Welcome to Litsy!

Lila Mae Watson is the first Black female elevator inspector who ‘intuits‘ what is wrong with the machine. 'Empiricists‘ examine the mechanics and derive their conclusions from observation. The leader of the intuitionists has died leaving behind clues that lead to blueprints for a revolutionary new elevator design. Lila must find the schematics before others who want to destroy it. Part mystery, philosophical debate, and racial drama. Recommended!

So weird!

Hmm, as a debut, I should probably reserve the option to try another Colson Whitehead in the future as his books have worked for many. Indeed, an enthusiastic pitch is what got me into this one. I fear in the interests of not spoiling anything the pitch I heard misled me into thinking I'd get dueling factions in a whisper of magical realism alternate reality of elevator inspectors: esoteric lit fic/weird book.1/2

Today's 'scratched my brain just right' phrase.

Continuing the theme of descriptive similes that add a sense of foreboding.

You know the kind of writing this makes you want to roll around in it like a puppy in a pile of fallen leaves? 😍

Of all the ways to describe a haircut.
Vibe: successfully created!

I have such respect for Whitehead as a writer, but this one just didn‘t work for me. I found it really engaging in places, but overall it was a kind of weird that just isn‘t my kind of weird.

I‘ve had this book for several yrs, & it fit into a prompt for my library‘s book challenge (afrofuturism or afrofantasy) I didn‘t like Whitehead‘s writing style in this one. I know I missed some key points, too. There are 2 factions of elevator inspectors—Intuitionists & Empiricists. An elevator falls & Lila Mae, the only Black female, is accused of messing up. An allegory for race, capitalism, government. Others may like this more than me.

Good!!!

📕 Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead
🖊 Ishiguro, Kazuo
🎬 It‘s A Wonderful Life
🎤 Indigo Girls
🎶 Instant Crush - Daft Punk

#ManicMonday #LetterI
@CBee

Some of my faves from #1990s #ArtfulAugust @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

April #Roll100 complete ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I took a break from this as it got off to a bit of a slow start for me. However, after coming back about 2 months later, I was pulled into Lila Mae‘s journey into the unknown of the Department of Elevator Inspectors.

One of my favorite Colson Whitehead novels is his debut about conflicting ideologies among elevator inspectors: the Empiricists and the Intuitionists. When an elevator at one of the buildings inspected by MC Lila Mae Watson, the city's first Black female elevator inspector, malfunctions she struggles to clear her name amidst racism & misogyny. Here Whitehead addresses social issues with a speculative bent, as he would in later works such as UR.

My first Whitehead. Thinking I should‘ve gone with something else…I‘m not sure what to make of his elevator obsession…

"Two warring factions in the Department of Elevator Inspectors..." begins the back flap description, which should be enough to pick up this strange and wonderful blend of 'speculative noir'. In this society that looks a lot like Civil Rights era New York, elevators are an academic discipline of sorts and lie at the center of a conspiracy that our elevator inspector hero Lila Mae must unravel. A creative and hilarious spin on the detective novel.

#FirstLinefridays @ShyBookOwl

It‘s a new elevator, freshly pressed to the rails, and it‘s not built to fall this fast.

Happy Friday 💃🏿

#QuotsyJan21 Day 26: #Improvement

#12booksof2020 #Day2 @Andrew65

Maybe an unpopular opinion but I loved this

Here‘s hoping that work starts to level off as we slide into the holiday season...did I just jinx myself? 😱

In any case, I will definitely participate in @Andrew65 ‘s low key, Chose Your Own Goals Readathon #NovelNovember! I for sure will finish the tagged book and then? I feel like I need to set some stretch goals this time around-we‘ll see! 😀

Please join in if you are so inclined and repost!

Happy Birthday, Colson Whitehead! A favorite author of mine for many years now. I've read just about everything he's written and it's all wildly different and it's all exceptional. Here's a list from Lit Hub today with suggestions where to get started:
https://lithub.com/dont-know-where-to-start-with-colson-whitehead-heres-a-readin...

1) The chair in my living room. Same as the rest of the year 😂 When it's not too hot I do like to read in the park.
2) Pizza last night, I'm not one of those monsters who eat it cold for breakfast!
3) Intuitionist
4) Zero. I always had at least one when I was growing up, but haven't for several years. Have been thinking of getting a cat.
@4thhouseontheleft @howjessreads #friyayintro

How is this a debut novel? An elevator crash in the Fanny Briggs Memorial Building is quickly blamed on protagonist & sole black female Elevator Inspector, Lila Mae Watson. Watson (get it?) sets out to clear her name and uncover the truth in a society barely removed from Jim Crow. An astonishing racial allegory with the dressings of a film noir. Although it doesn't have the epic reach of Underground Railroad, it's a different kind of story & the👇

The best way to describe this is Literary Noir. It‘s my favorite Colson Whitehead book so far. It‘s about being an outsider and elevators. Difficult to describe, but perfect if you‘re looking for a unique read.
#AuthorAMonth

We‘re in the last week of February and so, it‘s the last week to post your reviews for Colson Whitehead for #AuthorAMonth. Please be sure to use the hashtag, tag me, and post as a review to get your books logged. As of 6pm central time I‘m caught up, feel free to check that all your reviews say “Logged 📚” and tag me if I missed one.

So far there have been 43 reviews of his books! I‘m amazed at the level of participation, and so happy 😁.

Unpopular opinion but I actually liked this better than The Underground Railroad. Set in a parallel past universe, where elevators are super important, it focuses on Lila Mae Watson, a colored elevator inspector. She is framed for an accident and the story chronicles her search for the truth and to clear her name. The different aspects of racism made it a better read but there was quite a lot of theory on the mechanisms of elevators #AuthorAMonth

Sometimes a book makes me feel kind of dumb, and this was one of those books. I never really "got" what Whitehead was driving at. Is this some kind of allegory? (I'm terrible at both identifying and understanding allegories, being more the straight-shooter type haha) The story is very slow moving, with sometimes confusing jumps in time and characters. (Who is the screaming man?) I wanted to know what was going to happen, but never felt connected⬇️

Maybe I will actually finish this one while getting brake work done??

Also loving this bookmark @Crazeedi sent me a while back. ❤️

Having trouble connecting with this one. A lot more technical information about elevators than I was anticipating! 😆

#weeklyforecast - currently reading the tagged book for #authoramonth. The Breakwell is my #bookspin title and Watership Down is my last #LMPBC read!! The others are just for fun!!
@Cinfhen

2nd Whitehead read-February!! Clever and eloquent, Whitehead‘s writing style is impeccable, and the premise and resolution are one-of-a-kind. Lila Mae Watson, the first black female elevator inspector, has the highest rate of success—she is an Intuitionist, judging the safety of an elevator by simply riding it. As opposed to the Empiricists who actually examine cables and such. But 1 day Lila‘s elevator crashes for no reason?? #authoramonth2020

Today's #libraryhaul is mostly Whitehead books for #AuthoraMonth. I've never read any of his books, so I am looking forward to giving him a try!

Starless Sea also came back in. I wasn't in the head space for it when I had it around Christmas, but am hoping to get into it this go-round.

An Episode of Sparrows is a random book from my TBR that I know almost nothing about!

All in all, a good haul.

@Soubhiville

“It‘s a new elevator, freshly pressed to the rails, and it‘s not built to fall this fast.”
#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Transitioning from work to book in my roost here at the Library.

My cats‘ favorite boxes are #indiespensable. Cecil won‘t even give me a chance to see what‘s in the box! @Powells
#catsoflitsy

“But who can resist the seductions of elevators these days, those stepping stones to Heaven, which make relentless verticality so alluring?”

Upscale sci-fi

I forgot to post my tiny haul from Independent Book Store Day! I‘m excited to read both of these!!

While it begins as a who-done-it tale of sabotage and guild politics, The Intuitionist ends as a profound reflectuon on the strategies of masking, passing, and camoflauge practiced by African Americans to survive in the US.

“She thinks, these white men see her as a threat but refuse to make her a threat, cunning, duplicitous. They see her as a mule, ferrying information back and forth, not clever or curious enough to explore the contents. Brute. Black.” // Took me a bit to get into this one, but now I‘m hooked!

“We conform to objects, we capitulate to them. We need to reverse this order. It is failure that guides evolution; perfection provides no incentive for improvement, and nothing is perfect.”

A bit disappointed because CW's writing is incredible yet I simply could not get into this one. I may try again sometime but for now it's a DNF for me. The story didn't ever flow comfortably for me and the subject matter couldn't hold my interest.

Colson Whitehead‘s 1st ...who knew elevators could be so fascinating. Lila Mae is a black “intuitionist” elevator inspector in an organization that rewards the empirical approach and where people like her simply don‘t hold these jobs. Is the accident a fault of her approach, or is someone trying to force her out. Whitehead uses this unusual canvas to explore racial and sexual discrimination as well as new technologies. Great read.

Thank you, @JenP , you shouldn‘t have. ❤️😘❤️

Colson Whitehead‘s writing is so brilliant that I hate him a little out of sheer, blind jealousy. On its surface this is an alternate history set mystery in the glamorous and high stakes world of...elevator manufacture and inspection. Yes, really. It is so much more than that though. For starters, it‘s a biting racial allegory and political commentary, but even that barely scratches the surface. There are so many layers here, it is astounding.

1. My nerdy pumpkin!
2. The tagged book, it‘s one of my November book club picks
3. Dark. I‘ll eat milk chocolate too, but you can have all of my white chocolate
4. Fake jewelry. My allergy is real, but ladies feel free to use that allergy to your advantage
5. Hmmmm I‘m in the archives today and I guess the acid-free folders are yellow-ish
#HumpDayPost

Loved it! Just finished it up as Joseph was going on stage at Pilgrimage Music Festival. And yes, I brought a backup book to read between acts. 😁

This was my book club pick this month. Full disclosure: I picked it. Had heard it was masterful. But, I have to be honest, I just didn't really get it. There were soooo many things going on here. I enjoyed the first 80 pages, then it sort of turned into the Fountainhead and got way too confusing for me.

Good. Well written even though at times the story felt a bit disjointed as it kept on jumping from one character to another or one scene to another and there is no real ending.

#Fleet
#LittleBrownBookGroup