The future of books is looking very bright this week

Barnes & Noble has joined up with Microsoft (NSQ:MSFT) to form a new $1.7 billion ebook subsidiary aimed at competing with the world’s largest internet retailer: Amazon (NSQ:AMZN). Shares in Barnes & Noble rose by as much as 90% on the announcement while Microsoft shares only ticked up a fraction of a percent. Don’t cry for Microsoft however - its shares are up more than 23% since the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, Amazon saw its shares rise 20% on the basis of its recent quarterly results.