Really Random Tuesday #58: Buddha, Books, and a Lonely Linky

Can we be a friendly blogosphere?  

Please help me congratulate Elizabeth from Silver's Reviews.  She's won  Lunch with Buddha by Roland Merullo.  Congratulations, Elizabeth! 

I enjoyed reading about all the road trips in the comment section of the giveaway for this book.  Thank you for sharing your personal stories! 

If you didn't win this time, don't be dejected; perhaps some of the other book giveaways listed on the right side of my blog will tempt you to try your luck again.  You may also be interested in entering the $25,000 Spa Trip Sweepstakes which is part of the 7 Years Younger post. 

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Reading wise, I'm finding it difficult to squeeze in much time for books.  I do try to savor the season, as it's over all too quickly, but I feel as if I'm neglecting my reading life presently.  The holidays are not a vacation time for me--not yet, anyway--and I haven't had enough time for reading.  We're in the middle of all the events and concerts and parties (oh, my!).  Does your reading time also suffer at the end of the year, and how do you cope with this?

 
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Appearing on random Tuesdays, Really Random Tuesday is a way to post odds and ends--announcements, musings, quotes, photos--any blogging and book-related things you can think of.  I often announce my book giveaway winners in these posts.  If you're inspired by this idea, "grab" the button for use on your own blog, and add your link to the Mister Linky.  This a new feature for this meme.  Please feel free to add a few of your RRT links from the past (I did) so that Mister Linky won't remain lonely for too long.  ;)

Lunch with Buddha: Review and Giveaway

By the time On the Road (a novel based on the travels of writer Jack Keroauc and his friends across the United States) was published in 1957, countless Americans have been captivated by road trips.  Road trips provide a vast opportunity for adventure, and seem to be a rite of passage for many people. Over the years, I've taken numerous road trips. When I was first married, my husband and I shared the driving in a long road trip from the Midwest to San Diego, stopping in many different states along the way.  I experienced a real sense of freedom and possibility--along with contemplative moments about my new status--as we drove through the changing landscape and arrived at our new home.

Published in 2012, Lunch with Buddha by Roland Merullo is the sequel to Breakfast with Buddha, and features the same main characters as the first book, Otto Ringling (and his family), and Volya Rinpoche and Cecelia (Otto's sister), who now have a daughter, Shelsa.  Like its prequel, it's a road trip book; this appealed to my bohemian side, which relishes the thought of getting into a car or truck with just a few things and going on a true, unscripted adventure.  In Lunch with Buddha, the road trip is from Seattle, Washington to Dickenson, North Dakota.  Otto and Rinpoche (everyone calls him by his last name) drive through Washington State, across the Idaho Panhandle, across Montana, and into North Dakota, and experience a myriad of fun adventures.

"There were cherries by the pound and salmon jerky for sale in roadside stands, a small white chapel to the left, closed up.  We passed another sign for espresso--they were everywhere in this state; perhaps people slept so deeply in the wonderful air that they needed help waking up--and then Bubba's Road House, wiith a sign that read, EAT BIG FOOD."
~Lunch with Buddha, Roland Merullo

Lunch with Buddha focuses on a spiritual quest or journey as well. Many of their adventures involve water of some sort (Old Faithful, Boiling River), which may symbolize the desire for renewal as well as the need to be fluid and flexible in life, to "go with the flow".  Otto, the protagonist and narrator of this novel,  is presently in need of some answers and comfort in his life, and although he's analytical and skeptical, he senses (and hopes) that his brother-in-law Rinpoche, who's a spiritual guru to many, may possess the wisdom and peace he seeks.  On this road trip, Otto, who's  both a "foodie" and an editor of food books, is searching not only for culinary bliss but also for internal sustenance and meaning, and answers to some of life's most profound and perplexing questions.

I found myself marveling over Roland Merullo's appealing, lucid, insightful, and, yes, "enlightened" writing, which is equally sensitive and humorous.  The idea of the physical, external journey being connected to the inner, spiritual journey is endearingly presented in this novel, with ample humor and grace.  Lunch with Buddha is a delicious and divine novel, and although it stands alone quite well, I cannot wait to also read Breakfast with Buddha.

Would you like to win a copy of Lunch with Buddha?  The publisher, AJAR Contemporaries, is generously offering a copy of Lunch with Buddha to one of my readers (U.S./Canada only).

• To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment.
• For another chance at winning, become a follower of this blog, or let me know that you're already a follower.
• For an additional chance, post about this contest on your blog, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.
• For one more chance, leave a brief comment about a road trip you enjoyed. 

Enter by 5 PM PST on Monday, December 10.  One winner will be selected randomly and announced on Tuesday, December 11.  


Special thanks to Lisa from TLC for sending me this book.  To read more reviews of this novel, please visit the other stops on TLC's book tour for Lunch with Buddha.

Really Random Tuesday #56: An Ugly Word?, a Book Winner, and a Thank You List

Blog is a four-letter word, but is it also an "ugly" word?  The protagonist of the book I'm currently reading, Lunch with Buddha by Roland Merullo, calls it ugly. :(    (I'll admit that there have been times when I wished I could call this a book website instead of a blog for that very reason.)  Aside from feeling a bit insecure about this (ugly itself is an ugly word, isn't it?), I'm enjoying the book a great deal so far; please stay tuned for my upcoming review and giveaway of Lunch with Buddha. 

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Today I have a book winner to announce, as I often do in these Really Random Tuesday posts.  Please help me to congratulate Leslie from Under My Apple Tree, the winner of Lola's Secret by Monica McInerney.  I think Leslie  will enjoy this sequel to The Alphabet Sisters.  If you didn't win this time, please check the other giveaways posted on the right side of my blog, which are often updated.

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Happy Thanksgiving

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I came up with a list of book-related blessings I'm thankful for:

• Google and Blogger, who provide the opportunity to have a book blog that's international
• Amazon.com, who has revolutionized the way we shop for books and much more
• My followers, occasional readers, and "the competition", other book bloggers (many who've become friends)  
• TLC Book Tours, who feeds my addiction to books and provides them for giveaways 
• Packages from Random House, Putnam, and many other publishers
• Authors who share their work with me
• People who leave comments on my posts
• Those who tweet my posts and giveaways, or link to them on their own websites or Facebook 
• Books I've won, including a recent win, a brilliant, new cookbook from the blog of Peppermint Ph.D. (in conjunction with TLC), which I'm super excited about, Jamie Oliver's Great Britain
• My daughter, who helped me set and photograph this table 
• Time to read--whether it's a few minutes, a few hours, or somewhere in-between, reading is a favorite pastime

Can you think of anything to add to this list?

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Appearing on random Tuesdays, Really Random Tuesday is a way to post odds and ends--announcements, musings, quotes, photos--any blogging and book-related things you can think of.  I often announce my book giveaway winners in these posts.  If you're inspired by this idea, feel free to "grab" the button for use on your own blog.  Your comments are welcomed!