Best Books ‘So Far’

In the wake of Jonathan Franzen's much discussed New Yorker essay on Edith Wharton, Laura Miller defends readers who look to an author's life to aid their understanding of a given work: " Byron’s clubfoot, Flannery O’Connor’s lupus, Coleridge’s opium addiction and whatever was wrong with Hemingway do interest many readers because these factors shaped the life experiences from which the great work sprang."  

Jonah Lehrer has resigned from his staff position at the New Yorker, after Tablet Magazine revealed he had fabricated quotes--from Bob Dylan, no less!--in his bestseller Imagine: How Creativity Works, which since has been pulled from the market. Michael C. Moynihan, the journalist who discovered the deception, was interviewed by the Observer, saying he felt "horrible" watching vitriolic reactions pour in. Previously the book saw critique for its loose science in both The New Republic and The Millions.

Still mourning the end of 2012 Election jokes? The Poetry Foundation is here to help with “Binders Full of Poems by Women.”