(Book #1 in the Breakfast with Buddha series Series)
Conditions
A read copy, but remains in excellent condition.
Formats
Conditions
A read copy, but remains in excellent condition.
Otto Ringling is a straightlaced publishing executive with two kids, a lovely wife, a fine home in a fancy New York suburb, and a nagging suspicion that something's missing. How, then, does he end up traveling through Middle America with a berobed Mongolian monk? Ah. The real question to ask is, Why?
When his sister tricks him into taking her guru on a trip to their childhood home, Otto, a confirmed skeptic, is not amused. Six days on the road with an enigmatic holy man who answers every question with a riddle is not what he'd planned. But in an effort to westernize his passenger--and amuse himself--he decides to show the monk some "American fun" along the way. From a chocolate factory in Hershey to a bowling alley in South Bend, from a Cubs game at Wrigley Field to his family farm near Bismarck, Otto is given the remarkable opportunity to see his world--and more important, his life--through someone else's eyes. Gradually, skepticism yields to amazement as he realizes that his companion might just be the real thing.
In Roland Merullo's masterful hands, Otto tells his story with all the wonder, bemusement, and wry humor of a man who unwittingly finds what he's missing in the most unexpected place.
Beautifully written, life lessons throughout and just an overall enjoyable book!
Sometimes you need something to read that just makes you feel good -- this book did this for me. It had all the ingredients of a good read: road trip across America, use of language which caught me writing snippets down because written so well, spiritual odyssey of a modern man, filled with religious/spiritual teachings in a nonthreatening nor intimidating way. Author gives a litany of substantive sources for the thoughts his character espoused within the text which clearly shows the underpinning spiritual message is meatier than one might think. Yes, it is formulaic, but who cares because when reading it you just want to smile!!!!
"Breakfast with Buddha" is an excellent read. The message is beautiful, the delivery smooth, the decriptions priceless, and the editing superb. Creative writing classes should read this exemplary book to study its word choice, sentence structure, and grammatically correct paragraphs. I'm buying ten copies to give as gifts.
What a wonderful way to start the day! This was a quiet thoughtful book. It didn't smack you in the face with life-changing ideas. It seemed to be more of an osmosis-type experience. It was a simple story about a man changing his mind with a little help from his traveling companion. And with that simple premise, the author encompassed so much of the human condition; so much of our commonality, our thoughts, dreams, hopes, questions about life. I closed the book often to contemplate something the holy man had said, to soak it in. I found myself to be so at peace that sometimes I drifted off to sleep with the book in my lap (an attempt at meditation). The messages in this book will stay with me. I plan to do more reading along this line and it is because of this book.
I loved reading Breakfast with Buddha. It was an easy and fun read. The story flowed and the characters were interesting and likeable. I could not put it down and then parts of it continued to come back to me throughout the following days. I reread it and shared it with two friends who also loved it. I recommend this book to anyone even if you don't usually read straight novels. I am a mystery reader myself and I loved it.
I purchased this book after reading a review emailed to me. I am so very happy that I did! Although Buddha is in the title, the book is only obliquely about Buddhism...the secondary character happens to wear a robe and is a guru...this story is about a physical and spiritual journey frought with humor, reflection, good food and pathos. Even casual characters are painted wonderfully by this author, but you are really along to share Otto's journey of self-discovery and I believe every reader will learn much about themselves as they travel through it. I have a long list of friends and family members waiting to read it and look forward to discussions with them about their take on Otto and Rinpoche.
