karenina. Before diving in, we discuss the "power of the middle", for our theme of the week. Need the motivation to complete a huge project? Feeling drained? This one's for you! Let's get LIT! Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

When someone steals a Black classical violinist's priceless family heirloom on the eve of the most important competition of his career, he must unravel a web of greed, racism, and long-buried secrets to reclaim his rightful legacy. The Violin Conspiracy is a gripping mystery that explores the power of music, resilience, and the fight for justice in a world that refuses to see his worth.

 

Let's get LIT!

We're on vacation until the start of season four, Thursday, February 2nd! Until then, we're ecstatic to share the shows still living rent-free in our heads. Here's a favorite from our archives.

Who raised you? The assumption is that our families shape who we become, but do our friends have more of an influence than we realize? In his autobiographical tale of being born and raised under apartheid in South Africa, Trevor Noah praises the people who gave him the vision and tools to make his path. He also paints the picture of his mother as a courageous visionary ahead of her time. Before diving into this heartwarming story, we discuss family vs. environment, which significantly influences our lives.

This is LIT Society.

LET'S GET LIT!

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

Listen to the full episode on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/litsocietypod. 

World War II is over, and peace reigns in American suburbia. Under a tree in the Keller family's placid backyard, planted to commemorate a son missing in action, Chris Keller courts Ann, the charming, forthright young woman his brother left behind. But their growing passion disturbs the surface calm of the Keller household. When a storm blows down the memorial tree, a family secret is uprooted, setting the characters on a terrifying journey toward truth.

The play: All My Sons

The playwright: Arther Miller

LET'S GET LIT!

 

* Synopsis from play.

Find Alexis and Kari online: 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod

Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod

Our website — www.LitSocietyPod.com. 

Subscribe to emails and get free stuff: http://eepurl.com/gDtWCr 

 We return next week with a new episode, but we'd never leave you without a dope book to discuss. So, here's another favorite episode from our past!    Hyde yo' kids! Hyde yo' wife! A young doctor allows his obsession with the duality of human nature to lead him down a path littered with lies, murder, and destruction.   His name is Doctor Henry Jekyll; the book is The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.   You're listening to Lit Society.   LET'S GET LIT!!!   PS: This is our very first episode, released initially to a small group of test listeners in 2019. We like to think the quality of our show has improved since then, but this is still one of our favorite episodes!   Enjoy!   Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.⁣  

Tabitha is a woman with a plan. She's 33 years old, moving her way up the corporate ladder at her television anchor job, and is dating the man of her dreams. But she quickly realizes that her life may not be going to plan when her doctor gives her unexpected news that forces her to take a hard look at herself and her values. Will she pull it together in time to save the most precious thing she's ever wanted? Or will her ideal future be snatched from her grasp forever?

 

The book? Black Girls Must Die Exhausted by Jayne Allen

 

LET'S GET LIT!

 

- View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod

Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod

Our website — www.LitSocietyPod.com. 

 

Subscribe to emails and get free stuff: http://eepurl.com/gDtWCr 

 

No matter who you are, you're sure to relate to this week's theme: How Our Ancestors Effect Who Are Today. In a real, measurable way, the family members who came before us affect who we are and how we live. We'll chat about how this has proven true in our own lives. Then, on to our book...

 

Following the story of two sisters and the generations they birthed, this week's book covers each woman's journey from the tribe of their childhood to their children's lives and their children's children in America. Each new generation has new struggles, romances, passions, and pain. In the end, the sisters' families are united, brought home to the land and the water that bore them.

 

The book is Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.

 

Let's Get LIT!

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

A beautiful woman from the south side of Chicago sits alone in her garden ready to evaluate the sum of her life. We follow her to the upstairs one-bedroom apartment she shared with her parents and brother, as a child. She then takes us to the moment when her mom stood as her champion in the second grade. We sit in on the meeting she had with a high school counselor who told her she wasn’t good enough before even knowing her. It is in each moment that we learn more about this woman, who she is, and what drives her. Eventually, we follow her to the moment that would shape her life forever, when she met one man, and that man challenged her to question her very purpose. That woman’s name is Michelle Obama. The book is Becoming, and you’re listening to LIT Society. Let’s get LIT! Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

We return Thursday, May 18th. Until then, please enjoy listening to the best shows from our archives. Here's one we love, the first episode of season four - a royal riot!

Buy the book from our shop: https://bookshop.org/a/80860/9780593593806

An heir and a spare: One son, protected future king, and the other a dense, drug-using recluse, destined for failure – that is, if we are to believe the press. In the best-selling memoir of all time, a high-ranking member of the royal family gives us an inside look into the world he was born into and ultimately left for his sanity and health.

The spare: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex

The book: Spare by Prince Harry

 

From the projects to Paris: One woman's brutally honest story about surviving the vices of her neighborhood, only to be thrust into a world that neither wants nor accepts her is a sobering reminder of the disparities plaguing citizens of a nation still ignoring its history. Her undying drive to be recognized takes her in and out of ivy league schools, prisons, and psychiatric hospitals until she's finally drawn across the ocean to expatriation and rebirth. The woman's name — Janet McDonald. The book — Project Girl. This is LIT Society. Let's get LIT! Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

As a great poet once said, "You believe in things that you don't understand — superstition ain't the way." Today, we're discussing the harmful effects of superstitious thinking and group thought. We'll be honest. Kari led this discussion, and it's kind of all over the place. Then, on to our book...

A local philanthropic gentleman is slashed to death in the dead of night. The killer is suspected to be an unworldly hound - a dog larger than any earthly dog, fierce and fiery in appearance. However, one detective sets sights on finding the truth and exposing the cunning killer.

The detective: Sherlock Holmes.

The book: The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

LET'S GET LIT!

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

We talked about Passing by Nella Larsen three episodes ago. That book made an impact on our minds, and we won't soon forget the story of Clare and Irene. Fortunately for all of us, Netflix recently released a movie adaptation of that book, and we need to talk about it. Oooo chile, this movie!

The setting is Harlen in the 1920s. One Black woman, who sometimes passes as white, finds her world upended when her life becomes intertwined with a former childhood friend who's passing as white. Rebecca Hall (The Prestige, Iron Man 3, Transcendence, Godzilla vs. Kong) makes her directorial debut with this intimate drama of racial identity starring Tessa Thompson (Thor: Ragnarok, Creed, Sylvie's Love, Selma) and Ruth Negga (Loving, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.).

Let's get MOVIE-D!

🎧 Listen to our review of Passing, the book by Nella Larsen: https://litsocietypod.com/passing-by-nella-larsen/. 

Find Alexis and Kari online:  Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod;  Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod;  Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod;  Website — www.LitSocietyPod.com

Start growing your channel with TubeBuddy: https://www.tubebuddy.com/litsocietypod

Tired of waiting for Season 4 to start? Head over to YouTube to watch our video podcast featuring Spare by Prince Harry. It's available now: https://youtu.be/OXCf8CaUJ2Q. 

Hate watching YouTube? All audio episodes will begin next Thursday. Until then, we're ecstatic to share the shows still living rent-free in our heads. Here's a favorite from our archives.

Rockwell tried to tell us: A dystopian novel that becomes more evocative as reality mirrors its bleak fiction, 1984 is a vision of a world controlled by a totalitarian regime where not even your thoughts are safe. Is your cell phone watching you, or are you watching it? Are your neighbors spying on you for their political leader's advantage? Does the government own Twitter? Of course, the answer to all of these questions is yes, and this book explains how it all started. Before we dive into 1984, we'll discuss how to keep your privacy as safe as possible today.

Let's get LIT! 

Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod; Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

The year is 1926, and a quiet community on the island of Australia is recovering from the death and grief caused by a war that swallowed the world. It is in this setting that one man meets a woman. They fall in love. Their small family begins living on an isolated isle off the coast, guarding a lighthouse. Away from the eyes of anyone they've ever known, left to their own devices, they will make a decision and cross a line to a place from which they can never return. 

The man and woman: Tom and Isabel

The book: The light between oceans by M.L. Stedman

 

And you're listening to LIT Society.

 

LET'S GET LIT!

 

- View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod

Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod

Our website — www.LitSocietyPod.com. 

 

Subscribe to emails and get free stuff: http://eepurl.com/gDtWCr 

 

Have you heard? We got cooties and so season three of our show will now start Thursday, February 3rd. So, here's another favorite episode from our past!

Have you ever had to cut someone out of your life? No phone calls, texts, and your friends know not to invite both of you to the same event? This week, our theme, How to Cut Someone Out of Your Life, is inspired by Educated, a memoir by Tara Westover.

Tara didn’t have a birth certificate until she was nine years old and she didn’t see her first classroom until the age of 17. It’s like The Village by M. Night Shyamalan, but interesting. . .

Eventually, she’s forced to choose between a life without her family or most certain death by their hands. It got real, real quick. Travel with us from the peaks of Idaho to the halls of Cambridge in Educated.

Welcome to Lit Society. Let’s get LIT!

Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

 

BONUS: A Lil' Literally - We have a surprise! Today, we're introducing a new bonus show within LIT Society. Welcome to A Lil' LITerally , ten minutes discussions of the bookish topics on our radar.

In the first season of our podcast, April 10th, 2020, we covered The Great Gatsby. This week, everyone's favorite play cousin, Keke Palmer, brought up a well-known theory regarding the story: Jay Gatsby was a black man, and Fitzgerald hid the evidence in plain sight within the dialogue and descriptions. However, is this theory credible? Let's discuss.

Before Tom Joyner was cruising with your parents, Black Americans enjoyed resorts and vacations for us by us. What is the history of Black getaways? That's our theme this week. It's a lot of fun. Then, on to our book.

 

There's death in the air, even though this summer on the island of Martha's Vineyard, a wealthy, upper-class Black American beauty is planning her wedding to a white jazz musician of little means. Her eagerness to pursue a new life with one outside of her class and race forces everyone in her family to face their fears and insecurities and drives one man to desperation as he vows to take the soon-to-be bride for himself. Within 24 hours, secrets are unloaded, hearts are broken. Will former sins bring new woe's to the families both elevated and captivated by their past. By the end of summer, will they stand before an alter or a casket?

 

The bride-to-be? Shelby Cole

 

The book: The Wedding by Dorothy West

 

LET'S GET LIT!

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod; 

Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod; 

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod; 

Website — www.LitSocietyPod.com

It’s one of our favorite episodes ever! Join us for this thrilling conclusion to the rich stories of Ida Mae Gladney, George Swanson Starling, and Dr. Robert Joseph Pershing Foster — the three Black-American migrants we’ve followed from the South in part one. We’re peppering in the prose of Richard Wright and Langston Hughes, whose prolific careers are making their mark around this time. Our theme of the week, Why Our Families Left the South, is also continued as we interview our grandparents and great-grandparents for their tales from The Great Migration. There’s a lot to take in, but, as always, there’s still room for laughter. ⁣ This is LIT Society.⁣ Let’s get LIT!⁣ Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.⁣

This Thursday, we're getting ReLIT with another throwback to one of our favorite shows from season one!

The topic of our opening discussion is "How to Deal with Hostile People." LISTEN UP! We're sharing the tools we all need for putting up with other people's (adult) children.

Then, it's on to our book: The first published science fiction novel written by a black woman, it is the story of a 26-year-old writer living in California. She is inexplicably ripped from her home and thrown into antebellum Maryland one ordinary day. On the other side awaits more than a few tough decisions and a puzzle that she must solve before returning home for good. 

The writer's name is Dana.  The book is Kindred.  And you're listening to LIT Society.  Let's get LIT!

Find Alexis and Kari online:

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/;

Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; 

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/;

and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. 

Our first YA novel (!!!) tackles racial, economical, and social disparities between the connected members of one city. It follows Jade, a smart girl from a poor neighborhood, who attends high school with the children of Portland's upper-class families. She constantly struggles to find herself, her place, and her voice, in a world bent on ignoring her. She is on the brink of adulthood, trying to figure out who she is and who she can trust. Recommended by a friend, Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson transported us back to high school and made us reexamine the choices we made then, and the ones we're making now. Before dissecting the book, we get into the theme of the week — mentors. What makes a good mentor? How can we get the most from mentors in our life? Alexis shares some tips she's learned from heading a mentor program and offers secrets shared by the experts. We're growing up ya'll! ... Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

We're taking off this week! Enjoy this oldie but goodie...

Comprised entirely of dialogue, this is the first-hand account of one band's meteoric rise to fame in the 1970s. It openly relates the few triumphs and many failures, that took them from the top to the bottom and everywhere in between. More importantly, this story is about the destructive and healing power of love.

The name of the band is Daisy Jones and Six.

Our book is Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Let's GET LIT!

 

 Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

 

 

Forgoing a theme this week, we're doing a COVID Quarantine check-in. How've you been? How's your mental and physical health? Let's talk about it. Then, on to our book: One vibrant, confident young german girl is successfully navigating her way through adolescence when her country revokes her citizenship, leaving her a stateless pariah. She is to suffocate her dreams, pause her life, and restrict her waking hours to the exhausting aim of survival, living day after day in a series of rooms behind a bookshelf, never knowing if this will be the last day of her life. Her name is Anne Frank. The Book: The Diary of a Young Girl. Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

We’re on vacation until the start of season four, Thursday, February 2nd! Until then, we’re ecstatic to share the shows still rent-free in our heads. Here’s a favorite from our archives.

 

What do you know about arranged marriages? If you’ve ever watched The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Married at First Sight, Love is Blind, or a million other reality shows, you may know more than you think. This week, we’re discussing arranged hitching and clearing up a few misconceptions about the practice. 

Then, it’s on to our book: The search for happiness and peace is a difficult one, especially in a society that dismisses your thoughts and preys on your innocence. The distress of our Ghanaian protagonist is relatable to many women around the world. Will our heroine find love and acceptance in the manner she deserves and desires? What will she tolerate? What is she willing to risk for the sake of her sanity?

The woman: Afi Tekple

The book: His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie

LET’S GET LIT!

 

 Our Independent Bookstore of the Month: Semicolon Bookstore & Gallery

1714 W Division St, Chicago, IL 60622

https://www.semicolonchi.com/

Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

 

 

From the streets of Baltimore to the big screen, this actress has done a lot of living. You may have heard about her, read the blogs, and listened to the gossip revolving around her marriage to megastar Will Smith, but this is her life, her story, in her own words.

 

The actress/mother/daughter/friend/wife/mother: Jada Pinkett Smith

The book: Worthy by Jada Pinkett Smith

 

YOU'RE LISTENING TO LIT SOCIETY

LET'S GET LIT!

 

View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod

 

 Find Alexis and Kari online: 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod

 

Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod

 

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod

 

Our website — www.LitSocietyPod.com. 

 

Subscribe to emails and get free stuff: http://eepurl.com/gDtWCr  

This week's is a wild card episode. We're discussing song lyrics and our favorite musical storytellers. We've also got a game — because you all love to put Alexis on the spot (and Kari is more than happy to oblige). 

Joining us this week is acclaimed author Dawnie Walton. A seasoned publication editor turned novelist - Walton has worked for Essence and Entertainment Weekly, to name only a few. Her experience gives her first-hand knowledge of both the music and publishing industries. The Final Revival of Opal and Nev, her debut novel, is a fictional story written as a real-life profile of one of the greatest and most misunderstood rock duos in history. The book details Opal and Nev's rise to fame and the horrific event that led to a man's death, and the band's ostracization by industry insiders and wannabes for years to come.

How has music influenced you as a storyteller?

LET'S GET LIT!

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

After a lengthy and well-deserved winter break, we're back and ready to read, reflect, and roar with laughter! We're starting off our second season with book recommendations for people who hate reading (no judgment!). Then, we play a quick game of book trivia. Play along from home and see if you can beat Alexis – who LOVES being put on the spot (see: S1 Episode 36: Self Made). Finally, we chat about what we've been reading since we've been gone and what you can look forward to in 2021. Let's get LIT!. . . Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

Support our show by shopping our boutique: https://www.litsocietypodshop.com/

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No one ever considers what happens to the children of serial killers. When police arrested Chloe Davis' father, her planet shattered. She'd forever question her judgment and identity. Twenty years later, she's grown up and running her own private therapy practice. She seems to have it all together. But she must become more than a survivor when the killings start again. She must become the detective.

Our book: A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

And you're listening to LIT Society.

LET'S GET LIT!

 

- View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod

Find Alexis and Kari online: 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod

Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod

Our website — www.LitSocietyPod.com. 

 

Subscribe to emails and get free stuff: http://eepurl.com/gDtWCr 

 

Momma's baby, the preacher's maybe. A puritan community is rocked by a scandal involving a married woman found unfaithful to her husband. Instead of condemning her to death, they mercifully allow her to be branded for her crime with a scarlet "A." The red letter announces her as unclean, the fallen one, the adulteress. As the years pass, however, the town becomes less convinced of her evil nature while she becomes more committed to her solitude. When the opportunity arises to run away with the man she loves and with whom she's sinned, will she take it, or will her end be more painful than even her punishment?

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

From Herman Petty to LaVan Hawkins, Franchise tells the hidden history of the intertwined relationship between fast food and civil rights.

(Be prepared for surprises and thought-provoking discussions about this book for years to come!)

 

LET'S GET LIT!

 

- View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod

 Find Alexis and Kari online: 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod

Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod

Our website — www.LitSocietyPod.com. 

 

Subscribe to emails and get free stuff: http://eepurl.com/gDtWCr  

 

Support our show by shopping at our boutique: https://www.litsocietypodshop.com/

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Last week, we met a girl who became an orphan and then a thief. Learning from her foster parents, who proved to be more than what they seemed on the surface, she carefully hid the secret they unitedly shared, the secret friend living in their basement. This week, we learn what happens to that girl and everyone she loves before they meet the always-waiting hand of death.

The girl: Liesel

The book: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 

 

- View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod

Find Alexis and Kari online: 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod

Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod

Our website — www.LitSocietyPod.com. 

 

Subscribe to emails and get free stuff: http://eepurl.com/gDtWCr 

"Every decision you make contributes to your character and shapes the kind of person you are." This week we remember not to forget as we discuss tips for improving our short and long-term memories. Then, we dive into one of the most talked-about science fiction novels of the last decade. It's a collection of brilliantly detailed short stories that allow us to time travel, swap lungs, question fact, faith, and our very existence. The agent for this adventure is Ted Chiang. The book is Exhalation. Let's get LIT! Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

The theme this week: How to Live Without a Man. (Yup. We're going there.) The Book: In the mountains surrounding Acapulco, there exists a town full of women. Only women. And being a woman is a deadly mistake here. Girls mascaraed as boys to evade would-be kidnappers. Their friends are buried in the ground alive by their mothers, and dead bodies pop-up like flowers, blooming in a land where drug lords are the earth. In this place, one girl must hide the lies of her family while relying on her mother, neighbors, and her own self-determination if she hopes ever to breathe again the air of freedom. The girl: Ladydi Garcia Martínez. The novel: Prayers for the Stolen. LET'S GET LIT!... Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

While this season might be coming to a close, the world of literature continues to expand endlessly. With a fifth season on the horizon, we eagerly anticipate unearthing new narratives, unexplored genres, and captivating conversations with authors and bibliophiles alike.

 

Stay connected with us on YouTube, where we'll share weekly bonus content (https://www.youtube.com/@LitSocietyPod).

 

To our incredible listeners who have journeyed with us through the pages year after year, thank you for your unwavering support and enthusiasm. As we gear up for the next chapter, stay tuned for more literary adventures, insightful discussions, and the shared love for the written word that binds us together. The story doesn't end here—it's merely the closing of one captivating chapter, paving the way for countless more tales waiting to be explored.

 

View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod

 

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Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod

 

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Subscribe to emails and get free stuff: http://eepurl.com/gDtWCr  

In post-war Barcelona, a young boy named Daniel discovers a mysterious novel, The Shadow of the Wind, only to learn that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of the author's works. As he delves into the book's secrets, Daniel becomes entangled in a dark, decades-old mystery of love, betrayal, and revenge that mirrors the story within the pages. Atmospheric, haunting, and full of twists, Carlos Ruiz Zafón's novel is a captivating ode to literature and its secrets.

00:00 Intro 01:30 A Game: WAS THE BOOK BANNED? 26:43 Who was Carlos Ruiz Zafón, the author? 32:30 A deep dive into the plot of The Shadow of the Wind 01:18:10 Dramatic Reading: Javier and His Mother 01:20:18 Our verdict on the first half of The Shadow of the Wind

This week's book: The Shadow of the Wind

The author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Let's get LIT!

 

Links & Resources:

• Grab your Digital Reading Journal here: ETSY or Patreon
• Want more bookish fun? Check out our archive of episodes! (www.LITSocietyPod.com)
• Shop Kari's collection of luxury literary-themed candles at www.lovelitotes.com.

Find Alexis and Kari online: 

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Bluesky — https://bsky.app/profile/litsocietypod.bsky.social

Our website — www.LitSocietyPod.com.

Subscribe to emails and get free stuff: http://eepurl.com/gDtWCr.

IT'S THE SEASON FINALE! Can y'all believe we've been reading books with you for TWO YEARS?! We're so grateful to you listeners who support our show and keep up with us on Instagram and Twitter. To close out the second season, Alexis has created a game you're sure to love: Is it a Song or a Movie? Guess correctly for a chance to win a virtual, nontransferable prize worth no monetary sum and which we will never provide you. Then, on to this week's book...

Moved to overcome the trauma of his youth, he attempts to build the perfect life. He finds success as a hip-hop artist, a television star, and one of the biggest movie stars of all time. His power to draw an audience is undeniable, but will his push toward perfection ruin his dreams?

The star: Willard Carroll Smith II The book: Will by Will Smith

Let's get LIT!

 

Find Alexis and Kari online:  Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod;  Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod;  Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod;  Website — www.LitSocietyPod.com

To keep listening, subscribe to our free tier on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/litsocietypod.

 

On paper, Yinka has it all. She's Oxford-educated, beautiful, and constantly surrounded by friends and family. Still, one persistent question makes her examine her value and identity: "Where is your husband?"

Will Yinka find happiness, and will that happiness come in the form of marriage before she's too old and it's too late?

 

THE BOOK: Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?

THE AUTHOR: Lizzie Damilola Blackburn

Let's get LIT!

 

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It is the first week of June, and you know what that means. We're back with another WILD CARD episode. Instead of dissecting a book, we're discussing Kenneth Branagh's Death On the Nile, a film released in cinemas and streaming this year. We saw this film in theaters and at home, and we've got a LOT to say. Watch the flick before listening to see if our thoughts coincide with yours, and let us know if we finally pronounced Hercule Poirot correctly. (Spoiler: We didn't!)

Let's get LIT! 

Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

Before diving into this week's book, we'll talk about the medical industry's not-so-secret (and not-so-distant) questionable past in our theme of the week: Medical Murders. Then, on to our book...

Decades ago, while listening to her body's suggestion that something was wrong, a young wife and mother of five trusted the only healthcare facility in the area that would agree to treat her. True to their word, doctors provide the best treatment available, but they don't tell the woman they are stealing a portion of her body during their treatments. Those stolen cells proved extraordinarily incredible, saving people's lives worldwide, and they continue to marvel even in our day. Everyone benefits from the woman's unknowing sacrifice, except for her family and children. Where will her children end up in a world where they can't even afford healthcare?

The woman: Henrietta Lacks

The book: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

LET'S GET LIT!

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

Second-in-power only to the king, General Oufkir is both hated and adored by the people of Morocco. After a failed coup d' état, however, he is killed, and the lives of his wife and six children are changed forever. His older daughter, Malika Oufkir, survived a desert jail for two decades as one of the "disappeared," along with her family. This is her story. We're also taking a look at child marriages, prevalent worldwide — including here in The States — for our theme of the week. Who allows it, and who is this ancient custom hurting? This is an episode you'll never forget! Let's get LIT! ... Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

Formerly, On Her Own Ground. One little girl is the first of six children born free in her family after the abolition of slavery. She is quickly orphaned forced to fend for herself from the tender age of 6 years old. Despite all of her obstacles, including three unsuccessful marriages, abuse by white media and civilians, and deteriorating health, she becomes America's first female self-made millionaire. The woman's name: Madame C.J. Walker. The book: Self Made, and you're listening to LIT Society. LET'S GET LIT!... Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

Love Kari's LIT mug? Grab your own! | https://www.litsocietypodshop.com/ ◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️ It's 2009, and Tiffany, an intelligent, hard-working, first-generation American, faces foreclosure and bankruptcy. How did this happen? More importantly, how can you be sure this never happens to you?! Fortunately, this is only the beginning of Tiffany's story. She will soon morph into the fantastic financial forerunner she is today and host of her own - actually useful - Netflix series. But first, she needed to Get Good with Money! 

 

You're listening to LIT Society.

LET'S GET LIT!

 

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Remember: Both sides of the field aim to win, but one team has a better system. Stop making goals and start changing your habits. Atomic Habits is yet another self-help book telling us we're not the problem while assuring us that we are most definitely the problem. Its pages offer practical guidance and real-life anecdotes to illustrate that new habits make new results.

LET'S GET LIT!!!!

 

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NOTE: This is a video podcast. Watch the visuals on YouTube (LITSocietyPodcast)! ... Readers and friends, we're proud to bring you a very special bonus episode. Last Tuesday, Kiley Reid's debut novel, Such a Fun Age, was released in paperback. In celebration of the new format, we were thrilled to interview the awarded author. During an evening hosted by Semicolon, Chicago's only black-woman-owned bookstore, we sat with Reid and asked her the tough questions, holding nothing back!

 

If you couldn't grab a ticket to the virtual release, no worries. This show is now for the people!

 

You don't want to miss this. Enjoy!

 

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About Kiley Reid:

An Arizona native, Kiley Reid is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she was the recipient of the Truman Capote Fellowship. Her New York Times-bestselling debut novel, SUCH A FUN AGE, is currently in development by Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions and Sight Unseen Pictures. The novel was longlisted for The 2020 Booker Prize and a finalist for the New York Public Library’s 2020 Young Lions Fiction Award, the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work by a Debut Author, and the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award. Kiley’s writing has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Playboy, December, Lumina, where her short story was the winner in the 2017 Flash Prose Contest, and Ploughshares, where her short story was the winner of the 2020 Ashley Leigh Bourne Prize for Fiction. Kiley lives in Philadelphia.

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*BTW, the "popping" noises make sense if you watch this episode on YouTube!

A man's enemies will be persons of his own household. In one of the most tragic classics, we are forced to stare unflinchingly into a household descending into madness and chaos.

The play: King Lear

The playwright: William Shakespeare

LET'S GET LIT!!!

 

 - View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod

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Growing up in rural Mississippi, one woman watches helplessly as five men close to her die over the span of 5 years. Through the pain and confusion, she sees clearly what facilitated the demise of each family member and friend — a system built on the foundations of racism and economic turmoil. She decides to tell their stories. Her writing is evidence that these living, loving bodies existed. Before covering this week's book, we're getting into a topic close to home — how to cope with grief. Feel that gaping hole in your stomach, the ache that just won't go away? It may be grief. We'll share with you what's helped us make it through some of the worse moments of our lives. Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

This week, we follow one curious and imaginative young girl down a rabbit hole and into a strange and surreal world called Wonderland. In Wonderland, she encounters a cast of eccentric characters, including the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, and the Queen of Hearts, and experiences a series of absurd and nonsensical events. Throughout her ordeal, the girl must learn important lessons about growing up, identity, and the power of imagination.

 

The girl: Alice

The book: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol.

And you're listening to lit society.

 

LET'S GET LIT!

 

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Athena is a writing wunderkind, and June, an unsuccessful author, is jealous of her friend's success. When a tragedy leaves one dead, will the other exploit the memory of her companion for her personal gain?

After diving into the plot of this week's book, we'll discuss the question that keeps popping up while reading Yellowface: Is it right for authors to write about cultures outside of their own? Here's an honest discussion about a reoccurring topic in our nuevo-woke culture.

This week's book: Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

LET'S GET LIT!

 

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In a novel that reads like nonfiction, two girls find love at the end of adolescence and the beginning of adulthood. The choices made with that newfound love lead to consequences neither imagined and in the end, they must fight for their destiny and future, alone or lonely.

 

The girls becoming women: Ruby and Eleanor

The book: The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson

 

LET'S GET LIT!!!

 

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One girl is living in a world surrounded by death. Despite the chaos and the pain around her, she has one thing keeping her afloat, books. She steals them and has learned to read with the help of a loving, artistic foster father, but this story isn't about sadness. It's about color, life, and the people who paint our world.

The girl: Liesel

The book: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 

 

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This Thursday we're getting reLIT with a throwback to one of our favorite shows from season one!

📖 Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem: A Memoir.

A streetwise hustler grows up during America’s fight against drugs, poverty, and civility. He takes the lessons he’s learned and marries them to the philosophies and ideologies he picks up as an avid reader. With this knowledge, and after two trips to Africa, which inspired his path, he begins working on his life’s biggest hustle. He’s all in, but will his underground lifestyle take him OUT for good?

The hustler’s name is Daniel Day.

The book is Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem.

LET’S GET LIT! See you Thursday!

Opening song: Men at Work by Kool G Rap;

Break Song: Money Makes Us Happy by Skyzoo f/ Black Thought and Bilal.

The video Kari refers to is by AT&T, found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb_sjwUq7Jk

 

We'll cut to the chase. This week, we're teaching you how to convince someone they've committed a crime. Read that sentence again. That's right. We'll show you how to fake your family and friends into thinking they've done terrible things worthy of prison time. Do with this information what you will. Whatever.

Then, on to our book: Confined to a wheelchair, battling arthritis, one world-famous detective has reached the end of his season- but his core, his mind, is still sharp as ever and is leading him to a confrontation with a murderer. What are the murderer's motivations? Will the detective stop him before he overcomes the next victim? When will fall the final curtain?!

The detective is Hercule Poirot. The book: Curtain by Agatha Christie

LET'S GET LIT!

 

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and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com 

Is the past ever in the past? Troy Maxson has been chewed up and spit out by life in a world where being black meant a man must face crushing assaults on his spirit and body. But the world is changing and leaving Troy behind. Will he adapt or become imprisoned by the fences built around him?

Before diving into this week's story, we discuss a theme inspired by the play: The Negro League. How much do you know about the Negro Leagues? Who were its star players, and from where in the world did they originate? Alexis breaks it down in this video podcast episode.

 LET'S GET LIT!!!

 

 Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

 

Let's start this week with the theme TRAVEL THE BOOK: SINGAPORE STYLE. We'll virtually visit two main attractions before quickly understanding why Singapore is one of the most visited cities in the world. Then, on to our book...  

The brilliant and beautiful Rachel Chu is shocked to find that the man she's been seeing for two years is wealthier than anyone she's ever known or heard of — ever. When she attends his best friend's wedding in Singapore and meets his family and inner circle, a shocking discovery about her own family will test the limits of her relationship and reveal she knows as little about herself as she does about the wealthy.

The Book: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

LET'S GET LIT!!!

Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

 

🦀 This week, we discuss crabs and who's got them. No, this isn't a new celebrity gossip segment. We're talking crabs in a bucket syndrome, a.k.a. crabs in a barrel syndrome, a.k.a. crab mentality, a.k.a. tall poppy syndrome. These monikers all describe a phenomenon where people (usually peers, family, or close associates) try to hold back, criticize, or sabotage a person they perceive as too ambitious, non-conforming, or successful. So, who are the crabs in your life? How can we reach our goals despite those who downplay our progress? Let's talk about it!

Then, it's on to our book: Black girls, beware! Your biggest enemy is out to get you, and it's not who you may think. Nella Rogers realizes this, perhaps too late, when Hazel, a new black publishing assistant, moves into her department.

Will Hazel buoy Nella toward the promotion she's wanted for months, or will Hazel steal what's rightfully Nella's. 

The book: The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

LET'S GET LIT!

 

👩🏾‍🏫 🧑🏾‍🏫 Our Independent Bookstore of the Month: Semicolon Bookstore & Gallery

1714 W Division St, Chicago, IL 60622

https://www.semicolonchi.com/

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

 

Listen to the full episode for free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/litsocietypod/membership. 

A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , both harrowing and ferociously funny, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view. When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.*

LET'S GET LIT!

* Synopsis from Goodreads.

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Boom. So, listen. Eight people were invited to the LITTIEST party weekend ever. This fete-of-a-lifetime was on a private island in this bomb mansion, all expenses paid, all the Honey Jack they wanted, three billion count sheets, a private cook, and a butler. Needless to say, everyone invited was down. But then things got crazy. Like, ketchup on a hotdog crazy. This getaway isn’t all it’s cracked up to be because one of the guests is a murderer. PLOT TWIST! Will anyone survive? We’re reading this, one of our favorite mystery novels of all time, while under quarantine. So the sound quality is a bit suburban. Take it up with Coronita. For our theme, we’re sharing free ways to get books while under house arrest because of Coronavirus. We’ll get through this together, ya’ll! This is LIT Society. Let’s get LIT! ... Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

We're on vacation until the start of season four, Thursday, February 2nd! Until then, we're ecstatic to share the shows still living rent-free in our heads. Here's a favorite from our archives.

 

Having abandoned her husband and son, one woman lives life one train ride at a time with her beautiful beau and new baby girl — but her decision to risk it all for "love" isn't without consequences. Will following her heart lead this woman to peace, misery, or the greatest happiness? 

 

The woman's name: is Anna. 

This is part 2 of Anna Karenina. 

Let's get LIT! 

 

... Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

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View the three Black Cake recipes we chose: https://www.litsocietypod.com/black-cake-a-novel-by-charmaine-wilkerson/

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Our parents have a past. Sometimes that past catches up with them, leaving their children holding the pieces. Sometimes, though, that past reveals itself and helps their children realize more fully who they are and from where they come. One mother has chosen to expose the darkness of her life, but only after her death. Will her children be able to handle learning who the woman they know best really is?

The mom with the mystery? Eleanor Bennett

Our book: Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

And you're listening to LIT Society.

LET'S GET LIT!

 

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Who doesn't love the smooth, mouthwatering goodness of chocolate? In bars, biscuits, and brownies, chocolate is the winning ingredient, but everything ain't always sweet when it comes to this treat. We'll tell you the story of a town that experienced the unthinkable, Death by Chocolate! 

Then, on to our book:

There are books – some big, some tall That make you feel as if you're small And like a kid who loves a story You'll start to laugh at gloom that's gory 'Cause at the center of this tale There is a man (it never fails) His love for kids you won't find touching Nor his indentured servants from other countries But if you can stomach his dark fascinations You may enjoy these prevarications Even if you find him unsatisfactory There's great fun to be had in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The book: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

LET'S GET LIT!

 

Find Alexis and Kari online:  Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod;  Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod;  Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod;  Website — www.LitSocietyPod.com

Elena Richardson is a life-long resident of Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland. It's a place where everything, from the color of residents' homes to the futures of their children, are approved by the always watching community. In this structured environment, Mrs. Richardson lives by the rules, attributing her success to her compliance. Everything is going to plan until a tenant moves into her rental property and makes Elena question everything she thought she knew. That tenant is Mia Warren. The book is Little Fires Everywhere. Let's get LIT! ... Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

Hi readers! Kari here.

Just a reminder: This week, we're revisiting Things Fall Apart to properly set the tone for next week's book, No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe.

Published in the 1960s, No Longer at Ease is the second work of Achebe's African Trilogy. It deals with themes such as cultural integrity versus colonialization and assimilation. 

If you're stateside, enjoy your long weekend, and wherever you are in the world, we hope this book makes you feel something extraordinary, as it did with us.

Enjoy!

Listen to our episode on Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen here: https://www.litsocietypod.com/pride-and-prejudice/.

 

In this passionate conclusion, we discover if the ugliest of the Bennett sisters will finally find her place in the world or if repeated disappointments will find her lost and alone for eternity. Or will she learn to make room for love by first loving herself?

 

The Book: The other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow

 

You're listening to LIT Society. 

 

LET's GET LIT!

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

 

Two men have formed an unlikely friendship, traveling from place to place, working toward one united dream: Owning their own ranch, a place in the world where they'll belong. This dream becomes their life's purpose, but it is as unreachable as happiness.  

 

The men: George and Lennie

The book: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

 

LET'S GET LIT!

 

View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod

 

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The former president of the United States is on a manhunt for his daughter's killers. With the help of current and ex-military and foreign operatives, he will travel half the world for the most significant moment of his life. Will he be successful? Is more at stake in this mission than he realizes?

The book: This is PART 2 of The President's Daughter by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

YOU'RE LISTENING TO LIT SOCIETY

LET'S GET LIT!

View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod

 

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BONUS: A Lil' Literally - Welcome to A Lil' LITerally , ten minutes discussions of the bookish topics on our radar.

 

Since last week's episode, many of you have shared your opinion of Mr. Perry and his plays and films. No matter what you think of Tyler Perry, his work is undeniably prolific, life-changing, and unforgettable.

 

So here is your future favorite book based on your favorite Tyler Perry movie. Let's get to it!

 

- View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod

• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie: https://www.litsocietypod.com/and-then-there-were-none/
• Spare by Prince Harry: https://www.litsocietypod.com/spare-by-prince-harry/

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Iconic American poet, activist, playwright, and holder of numerous awards and 50 honorary degrees, Maya Angelou, was a giant among humans- but like all giants, she started small before learning to grow. This, the first of her famous autobiographies, tells of her modest start and the beginning of her meteoric rise. The lesson — no matter what we've been through, we all decide where we're going.

Before discussing Ms. Angelou, we'll talk about a subject dear to her heart, language. What's the difference between slang and dialect? Are their rules to the Black-American dialect? If so, what are they? Learn all of this and more on the latest episode of LIT Society. Enjoy y'all.

Let's GET LIT!

 

👩🏾‍🏫 🧑🏾‍🏫 Our Independent Bookstore of the Month: Café con Libros

724 Prospect Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11216

https://www.cafeconlibrosbk.com/

____________

Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

 

This week we're talking jewelry heists. Which notorious thieves were caught by police, and which got away? Alexis has the answers. Then, it's on to our book.

Orphaned in high school, Ray Carney worked his way through college and now owns his own furniture store in 1960s Harlem. He's a family man living the American dream, but some dreams are no different than nightmares. Fighting both familial and internal influences, Carney must outlast three separate heists to secure the lives of those he loves most. Will he survive? Or will this man lose himself trying to find his dream?

The book is Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead.

Let's get LIT!

Find Alexis and Kari online: Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod/; Twitter — twitter.com/litsocietypod; Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod/; and our website www.LitSocietyPod.com. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

Listen to the full episode for free on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/litsocietypod/membership

White Nights is a short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky that was published in 1848. Set in St. Petersburg, it is the story of a young man fighting his inner restlessness. A light and tender narrative, it delves into the torment and guilt of unrequited love. Both protagonists suffer from a deep sense of alienation that initially brings them together. A blend of romanticism and realism, the story appeals gently to the senses and feelings.

 

LET'S GET LIT!

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod

Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod

Our website — www.LitSocietyPod.com. 

Subscribe to emails and get free stuff: http://eepurl.com/gDtWCr 

 

(Book summary partially from Goodreads)

 

We return Thursday, May 18th. Until then, please enjoy listening to the best shows from our archives. Here's one we love - it's like a new, sleeker James Bond.

Who do you love? Who deserves your loyalty? And are the two one and the same? One young, brilliant, beautiful FBI officer is tasked with betraying her heart in devotion to her country. Her mission will take her from the high rises of New York to the roads of West Africa to the island of her motherland. Will she have what it takes when the time comes to pull the trigger, or will she find herself on the wrong side of the gun?

Before diving into our book, we'll learn the truth about a woman many know as Mary Bowser, a former enslaved person, and spy for the Union Army during the Civil War. (Psst! There will be a game, and Alexis WILL be put on the spot. Enjoy!

Our spy is Marie Mitchell.

The book is American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson.

LET'S GET LIT!  

 

Hi readers!

Our fourth season has ended, and we're preparing for year five (CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!). In the meantime, we're revisiting our favorite episodes from the past and sharing them again with all of you. This week, we're rediscovering the thrilling heist of Harlem Shuffle by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead. 

 

• Looking for something new? Check us out on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod
• Support our show and grab something bookish chic at our boutique: https://www.litsocietypodshop.com/
• View the three Black Cake recipes we chose: https://www.litsocietypod.com/black-cake-a-novel-by-charmaine-wilkerson/

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This week, we're talking jewelry heists. Which notorious thieves were caught by police, and which got away? Alexis has the answers. Then, it's on to our book.

 

Orphaned in high school, Ray Carney worked through college and now owns his own furniture store in 1960s Harlem. He's a family man living the American dream, but some dreams are no different from nightmares. Fighting familial and internal influences, Carney must outlast three separate heists to secure the lives of those he loves most. Will he survive? Or will this man lose himself trying to find his dream?

The book is Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead.

 

Let's get LIT!

 

- View the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@litsocietypod

Find Alexis and Kari online: 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod

Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod

Our website — www.LitSocietyPod.com. 

 

Subscribe to emails and get free stuff: http://eepurl.com/gDtWCr 

 

• Grab your Digital Reading Journal here: ETSY or Patreon.

We reflect on another year of incredible (and sometimes not-so-incredible) reads! In this fun and insightful episode, we share our top book picks of the year—stories that captivated our imaginations and stayed with us long after the final page. But it's not all sunshine and roses! We also dive into the books that fell flat, disappointed, or didn't live up to the hype.

Spoiler: Not every book is a winner! From thrillers that missed the mark to classics that didn't resonate, we are open and more honest than ever.

 

But it's not all about the misses! Tune in to hear the stories that swept us off our feet and the lessons we learned along the way. Plus, we discuss trends we noticed this year in our reading habits and what we're looking forward to tackling next season.

Highlights from This Episode:

• What makes a thriller like Falling fail to land for some readers?
• The surprising ways we connect (or don't) with main characters like Finlay Donovan.
• Our top book recommendations that are absolutely worth your time!

Listener Question: What was your favorite book of the year? Did you read anything you wish you hadn't? Share your thoughts with us on social media using the hashtag #LITSocietyPodcast.

Support the Show:

Love LIT Society? Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe! Visit our website for exclusive merch, including our Digital Reading Journal designed by Kari, and follow us on Patreon, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @LITSocietyPod.

Join the Conversation:

What books are you looking forward to next year? Share your TBR list with us, and let's inspire each other to keep reading!

Links & Resources:

• Grab your Digital Reading Journal here: ETSY (https://www.etsy.com/shop/litsocietypod) or Patreon
• Want more bookish fun? Check out our archive of episodes! (www.LITSocietyPod.com)

Thanks for listening, LIT Lovers!

Before we dive into the thrilling conclusion of Jurassic Park, we have to get something off of our chest. Is this a safe space? Can we be honest about one of the darkest habits of society? That's right. Zoos.

Are memories of innocent animals restricted in cages the highlight of your childhood? Well, we're not judging, but let's be real about where menageries and zoos started and why so many people are turning away from them. Shout out to Bubbles.

Then it's on to part two of Jurassic Park by Michael Chrichton. Where we ended last week, the chaos was only beginning. Now the dinos are getting their Sha'Carri on all over the park, with no one able to stop them. Who will survive when the dust settles, and where did the movie diverge from the book?

LET'S GET LIT!

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A brief look at Ming the Tiger, who lived in a Harlem apartment building: https://youtu.be/V_bhpR85mD4.

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This week's LIT Indie: Pilsen Community Books

1102 W 18th St, Chicago, IL 60608

(312) 478-9434

 

Find Alexis and Kari online: 

Instagram — www.instagram.com/litsocietypod; 

Twitter — www.twitter.com/litsocietypod; 

Facebook — www.facebook.com/LitSocietyPod; 

Website — www.LitSocietyPod.com