Despite having a rich literary history, Chinese people appear to be picking up fewer books than their counterparts around the world. According to a survey by the state-affiliated Chinese Academy of Press and Publication, Chinese people between the ages of 18 and 70 read eight books on average last year, including paper books and e-books. Though that number was up from 2013, it still lagged behind other countries. French readers, for example, consumed three times more books, while Japanese readers were even more voracious -- finishing on average 40 books per year.
Chinese e-book readers performed slightly better, with more than one-third of Kindle users saying they had read more than 24 book per year. Mobile devices in general are gaining popularity among readers traveling to and from work.
As for the titles most often found on Chinese bookshelves. According to Open Book, a well-known publishing market research company in China, the best seller in 2014 was "I Belong to You" by Zhang Jiajia. The book has been described as the Chinese "Chicken Soup for the Soul", and was first circulated online as a series of "bedtime stories".
In second place is the Chinese translation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's classic, "One Hundred Years of Solitude". First published in 1967, it was one of the few foreign novels in circulation in China at the time and in the two decades that followed.
And "The Kite Runner" also made a huge comeback in 2014 after it was recommended by a popular Chinese actress, despite being released eight years ago.