Reading the stars

In his first book, Chinese author Wang Wei examines how astrology shaped Western culture, Zhao Xu reports.

No author wants readers to toil through an entire book only to find that they've been somehow cheated, believes amateur English linguist Wang Wei.

"But for me, a staunch agnostic who has decided to take on the subject of astrology, this is more or less unavoidable," Wang, 35, says of his first book, Words from Stars.