Liza Achilles - Literary/Autobiographical Author. The Blog for the Discerning Reader.
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Liza Achilles - Literary/Autobiographical Author. The Blog for the Discerning Reader.

Literary / Autobiographical Author

♡ Books to make you laugh, hope & ponder ♡


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Scam alert: I have an evil imposter

My evil imposter is pretending to be me, contacting authors, and asking for money in exchange for promotion at Silent Book Club of Rockville.

This is a scam.

If you are my evil impostor, please cease and desist!

If you have been contacted by my evil impostor, do not give them money!

Silent Book Club and I are aware of this scam that’s been going around recently. Silent Book Club of Rockville does NOT ask authors for money in exchange for book promotion.

For information about what to do if you have been contacted by my evil imposter, visit this official Silent Book Club web page.

I would like to state for the record that I am the real Liza Achilles!

Modern Shakespearean love sonnets

TWO NOVEMBERS by Liza Achilles - front cover - square transparentTwo Novembers: A Memoir of Love ’n’ Sex in Sonnets is available at Bookshop, Beltway Editions, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and wherever books are sold. This candid and humorous book chronicles my love life in Shakespearean sonnets. Learn more.

Events in Washington, DC, & beyond

Liza Achilles performing at a micAttend a workshop on having a successful book launch or memoir writing. Sign up for a class on Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Go to a poetry reading featuring Two Novembers. Get involved in the literary community! View my upcoming events.

Welcome to the Blog for the Discerning Reader

This blog features the best books of modern times. Intellectually great nonfiction. Artistically great fiction and poetry.
What’s new in the literary book world? Find out here, every Monday. Scroll down to read the most recent posts.

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floorplan
Book Previews

All of this is very STRANGE.

November 3, 2025 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
I can’t speak for all of Japanese literature, but modern Japanese literature that’s available in the U.S. in English translation tends to be simplistic in style, but deep in meaning. I adore this technique. There’s no need for fancy words and sentences, as long as you can get your point across with simple words and sentences. This is not to...
quince fruit with dog staring straight forward
Book Previews

Going Back for Seconds: A Series of Novels Worth the Wait

October 27, 2025 by Liza Achilles No Comments
Am I really going to write a preview of every volume of On the Calculation of Volume, by Solvej Balle, which has a total seven volumes? That seems like overkill, does it not? However, if the remaining five books prove to be as intriguing as the first two, maybe I will. In my preview of On the Calculation of Volume...
Author Interviews Susan Coll
Author Interviews

An Adorable Romp, Set in Washington, DC, at a Literary Nonprofit

October 20, 2025 by Liza Achilles No Comments
A comedic novel set in Washington, DC, at a literary nonprofit? I’m in! Today I’m excited to feature The Literati, by Susan Coll. Published in 2025, this novel is an adorable romp in which the protagonist encounters no end of wild and crazy problems and somehow manages to not lose her mind. I met Susan at a book launch event...
Open book with city and emerging from the city are a spaceship, cannon, and house.
Guest Posts

I’m Cuckoo Over Cloud Cuckoo Land

October 13, 2025 by Liza Achilles No Comments
Enjoy the following guest post by Jim Goodell, a former coworker of mine. We both worked as federal contractors. We were both laid off in early 2025, due to DOGE. (If you’d like to write a guest post for this blog, view my guidelines.) ANTHONY DOERR HAS BECOME one of my favorite authors. I love his vivid prose, the development...
cartoon art of the inquisitive one running through trees
Tales

The Inquisitive One Gets Attacked by Lanternflies

October 6, 2025 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
Someone is impersonating me! Scam Alert! Some unethical person has been presenting themselves as me and inviting authors to be featured by Silent Book Club of Rockville in exchange for a fee of $258. This person is not me, but rather, an evil imposter! I am indeed the organizer of Silent Book Club of Rockville, but we do not feature...
woman angry at man in a park.
Book Previews

Gender Wars & Cancel Culture Pros and Cons . . . from the U.K.

September 29, 2025 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
I am so tired of people shouting past each other. Are you? Our American society, especially the online version of it, is exhausting. The other side of the aisle is incomprehensible, so we keep on shouting our platitudes, as is our First Amendment right. Today, let’s delve into one specific issue we keep yelling about: cancel culture pros and cons,...
money flying away and pumpkin
News & Events

Haunted by Fall Events and Visions of Flying-Away Dollar Bills

September 22, 2025 by Liza Achilles No Comments
October is approaching, and I’m positively haunted by fall events. I’m also haunted by visions of flying-away dollar bills. In this blog post, I’ll be sharing these hauntings with you. Spooky season is rapidly approaching, and I hope you will help me celebrate! But first, we need to talk about those spooky vanishing wads of cash. Fearsome Flying-Away Money Hey...
book and clock
Incidental Musings

How to Read More Books, Get More Reading Done & Be Productive

September 15, 2025 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
Hello, blog readers! Would you like to learn how to read more books; how to get more reading done in general; and how to be productive and not waste your life away through purposeless scrolling? I would, too! I was a bit flummoxed about what to write about in this week’s blog post. The books I’ve finished reading lately aren’t...
Chekhov statue in Taganrog, Russia.
Book Previews

Secrets of the Short Story for Readers and Writers

September 8, 2025 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
I was sitting outdoors at a cafe (reading) when a young woman approached me and said (beaming) “That’s a great book!” Folks, this is a rare thing. I get complimented on my choice of attire or accessories significantly more often than I get complimented on my choice of book. However, it must be said that this was not just any...
the hague netherlands
Book Previews

For Those Who Want More Normalcy, Less Avant-Garde, in a Novel

September 1, 2025 by Liza Achilles No Comments
In July I wrote about what I thought was the best book of 2025 so far: Audition, by Katie Kitamura. I adored that book and still do. It’s mind-bending and touching. It’s dramatic in an understated way. But I received some pushback from a friend, one of the most avid readers I know, who didn’t think the book was all...
cartoon art of the inquisitive one running through trees
Tales

The Inquisitive One Proves a Point

August 25, 2025 by Liza Achilles No Comments
The inquisitive one ran to DC, choosing a neighborhood to hang out in at random. Excited to get in on the social media craze, the i.o. came to a walk, whipped out the phone, and started shooting a video. “I’m here in Washington, DC!” the inquisitive one said to the phone’s camera, while navigating the uneven sidewalk next to some...
groundhog in flowers looking at calendar of November 18.
Book Previews

A Groundhog Day Time Loop: Trapped in the 18th of November

August 18, 2025 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
Do you know the 1993 film Groundhog Day, in which Bill Murray plays a weatherman caught in a time loop? He keeps waking up on February 2, every morning, until he finally lives the day in such a spectacular manner that he is rewarded (seemingly) by waking up on February 3. Decades later, a Danish author started publishing a book...
traditional lanterns in Japan
Book Previews

A Japanese Novella About Disability, Money, and Sex

August 11, 2025 by Liza Achilles No Comments
The protagonist of the novella has great riches, but limited muscular strength such that she requires machine aids and human aides to live. As a freelance writer, she specializes in describing sex clubs she’s never been to and sexual acts she’s never done. She wants more out of life than what she currently has, but to speak her desires would...
spontaneous combustion of a human
Book Previews

Does Spontaneous Combustion Exist? A Tragedy Turned into Comedy

July 28, 2025 by Liza Achilles No Comments
Does spontaneous combustion exist? Mark Polanzak says it does in his 2016 book Pop! His pop died tragically while playing tennis. Pop! Was it spontaneous combustion? The book opens with the story of how it all went down. Here’s an excerpt from that story: “Mark’s dad tossed the ball up, and when he made contact, there was a dull bang...
piggy bank and coins
Book Previews

Dual-Aspect Monism: Resolving the Mind-Body Problem with a Coin

July 21, 2025 by Liza Achilles 4 Comments
I bought a rare book in an indie bookshop in Georgetown. That’s a misleading statement; I don’t mean an antique. I mean, the subject matter of this book is rare, not because it’s old, but because it’s modern, cutting-edge. It’s a book about consciousness that approaches the subject from neuroscientific and mystical perspectives. That’s rare—most books are about either neuroscience...
cartoon art of the inquisitive one running through trees
Tales

The Inquisitive One Writes an Autobiographical Novel

July 14, 2025 by Liza Achilles No Comments
Upon feeling a jolt of inspiration, the inquisitive one called up Domino’s and ordered, for delivery, 30 large supreme pizzas and 30 2-liters of Coke. Next, the i.o. went on Amazon and ordered 30 gallons of fresh spring water and 30 large buckets. The i.o. selected the option for FASTEST DELIVERY! GUARANTEED WITHIN 90 MINUTES! DELIVERED BY DRONE WITH PERSONAL...
three monkeys in India
Incidental Musings

Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys

November 4, 2020 by Liza Achilles 26 Comments
I recently met a guy who disclosed to me that his personal motto is “Not my circus, not my monkeys.” Despite this expression having been popular for a number of years—it’s all over the Internet—I did not remember hearing it before. But I instantly took to it. What lovely imagery. And what lovely meaning: so metaphorical, yet so obvious. At...
windmills in Consuegra Spain
Book Previews

Don Quixote: What’s the Best Translation?

February 10, 2021 by Liza Achilles 6 Comments
I have read the masterpiece Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes, twice in my life. The two experiences were quite different. This was in large part due to the fact that I read two very different translations of the book. Don Quixote Reading #1: Bargain-Bin Translation The first time, I was in my early 30s. I had picked up the...
sunset over ocean, dark aesthetic.
Book Previews

Everyone’s Asking: Should I Read Huckleberry Finn Before James?

December 16, 2024 by Liza Achilles 10 Comments
A classic has been born. Yeah, I know—you’ve heard that before. It’s on the back cover of practically every book you pick up. But this time, it’s for real. The 2024 novel James, by Percival Everett, isn’t just destined to become a classic of American literature; it already is one. And now everyone’s asking me the same question: Should I...
riding a horse in front of the sun
Book Previews

Three Don Quixote Translations: Spanish to English

February 12, 2021 by Liza Achilles 16 Comments
Let’s take, as a sample, the first sentence of chapter IV of the first part of Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes. This great and classic novel was written and published in the early 1600s in Spanish. Part I was published first. Ten years later, part II was published. The two parts are now together known as Don Quixote and...
woman shocked with hands to head - for blog post on it's all in your head meaning
Incidental Musings

“It’s All in Your Head!” . . . Meaning . . . What?

September 9, 2024 by Liza Achilles 4 Comments
Is there someone in your life you’d like to insult, but can’t decide how? For maximal negative impact—if not maximal logic—I humbly suggest, to all jerks and bullies, “It’s all in your head!” For some reason, unkind people like to throw around “It’s all in your head,” meaning by this, “You’re imagining something with no basis in reality!” Or, more...
small room in winter as woman drinks hot beverage on a bed in a tiny house
Book Previews

The Psychological Effects of Living in a Small Space

February 3, 2021 by Liza Achilles 4 Comments
What’s it like to have your world confined to a small space? I think most of us know, having lived through the past year. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I read the book Solitary, by Albert Woodfox, out of curiosity as to whether there were any lessons to be learned in looking at the pandemic experience through...
sheep
Book Previews

Why Is It Called Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

August 4, 2021 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
This is something of a convoluted story. The famous 1968 science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick has an unusual title. It’s quite long for a book title, and it ends with a question mark. What’s more, there are few clues within the book itself as to why it’s titled as it is. And so, the question of the hour...
deck of cards thrown randomly down
Incidental Musings

You Play Stupid Games, You Win Stupid Prizes

March 16, 2020 by Liza Achilles 8 Comments
Do you remember that card game called War? Was it only Gen X’ers like me who played this game as a kid? Do you older and younger folk also remember draggingly long afternoons when Mom was taking forever to start making dinner, and there was nothing on TV, and you had no one to play with except your staggeringly stupid...
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Hi! I’m Liza

selfie of Liza Achilles literary and autobiographical author writer blogger

About this blog

THE BLOG FOR THE DISCERNING READER: This blog will feed your mind and soul, plus the soles of your feet, if you're ticklish there. Read previews of intellectually and artistically great books, as well as insights on living life well, always with sprinkles of humor.

Categories of posts

  • Author Interviews (6)
  • Book Previews (346)
  • Guest Posts (7)
  • Incidental Musings (158)
  • News & Events (67)
  • Tales (82)

Featured books


candlestick with lit candle on round table with books in living roomNote that the link for the most recently added book(s)Ā will not work until I have published the corresponding blog post.

Just Love Me for Who I Am James Styers
The Glory of Giving Everything Crystal Haryanto
Strange Houses Uketsu
On the Calculation of Volume II Solvej Balle
The Literati Susan Coll
Bring the House Down Charlotte Runcie
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain George Saunders
Intimacies Katie Kitamura
On the Calculation of Volume I Solvej Balle
Hunchback Saou Ichikawa
Pop! Mark Polanzak
Dreaming Reality Steven Jay Lynn & Vladimir Miskovic
Audition Katie Kitamura
Free Amanda Knox
The Pleasure Plan Laura Zam
Shakespeare’s Sisters Ramie Targoff
Unshrunk Laura Delano
The Vegetarian Han Kang
Viable Chloe Yelena Miller
Animal Liberation Now Peter Singer
A Little Life Hanya Yanagihara
Ghost Pains Jessi Jezewska Stevens
Hope for Cynics Jamil Zaki
Midnight in Chernobyl Adam Higginbotham
Cork Dork Bianca Bosker
The Scent of Bright Light Jean K. Dudek
Rejection Tony Tulathimutte
Intermezzo Sally Rooney
Do I Know You? Sadie Dingfelder
James Percival Everett
There Is No Ethan Anna Akbari
The Other Significant Others Rhaina Cohen
Slow Productivity Cal Newport
Blue Ruin Hari Kunzru
Get the Picture Bianca Bosker
Lawn Boy Jonathan Evison
Congratulations, The Best Is Over! R. Eric Thomas
Kairos Jenny Erpenbeck
Exhibit R.O. Kwon
All Fours Miranda July
The Year of Living Constitutionally A.J. Jacobs
Ghosted Jana Eisenstein
Disease Of Kings Anders Carlson-Wee
Why We’re Polarized Ezra Klein
Molly Blake Butler
The Big Bang of Numbers Manil Suri
Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow Steve Almond
Doppelganger Naomi Klein
King Jonathan Eig
The Rachel Incident Caroline O’Donoghue
The End of Loneliness Benedict Wells
Poverty, by America Matthew Desmond
The Trees Percival Everett
The Great Experiment Yascha Mounk
Study for Obedience Sarah Bernstein
Some People Need Killing Patricia Evangelista
The Words That Remain StĆŖnio Gardel
Pageboy Elliot Page
Post-Traumatic Chantal V. Johnson
Stuart: A Life Backwards Alexander Masters
The Girls / The Guest Emma Cline
Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs Kerry Howley
The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Gogol
I’m Glad My Mom Died Jennette McCurdy
Unlearn Your Pain Howard Schubiner with Michael Betzold
The Way Out Alan Gordon with Alon Ziv
The Best Minds Jonathan Rosen
Monsters Claire Dederer
Spare Prince Harry
As I Lay Dying William Faulkner
Rebuilt Michael Chorost
Losing Music John Cotter
Kokoro Natsume Sōseki
Party Going / Living / Loving Henry Green
Chatter Ethan Kross
Tender Is the Night F. Scott Fitzgerald
Stay True Hua Hsu
The Invisible Kingdom Meghan O’Rourke
How to Be Perfect Michael Schur
Orfeo Richard Powers
Unwinding Anxiety Judson Brewer
The Confidence Men Margalit Fox
Liberation Day George Saunders
Pandora’s Jar Natalie Haynes
Night of the Living Rez Morgan Talty
The Journalist and the Murderer Janet Malcolm
Mislaid Nell Zink
Exercised Daniel E. Lieberman
Lapvona Ottessa Moshfegh
Empire of Pain Patrick Radden Keefe
Furious Hours Casey Cep
First Person Singular Haruki Murakami
Klara and the Sun Kazuo Ishiguro
Dead Souls Sam Riviere
The Pale King David Foster Wallace
Lightning Flowers Katherine E. Standefer
Beautiful World, Where Are You / Normal People / Conversations With Friends Sally Rooney
Swan Dive Georgina Pazcoguin
A Passage North Anuk Arudpragasam
Lucky Jim Kingsley Amis
Projections Karl Deisseroth
The Indian Lawyer James Welch
Atomic Habits James Clear
The History of Philosophy A. C. Grayling
Dusk, Night, Dawn Anne Lamott
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick
Nothing to See Here Kevin Wilson
Change Damon Centola
Homeland Elegies Ayad Akhtar
Becoming Attached Robert Karen
Piranesi Susanna Clarke
Don Quixote Miguel de Cervantes
Solitary Albert Woodfox
Girl, Woman, Other Bernardine Evaristo
Enlightenment by Trial and Error Jay Michaelson
Death in Her Hands Ottessa Moshfegh
The Cooking Gene Michael W. Twitty
The First Bad Man Miranda July
Upheaval Jared Diamond
A Journal of the Plague Year Daniel Defoe
Creatures Crissy Van Meter
Indelicacy Amina Cain
Say What You Mean Oren Jay Sofer
Habits of a Happy Brain Loretta Graziano Breuning
Bad Behavior, This Is Pleasure Mary Gaitskill
The Brother Gardeners Andrea Wulf
Severance Ling Ma
How to Be an Antiracist Ibram X. Kendi
The Museum of Modern Love Heather Rose
Why I Write George Orwell
The Woman Destroyed Simone de Beauvoir
Educated Tara Westover
The Gift Hafiz
The Collected Schizophrenias EsmƩ Weijun Wang
Your Duck Is My Duck Deborah Eisenberg
Sapiens Yuval Noah Harari
Milkman Anna Burns
Under the Banner of Heaven Jon Krakauer
Waiting for Bojangles Olivier Bourdeaut
A Mind Unraveled Kurt Eichenwald
EugƩnie Grandet HonorƩ de Balzac
The Body Keeps the Score Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.
The Bookshop Penelope Fitzgerald
Digital Minimalism Cal Newport
The Sisters Brothers Patrick deWitt
Dare to Lead BrenƩ Brown
My Year of Rest and Relaxation Ottessa Moshfegh
Almost Everything Anne Lamott
Born to Run Christopher McDougall, Bruce Springsteen
The Ladies’ Paradise Ɖmile Zola
The World Beyond Your Head Matthew B. Crawford
All the Birds, Singing Evie Wyld
Barracoon Zora Neale Hurston
Dandelion Wine Ray Bradbury
JavaScript & jQuery Jon Duckett
Home Fire Kamila Shamsie
The Weather Detective Peter Wohlleben
Play It As It Lays Joan Didion
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Mark Manson
Convenience Store Woman Sayaka Murata
Perfect Me Heather Widdows
Sorry to Disrupt the Peace Patty Yumi Cottrell
Why Buddhism Is True Robert Wright
What Is Real? Adam Becker
Kudos Rachel Cusk
The Days of Abandonment Elena Ferrante
F*cked Corinne Fisher & Krystyna Hutchinson
Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine Alan Lightman
Wide Sargasso SeaĀ Jean Rhys
Infinite Jest David Foster Wallace
A Room of One’s Own Virginia Woolf

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Best modern books

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20 Best Books in the Last 10 Years

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From the book tour

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Recent comments

  • Liza Achilles on All of this is very STRANGE.
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  • Liza Achilles on The Inquisitive One Gets Attacked by Lanternflies
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  • Liza Achilles on Gender Wars & Cancel Culture Pros and Cons . . . from the U.K.
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Author links

     šŸ›’  Buy my debut book Two Novembers at Politics & Prose, The Ivy Bookshop, Bookshop, Beltway Editions, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble.
     šŸšš  Review Two Novembers on Amazon. This helps more than you know. Thank you.
     šŸ“£  Join my street team to help promote my next book, a literary/autobiographical novel.

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     šŸ“©  Subscribe to The Blog for the Discerning Reader to receive it in your inbox on Mondays.
     šŸŽ  Join Patreon to support the blog and get bonus articles, sneak peeks, and postcards.
     āœļø  I'm always looking for writers who wish to write a guest blog post. Here are my guidelines.
     šŸ‘‹  Did you know you can say hi to the i.o.?

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Reasonable rates from a skilled and friendly pro. Visit my Services page to learn more!
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Best. Modern. Books.

Intellectually great nonfiction. Artistically great fiction and poetry. Get the inside scoop on the best 21st-century books, every Monday!
 
Your free gift: 20 Best Books in the Last 10 Years