BOOKS

A rare first edition of John James Audobon's "The Birds of America" with life-size portrayals of more than 400 North American species was sold for $7.9 million at a Christie's auction in New York on Friday. The buyer of the book has not been identified.

Nintendo's game controller has won the 'Guinness Gamer World Record' at Liverpool St. Station, London.

John James Audobon's 'The Birds of America' expected to sell for more than $7 million.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak says that he wishes the iPhone did as much as his Android smartphone, claiming that Google does voice commands better than iOS.

According to the publisher, people read the book and then decide to discard it.

Apple is set to revolutionise the textbook and education industries by announcing new partnerships with publishers at a media event in New York this month, reports claim.

Apple is tipped to be holding a media event in New York at the end of this month, with the emphasis thought to be on publishing rather than the rumoured iPad 3.

The year 2012 marks the bicentenary of Victorian author Charles Dickens known for creating some of the most iconic novels and characters of English literature. Throughout Britain, a host of exhibitions, events and activities are being organised to celebrate the life and work of the famed author.

Apple is believed to be developing a next-generation television set that will be controlled by users' voice and hand movements, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

The tiny unpublished manuscript from Charlotte Brontë's youth has set a new record for a manuscript by the author and for a literary work by any of the Bronte sisters.

The author of Steve Jobs' biography has announced that the book may be added to in the future and that the current edition is "not the final draft".

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has admitted he cried when he discoverd that the late Steve Jobs had tricked him into designing a game for which Jobs received a majority of the profit.

John Kinsella, visionary Australian poet and novelist, nominated for his work "Armour," has joined British poet Alice Oswald in withdrawing from the T.S. Eliot Prize shortlist in protest of its sponsorship by a hedge fund firm.

The winner of the 19th annual Literary Review’s Bad Sex in Fiction Award has taken the dubious honour in good humour.

According to the book, the two-piece swimsuit takes its name from the Pacific atoll in the Marshall Islands which was the site of 23 nuclear weapons tests between 1946 and 1958. The bikini came out a few days after the first test and was said to be "split like the atom”.

American author David Guterson won the 19th Bad Sex in Fiction Award for his novel "Ed King."

Murakami and King are among 12 authors shortlisted for having written the worst sex scene of the year.

J.K. Rowling is one of the top five self-made female billionaires in the world, according to Forbes magazine. The Harry Potter author has fascinated children and young teens with her magic spell-laced writing ever since she started working on the stories of the bespectacled wizard boy.

Chantelle Taylor, a woman medic, killed an enemy fighter in combat in Afghanistan.

The tomb of acclaimed writer Oscar Wilde was unveiled Wednesday to mark the anniversary of his death in 1900. The stonework of the tomb had suffered damage due to well-wishes planting kisses on its surface.

The younger sister of the Duchess of Cambridge was seen smiling and exchanging mischievous grins with a man during the final of the ATP World Tour tennis tournament at the O2 in London.

One of the star-attractions of the auction was an original gouache and watercolour drawing of a battle scene from "The Secret of the Unicorn" which was sold for an astounding €168,900.

Sepp Blatter, the absurd head of FIFA has apologised for making remarks which, as far as one can see, where not in fact racist.

Attractive people get paid better and enjoy more perks than their average-looking colleagues, says new research

A Vatican newspaper has touted Tintin as "a Catholic hero".

As booksellers package an early Tintin adventure book, and seal it with a warning, a Belgian judicial advisor rejects the book as racist

Two language scholars from Uppsala University, along with an American colleague, have deciphered a hand-written manuscript from the 1730s

With Steve Jobs new biography revealing yet more choice-remarks from Apple's now deceased chairman towards Microsoft's founder, Bill Gates has issued his own statement forgiving his long-time rival and friend.

It's official! If there is one 'best' place in the world where you should be in 2012, it is London for all reasons. Influential travel guide publisher Lonely Planet has named London the "best city" in the world to visit in 2012.