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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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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...
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,...
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...
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...
doors opening into a restaurant
Book Previews

The Best Novel of 2025 So Far! One of the Best Books of 2025!

July 7, 2025 by Liza Achilles No Comments
I get so excited when I find a perfect novel. Let me tell you, my standards are probably way too high for novels. I let nonfiction authors get away with questionable writing if their book contains great ideas. But in my personal conception—and please do feel free to disagree—a novel should contain great ideas and be artistically crafted. So today...
tunnel in Italy
Book Previews

Was Amanda Knox Wrongfully Convicted? Where Is Amanda Knox Now?

June 30, 2025 by Liza Achilles No Comments
I heard a podcast interview with Amanda Knox; I was impressed. She’s well-spoken and expresses herself in an open and honest manner. I read her recent book; I was even more impressed. She’s a delightful writer and reveals herself to be a wisdom seeker in the face of tragic misfortune. If you’re wondering, who is Amanda Knox?—there’s no need to...
Mary Herbert, née Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke (left) and Aemilia Lanyer, née Aemilia Bassano (right)
Book Previews

What Is the Fourth Wave of Feminism? Why Is Feminism Important?

June 2, 2025 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
Did you know that, according to some folks, we are now experiencing a fourth wave of feminism? It’s impossible to view our own historical time objectively, so future historians may classify our time differently. But from our close-up perspective, it certainly seems as if the feminist events of the past 15 years differ greatly from the feminist events we experienced...
pills in a cup with faint reflection
Book Previews

What Happens When You Stop Taking Psych Meds?

May 19, 2025 by Liza Achilles No Comments
Huge numbers of Americans take psychiatric medications to treat mental health conditions. I’m one of them, and maybe you are, too. One-quarter of all adults experience a diagnosable mental health condition in any given year, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. According to the CDC, in 2020, 16.5 percent of American adults took prescription medication for their mental health within the...
Very large tree with many branches in a forest
Book Previews

The Vegetarian by Han Kang: Analysis of the English Translation

May 5, 2025 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
South Korean author Han Kang won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2024. Since then, her most famous novel, The Vegetarian, has been all over American bookstores. But when I read The Vegetarian, something seemed off. Upon reaching the end of this slim book, I realized that it is indeed a masterpiece. But I wondered how the English translation compares...
four chickens
Book Previews

Should We All Go Vegan? Animal Rights & Human Animals

April 14, 2025 by Liza Achilles 6 Comments
This blog post will annoy all of you. I apologize in advance. Annoyance is the usual response I get when I talk about my food choices. Vegans get annoyed when I admit that, while I often order vegan in restaurants, I’m not a vegan. Non-vegans get annoyed when I attempt to order vegan. Depending on the venue, this tends to...
sad man sitting on couch in dark room
Book Previews

All’s Fair in Love and Abuse

April 7, 2025 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
Hey blog readers, book lovers, and thinkers! Major! Trigger! Warning! Today, I’d like to share with you a very long book that I immersed myself in for three weeks straight. At 720 pages, this was an investment. Was it worth it? I debated myself for a long time about whether I should write about this book on the blog. I...
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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 (8)
  • 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) 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 Stênio 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 Esmé 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
Eugénie Grandet Honoré 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 Brené Brown
My Year of Rest and Relaxation Ottessa Moshfegh
Almost Everything Anne Lamott
Born to Run Christopher McDougall, Bruce Springsteen
The Ladies’ Paradise Émile 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 Sea Jean Rhys
Infinite Jest David Foster Wallace
A Room of One’s Own Virginia Woolf

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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