Barnes & Noble had its best holiday season in over a decade with store sales up 9.7% over last year, and online sales soaring a whopping 67%.

The country's second-largest book retailer had been counting on a Christmas miracle to rescue it from deep financial doldrums. But the holiday season played Scrooge instead. Now, confronting a liquidity shortfall, a bankruptcy seems more likely than ever.

While it may sound more Scrooge than Santa Claus, Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, has filed a patent for technology that would allow customers to return -- or "convert" -- gifts they don't like, even before they actually arrive.

In these precious few holiday shopping days left, e-readers make for an easy gift for a wide range of family and friends. So, DailyFinance has assembled a guide to the major e-readers and what each one is best suited for as well as what issues you should consider before buying.

As the embattled 39-year-old Australian hacker's lawyers fight his extradition to Sweden, he'll be working on a memoir. The book will be published in the U.S. by Knopf, a division of Random House, and in the U.K. by Canongate. Admirers -- and detractors -- can't wait.

She won three swimming medals when she was only 14, has posed for Playboy and struggled with drugs and eating disorders. Now Beard is telling her story, and the release of her new memoir will hopefully coincide with her bid to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The country's second-largest bookstore widened its third-quarter loss to nearly double that of a year ago. Even worse, the estimated value of its inventory has declined, making it harder for Borders to borrow money. Will the company find a way to transform itself?

Just as rumors of a merger with Borders Books began to fade, the bookseller is once again in the spotlight as a major stakeholder, Aletheia Research and Management, is embroiled in legal troubles and an SEC investigation.

When Barnes & Noble announced it was looking for a buyer, we entertained the fanciful notion that struggling rival Borders might put in a bid. As absurd as the idea was, that buyout offer has been made. Here's why it has virtually no chance of succeeding.

Winfrey has selected two Charles Dickens classics, A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations, which will be reissued together in one 800-page volume with the Oprah's Book Club sticker from Penguin Classics. But readers can get them a lot cheaper, or free, elsewhere.