Holding a book is by design (from bookworm trait update).
Walkbys getting stuck is presumably a bug.
The bug report isn't really clear about that, and the OP on the bug report wanders off into random ranting about various other issues. It might be helpful to start a new bug report of your own, where you're clear about the bug being "walkbys getting stuck". You could also mention the books and the Global Superstars in case bookworm trait or fame mechanic is related somehow.
By "staring at your sims" do you mean they stay in one place staring forward, and they just happen to be facing toward your sims? Or if for example your sim walks past the stuck sim, does the stuck sim move or rotate to keep looking at your sim as your sim moves?
