{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260529T161654Z","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/1565126165?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"1565126165","authors":["Roland Merullo"],"book_id":"9781565126169","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/breakfast-with-buddha-1565126165","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781565126169.jpg?v=20260529T161654Z%3A2026-05-29T17%3A17%3A38Z","description":"\"Enlightenment meets On the Road in this witty, insightful novel.\" — The Boston Sunday Globe When his sister tricks him into taking her guru on a trip to their childhood home, Otto Ringling, 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.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781565126169","publication_date":"20080826","publisher":"Little, Brown and Company","slug":"breakfast-with-buddha","subtitle":"","title":"Breakfast With Buddha"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"REL007010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Buddhist History","score":0.7654,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"TRV026060","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Pilgrimage & Sacred Travel","score":0.7623,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"REL007020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Buddhist Practice & Ritual","score":0.755,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"REL007010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Buddhist History","score":0.7654,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"TRV026060","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Pilgrimage & Sacred Travel","score":0.7623,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"REL007020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Buddhist Practice & Ritual","score":0.755,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"FIC019000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Literary Fiction","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"FIC025000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Psychological Fiction","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"FIC026000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Faith & Fiction","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Buddhist History","score":0.7654,"slug":"buddhist-history"},{"label":"Pilgrimage & Sacred Travel","score":0.7623,"slug":"pilgrimage-sacred-travel"},{"label":"Buddhist Practice & Ritual","score":0.755,"slug":"buddhist-practice-ritual"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers interested in spiritual journeys and personal transformation","Good for fans of road trip narratives with philosophical undertones"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Noah Rasheta"],"book_id":"9781641520478","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781641520478.jpg?v=20260529T161654Z%3A2026-05-29T17%3A17%3A38Z","score":18.9872,"title":"No-nonsense Buddhism for Beginners","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781641520478"},{"authors":["Robert Wright"],"book_id":"9781439195468","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781439195468.jpg?v=20260529T161654Z%3A2026-05-29T17%3A17%3A38Z","score":18.9769,"title":"Why Buddhism Is True","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781439195468"},{"authors":["Noah Levine"],"book_id":"9780060736644","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780060736644.jpg?v=20260529T161654Z%3A2026-05-29T17%3A17%3A38Z","score":18.976,"title":"Against the Stream","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780060736644"},{"authors":["Roger Allam","His Holiness the Dalai Lama","Shambhala Publications","& 0 more"],"book_id":"9781559394758","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781559394758.jpg?v=20260529T161654Z%3A2026-05-29T17%3A17%3A38Z","score":18.9747,"title":"An Introduction to Buddhism","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781559394758"},{"authors":["Arnie Kozak"],"book_id":"9781440511639","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781440511639.jpg?v=20260529T161654Z%3A2026-05-29T17%3A17%3A38Z","score":18.9741,"title":"The Everything Buddhism Book","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781440511639"},{"authors":["Jonathan Landaw","Stephan Bodian","Gudrun Bühnemann","& 0 more"],"book_id":"9781119643265","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781119643265.jpg?v=20260529T161654Z%3A2026-05-29T17%3A17%3A38Z","score":18.9229,"title":"Buddhism for Dummies","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781119643265"},{"authors":["James Swartz"],"book_id":"9781591810940","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781591810940.jpg?v=20260529T161654Z%3A2026-05-29T17%3A17%3A38Z","score":18.854,"title":"How to Attain Enlightenment","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781591810940"},{"authors":["Joseph Goldstein"],"book_id":"9781622036059","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781622036059.jpg?v=20260529T161654Z%3A2026-05-29T17%3A17%3A38Z","score":18.1045,"title":"Mindfulness","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781622036059"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["phrase_map_match"],"label":"Book Club","score":0.2132,"slug":"book-club"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:spiritual novels"],"label":"Novels","score":0.1688,"slug":"novels"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:spiritual novels"],"label":"Spiritual","score":0.1202,"slug":"spiritual"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:books about god"],"label":"About","score":0.0887,"slug":"about"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:the art of happiness"],"label":"Happiness","score":0.0443,"slug":"happiness"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: spirituality, self-discovery, skepticism to belief.","Pacing: mixed tempo with quieter and high-intensity stretches.","Story elements: road trip, wise mentor, skeptic turned believer."]},"llm_signals":{"confidence":0.9,"pacing":"mixed","reader_fit":["Readers interested in spiritual journeys and personal transformation","Fans of road trip narratives with philosophical undertones"],"themes":["spirituality","self-discovery","skepticism to belief"],"tropes":["road trip","wise mentor","skeptic turned believer"]},"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":true,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":0,"goodreads_ratings_count":19747,"goodreads_reviews_count":2591,"quality_score":0.9668}}