Welcome to Litsy!

Pulitzer Prize winning critic Jefferson writes a different kind of memoir. First she establishes the reality and long presence of the Black upper class in the US, then continues to show that class while seating herself within it, as she grew up privileged. She plays quite a bit with style in the writing, which threw me at times, but overall I found this fascinating and unique. #ReadYourEbooks

Margo shares stories from growing up as a part of what DuBois called “talented tenth” (an upper class Black person) in 50s and 60s Chicago. She is the same age as my mom, so it was interesting to compare their experiences. Margo also writes about lesser-known Black women through history and interweaves her stories with theirs. Robin Miles‘ narration is superb in the #audiobook!

Interesting read, With many anecdotes and stories that resonated with me. Sometimes the writing seemed to be focused on being “literary” in a way that detracted from conveying the intended point effectively.

What an interesting memoir. It felt like a deep dive not only.into the authors past, but also america's past and how it shaped the authors community of the black elite. Robin Miles. Did an excellent job as narrator. The Audiobook was enjoyable.

@Born.A.Reader I am going to send out your package later today! See image. Also j received your package! #Swaps #LitsyLoveSpringSwap #LitsyLove @Bookgoil

#CurrentlyReading #CurrentAudiobook

I liked this, it showed me an angle on African American experiences in the twentieth century that I hadn‘t thought about before, the higher class genteel ‘society‘. The writing was a little patchy but at its best it was engaging, thoughtful, reflective, and I definitely learned a lot from reading it.

Another strange one. I got the sense that a memoir wasn't the type of book the author really wanted to write - it is full of long digressions into history and sociology, and often when talking about herself she affects a self-conscious distance that I found understandable but unappealing.

The audiobook format didn't help, through no fault of the narrator's. I got lost in quotations and digressions and found it hard to follow.

A very dry and impersonal collection of miscellaneous snippets of history. Not a traditional memoir, as there‘s barely any personal information included. Essays about black history-yes; memoir-no. Disappointing read. Gave up. Moving on.

#AlltheBooks!TBR

Had to drag myself to finish this.

Some photos from my walks this week 💚 #litsywalkers

An incredibly well written look at what it was like to grow up in a well off black household in the middle of the twentieth century and the particular challenges that that posed. It took me a while to get into it, but once I did, i like it a lot

Jefferson recounts her experiences growing up as an affluent African-American in the 1950/1960s in a fragmented, non-linear form.

This morning‘s train reading - Margo Jefferson‘s memoir Negroland.

I tried but I just can't. This was on my TBR on Goodreads almost since the start of my account. I like memoirs, especially about society. BUT...I don't know what this is but it's barely a memoir. Disjointed, disorienting, and way too hesitant. The author explained her reasoning for her writing style, but I couldn't accept it. Checking out another book for #N on #LitsyAtoZ.

Following up Never Caught with a book on my #LitsyAtoZ. Author babbled a bit in the beginning but I enjoy the dark humor there.

#nonfiction #memoir #N

I sipped on this book very slowly over a period of weeks. My reading experience could best be described as a collection of pauses, an invasion of thoughts. Every page seemed to invite the world in. I'm not sure if someone who regularly reads memoirs will like this one. Jefferson jumps from one thing to another at will. I imagine some readers may find her writing style frustratingly disjointed. I didn't mind so much. Every page a journey inward.

"My mother had stocked our library with classics. I read Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn in childhood, moved listlessly on to Kidnapped and Treasure Island, then left them, unfinished, to the older sister who proclaimed herself the hero of every adventure and doubled as the smarter villains too. I was a jealous little she-reader; I resented pouring myself into the lives of hero-boys."

Listening to this to liven my very long commute to and from culinary school (1.5 hours each way). Robin Miles' performance is great. Especially, she does the sardonic asides so perfectly.

"These memories are as much about being humiliated by adult knowledge as about race prejudice....I hated being caught unawares. It was so dangerous, so shameful not to know what I needed to know....There are so many ways to be ambushed by insult and humiliation."

Reading this book has become a collection of pauses. I read. I pause. I read. I pause. I read. I pause. After pauses, I reflect. I have internal conversations with myself. At times I draw connections between what I'm reading and my own life experiences. It all feels so personal.

This is a tough book to read alone.

It would be really interesting to read this book with my parents. Both were born in the 1950s.

"I could take adult indulgence too far when my need to shine blurred my sense of the occasion. At a dinner party not long after, where the adults were more interested in each other than in children, I waited for a break in their talk, then announced, 'Sometimes I forget to wipe myself'" ?

#CurrentListen

This memoir slash sociological study of upper class 20th century African American culture explores racism from the perspective of a privileged black woman growing up in Chicago. Jefferson‘s writing is uneven and sometimes choppy, but the insights (about colorism, privilege, classicism) and the anecdotes about her childhood and college years are well worth the read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Promising beginning #FirstLines

Jefferson's account of Marian Anderson's performance at the Lincoln Memorial gave me chills.

Just in case you thought for even one moment that race in America is simple . . .

This book is a mere 240 pages, but it is not a quick read. Take time to savor the pages. It is deserving of, demanding of your deep, thought-filled reading. It is so much more than a memoir and so much more than the story of a person of color. I also recommend Citizen and Tears We Cannot Stop.

"How were those of us being naturalized into white culture to be protected without the shield of cultural segregation? How was active intellectual pride to be instilled?" #springcleaningreadathon #litsyreadingchallenge #litsybingo

"White people wanted to be white just as much as we did. They worked just as hard at it. They failed just as often. They failed more often. But they could pass, so no one objected." #springcleaningreadathon #litsybingo

Switching it up and going non-fiction. #readathon #springcleaningreadathon #litsybingo

Reading. Time well spent!
Not sure where to start. I'm not really labeling these as immediately intended reads. I just thought they looked pretty together.
Got love for a fellow book aficionado?😍

#bookmail bitchesssss 😍 i've been waiting for these babies to show up for 3 weeks now! nothing beats a slow afternoon at the office like getting a #bookparcel with your name on it! #nonfiction

Children always find ways to subvert while they're busy complying.

Started this. Not really feeling it. Maybe Ill bail. Dunno #blackhistorymonth #readharder

#readjanuary honestly I only read one book I really wasn't keen on this month. #bestofjanuary lots of great books this month but here's some faves

#24in48 #readathon

Book #10! Interesting account of the life of an upper class African-American woman. A quick listen with a good narration on audiobook. My only caveat for recommending is that there are some shifting POVs (from first person to third, which is odd in a memoir). Also, in some places, reads like laundry lists. Overall, interesting, informative and engaging.

This memoir gives a rare glimpse in the upbringing in an upper middle class African-American family. It gives interesting insights of the tension between privilege and pressure and having to represent a whole race.

I only give it a so-so rating, because I didn't like the writing style. It felt like a list of bullet points. I think the style was compounded by the audio narration.

#24in48 #readathon

Started today's reading with a walk and this audiobook. Settling in for a couple of hours of physical books. Getting there!! ⏱📚

Readathon day 2. 9.5 hours left. #24in48 #readathon #diversathon #readingchallenges #tbrstacktakedown

This was a good way to start the year and fits #litsyreadingchallenge #memoirbypoc . I found this so interesting as I've not read another writer who talks about class, race and gender in quite the same way before. She's quite aware of some of the privilege she has but is also illuminating in explaining how it has had it own burdens on her. I just can't think what else to say other than pick it up for a unique voice on these topics #ownvoices

Part memoir, part social commentary, this is an excellent look at race and class from the perspective of someone who grew up in the pre-civil rights era, and who struggled (still struggles?) with what was/is deemed "acceptable" behaviour of middle-class African-Americans in a predominantly White world.

It took me a while to adjust to her style of writing, but once I did I demolished most of this in one sitting.

"Race, gender, and class are basic elements of one's living. Basic as utensils and clothing; always in use; always needing repairs and updates. Basic as body and breath, justice and reason, passion and imagination. So the question isn't 'Which matters most?,' it's 'How does each matter?'"
Excellent, thought provoking memoir

getting books for Xmas didn't stop me buying more today though
#ihaveaproblem #hellomynameis #andimabookoholic

Ms.Jefferson is SUPER smart. Important one here.

When your job asks you to read a book that has been buried in your #TBR list for work! #win