Big in Japan, Ann Rinaldi books, Jane Austen Ruined My Life

It's been a while since I've posted and I have a lot to catch up on, but I will just do the highlights of my reading and watching.

A few months ago I won the contest we had on this blog and so received a copy of the book Big in Japan by Jennifer Griffith.  I read it and loved it!  It was well-written and it had me hooked from page one.  I didn't know much about sumo wrestling before I read this book and I didn't realize how intense their rules and training are and the push to be the best.  It was fascinating. This story is about an obese American boy who goes to Japan with his parents and the Japanese think he's a sumo wrestler (or that he should be if he isn't already). It's the story of this boy as he strives to fit in to the sumo world and keep his honor. I highly recommend this book!

I also have read Or Give Me Death and Wolf by the Ears and A Break with Charity by Ann Rinaldi. Ann Rinaldi is a historical fiction writer for young adults.  My roommate recommended these books to me and I really like them!  Ann Rinaldi does her research for her books and puts as much fact into them as she can and then makes up the rest.  These books are entertaining and a good way to learn about historical events. At the end of each of the books, she tells us which parts of the stories are true. I definitely recommend these books! 

I recently finished Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo and really liked it!  It was funny, cute, and clean.   I liked it and may or may not have spent my Sunday morning before church reading this book ;)

Some other books I read and enjoyed:
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
Burying Our Swords by Kevin Hinckley
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

That is all for my books. 

We have a winner!

Congratulations to annalisa who won a copy of Jennifer Griffith's new novel, Big in Japan! Yippee!

Thank you to everyone who entered the contest. I hope you continue to enjoy reading our blog.

Contest

Our very own Jennifer Griffith has a new novel, Big in Japan, coming out this month. Cool, huh. To celebrate, I'm going to purchase a copy of Jennifer's book for one lucky winner. To choose the winner, I will be drawing names out of a hat, a bowl, or other shallow receptacle. Here are the rules.

1. To get your name in the hat, make a comment on any of the posts. I'm sure this won't happen, but if for some reason I need to delete the comment, it will not count as a contest entry. Every comment you make gets your name in the hat. The more comments you make, the more entries you get.
2. To my contributors, every post you make will be considered an entry.
3. You must be willing to give me your snail mail address, so I can send you the book.
4. The contest goes from now until August 8. I will announce the winner within a couple days of the end of the contest.

Good luck!

Here's the book press release.

Here's the book trailer.