This afternoon I made it over to Xujiahui to check out a bookstore that John had recommended to me. Here's what I picked up:

• Foreigners Studying Chinese: Sticking Points Made Clear (外国人学汉语难点释鉴)
• Brushing Up Your Vocabulary For HSK, Vol 1 (HSK单词速记速练，上)
• Brushing Up Your Vocabulary For HSK, Vol 2 (HSK单词速记速练，下)
• A Course of Study for Printed Material, Vol 1 (报刊语言教程，上)
• Shanghai: DaYa China Tourism Illustrated (大雅中国旅行图鉴)

The Printed Materials book looked interesting because I read the paper everyday. The folks, the HSK is the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (汉语水平考试) or Chinese Level Test, a test that is like the TOEFL but for Chinese. Lots of universities and companies ask for HSK scores from applicants. I'm not looking to apply anywhere just yet, or even to take the test at all; for me, the important thing is that I get some independent study material in front of me.