1. It’s official: Penguin and Random House, two of the biggest book publishers in the industry, have confirmed that they’re planning to merge in response to “the challenges arising from the growth of e-books and the rise of Internet retailers like Amazon.” If approved by courts, the deal would give the combined companies a whopping 25-30% share of the entire market, creating “the largest consumer book publisher in the English-language world.” [via New York Times]
2. Here’s the trailer for Quartet, a new film about a home for retired opera singers that stars Maggie Smith and marks Dustin Hoffman’s feature directing debut.
3. “She certainly didn’t break the group up, the group was breaking up. When Yoko came along, part of her attraction was her avant garde side, her view of things, so she showed him another way to be, which was very attractive to him. So it was time for John to leave, he was definitely going to leave one way or another.” – Paul McCartney discusses Yoko Ono with David Frost in a new interview.
4. Lil B’s new Halloween-themed mixtape Halloween H20 — which also celebrates Christmas and New Year’s — is available to download here.
5. And finally, this video of Joss Whedon “endorsing” Mitt Romney as the best candidate to get us back on the path to the zombie apocalypse is pretty amusing.
Bonus Buzz: NYC’s Empty Subway System