Microsoft may buy Barnes & Noble's Nook unit for $1 billion

According to internal documents obtained by the website TechCrunch, Microsoft has offered $1 billion for the digital assets of Nook Media, Barnes & Noble's digital book venture.

Candace Bushnell's upcoming novel leaked by hacker Guccifer

Candace Bushnell, author of "Sex and the City," is the latest to fall victim to Guccifer, the hacker who exposed former President George W. Bush's secret life as a painter, New York magazine reported.

Come to papa: Ernest Hemingway's papers return from Cuba

Records from the estate in Cuba where Ernest Hemingway wrote many of his most famous books have been digitized and brought to the United States, the Associated Press reports.

An artisanal Bible: A handwritten copy, four years in the making

A man in upstate New York has just about finished a task that was common enough until the invention of the printing press: Over the past four years, he has copied the King James Bible by hand.

Young Adult imprint? Go on, try one - everybody's doing it

Publisher Algonquin on Wednesday announced Algonquin Young Readers, an imprint to be launched this fall. In so doing, it is climbing on to a very crowded bandwagon.

Vivid portraits in William Stout's 'Legends of the Blues'

William Stout's "Legends of the Blues," picks up where R. Crumb's "Heroes of the Blues" left off, illustrating legendary blues musicians for the new book, coming May 7.

Beastie Boys memoir in the works: No sleep till deadline?

Rumors that the Beastie Boys would soon be penning a memoir were confirmed on Monday by the book's U.K. publisher, Faber & Faber: "Yes, it is true," the imprint's blog said.

The art of becoming Edna O'Brien

In her memoir 'Country Girl,' the writer recounts her difficult beginnings and escape into writing.

Harry Potter to flatten Gibson Amphitheatre, Curious George playland

Universal Studios in Hollywood will raze the 41-year-old Gibson Amphitheatre to make way for its coming Harry Potter attraction, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

George W. Bush Presidential Library opens this week, chads and all

President Obama and all four living ex-presidents will attend the official dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library on Thursday on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

A celebration of all things books at USC

L.A. Times Festival of Books: Joyce Carol Oates, Carol Burnett, Lemony Snicket and Jamaica Kincaid are among the 500 authors appearing at this weekend's festival for readers of all ages.

David Sedaris, my imaginary friend

'Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls' offers fresh tales of the essayist's life and travel travails.

Chris Columbus and Ned Vizzini open up about 'House of Secrets'

Chris Columbus and Ned Vizzini talk about their new book "House of Secrets," an adventure story about three siblings and a magic house that includes giant dragonflies, walking skeletons and pirates.

George Orwell's Indian birthplace dedicated to Gandhi; locals fume

The bungalow where George Orwell was born, in Motihari, Bihar, India, is being turned into a monument, Agence France-Presse reports -- but it's a monument to Mahatma Gandhi, not the British writer.

Keeping up with Kevin Starr

The California historian will receive the Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement at the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes, even as he writes a new volume

How Prince became royal

Touré explores the pop music artist's ascendance to icon status in 'I Would Die 4 U.'

Rachel Kushner lights a fire in 'The Flamethrowers'

A sense of displacement permeates the 'Telex from Cuba' writer's second novel, set amid the social and political unrest of Manhattan and Italy in the 1970s.

The misadventures of Kelly Oxford

'Everything is Perfect When You're a Liar,' Twitter superstar Kelly Oxford humorously recounts the humiliations of growing up in Edmonton, Canada.

The epic life of Símon Bolívar

In a new biography, Marie Arana portrays the South American revolutionary as a courageous and confounding self-creation.

Charlotte Bronte poem: $47,000 an inch

A tiny poem written by a teenage Charlotte Bronte has sold for more than $140,000, the Guardian reports.

Obama advisor David Axelrod to publish Washington memoir

David Axelrod, former senior advisor to President Obama, is joining the list of one-time Obama administration officials who will be penning memoirs next year, Penguin Press has announced.

IMPAC Dublin Award shortlist includes three Americans, Murakami

The IMPAC Dublin Literary Award announced its shortlist for 2013 on Tuesday, with five novels in translation listed along with one British, one Irish and three American novels.

Pablo Neruda's grave is opened in inquiry into the poet's death

The body of Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda is being exhumed from his tomb in Chile on Monday morning in an attempt to discover whether he was poisoned by the regime of General Augusto Pinochet.

'A Map of Tulsa' is rich terrain for Benjamin Lytal

The writer's debut novel is a memorable coming-of-age tale about hometown ambivalence and finding a place in the world.

'The Burgess Boys' lack compelling main characters

Elizabeth Strout's follow-up to the Pulitzer-winning 'Olive Kitteridge' is weakest where that was strong, although her gift for sketching rich profiles economically is evident in peripheral figures.