I know I’ve mentioned this book already, but having just finished it, I highly recommend it (especially if you are at all interested in what our life here in China is like.)  In fact, I wish I could have read this book before we came to China, but it wasn’t published until 2006.  (Although I do think experiencing many of these cultural things firsthand helped me appreciate the book from an "insider’s" perspective.) 

Brief synopsis/review:  The book details an American English teacher’s experiences in a small "river" town on the Yangtze prior to the final construction of the Three Gorges Dam.  His experiences in China are humorous, poignant, tragic, intriguing and bizarre, which is pretty much par for the course for us westerners.  Knowing a little Chinese history over the last century (i.e. what is The Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution, Etc.) helps in understanding some things about the author’s experiences, but he does a pretty good job of giving enough background info so that I think almost anyone could enjoy this book.  Even though we lived in a bigger city (Xining) upon our arrival in China many of our initial experiences resonate with Hessler’s experiences in Sichuan (but obviously not EVERYTHING!) 

Anyway, check the book out if you have the chance…