Lit Society: Books and Drama

No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe

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  

ReLIT: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

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!

ReLIT: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Hi readers! Kari here.
Alexis and I are switching up the schedule this and next week to correctly set the stage for No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe.
Published in the 1960s, No Longer at Ease is the second work of Achebe's African Trilogy, which begins with the distinguished High School required read Things Fall Apart. It deals with themes such as cultural integrity versus colonialization and assimilation. 
So, this week, we thought it's fitting to revisit one of our favorite works of historical fiction that also tackles these themes in a beautifully illustrious way — Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.
Next week, we'll revisit Things Fall Apart by Achebe. Then, on the 14th, we'll return with No Longer at Ease, a book neither Alexis nor I have read before. We're excited to read it for the first time with all of you.
So, 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!❤️

Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America by Marcia Chatelain

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  
 

Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

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!
 
- 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 House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson

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!!!
 
- 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 Perfect Nanny: A Novel by Leïla Slimani

Myriam loves her children, but after months of caring for her newborns, she feels they're literally "sucking the life out of her!" She's ready to get back to her craft as a lawyer. Fortunately, her family finds and hires the perfect nanny, a woman who is in many ways a child but utterly devoted to her duty and the children. She goes above and beyond consistently, but at what point is beyond too far? As the family realizes they cannot function without the nanny, love turns to jealousy, and devotion becomes an obsession.
 
The Nanny: Louise
The book: The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani
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  
 

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

An English ship embarks on a covert mission to steal Spanish treasure, but as hunger and exhaustion seize the men, they enact a mutiny. Ultimately, it is not just the seamen who are on trial but the very ideology of colonialization. In this true story, who will live, who will die, and which side will be proved right by history?
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  
 
 

Room by Emma Donoghue

Before we get into the book, we're discussing what to do if you're in the middle of being kidnapped. The short version:
Call 911 if you can (preferably on speaker).
Scream out "HELP!" along with your name.
Go for the eyeballs.
Of course, there are a few more tips here that we hope you'll never need. Then, on to our book...
 
A five-year-old boy lets us into his world by describing what he loves, his mom, Dora the Explorer, and his room. But as we spend more time with Jack, we realize something is seriously wrong with his world. Does the room hold more than he knows? And is he in more danger than he understands?
 
The boy: Jack
 
The book: Room by Emma Donoghue
 
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  

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

Can you stop a tragedy that's already occurred?
 
One woman is eagerly waiting for her 18-year-old son to return home before curfew. Relieved, she sees him walking along the street but notices a shadowy figure catching up to him. In an instant, one of the men is dead. After a restless night, the woman awakes ... to yesterday. 
 
The woman: Jen Brotherhood
The book: Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
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