I'm sure we have a lot of freetime to read an entire book in the midst of midterms. So I just thought I'd bring up Arthur Golden's national bestseller: Memoirs of a Geisha.
Reading this gives a first-hand style insight on the life of a peasant girl, apprentice geisha, geisha, and the transition into the United States. There are no words wasted, beautiful descriptions, and a simple innocence in the frankness of the narrator.
The movie is currently in production and directed by Rob Marshall mostly in the Hakone Japanese Gardens in Saratoga, CA. China's jewel, Ziyi Zhang, is the star of this film and I am excited to see her more widely publicized in the United States.
Here's the link for more information if you'd like to learn more about the movie:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0397535/