It’s been an important year for the leading names of Chinese literature. But if one trend has made 2013 a milestone in the world of books, says veteran literary critic Meng Fanhua, it is a shift in Chinese literary writing away from the traditional focus on rural life. “The collapse of rural civilization together with the construction of a new one centered on the urban culture is the basic feature of the society today,” Meng says. “The variety of new releases proves the creative power of Chinese writers.” The year has seen a government push to promote reading, political memoirs and a steady growth in e-publishing.

Chinese do love to read and talk about politics, so it’s no surprise to see books produced by former leaders among the year’s top sellers. Several books about the country’s history, published in English by China International Publishing Group, have abandoned the usual grand narrative style. Instead, they review the country’s dramatic transformation in the past decades from the vantage point of ordinary people and their daily lives.

Traditional publishers are now better prepared with strategies to adapt to e-publishing, experts say. They have stopped panicking and learned to apply customized online marketing with Weixin (WeChat) and weibo (micro blogs). Veteran publisher Li Bo, with Changjiang Literature and Art Publishing House, agrees and says his company is already creating multimedia dimensions to add to its publications. Based on interviews with critics, sales data from bookstores – also online ones, and information about book lists from key Chinese media, here we present China Daily’s Top 10 Books of 2013, in alphabetical order.

Fiction top five

1. Blossoms By Jin Yucheng
2. The Chronicles of Zhalie By Yan Lianke
3. The Seventh Day By Yu Hua
4. Tales of the Siskin By Su Tong
5. Tu Ziqiang’s Personal Sad Story By Fang Fang

Nonfiction top five

1. Going Out of Liang Village By Liang Hong
2. Hello, I’m Panda By Tan Kai
3. Our Stories: Pingru and Meitang By Rao Pingru
4. Sex of Chinese People in the 21st Century By Pan Suiming and Huang Yingying
5. Zhu Rongji’s Speeches in ShanghaiBy Zhu Rongji