Lit Society: Books and Drama

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

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.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (Part 2)

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.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (Part 1)

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.

Invisible Girl: A Novel by Lisa Jewell

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.

ReLIT: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

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.
 
 

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

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.

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead

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.

Wild Card: Movie Review — (2022) Death on the Nile

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.

ReLIT: Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

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.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

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.