Lit Society: Books and Drama

"Does the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?" We begin this week's discussion with our Theme of the Week: The Butterfly Effect. How much does today affect our future? There's a theory that we'll do our best to break down. Then, on to our book...   From halfway around the world, an Egyptian archeologist is desperate to uncover the mystery that led to her younger sister's death at the hands of a suicide bomber IN CAIRO.    The archeologist: Rose Hatfield The Book: A Pure Heart: A Novel by Rajia Hassib LET'S GET LIT!   Sources for this week's theme: American Scientist: https://www.americanscientist.org/article/understanding-the-butterfly-effect Farnam Street: https://fs.blog/the-butterfly-effect/#:~:text=Although%20the%20concept%20of%20the,disciplines%20to%20create%20chaos%20theory.  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 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.

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.

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.

A family is devastated by information that their mother, long dead, is helping people live longer, happier lives all around the world. How can this be? Rumors spread that scientists have cloned the matriarch and that the woman they love now has duplicates of herself around Europe. Still, another suspicion is that she's been shot into space, stuffed into a bomb, and inserted with AIDS, suffering alone in some cold lab halfway around the planet. The stress of all this news cripples her children, but what is the truth? A young writer and scientist takes it upon herself to help the family reach the thrilling conclusion of their mother's story. The writer and scientist: Rebecca Skloot You're listening to the conclusion of our deep dive into The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. 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.

After weeks of reading copious news articles, we still don't know if Caresha and Diddy are dating. Why is it so difficult to harvest "the news" from The News nowadays? Also, when did our news sources get so sensational? These ponderings lead us to this week's theme: How to Avoid Misleading Information in the News and Social Media. Alexis walks us through how to avoid information that's sponsored and biased. Then, on to our book. Cate's quiet English neighborhood has experienced several sexual assaults, and one beautiful young girl is missing. Across from Cate's family's home, police arrest a man. He's in his thirties, a loner no one has ever seen with a girlfriend. The man is said to have recently lost his job due to sexual misconduct. Cate sighs with relief now that the local creep is off the streets. But when the attacks continue, and clues lead to her bedroom door, she must confront her prejudices and blind spots to reveal a shocking truth. The book: Invisible Girl: A Novel by Lisa Jewell 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 taking it back to our very first episode, featuring a book that's drowning in controversy.   As a kid, did you ever fantasize about running away from home? Ever dream about escaping to a place where no one could tell you what to do? Imagine for a moment that your fantasy came true but in reverse. Your parents ran away from home, leaving you to your own devices before you could even count to 30 — before you literally knew what number came after 29. It’s an age where you reasonably expect no one will ever leave you without food, guidance, and protection, and yet there you are, without the natural affection afforded to even the feral animals around your feet. Sobering, no?   Owens writes the world of Kay, our protagonist, with striking vividness. Through economical prose and an unpretentious vocabulary, she brings to life the colors and sounds experienced by a six-year-old girl, abandoned by her own in the marsh of North Carolina in the 1950s. While reading this book, the air around you will smell of buzzing micro-ecosystems and land wet with forgotten waters from the Pacific Ocean. More than anything, you’ll feel the numbing pain of Kay’s loneliness as if it’s your own.   Before we dive into Where the Crawdads Sing, we’ll get real about loneliness and depression: What battles have we had with both, and how does one cope?   Welcome to the first episode of 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.    

In the quiet village of St. Mary Mead, in the peaceful English countryside, the unthinkable happens — a murder. What is more, this is not just any murder. The dead man is found in the local's clergyman's office, blood on the desk and a note in his atrophying hand. Did the clergyman bring an end to the life of a man he envied? Or was it one of the many country folks who openly hated the deceased? One observant spinster aims to get to the bottom of the mystery before the wrong man is hanged.   The observant old maid? Miss Marple. The book: The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie   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 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.