Welcome to The Literary Cafe, a website for those who find that books are often the starting point for a conversation. 

The Literary Cafe was started by two friends, Janine Pollack and Lori Theisen. They met while pursuing their master's degrees at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.  Ardent book fans and members of book clubs, they wanted to share the contents of their book shelves, the discussions brewing around them, and mostly how to gather and foster great discussion through knowledge, good food and drink, and experiences. 

Originally begun as a printed piece in 1994, the blog was reborn as a blog in 2013 and then a website  Now in 2025, we’ve invited a younger generation to contribute content ideas. We’ve also refreshed the site.

We hope you will stop by a couple times a week. Think of as a virtual coffee break that will give you a few good ideas for yourself or to share with friends. 

lori@litcafe.com