Book buzz: Publishers merge, spooky Halloween reads

Here's a look at what's buzzing in the book world today:

Penguin Random House: Publishers Penguin and Random House have merged, creating the world's biggest publisher of consumer books at about 26% of the market. Buzz about the prospective merger arose last week, with humorous Twitter hashtags including #randompenguin and #penguinhouse.

New and noteworthy: Here are five hot titles on sale this week, including a new biography of Bruce Springsteen by Peter Ames Carlin, which USA TODAY's Elysa Gardner calls "an astute, engaging account of the singer/songwriter's life and career."

New reviews: Emma Donoghue, who wrote the best-selling novel Room, is back with a collection of short stories about the migrant experience. USA TODAY film critic Claudia Puig gives Astray 4 stars (out of four). And USA TODAY's Carol Memmott reviews a "lovely" debut from B.A. Shapiro, The Art Forger (3 stars).

Halloween: Who knows all things spooky and scary if not Goosebumps author R.L. Stine? Read about a Sunday in the life of the author in The New York Times. For another spooky throwback, listen to three audio books of the kids' horror series Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

William Faulkner vs. Woody Allen: Faulkner Literary Rights has filed a lawsuit over Woody Allen's film Midnight in Paris, saying it was not authorized to use a line from the author's book Requiem for a Nun.