Lit Society: Books and Drama

The theme this week: How to Deal with Disappointment. The story: It is a tale of undying passion born of loneliness and shame, a type of force that consumes everything in its path and leaves only gloom and death in its wake. Did we mention the two who share this love are foster siblings? They are. Anywhoo … not not judging. The lover's name: Heathcliff. The book: Wuthering Heights. 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: Tips for Finding Your Ancestors. Our book: One woman learns the secret her mother has spent a lifetime hiding. She vows to remain silent, but when her mother dies, she must decide: will she pass on her mother's lie or will she expose her family to the world. The woman's name is Gail Lukasik. The book: White Like Her. 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 Deal with Hostile People. The book on which our theme's based: It is the first published science fiction novel written by a black woman, the story of a 26-year-old writer living in California. One day, she is inexplicably ripped from her home and thrown into antebellum Maryland. There awaits her more than a few tough decisions and a puzzle that must be solved before she can ever return home for good. Her 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. Get in on the conversation by using #booksanddrama.

The theme this week: Fear and violent behavior. Circa 1890, somewhere in the southeast of present-day Nigeria, a powerful man has built his life on the foundations of pride and fearlessness. Determined to be the exact opposite of his lazy father, he rules his world with an iron fist. Still, he cannot escape the plagues of time and change. His name is Okonkwo. The book is Things Fall Apart. 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.

The theme this week: Gossip. One death leads to another in this case involving two influential families in one small town. Word on the curb is that a few people could be the murderer, and local gossip may lead to an arrest. Fortunately, like Jordan in '95, a famous Belgian detective comes out of retirement and he's ready to save us all! But will he crack this case in time to save the accused? The detective: Hercule Poirot. The book: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. 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.

After losing her home, her husband, sobriety, and career, one woman is on the brink of losing her mind. Her life as dwarfed into a series of train rides, back and forth, morning and evening, until she sees something no one else sees from the window of her commute. She's witnessed something that propels her into a series of events, forever changing her life and the lives of everyone she knows. The woman's name is Rachel. The book, The Girl on the Train. 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.

A streetwise hustler grows up during America's fight against drugs, poverty, and civility. He takes the lessons he's learned from the street 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!...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 . . . 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.

Too black or not too black. That is the question. Lately, everyone seems to be talking about who is and who isn't black, and what that even means. Before diving into this week's book, we discuss what it means to be Black American — not racially — but ethnically. Then we talk Black Card, Chris L. Terry's novel about a man pushed out of adolescence into adulthood still unsure if he's black enough in a world that's trying to define him. Get into it! 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.