Lit Society: Books and Drama

ReLIT: The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson (Part 2)

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.

James Bond: Casino Royale (Graphic Novel Adaptation) by Van Jensen, Ian Fleming, and Dennis Calero

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: 
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Website — www.LitSocietyPod.com

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Was it creepy when the great poet Billie Eilish waxed, "Let me hold you like a hostage"? Some folks are about that hostage life. So, what happens when your captor is totally chill, and all you can think about is going to see a movie with them before enjoying a long walk and watching the sunset together, but they have you locked in a bank vault at gunpoint? Stockholm Syndrome happens, that's what. 
 
After we discuss real-life cases of hostages turned homies, we'll dive into a story about idiots. Yes, idiots. In a way, this is a story about all of us because we're all idiots at times. But this is also a story about a bridge. Also, it's a story about people and how people need people. Actually, this is a crime novel about a bank robber and a room full of terrible captives who each have something in common. More than anything, though, this is a story about kindness. 
The book? Anxious People by Fredrik Backman. 
Let's get LIT!
 
Favorite quote: "This book is dedicated to the voices inside my head, the most remarkable of my friends. And to my wife, who lives with us." - Fredrik Backman
 
Find Alexis and Kari online: 
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Website — www.LitSocietyPod.com
 

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

A tenacious entrepreneur finds herself facing one heartbreak after another. Down but not defeated, she puts her inherent skills to use by launching a detective agency. Her cases start with awol husbands, con-men, and disobedient daughters, but when a local child goes missing, her abilities are put to the test. Does she have what it takes when it counts?
The detective? Mma Ramotswe
The book: THe no. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
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.

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

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 in 2021. 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.

LIVE SHOW: Interview with Kiley Reid in Celebration of Such a Fun Age's Paperback Release (Bonus Episode)

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!
 
____________________________________________
 
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!

White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

A professional moderator turned author makes a living telling groups of listeners that the sky is blue, water is wet, and, yes, racism is a reality. A somewhat novel idea, she crafts her conversations with white, not black listeners in mind. She addresses the subject of oppression to the group of people consciously and subconsciously oppressing, and the result earns her a side-eye from every side involved. Should this book exist? Is it profiting from black pain? Let's discuss it. The author: Robin DiAngelo The book: White Fragility. 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 Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Trigger warning: In this episode, we're discussing self-harm, including the taking of one's own life. If you or someone you know has thoughts of harming themselves, speak with someone today by dialing 800-273-8255 ... Usually, this is where we ask that if this subject is triggering, please don't listen. However, we want you to know that this isn't a downer discussion. It's genuine, honest, but we aimed to make it uplifting. Either way, if you listen or don't, you're awesome. You're valuable, and you are, without a doubt, loved by more people than you realize. Got it? ... Now, on to our book: A story about life, living, and the regrets in between, The Midnight Library is a unique invention created to tell a universal truth. It allows the reader to make some secret personal applications with the lessons of our protagonist and her desire to end it all. This story is like our better selves, begging us to listen, putting the medicine in the candy, and it does it all within 300 pages. Before diving in, we'll also break down how you - yes, even you! - can choose happiness every day. 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.

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds

A fiction writer and a historian walk into a bar and order a tall glass of racism. They then sit for days, simplifying the contents of their drink, removing all of the fluff, leaving only the truth. Finally, they serve the liquid in the form of a book to kids across the world. You and we are drinking that glass today, and by doing so, we'll find, easily digestible, the facts about the origins of racism and the meaning its history holds for us today. Before diving into Stamped, we'll discuss three reasons why it's so important to credit black creators (this one's for you, Jimmy Fallon). 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.

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Freedom is knowing who you are while unobstructedly stretching toward your potential or something like that. Look, we're not as deep as Toni Morrison, but after reading this, the author's third novel, we were inspired to wax poetic about existential topics like survival and identity. Can a man named Macon "Dead" ever succeed at living freely? Can a boy known as Milkman mature into a confident guy? Is anyone more than just who their mothers, fathers, enemies, and friends think they are? Are you dizzy yet? The book: Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison. 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.