On the Books: Apple might pay ebook buyers up to $400 million

If Apple is unsuccessful in appealing its loss in last year’s ebook price-fixing case, it will have to pay consumers $400 million. In a previous suit, Apple was convicted of colluding with other publishers to fix the price of ebooks. Apple agreed to the settlement even though it plan to go through with its appeal. If the appeal is successful, the company will pay nothing; if it isn’t, well, a lot of iBooks users are going to be really happy. “The outcome would represent a consumer recovery of over 200 percent of maximum estimated consumer damages,” according to a court document.

Elmore Leonard’s unpublished short stories will be collected and published in one volume next year. [The Guardian]

The estate of Arthur Conan Doyle plans to appeal the recent ruling that put Sherlock Holmes in the public domain. It has asked the Supreme Court to delay the earlier ruling while it prepares its case. [Publishers Weekly]

The ancient scribblings in the margins of text will soon see the light of day: Archaeologists plan to digitize it as a way of finding out what people from our past thought of the books they read. [The Guardian]

Stephen Burt writes about the works of Ariel Schrag and the growing popularity of trans literature. “Schrag’s novel—and the publicity behind it—represents a giant step forward from the times when trans people were portrayed as objects of pity, or serial killers, or symbols of dreamlike weirdness, when we were portrayed at all,” he says. [The New Yorker]

Bill Hader gets interviewed by The New York Times: “I didn’t really go to college, which is probably why I enjoy reading the classics.” If you haven’t read A Confederacy of Dunces, do it. Don’t take my word for it, take his. [The New York Times]

Speaking of funny books, the staff at Publishers Weekly picked out the funniest books they’ve ever read. [Publishers Weekly]