On the Books: Bridget Jones shocks; McCandless sister pens memoir

Why is Bridget Jones causing a stir? What new titles will be released next year? Answers to those and more top books headlines below:

Over the weekend, a preview of author Helen Fielding's latest book revealed that — spoilers ahead — the author killed off Mark Darcy for her third installment in the Bridget Jones series. Fans were unsurprisingly (and understandably) shocked. [The Telegraph] (For more, here's a video from this morning's Today show covering the twist and spoiling viewers, even though, as Matt Lauer says, it's "something that happens early in the book.")

In other news from the U.K., British author Charles Moore has been shortlisted for the 2013 Samuel Johnson Prize with his biography of Margaret Thatcher. [The Telegraph]

Virginia Woolf will make a cameo in the fourth series of Downton Abbey. [The Guardian]

Back in the States, Duck Dynasty fans can look forward to the release of three new tie-in books by the family in 2014. [The Charlotte Observer]

The life of Chris McCandless, subject of Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, will be explored in a memoir by his sister Carine titled The Wild Truth, to be published in 2014 by HarperOne. [The New York Times]

In December, Sotheby's will be auctioning off some of Norman Rockwell's paintings from his time as a cover artist for the Saturday Evening Post. The auction is stirring up controversy among art lovers. [The New York Post]

Speaking of art, don't despair over the end of Banned Books Week; instead, check out some "mug shots" of characters from some of the most famous banned works. [Huffington Post]