After the Olympics? Pick Up a Good Book

If the Olympics have piqued your interest in Chinese culture, trade in your TV remote -- or your mouse -- for a good book. You might start by checking out Wolf Totem, by Jiang Rong (pictured here) which got the gold at last year's Man Asian award ceremony. Or check out the entire shortlist from last year; many of the books received contracts as a result of their nomination.

For a different focus, Pen USA offers a list of writers imprisoned in China, with samples of their work.