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Joyce Cheng's diet diary a big hit on opening day of book fair, but serious readers are left hungry for heavier reading

The story of teenager Joyce Cheng Yan-yee's  quest to shed nearly 40kg in one year was a key attraction at yesterday's Hong Kong Book Fair opening.

But other book-lovers weren't as impressed by numerous publications on celebrities' diet and beauty tips and the lives of Canto-pop stars, saying they were disappointed by the lack of serious books on offer.

Cheng, who was dressed in a black tank-top, had heads turning when she and her mother Lydia 'Fei Fei' Shum Tin-ha,  a television showbiz veteran, arrived at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai to meet the press.

Her book, My Diet Diary, which is in Chinese, has pictures of her before and after her weight loss and a daily summary of what she ate for one year.

Cheng, a 17-year-old student  who used to weigh 103kg, also shared  her experiences on clothes shopping  and gave  tips on how to get smoother skin.

Even before her book launch, yesterday, Cheng's transformation has had plenty of  publicity with slimming company Sau San Tong touting her on sponsored television programmes and in local newspapers.

The company helped Cheng shed the kilograms.

'I really want to help other girls and boys like me,' Cheng said.

'If I can help them regain their confidence, then I will be very happy.'

Her mother Shum  said: 'I hope from now on you can have a very normal life and be able to wear whatever you want.'

Cheng's book was one of several diet-related books sold at the fair. Other books that drew crowds were on singers Christopher Wong Hoi-kan and Joey Yung Cho-yee.

The annual event, the city's most popular public fair, drew 3,200 visitors in the first hour, or 6 per cent more than last year, according to the organiser. The fair is expected to attract more than 400,000 book-lovers before it ends on Monday.

The first person in the queue of about 200 people waiting to get in yesterday was Mandy Chiu Siu-lai. She waited more than two hours before the doors opened at 9am.

'I'm here to buy Christopher Wong Hoi-kan's  new book,' she said.

She was one of several people who rushed to the booth selling the Canto-pop singer's book.

Wendy Tam Yuet-ling, a civil servant shopping with her husband and son,  said she was disappointed to see fewer selections of books on  history and philosophy.

'Most of the books here are for leisure and popular interests,' she said. 'I guess there is a commercial reason behind that.'

Commercial Press had a large promotional booth for Belgian comic book character Tintin.  The publisher won publication rights for the  Chinese copies of  the series, which marked its 75th anniversary this year. 'Tintin embodies many good qualities, such as bravery and the eagerness to find the truth,' said Terence Leung Wing-chung,  assistant general manager of Commercial Press.

Xiao Surong,  a mainland publishing house executive who came to Hong Kong for the  fair, said he had expected more people. He was looking for  Bill Clinton's autobiography.



Fei Fei's daughter sheds wisdom on weight loss