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Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun
Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun | Sarah Ladipo Manyika
47 posts | 39 read | 67 to read
Morayo Da Silva, a cosmopolitan Nigerian woman, lives in hip San Francisco. On he cusp of seventy-five, she is in good health and makes the most of it, enjoying road trips in her vintage Porsche, chatting to strangers, and recollecting characters from her favourite novels. Then she has a fall and her independence crumbles.
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Evita
Pickpick

4 out of 5

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Simona
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Pickpick

This is short, but sweet novella about 75 yo Nigerian woman living in San Francisco. Morayo da Silva is very vibrant character, but after the accident, confronted with ageing and loneliness. Good and still pick, despite the very unsatisfactory ending …
#Booked #BlackOwnedPublisher

41 likes1 stack add
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Simona
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If you maybe want to reorganise your bookshelves … interesting idea 🤯

rockpools Oh my - the hours you could lose sorting that seating plan out! 😂 2y
LeahBergen 😆😆 2y
BarbaraBB That is cool! But I mostly remember nothing about the books I read 🤦🏻‍♀️ 2y
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sprainedbrain That could be very fun! 😂 2y
Leftcoastzen 👏😄 2y
Simona @rockpools @LeahBergen @BarbaraBB @sprainedbrain @Leftcoastzen I can‘t imagine how laborious this could be, but definitely very unique system for organising bookshelves. 2y
30 likes6 comments
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Sharpeipup
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Such a happy looking cover that has me craving ice cream now...

33 likes1 stack add
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Jolynne
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Pickpick

I would have enjoyed a longer book because the characters were so interesting. (Not a criticism, just a thought).

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Victoriahoperose
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Pickpick

I loved this short book. It reminded me so much of Mrs. Dalloway which is one of my favorites. The author writes about a woman approaching her 75th birthday and her evaluation of the life she has lived as well as the effect she has had on those around her. It‘s just enough to leave you satisfied at the end and loving the characters. #booked2018 #mcover70

Cinfhen I‘m OBSESSED with the title!!! Sounds fabulous 5y
Victoriahoperose @Cinfhen it was really really good!! 5y
25 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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HeatherBookNerd
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Really enjoying this lovely quick read this morning.

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whatrebeccasread
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Pickpick

I enjoyed reading about the life of Morayo Da Silva, but I wanted more. This book could easily have been 300 pages & I would've enjoyed it just as much. That said, this book gets a solid 4 stars from me. The plot is not action packed, so don‘t go in expecting it to be. It‘s simple but sweet, recommended for an easy read focused on the life & the personality of the characters themselves.

See my full review on my blog to learn more! 📚

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Hoopiefoot
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Pickpick

I bought this book on a whim for the #ReadHarder challenge and have been putting off reading it forever. I figured #24in48 was as good a time as any to read it and . . .

OH MY GOODNESS! I was not prepared for how much I would love this little book. It‘s easily one of my favorite books I‘ve read this year.

51 likes6 stack adds
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inmegslibrary
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But wasn‘t that the thing about life? It was always the unexpected, those events not planned for, that got you in the end.

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MsLeah8417
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Pickpick

This book is 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟. It is so beautifully written. It is a love song about the journey into the later stages of life and the events we experience along the way. The book is short but the story will remain your heart and mind forever. ❤️❤️❤️

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MsLeah8417
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But who knows, when the earth finally decides that it‘s tired of fidgeting and needs a proper stretch, I might be the one walking downstairs; if that‘s the case, then the only survivors will be my books-hundreds of them-to keep each other company.

14 likes1 stack add
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jhod
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Took 4 read books back to the #library.

And.... got another 4 out.
Pretty pleased with this haul though!

(Obviously got 10 unread ones at home too)
#lovemylibrary

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shawnmooney
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Panpan

What a fabulous title! The positives stop there, alas. This novella about a colorful 75-year-old Nigerian-American lady social-butterflying her way around San Francisco should have been right up my alley, but the bland prose—the literary equivalent of journal entries—and the ridiculous number of other characters brought in, adding pretty much zilch to the story, amounted to a huge disappointment. Enjoy the title: skip the book.

Hoopiefoot Oh no! I just picked this up for the #readharder challenge. Lowering my expectations now... 6y
CouronneDhiver That‘s a shame. Seems like a polarizing book - love it or hate it. 6y
saresmoore I will take your word for it! 6y
52 likes3 comments
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RealLifeReading
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Pickpick

I have a complaint about this book. It is just way too short. I want to read more about the indomitable and feisty Dr Morayo Da Silva, retired English professor, lover of books and befriender of strangers.

UrsulaMonarch Yes!!! Wouldn't it be great as a series? 😃 6y
RealLifeReading @Lkelly that would be fantastic! 6y
88 likes9 stack adds2 comments
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RealLifeReading
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I ❤️this character!

UrsulaMonarch So good!!! 💚 6y
minkyb ❣️❣️❣️ 6y
91 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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RealLifeReading
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#uncannyoctober day 27: #treat
It was such a treat to find this book on the "new arrivals" shelves at the library. Love that it's set in SF and has a 75yo Nigerian woman, a retired professor, as its main character. And it's truly a treat to have homemade pumpkin pie

Moray_Reads I loved this and your pie looks delicious 😋 6y
emmaturi pumpkin pie! Yum! 6y
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UrsulaMonarch
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Pickpick

This is the most quoted passage on Litsy, and deservedly so - but the whole book is great! Might be a great #gift for people who have affinities to any of the many topics in the book: #SanFrancisco , English #teachers and #professors, #Nigeria, #books - the list goes on & on!

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UrsulaMonarch
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A good point, but also funny to come across while also reading:

6 likes1 comment
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UrsulaMonarch
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I... guess that's good? Lots of interesting thoughts about #aging in this book
#SFPL

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UrsulaMonarch
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UrsulaMonarch
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Beautiful title, beautiful cover, beautiful book
#SFPL #sanfrancisco

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lauralovesbooks1
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Pickpick

This was beyond delightful. Morayo is a 75 year old woman living by herself in San Francisco. She lived all over the world when she was the wife of a Nigerian diplomat, she was a professor of literature, and she drives a Porsche 911. When she falls, she relies on the friends in her life (new and old)for the help she needs while she recovers. The characters in here are absolutely wonderful. 5 stars for this charming novella.

Tamra Stacked! 6y
25 likes4 stack adds1 comment
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lauralovesbooks1
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"I no longer organize my books alphabetically, nor arrange them by the colour of spine, which was what I used to do. Now the books are arranged according to which characters I believe ought to be talking to each other." - I love this!

keithmalek Damn it! It took me years before I finally realized that the best shelf arrangement is alphabetical by author's last name. Once I did that, my shelves stopped driving me nuts. But now you've given me this idea! How dare you! Just when I thought I was cured! 6y
Tamra What a fun idea! 6y
lauralovesbooks1 @keithmalek Mine are arranged in an "If you like this, you would probably like the book or author next to it" system. It makes it easy for me to recommend and find books when friends are browsing my shelves, but probably seems really disorganized to every else. :) 6y
See All 6 Comments
keithmalek @lauralovesbooks1 No no no. That's exactly what drove me crazy. For example, some authors write both fiction and non-fiction. I have to keep all of that author's books together, but now I have to split up the genre theme. Meanwhile, Mark Bowden wrote Finders Keepers, which isn't political, but he also wrote The Finish, which is political. Etc etc etc... 6y
lauralovesbooks1 @keithmalek The struggle is real! 6y
JaclynW Wow! I love that idea! I may have to rearrange my shelves now. 😊 6y
20 likes6 comments
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CAGirlReading
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Pickpick

I absolutely loved this book! Set in San Francisco, the story focuses around Morayo, an independent and spunky 75 year old retired English professor and an accident which threatens her independence. Set around Morayo and those who interact with her I can only hope I have her zest for life when I reach that age. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Moray_Reads Loved this one too 6y
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BrownGirlReading
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Pickpick

I urge you all to pick up this lovely novella by Sarah Ladipo Manyika. It explores how we react to the world and how the world reacts to us when we're older. This novella stars quirky Dr. Morayo who is a 74 year old ex-professor of literature who is living life to the fullest, until one day she has an accident.... Great to read about an older character for once and she isn't a stereotypical curmudgeon! Published by Cassava Republic.

Louise Sounds great! Just moved it way up my TBR! 7y
BrownGirlReading @Louise It is and it's under 120 pages. 🙌🏾 7y
Louise Woo-HOO! 🎉🤓 7y
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BrownGirlReading @Louise Happy reading! 7y
Louise Thanks! Always! 🤓📚☕️ 7y
Buddys_Momma I enjoyed this as well---Cassava Republic has some great books out right now! 7y
BrownGirlReading @Buddys_Momma Yes they do. I've read 2 of them and can't wait to get into others. 7y
lauralovesbooks1 Thanks for the callout on this one -- just finished it and absolutely adored it! 6y
10 likes2 stack adds8 comments
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Buddys_Momma
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Pickpick

Such a charming read........I loved all the characters and for a novella they still managed to have a fair amount of depth. The lead character is a sassy 75 year old Nigerian lady living in San Francisco whom I fell in love with immediately! Wonderful book!!💜💜

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amckiereads
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Pickpick

I was so happy to find a copy of this at Housing Works on New York. I loved Manyika's first book so much, and this one was just as fantastic. I'm already looking forward to her next!

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Buddys_Momma
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A few books from my last several hauls are from Cassava Republic Press. Am always happy to discover great reads from smaller publishers, especially ones dedicated to featuring a wide variety of talented and culturally diverse authors. 🇳🇪 🇰🇪

#cassavarepublicpress #diversereads

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bookshopsc
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Pickpick

I‘m a huge fan of anything under 200 pages, & this story of Dr. Morayo Da Silva, Nigerian woman living in San Francisco, fits the bill. Our 75-year-old protagonist is at an age our culture assumes is filled only w/ death & physical decline. While there are elements of both, there is also a luminous & lively center upon which her story pivots; the narrative floats effortlessly between the bustling present & Da Silva‘s nostalgia-worthy past.-Louise

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WOCreads
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Book 3, finally! And I like Morayo already 😁💜

#24in48 #diversebooks #wocreads

Aquedita Keep me posted about this one pls, I adore Cassava. 7y
WOCreads @Aquedita Me too 😊 It's so good, definitely read it!! 7y
17 likes1 stack add2 comments
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HardcoverHearts
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Moving into my 11th hour of @24in48 readathon, and my 4th book- Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream To the Sun. Hat tip to those lovely administrators of the readathon as this wasn't in my original stack, but by doing the #ownvoices challenge, I saw it on my shelf and grabbed it! I'm looking very forward to this book. Especially after hearing her speak on a great panel of African writers at the Bay Area Book Festival!

BooksForEmpathy I have this at home too!! 7y
HardcoverHearts @BooksForEmpathy - I really enjoyed it. Perfect readathon material because it's a thin book, and the content isn't heavy. You can breeze through it. 7y
22 likes2 comments
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Waynegjr
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I might have to try this organizational method

Suet624 I like it. 7y
Karkar That is awesome! 7y
BarbaraTheBibliophage My shelves are too heavily TBR for this to work at my house. Sure is creative, though! 7y
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Waynegjr @BarbaraTheBibliophage that's exactly why I have a separate whole bookcase for TBR. 7y
HippieChickHomeschool That is so cool! I think I'd lose myself in a fantasy land of characters while sitting amongst piles of books though! 7y
minkyb Love this! 7y
45 likes6 comments
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Litlady
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Some #Bookmail love from @GreenAppleBooks and a day off from my bookseller duties = bookish bliss! I've fallen so behind and have missed my Litsy family!❤️📚 Hope to catch up on these lovelies today. Happy Friday beautiful Littens! 🌺💜✌😎

Zelma Very cheerful looking photo! 👍 7y
saresmoore That mug is so pretty! 7y
PrincessLibrarian What a beautiful mug! 7y
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Litlady @Zelma Thank you! @sarasmoore @PrincessLibrarian Thanks .. this is my favorite mug thanks to my stellar #litsysecretsanta from last year @MicheleinPhilly! 😘📚☕️😍 7y
MicheleinPhilly ☺️☺️☺️☺️ 7y
mrozzz 😮 I too own that mug! 7y
34 likes1 stack add6 comments
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NazamSandhu
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Now the books are arranged according to which character I believe ought to be talking to each other.

UrsulaMonarch ❤️ 6y
5 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Moray_Reads
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I've never read anything #authororcharacterwhosharesyourname 😿 The closest is Dr Morayo da Silva and she is amazing so I'm just going to ignore that extra bowl and claim her as my name twin

saresmoore What an interesting sounding book! And I don't think it's a bad thing to have a wonderfully unique name. (That's coming from a Sara, though.) 7y
Moray_Reads @saresmoore After 30 years I'm mostly used to the trials my name brings 😉 I recommend the book, short but lovely. Cassava publish some great stuff 7y
vivastory @Moray_Reads Where did you find those postcards? 7y
Moray_Reads @vivastory They're just images that I found browsing the internet and I had them printed using Snapfish 😊 7y
40 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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LubicaP
Pickpick

This was a very pleasant surprise. The protagonist is a 75-year-old Nigerian woman in San Francisco. Her memories of travelling the world with her diplomat husband alternate with the events in her everyday life. I do not encountered this kind of perspective very often in novels, so this was refreshing. The book exudes warmth and determination to live life to the fullest. We need more books like this!

4 likes3 stack adds
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Rick_Eaglestone
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Enjoyed this & just realised my ARC was signed by the author

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Moray_Reads
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Pickpick

What a gorgeous little book. It captures the nuances of so many things, age, illness, loneliness and race but also love and friendship beautifully.

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Moray_Reads
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Dr Morayo Da Silva is a my spirit animal. #bookorganisation

cathysaid Yes! Spot on! 7y
vivastory ! Brilliant! 7y
9 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Kazen
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Pickpick

When I grow old I would love to be like the main character Morayo - living on her own but not lonely, with a history but not tied too tightly to her past. She always does something daring around her birthday (this year it's getting a tattoo) but a fall and entering assisted living changes things.

It's rare to find a book that combines issues like aging, friendship, and race this well - a (mini) Tales of the City for our times. #goldsmithsprize

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Kazen
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I'm so tempted to do this now! What characters on your shelf should talk together?

I think Mercy Thompson (Moon Called, etc.) and Makina from Signs Preceding the End of the World would get along splendidly.

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Kazen
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Book? ✔
Warm kotatsu? ✔
Cat? ✔✔

Let's do this.

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TNbooklover66
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It's #nationalcoffeeday and everyday is a reading day. My current in process books. Just downloaded Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun on my kindle. What a great title. #goldsmithsprize #readharder

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Kazen
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I'm so excited about the #goldsmithsprize #shortlist , rewarding fiction that "breaks the mold". They all look so good! One in hand, two on hold (↑), one requested, two not out in the US yet (drat). Full shortlist: http://www.gold.ac.uk/goldsmiths-prize/

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Juwi
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Read this book, not just because the characters are amazingly diverse, but also because Sarah Ladipo Manyika is just such a lovely person! This book is so uplifting and refreshing! I hope I am as cool as Dr Morayo when I am 75! 😎