SALES of the books which were selected as the 2012 “Top 10 Books of the Year” have increased sharply since the list was announced Sunday.

    “The Origins of Political Order” by Francis Fukuyama, which ranked second on the list, has already sold out at the city’s major stores, Tuesday’s Shenzhen Economic Daily reported.

    “A lot of customers have come to buy these books over the past few days. As some of the books are not obvious ‘blockbusters,’ the publishing houses and book shops were not prepared for the sudden upturn in sales. More copies are being printed and will be on the market soon,” said Ni Haijuan, manager of the marketing center at the Shenzhen Publication and Distribution Group.

    Some buyers have turned to the Internet for help. “I have already read three of the books on the list and ordered ‘2666’ and ‘On China.’ After seeing the list Monday, I immediately placed the orders at dangdang.com (one of the country’s largest online bookstores),” said a netizen, identified as “Anhuizuilihuanxiao.”

    Kou Yanding, author of “Operable Democracy,” which ranked ninth on the list, said it was a great honor to win the award. “I am writing the second volume of the book and the award is a great encouragement to me,” he said.

    Two of the books, including “Reflections on ‘The Red Wheel,” which ranked first on the list, and “Operable Democracy,” were published by Beijing Hantang Sunshine Cultural Development Co. and general manger of the company, Shang Hongke, was also selected as the “Outstanding Publisher of the Year.”

    “It is a great honor and a testament to the dedication of all of our staff. We will now try to build on this success,” said Shang.

    Several publishing houses, which had published the award-winning books, also said they would print more copies immediately to meet readers’ increasing demands.

    The list attracted more than 10,000 comments on Sina Weibo in two days, most of which were positive.

    Although some critics called the list elitist, others defended the decision to refrain from being too populist.

    “It is a highly intellectual list. However, this forms a positive contrast with previous years in which too many best sellers made the list,” said Cao Xuan, a playwright.

    Some readers lamented the books that had been left out.

    “Six of the 10 books are translations, this shows the cosmopolitanism of the judges. But I thought some good domestic publications, such as ‘Winter Pasture’ and ‘Lecture Story,’ deserved to be included as they insightfully skewed many of China’s current social issues,” said Deng Kangyan, a cultural expert.

    Others also said that more books about finance and art should have been included. (Wang Yuanyuan)