BookExpo America (BEA) and Huffington Post Books have launched the “Have Your (Cup)Cake & Read it Too” video series.

Each month, a different book will be profiled and a cupcake recipe (developed specifically as a tribute to that book) will be shared. Huffington Post Books editor Zoë Triska and BookBliss.com blogger Cassandra Lobo star in these videos.

The organizers recently released their second installment with The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. To accompany the book, Lobo created a lemon cupcake topped with champagne frosting, chocolate hazelnut spread, and rainbow star sprinkles. Follow this link to access the recipe. We’ve embedded the full episode above–what do you think?

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Who will win the Oscars for best adapted screenplay and screenplay? Below, we’ve linked to all the nominees in the top writing categories.

On Monday morning, this GalleyCat editor will talk about the screenplay winners along with a team of Oscar experts in a Google+ hangout. Here’s more about the virtual event:

Join KCRW’s ‘The Business’ producer Darby Maloney, TVNewser’s Alex Weprin, FishbowlLA’s Richard Horgan and GoldDerby editor Tom O’Neil for a post-Oscars Google+ hangout. What book adaptations were snubbed? How did TV news cover it? Learn more about the history of the awards show and get the L.A. perspective. All this and more on Monday, Feb. 25 at 11:30 a.m.  And we want to hear from you. With the hashtag #mbhangouts, send us your questions and comments on Twitter, Facebook or Google+

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Steven Spielberg‘s adaptation of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin has lead the Academy Award nominations this year, earning 12 Oscar nominations.

We’ve embedded the trailer above–what did you think of the film? The Theatre Communications Group will be publishing the Lincoln screenplay on January 22nd.

The Best Picture nominees included a host of adapted books. Below, we’ve linked to free samples of books adapted into Best Picture-nominated films.

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In the recent adaptation of Yann Martel‘s Life of Pi, director Ang Lee included what appears to be a sly reference to the iconic cover art for the book.

Reddit user chrs1979 spotted the image in the film, comparing the images in the photo album embedded above–what do you think?

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has since published a movie tie-in version with a completely different cover.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Life of Pi author Yann Martel gave his stamp of approval for Ang Lee‘s 3D film adaptation. He said that Lee’s film is “incredibly faithful to the book” not only in plot, but also in “the idea, the intent.”

Prior to shooting, Martel met with the director to give feedback on the screenplay. After that, the author took a very hands-off approach with film production.

He explained in the interview: “Early on, I made very clear that I was willing to do whatever they wanted me to do and that I was stepping back because I know my limits. I’m a novelist; it’s my business to write words and construct novels, not to make movies — as much as I love movies. I grew up watching movies.”

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The first official trailer has been released for the film adaptation of Yann Martel‘s Life of Pi. We’ve embedded the trailer above–what do you think?

Oscar-winning director Ang Lee cast newcomer Suraj Sharma as Pi Patel. Other cast members include Tobey Maguire as Yann Martel, Irrfan Khan as Older Pi and Ayush Tandon as Younger Pi. The movie will hit theaters on November 21st.

Here’s more from CLICK: “Life of Pi has been in some stage of production since 2003, with several names attached including M. Night Shyamalan, Alfonso Cuaron and Jean-Pierre Jenuet. Lee was the one who finally managed to get it to principal photography, based on a script by Magee who also wrote the rather nice Finding Neverland. As you can probably tell from the presentation above, The Life of Pi was also shot in 3D and the colourful visuals might actually make for a decent extra dimensional experience for a change.” (via Publishers Weekly)

Spider-Man actor Tobey Maguire (pictured, via) has joined the cast in Ang Lee‘s adaptation of Life of Pi. According to Deadline, “Maguire will play a writer who interviews the boy as an adult.”

We wrote earlier that 17-year-old Suraj Sharma will debut in the lead role of Pi Patel. Other cast members include Irrfan Khan and Adil Hussain.

MovieLoverNews.com reports that shooting for Life of Pi will take place in Taiwan and India. Tentative release is set for December 2012.

The producers of Dancing with the Stars haven’t cast season 12 yet, but we hope they consider our petitions for Kathy L. Patrick and Claire Cook. In the meantime, fans can watch Patrick’s new online book club show with Random House.

Random House marketing director Avideh Bashirrad explained in the release: “We’ve seen increased demand for digital content from book clubs, so we developed a program that would offer them more of what they love. Kathy Patrick was our ideal choice for the partnership since she has been an advocate of our books for many years.”

The first two shows aired on January 14th with Karen Abbott‘s American Rose and Paula McLain‘s The Paris Wife. Patrick founded the Pulpwood Queens Book Club, a group with 400 chapters across the country. Other authors who will appear on the new show include: Pat Conroy, Fannie Flagg, Helen Simonson, Deborah Rodriguez, Frank Delaney, Yann Martel, Janelle Brown, Melanie Benjamin, Susan Vreeland, and Lisa See. (Via Shelf Awareness)

EDITOR’S NOTE: We corrected a spelling error in this post.

As households around the country prepare Thanksgiving menus, we’ve started a  #literarythanksgiving hashtag on Twitter to collect book-related dishes.

Post your ideas in the comments or on Twitter. Here are some ideas to get you started:

James & the Giant Peach Cobbler: Roald Dahl‘s protagonist couldn’t legally have a cocktail, but hopefully you can. This peach-flavored whiskey concoction would be perfect for the pre-dinner palette.

Cloudy with a Chance of Turkey Meatballs: You could never have too much turkey on Thanksgiving. If it were up to author Judi Barrett, these Italian-style turkey meatballs would rain down from the sky.

Life of Pumpkin Pi: Dessert is a must and surely Yann Martel would give his approval for this seasonal pastry treat.

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Author Yann Martel has a straightforward method for choosing selections for public readings: “it has to work orally.” In an interview with the National Post, the novelist shared author reading advice.

Martel explained: “In other words, people have to be able to get it hearing it and hearing it only once. Description isn’t usually a good choice. Dialogue or a scene with action works best.”

In 2002, Martel won the Man Booker Prize for Life of Pi. The novel will be adapted into a 3-D film by Oscar-winning director, Ang Lee. Lee has cast 17-year-old Suraj Sharma as lead protagonist, Pi Patel.