After decades of urbanization and economic development, a cohort of China's population is seeking rural refuge and personal development instead — moving back to the land to "lie flat."

Murong Xuecun, formerly one of the last dissident writers left in China, is now living in exile. How does a novelist get to the point where he is one step from arrest?

In the first of our monthly book round-ups, we run through five recently published nonfiction titles to make sure are on your shelf.