Erin Reads

Thoughts on “Lunch with Buddha” by Roland Merullo

Erin — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 12:00:56 +0000

I received a copy of Lunch with Buddha by Roland Merullo from TLC Book Tours for review.

About the Book:

It’s been six years since brothers-in-law Otto Ringling and Volya Rinpoche took their first road trip together in Breakfast with Buddha. Otto has recently lost his wife, Jeannie, to cancer, and his family and his sister’s have met on the west coast in order to scatter Jeannie’s ashes. The painful ceremony concluded, the rest of the family boards a train back to North Dakota, where Rinpoche (a world-renowned spiritual leader) and his wife (Otto’s sister) run a retreat center on the Ringling family’s land. Otto and Rinpoche climb into Uma, a rickety old pickup truck donated to Rinpoche by one of his devotees, to drive the new acquisition the week, give or take, back to North Dakota.

Thus begins the chronicle of a memorable road trip, one that mixes quirky Americana with spiritual teachings, a food-obsessed New York City editor with a Buddhist-like monk, the pleasure of simple things with the bottomless pain of losing a loved one. Through unlikely circumstances and in the moments he least expects it, Otto begins to grapple with what has come to pass…and what is still to come.

My Thoughts:

Lunch with Buddha is the third of Roland Merullo’s novels I’ve read (Breakfast with Buddha and American Savior being the first two), and I found it no less delightful than the others. Though it is the sequel to Breakfast with Buddha, by no means must you read one to appreciate the other.

There is a quality to Merullo’s writing that is subtle yet unique, so that reading the first paragraphs of Lunch with Buddha felt familiar somehow — even though it’s been several years since I read something from Merullo’s pen. His style is, if you can imagine it, a blend of fanciful and practical, imaginative and down to earth, good sturdy storytelling grounded in reality yet laced with the loveliest of metaphors and moments. I had, in fact, forgotten how much I enjoyed his particular blend.

Merullo also has a knack for creating characters. His are never so crazy that you can’t recognize in them some familiar archetype: the doubting, practical protagonist; his woo-woo sister; a pair of mostly good children; an enigmatic monk. Yet never do they feel stale. Merullo manages across the board to breathe fresh life into his cast, to make them unique without rendering them unrecognizable. I find it quite enjoyable to spend time with them.

Because Otto narrates the story, we get to know him best. Born and bred in North Dakota, having spent most of his adult life in New York City, he is a practical man, almost cynical at times — and yet there is a yearning in him to hear what Rinpoche has to say. The book ventures, at times, quite far into the realm of spirituality, yet because Otto is our guide, it doesn’t feel like too much. Maybe it’s because we know the blend of curiosity and skepticism ourselves. Add to this Otto’s efforts to cope with his wife’s recent passing and you have a complex, endearing, very human narrator.

Volya Rinpoche is an excellent complement to Otto. Stout and fearless, enigmatic and jolly, he dispenses maddeningly opaque bits of wisdom in broken English and at seemingly random times. He is a constant source of both frustration and delight, for both Otto and the reader. And the way in which he interprets the spiritual lessons in ordinary events for Otto is superb.

There is very much a spiritual side to Lunch with Buddha. What I appreciate about Merullo’s approach is how seamlessly he integrates his exploration of the less concrete side of existence into the fabric of the narrative. It doesn’t feel like a stretch, like you’re reading two different books whose anecdotes have been interspersed. And there doesn’t seem to be much of an agenda, beyond allowing Otto (and, through him, the reader) to explore the worldview of one Volya Rinpoche. This added layer provides depth to the characters and the story without hampering the tale.

Overall, I found Lunch with Buddha to be an enjoyable, relaxing, enlightening read — gentle, funny, touching, and full of food for thought. I’m happy to have been reminded to check out more by Roland Merullo!

Those are my thoughts. Check out Lunch with Buddha by Roland Merullo on Goodreads or LibraryThing! You can also check out the rest of the tour stops for some other bloggers’ perspectives.

Your Turn!

What novels have you encountered that combine big themes into something really enjoyable to read? If you’ve read others by Merullo, what should I pick up next?

It’s Readathon Day!

Erin — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 12:00:32 +0000

So!

Despite being MIA lately, I realized my very favorite event — the Readathon, of course — was happening this weekend, and I could not bring myself to miss it. So here I am, ready to read!

My goal for the day: get through as many library books and/or short, potentially donate-able books as possible. (I’m working on purging my shelves.)

I’ll be updating here occasionally, adding on to the bottom of this post. It’s good to be back! Happy reading!

UPDATE #1:

5.5 hours in. It’s been a pretty relaxed day so far. Got started on actually reading late, and just took a break for some life-related stuff. So far, I’ve read half of An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (excellent so far!) and listened to a chunk of The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande (fascinating!) while quilting. Grocery shopping and lunch coming up, then perhaps I’ll listen some more while cleaning the apartment. I love audiobooks!

UPDATE #2:

12.5 hours in…aaaaand I might be done. It’s been a really laid back, half Readathon day. I did finish The Checklist Manifesto and took a really good chunk out of An Abundance of Katherines. I also finally started some Robertson Davies, loading The Fifth Business onto my iPod to listen to while I cleaned. The rest of my night will be spent quilting and watching me some football.

I hope everyone’s had a great Readathon so far and gotten lots read! Thanks for the comments!

Thoughts on “Cel & Anna: A 22nd Century Love Story” by Lindsay Edmunds

Erin — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 11:00:26 +0000

Alright, guys. Remember when I said I was taking an indefinite break from reviewing? Well, I just read a book that made me change my mind. I came across Cel & Anna because the author, Lindsay Edmunds, is in my book group. It’s not the sort of book I usually pick up. But man, am I glad I made an exception!

About the Book:

Cel is a computer. A Celebra, to be precise — a worker computer designed to serve a human in his or her home. Cel belongs to Anna Ringer, an UnderWorlder who escaped her humble beginnings through a stroke of luck and some in-demand psychic abilities.

One day, though, Cel does something unexpected and unheard of: he seems to acquire consciousness, confessing all kinds of un-computer-like things — including his love for Anna. In trying to sort out what’s happening, Anna finds herself seeking the help of her neighbor, Taz Night, a shy computer genius with a rare penchant for real food instead of society’s usual Food+ fare.

And the more this unlikely trio explores the situation, the weirder and more dangerous things get.

My Thoughts:

I cannot tell you how delighted I was by this book. It’s sci-fi, of a sort, but not like most of what I’ve read. Edmunds is clearly interested in our relationship with machines and about the direction we are heading together. Through her novel, she explores some really fascinating themes involving technology, human beings, and the natural world. The images she conjures for the reader are all the more impactful because of how deftly she plays with what we expect to see.

The three main characters — Anna, Taz, and Cel — hold the story down just fine by themselves. But Edmunds introduces very real secondary characters as needed, including (but not limited to) a government flunkie, a rural innkeeper, and Anna’s spiritually inclined car. And the book is funny — there were several times when I actually snickered out loud, usually at something Cel said. He is not at all what you might expect from an ascended machine, and yet he is also absolutely perfect.

The Author’s Thoughts

I always enjoy hearing a little bit of background about a novel from the author, so I asked Lindsay Edmunds if she’d like to contribute a few thoughts on Cel & Anna. Here’s what she has to say:

My understanding of high tech is like Marilyn Monroe’s understanding of millionaires in Some Like It Hot: irresistibly attractive but occupying another plane of reality altogether. So how did I come to write a high-tech science fiction novel?

The roots of Cel & Anna reach back into the mid-1990s. I was living in Washington, DC, and already owned my second Mac. Personal computers were about to change the world forever and everyone knew it. Memories of that time informed the plot of Cel & Anna, which features another hinge in history: the ascension of a machine into life.

The oddest moment of inspiration came when I was formatting the paperback version. I had a crystal clear dream that told me to set the text in Caslon. That was odd because I didn’t own the font and didn’t know what it looked like. Still, it was a vivid dream. Furthermore, it was the only one I had. That is why the print edition features this elegant and graceful font.

So yeah! Cel & Anna by Lindsay Edmunds — worth a read, even if it’s a bit of a deviation from your usual reading fare. Check out Cel & Anna on Goodreads (you can read an excerpt there, too). If you’d like to visit the author at her internet home base, head over to Writer’s Rest.

Cel & Anna is available as an ebook on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. It’s also on sale for $2.99 from now until October 8, 2012. Woo hoo!

Your Turn!

What was the last book outside your usual reading comfort zone that absolutely delighted you?

Reading Buddies Wrap-Up: “Possession” by A.S. Byatt

Erin — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 11:00:53 +0000

Well, Reading Buddies, here we are at our last (at least, for now) wrap-up. How did you like Possession by A.S. Byatt? It seemed, to me, an acceptable way to close out the past year and a half of reading together. I wasn’t totally sold on it at the halfway point, but it won me over in the end.

Beware — as always, spoilers are fair game!

I really didn’t know what to expect going in. I bought a used copy at a library sale because Amanda was quite adamant about her love for it. I can’t say I adored it, but I was, overall, rather impressed.

I must admit, the inclusion of all the correspondence and textual evidence annoyed me at times. I felt like the passages were so long and slow to read. But! I grudgingly appreciated that Byatt gave us all the pieces. She did not, as most writers do, include only a key phrase or two. She constructed an entire body of text on which to base her story, and she revealed that corpus to us pretty completely. So, though I found it slow to read through, I would not have wished it away. I think it’s one of the things that makes Possession stand out.

I was a bit disappointed to realize I was able to guess most of the plot twists and mysteries in advance. I can’t usually do that. I do think a lot of the evidence was there, though. I knew Christabel was talking about Blanche, not the child, when Ash disrupted the seance. I knew her child was alive and had a hunch one of the prominent characters would turn out to be a descendant of him/her. That sort of thing. I wonder, though, if part of the characters’ slowness to realize these things was perhaps because of their proximity to the people involved. They were so intimately familiar with their respective poets, so steeped in the accepted “facts,” that they were slower to see the errors and truths than the reader.

I liked how we didn’t hear the end of the contemporary story. What did Roland decide? Did Maud get the papers? Where did the papers end up? What happened to Cropper? I realized, as I finished the book, that it wasn’t about them. We got a touch of closure with Roland and Maud’s relationship, but that was it. And I think that’s fine.

I also very much enjoyed how LaMotte and Ash grew from stiff, lifeless historical figures under careful academic study into intricate human beings, alive and complicated and flawed. What is so cool is that Byatt achieved this effect almost exclusively through the use of letters and poems. The poets themselves — and other characters, like Ellen — are almost never seen first-hand by the reader, and yet they come so gloriously to life.

Which brings me to my central question: Why did Byatt include those few scenes set during the poets’ lifetimes? Why did the reader get this glimpse of truth when the characters themselves did not? I’m not sure I liked those parts. I think I would have preferred to get the story along with the characters, to leave the gaps empty or have them filled in, at least partially, by other textual evidence. Am I the only one who feels that way?

So! Overall, really glad I finally read this one. I hope you are, too. I’ll be honest — it’s made me wonder what other fascinating stories are hidden in correspondence and the like!

If you read along, or if you’ve read Possession in the past, what are your thoughts? I’d love to hear them!

Reading Buddies Discussion: “Possession” by A.S. Byatt

Erin — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 11:00:22 +0000

Hey Reading Buddies! Welcome to the discussion post for Possession by A.S. Byatt.

It’s a bit of a chunkster, and kind of dense at that, so I’m making my way through rather slowly. I’m about 200 pages in, right in the middle of the Ash/LaMotte letters, which I’m finding kind of hard to get through. Perhaps it’s just not the best bedtime book. I’d better get my butt in gear if I’m going to finish in two weeks, though. I’ll never do it at the rate I’m going!

So, I’d heard mixed things about Possession going in. Some bloggers have declared undying love for it, while others were sort of…meh. It’s far too early to form my own opinions on the overall book of course. I’m enjoying it, but I’m not totally hooked.

I quite like Roland. And Maud, and Joan, for that matter. I find all the poetry and such a little hard to get through, except for the few short stories we’ve gotten so far. Those I really like. It’s definitely not light reading though.

I think what’s kept me interested is that I cannot figure out where the story is going. A full-out Roland-and-Val drama? Not yet, at least. A Roland-and-Maud romance? Not so far. The uncovering of a secret set of letters? Well, yes…but that’s happened less than half way through the book. So I am quite curious to know where it is all going, even if the story itself hasn’t completely sucked me in.

That’s about all I feel I can say at this point. More in two weeks!

Your Turn!

If you’re reading along or have read Possession, what are your thoughts?

Reading Buddies Finale: “Possession” by AS Byatt

Erin — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 11:00:58 +0000

Hey Reading Buddies! As you may know, July will be the last month for this program, at least for now. We’ve chosen a great book to finish up with, and I hope you’ll be able to read along!

We’re reading A.S. Byatt’s Possession, which you can find out more about here. It’s a hefty tome, compared to some of our other reads, so to give us a little more time, I’ll be posting the discussion on July 20th and the wrap-up on August 3. I’m about 75 pages in and very much enjoying it so far!

If you’d like me to email you should I bring Reading Buddies back, just let me know in the comments. (If you already expressed interest on a previous post, I’ve already got you on my list!)

I’m looking forward to this one last read with all of you!

Reading Buddies Wrap-Up: “Year of Wonders” by Geraldine Brooks

Erin — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 11:00:25 +0000

Welcome, Reading Buddies! Just a reminder that next month, for our last RB read (at least for now), we’ll be tackling Possession by A.S. Byatt. Hope you can join in for a last hurrah!

As always, spoilers are fair game here. I’ll get into some major ones later on, but I’ll warn again before those pop up.

Okay, so Year of Wonders. This was my first exposure to Geraldine Brooks, aside from the first disc of People of the Book on audio. (I stopped because the narrator didn’t work for me.) I am feeling simultaneously impressed by some things and unimpressed by others.

We’ll start with the impressive. I think Brooks mostly did a nice job developing Anna, the narrator. As I mentioned in my discussion post, I didn’t 100% buy Anna’s narrative voice, and that never changed. But I thought she had decent depth as a character. I also really liked how Brooks took an actual historical village that did what Anna’s village did — cut themselves off from the outside world to prevent the Plague from spreading — and wrote a story around it. I usually enjoy when authors root their fiction strongly in historical events. And third, I do think Brooks explored very intriguingly what might happen to an isolated village struck by something like the Plague. She traced the unraveling of almost every facet of life, exploring the medicine and religion of the time along the way.

***Beware: major spoilers ahead!*** Skip the next three paragraphs if you want to avoid them!

I did not, however, feel that any character but Anna was particularly well developed. Most seemed like stock characters with predictable (if any) twists. I knew who the “ghost of Anys” was from the first charm. Elinor, the good and saintly wife, had a sordid past I didn’t find particularly surprising. We knew from the start that she would die before the year was out, but I suspected it would not be from the Plague — that would have been too straightforward. And yeah, Michael took a bit of an odd turn at the end — he was probably the least predictable character for me — but I didn’t believe much of what happened with him after he kissed Anna for the first time. It all just seemed…weird.

So yes, the ending. What? Everything from that kiss scene on just seemed ridiculous to me. After 250 pages of horrible but practical and realistic things happening, Anna sleeps with the husband of her dear recently deceased friend, discovers he’s nuts,delivers a baby for a woman she despises while hiding from said friend’s husband, saves said baby from drowning, offers to run away with said baby forever, avoids a pursuer, sails to a foreign country, and…joins a harem? Of a doctor, who lets her practice medicine? Huh?

You know what it reminded me of? Ann Patchett’s novels. Every one of hers I’ve read except for The Magician’s Apprentice managed to completely sever my connection with the characters in the final pages of the book by turning to some ridiculous stunt ending like Anna’s. I’d rather have seen the rector starting to come around, the people of the village beginning to rebuild their lives, and just left it at that.

Aaaaaand I’m done ranting.

So, I’m glad I finally read Geraldine Brooks. I can’t say I’m itching to pick up another of hers right away, but I’d give her another chance.

How about you? What were your thoughts on Year of Wonders? Did the ending bother you as much as it bugged me?

Reading Buddies Discussion: “Year of Wonders” by Geraldine Brooks

Erin — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 11:00:35 +0000

Welcome, Reading Buddies! (If you missed my announcement last week, be sure to check it out.)

Year of Wonders is the first novel by Geraldine Brooks I’ve actually stuck with. I tried People of the Book a couple of years ago and just couldn’t get into it. I’m happy to report Year of Wonders is going better.

I’m about a third of the way through — just over 100 pages in. I think what I like best is how the novel focuses on a single ordinary character’s experience of the Plague. There’s no concrete king in this novel, no castle or nobility or monastery or any of the other mainstays you tend to find in a novel set during a similar time. That different perspective makes the book stand out to me. I’m interested to read more.

At first I did have some trouble adjusting to Anna’s voice. She seemed far too articulate to be a poor servant girl. A little of her educational background — spotty though it was — has been filled in at this point, and I’ve grown accustomed to Anna’s narrative voice, but I’m still not sure I believe it 100%. We’ll see how I feel in another 200 pages!

Besides those two points, I don’t have much to say about Year of Wonders. I”m curious to see where Brooks takes the story, but I’m not terribly attached to it. It’s interesting without being completely absorbing.

If you’re reading along or have read Year of Wonders, what were your initial impressions? Did you believe the main character’s voice? Anything else you’d like to add?

Reading Buddies: July Pick and an Announcement

Erin — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 11:00:53 +0000

Just a reminder that there’s still plenty of time to jump on board for our June read, which is Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. I started it last night, and I’m definitely interested already. It’s my first of Brooks’ books.

July’s book won with a landslide! We’ll be reading Possession by A.S. Byatt. I’ve meat to read this one for a really long time, so I’m glad you guys picked it. Here’s a taste, from the Goodreads description:

“‘Literary critics make natural detectives,’ says Maud Bailey, heroine of a mystery where the clues lurk in university libraries, old letters, and dusty journals. Together with Roland Michell, a fellow academic and accidental sleuth, Maud discovers a love affair between the two Victorian writers the pair has dedicated their lives to studying: Randolph Ash, a literary great long assumed to be a devoted and faithful husband, and Christabel La Motte, a lesser-known ‘fairy poetess’ and chaste spinster. At first, Roland and Maud’s discovery threatens only to alter the direction of their research, but as they unearth the truth about the long-forgotten romance, their involvement becomes increasingly urgent and personal. Desperately concealing their purpose from competing researchers, they embark on a journey that pulls each of them from solitude and loneliness, challenges the most basic assumptions they hold about themselves, and uncovers their unique entitlement to the secret of Ash and La Motte’s passion.

“Winner of the 1990 Booker Prize–the U.K.’s highest literary award–Possession is a gripping and compulsively readable novel. A.S. Byatt exquisitely renders a setting rich in detail and texture. Her lush imagery weaves together the dual worlds that appear throughout the novel–the worlds of the mind and the senses, of male and female, of darkness and light, of truth and imagination–into an enchanted and unforgettable tale of love and intrigue.”

Because it’s longer, and because there’s that holiday weekend in there, I’ll be posting about Possession on July 20 and August 3. That gives us an extra week, which I know I’ll probably need!

The Aforementioned Announcement

So. As I wrote about recently, I’ve kind of been exploring new directions. I launched a new, differently focused site and stopped writing “book thoughts” altogether. It’s been just Reading Buddies posts, and it will continue to be that way. (For the full story, check out the post I originally wrote explaining this shift in focus.)

After much thought and agonizing, I’ve decided that July will be the last Reading Buddies read, at least for the time being. Erin Reads will stay up, though I’m giving myself permission to step back for as long as I need to and won’t be posting much, if anything. I need the space, or I fear I’ll burn out and never, ever want to come back.

The June and July reads will happen as planned. If you’d like to be notified if/when Reading Buddies is up and running again, leave me a note in the comments and I’ll add you to a list that will ONLY be used for that purpose.

I love the book blogging community and have enjoyed being part of it so very much. I’ll still be around…just not actively posting for the moment. Thanks to all of you who have made Erin Reads the fun, thriving little community I never imagined it could become.

Happy reading, all!

Reading Buddies Wrap-Up: “Moments of Being” by Virginia Woolf

Erin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:00:58 +0000

Okay guys. I totally failed this month. After giving myself permission to skip around in Moments of Being a couple of weeks ago, I proceeded to get distracted. I had a crazy last week at my job. I’ve spent lots of time helping with a wedding I’m in later this month. But really, the blame lies here:

Yes, that is Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore: sequel to Graceling and companion to Fire, my very favoritest books of all time. Yes, I know it came out a month ago, but a mix-up with a preorder got the book into my hands only recently. I’ve been waiting for it for years. I simply could not resist.

(If, by the way, you haven’t read this series yet, please stop reading this post, go get a copy of Graceling (might as well pick up the others while you’re out, since you’re going to want to read them ASAP), clear your calendar, and read it cover to cover.

Go ahead. I’ll wait.

Finished? See?? Isn’t it amazing???

Now you know why I neglected poor Virginia Woolf this month.)

Here’s the thing. I really want to read Moments of Being. I ended up skipping “Reminiscences” and starting in on “A Sketch of the Past,” and whereas I struggled with the former, I absolutely adore what I’ve read of the latter. The tone is much more Woolf-esque, more flowing and introspective. It draws me in and dazzles me with its insight and loveliness.

I mean, how can you not be intrigued by a mini memoir whose fourth paragraph begins:

“Here I come to one of the memoir writer’s difficulties — one of the reasons why, though I read so many, so many are failures. They leave out the person to whom things happened. The reason is that it is so difficult to describe any human being. So they say: ‘This is what happened’; but they do not say what the person was like to whom it happened.” (65)

A few pages later, Woolf launches into what I read as a description of mindfulness vs. mindlessness, a topic I’m exploring in my own life and occasionally on my new site. Totally unexpected — so cool to find the topic in such an unexpected place.

So, I know I want to read this book in the near future. But this month, Woolf and I just weren’t meant to be. (Has that ever happened to you?)