In a move that caught the book industry by surprise, Laurence J. Kirshbaum, “the popular head of the Time Warner Book Group, announced Monday that he is stepping down.” The 61-year-old Kirshbaum tells Hillel Italie in an Associated Press wire story that he will become a literary agent, so that he “can work with authors in a more intimate way without all the stresses and strains of administering a large company.” Richard Atkinson, the CFO and vice president of corporate parent Time Inc., said in an e-mail to staffers that the resignation was “entirely Larry’s decision.” Atkinson noted that Time Warner “has had a great run of best sellers, is going to post all time record financials this year . . . So, Larry has chosen the perfect moment to slow down, move onto something less stressful and take the time, as he puts it, to smell the roses.”