Barnes Noble Bookstores Inc

Barnes & Noble Inc., looking ahead to the next chapter in digital publishing, took the wraps off an electronic book reader, dubbed "nook." Anyone who has read Dr. Seuss' "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish" will recall Theodor Geisel's Nook who took a look at the book on a hook. For Barnes & Noble's $259 device, the hook is its ability to let users lend their books to their friends for up to 14 days at a time. Using the LendMe feature, nook owners can send a copy of their digital titles to their friends' iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry or computer.

Los Angeles billionaire Ron Burkle and his Yucaipa Cos. private-equity firm reported an 8.3% stake in Barnes & Noble Inc., the world's largest bookseller, and may seek talks with the company. Burkle intends to monitor Barnes & Noble's performance and consider the option to discuss strategic opportunities with the company's board or executives, according to a regulatory filing Friday.

Barnes & Noble Inc., which withdrew from the nascent digital book market in 2006, said Monday that it had reentered the growing field and launched "the world's largest e-bookstore." The New York retailer, which operates 777 stores in the U.S., boasted that its online bookshop has more than 700,000 titles. Included in the tally are about half a million books in the public domain and available as free downloads via a partnership with Google Inc.