Shiver me timbers

R.L. Stine, author of the beloved "Goosebumps" series of creepy, crawly stories, is heading to "HorrorLand." The ghoulish theme park will be the springboard for 12 new tales, with Scholastic Books planning to release the first two next April.

The "HorrorLand" series will include new characters and revive some "Goosebumps" villains. Each story will stand on its own, but an overarching mystery will be threaded through the dozen books.

Stine's "Goosebumps" series has sold more than 300 million copies since it debuted in 1992. As part of its marketing push, Scholastic plans to reissue the books with new cover illustrations and launch specialized websites to complement each story.

-- Kristina Lindgren

Around the world in 42 days

Feeling hemmed in lately? Maybe you want to pick up a copy of the recently re-released classic by Frenchman Xavier de Maistre, "Journey Round My Room." It tells of the author's imaginary journeys during his house arrest for 42 days as a punishment for dueling while serving as an officer in the Piedmontese army.

Celebrating Studs

Studs Terkel turns 95 today, and to honor him, the New Press has reissued "The Studs Terkel Reader: My American Century" (with a new foreword by Calvin Trillin), featuring selections from the many oral records that he has created during his career. His memoir, "Touch and Go," is scheduled to be published by the press in November.

That's not all, though. The publisher has also set up a Studs link where people can post tributes and read a variety of quirky entries about him and find unexpected features, including his favorite martini recipe or a link to buy red socks online like the ones Terkel wears. The New Press announced in its press materials that a skywriter was chartered to fly over Chicago at 11 a.m. today and write "Happy 95th B-Day Studs Terkel" above the city Terkel has called home since childhood.

No spoilers, please

Scholastic

At the Leaky Cauldron, one of the preeminent Harry Potter websites, you can be assured of one thing about the forthcoming "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows": No leaks about the novel will be tolerated. The website has posted a strident warning that anyone sending on a spoiler could find themselves in legal hot water. So, if a copy of the book miraculously lands in your hands early, the message is clear: Keep it to yourself! That's also the message that J.K. Rowling herself has issued, according to news reports.

— Nick Owchar 5/15/07

Tour Without End

Thriller writer J.A. Jance stopped by Book Review on Monday after delivering the keynote speech for this year's Festival of Women Authors. This sold-out event, hosted by UC Irvine, drew 500 readers to hear Jance, Cristina García, Carolina Aguilera-Garcia and other authors, as well as a panel on Nancy Drew.

Down, but not out

The national slump in retail sales may have slammed bookstores too, but some independent sellers are seeing signs of hope.

"I'm really heartened," said Allison Hill, vice president and general manager of Vroman's Bookstore. "Eric Schlosser was here, and we had hundreds of schoolchildren who were dying to meet him."

Wanted: Extreme bibliophiles with deep pockets

Who says those wacky predictions in high school yearbooks don't amount to much? On the auction block: a copy of Ernest Hemingway's 1917 senior yearbook from Oak Park, Ill., which includes several photographic portraits of the young man, including one graced by the quote, "None are to be found more clever than Ernie."

Extending the shelf-life of forgotten classics

Most publishers look for new talent;, but a few look for neglected ones -- and that author pool is considerable. New York Review Books, for example, has found a thriving niche by reissuing forgotten classics. In Southern California, the same has been done by Green Integer and its publisher, Douglas Messerli. Go to Green Integer's website, and you'll find reissues of books by Arthur Schnitzler, Knut Hamsun, Emile Zola, Yuri Olyesha and Paul Celan as well as more contemporary voices like Paul Vangelisti and Dennis Phillips. After looking at the entire catalog, you'll realize (if you hadn't already) that Penguin Classics may fill up a lot of shelves, but there are plenty of gaps in what it has to offer.

Oprah to the rescue...again

HarperCollins posted a gain in profit in the quarter ending March 30, Publishers Weekly reports, and thanks go once again to Oprah Winfrey.

Keeping up with the headlines

It's been less than four weeks since North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper dropped charges against three members of the Duke Lacrosse team who were accused of raping a black stripper last year.