Game ready. Catherine Sampson — a crime writer who’s lived in China for fifteen years — shares her top ten books on Beijing. The list includes two novels by Chinese authors living and working in California. Number 3 on the list, Please Don’t Call Me Human by Wang Shuo. Number 6 is The Last Empress, a 2008 new release by Anchee Min. See the full list at guardian.co.uk.

Good indies make good neighbors. In Bakersfield, Russo’s Books, the city’s only independent bookstore chain, is closing its downtown store. The landlord, John Sarad, “worries that the loss of ‘quality retailers’ downtown is creating an opening for pawn shops and other businesses he believes will hurt downtown’s image,” reports the Bakersfield Californian, “A lot of effort was put into cleaning up downtown,” he said. “I don’t want it to backslide.” Read more.

Circle the date with a heart: The 2008 Romance Writers of America Conference starts in San Francisco on July 30. Get more information at the conference site or explore some conference author events at BookTour.com.