The rise of bibliotherapy: The idea that literature can make us emotionally and physically stronger goes back to Plato, but now book groups are proving that Shakespeare can be as beneficial as self-help guides. What is the nature of memory, and can it be captured in literature? Craig Raine considers the most successful attempts at doing so, from Wordsworth's "spots of time" to Proust's tea-soaked madeleines. A review of Against the Machine: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob by Lee Siegel. The great unread: Is your New Year's resolution to read more? You could always bluff it, argues Pierre Bayard (and more and more and more on How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read). More on My Unwritten Books by George Steiner.
