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Ayn Rand's seminal novels Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead, as well as eighteen other Rand works, are being made available as eBooks for the first time, it was announced this week when the titles went on-sale. The publication marks the first time readers will have access to these classic novels in digital formats, and comes as Rand and her work, especially the 1957 novel Atlas Shrugged, are enjoying increased sales. In the first half of 2009, Penguin Group (USA) shipped more than 300,000 copies of Atlas Shrugged-25 percent more than shipped in all of 2008.

Some journalists and television pundits have drawn parallels between the government takeover of industry detailed in Atlas Shrugged and recent federal legislation, leading to robust conversations on Rand and her Objectivist philosophy. This year, several national media outlets-including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, FOX News Channel, and CNN-have highlighted Ayn Rand and noted the surging interest in Atlas Shrugged.

Penguin Group (USA) currently publishes Rand's fiction and nonfiction in a variety of printed formats that includes trade and mass market paperbacks, hardcovers, and box sets. The Ayn Rand eBooks are all available wherever eBooks are sold in many formats, including those compatible with the Sony Reader, Amazon Kindle, and iPhone, among others.

Berkley/ NAL Once Again Dominates the New York Times Bestseller List 

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Berkley/ NAL continues its streak of domination on the New York Times bestseller list, scoring 11 out of 20 titles on the mass market list - 55%! Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell holds the #1 slot for a second week; Mounting Fears by Stuart Woods debuts at #20; Hunting Grounds by Patricia Briggs is #9; Storm of Shadows by Christine Dodd is #10; and Rough Weather by Robert B. Parker is #19. Charlaine Harris continues her sensational run, occupying six slots this week: From Dead to Worse at #6 in its 23rd week; Dead Until Dark at #8 in its 42nd week; Club Dead at #14 in 28th week; Dead to the World at #15 in its 22nd week; Living Dead in Dallas at #16 in its 34th week; and Dead as a Doornail at #18 in its thirteenth week. Berkley/ NAL also holds two hardcover slots: Dark Slayer by Christine Feehan is #5 in its second week, while Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris is #10 in its nineteenth week, for a total of 13 titles on the New York Times list all combined. As reported last week, Berkley/NAL has consistently had seven or more titles on the mass market list for over three months - an impressive achievement.

With the much heralded publication of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol this week, it was discovered that there are quotes from, references to or concepts explored in six titles published by Penguin Group (USA)'s Tarcher imprint throughout the book. The Epigraph that precedes the first page is a quote from Manly P. Hall's The Secret Teachings of All Ages: "To live in the world without becoming aware of the meaning of the world is like wandering about in a great library without touching the books." That book is also quoted and the author credited on page 501: "If the infinite had not desired man to be wise, he would not have bestowed upon him the faculty of knowing."

According to Tarcher Publisher Joel Fotinos, "[The Lost Symbol] discusses many esoteric philosophies and concepts - it essentially could be subtitled: ‘A Tarcher Reader.' The concepts are throughout the book in general and relate specifically to the plot of the book - and nearly all the esoteric concepts are found in The Secret Teachings of All Ages."

Another Tarcher title specifically referenced is The Kybalion. And concepts in The Lost Symbol are well-discussed in further Tarcher books: Manly P. Hall's The Lost Keys of Freemasonry and The Secret Destiny of America, as well as Hermetica: The Lost Wisdom of the Pharoahs by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy and The Kabbalah Handbook by Gabriella Samuel. So if readers of The Lost Symbol want to find the true stories behind the novel, all of these Tarcher titles are must reads.

In celebration of the 60th National Book Awards, a panel of past winners, finalists, and judges have chosen a short list of six of their favorite National Book Award-Winning Fiction books including Penguin's Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon.

You can cast your vote and learn more about Gravity's Rainbow, along with the other nominees, here.

» Laura Dave discusses her second novel, which follows one woman going through a divorce and one who is engaged. She also discusses her writing process.

» Read more about The Divorce Party

Laura Dave, The Divorce Party

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I have a therapist. I have weekly meetings with this therapist and am fortunate that they are covered by my insurance. However, I don't generally have anything to talk about or that I need to talk about for 45 minutes every week. So my therapist and I talk about television - he watches True Blood, Mad Men  and Rachel Maddow, and, if I know you, we probably talk about you and your problems. There was one day, though, that I was actually talking to him about something that bothered me. Really bothered me. It was a betrayal that had to do with my family and the television show The View, and one that I am not likely to forget. I left his office that Wednesday at 1:00 in both a huff and in a serious depression.

His office is on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and I started walking down Central Park West, not sure where I was going, but I had two hours before I had to pick up my kids from school. I mark the buildings on CPW by the celebrities that live there. I walked past Jerry Seinfeld's place, past Marvin Hamlisch's building, past where Madonna used to live, and past where Sting lives now. Before I knew it, before I was even aware where I was going, I had entered the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle, gone down the escalator to Whole Foods and was standing in front of what they call the "Comfort Foods Bar."

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Heather Whaley is our guest blogger during the week of September 21. If you have any questions for Heather Whaley, add a comment to any of her posts. Here is some more information about Eat Your Feelings: Recipes for Self-Loathing:

A riotous and all-wrong collection of real recipes from Heather Whaley- think Amy Sedaris meets a warped Martha Stewart

In this hilarious tongue-in-cheek collection, actress and playwright Heather Whaley reminds us that unlike fair weather friends and reliable sources of income, food will always be there for you- and for each of life's pitfalls she has provided the perfect recipe to cheer you up. Whether you've just been dumped, fired, found naked pictures of yourself online, or are forty-five and living with your parents, Eat Your Feelings will help fill any void.

With a dark comedic edge, this book collects the comfort foods necessary for any emotional rollercoaster: Sky-High Banana Cream Pie Because You're Dating a Married Guy, Lonely Christmas Pudding, Little Sister Earns More Than You Ham-and- Cheese Toastie, and many more. Illustrated with photos that add the perfect punch, this collection confounds life's little dramas with wit and brevity.

About Heather Whaley: