It's getting harder to sit down and read a book in Beijing. Even with the enduring smog outside being the perfect excuse for staying in, shutting the door and doing exactly that, a mere five minutes into chapter one and I'm already fretting over whether the delivery man is trying to reach me by phone.

Everything comes fast at you in China, and the sensory overload leaves no room for continuity. Shop online, and your order arrives the next morning. WeChat — a sort of combined Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp — engulfs the lives around me. Many people my age, including friends with busy careers, are living more of their lives online than offline.