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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

The Fear of Deciding For Yourself

March 31, 2023 by Liza Achilles 4 Comments
One of the most pivotal moments in Tender Is the Night, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, comes when the character Nicole realizes that she has been abdicating her power to her husband for their entire marriage, and that she must now take that power back. Despite her history of mental illness, she must overcome her submissiveness and start thinking for herself....
World War One British memorial to the missing of the Somme at Thiepval France
Book Previews

Touring a WWI Battlefield in France

March 29, 2023 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
Some of the characters in Tender Is the Night, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, tour a World War I battlefield in France. A young woman, Rosemary, sheds some tears over the relatively recent war and the loss of life. But then Fitzgerald notes this: “Later she remembered all the hours of the afternoon as happy—one of those uneventful times that seem...
Èze, France and Mediterranean Sea
Book Previews

Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

March 27, 2023 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
What a vivid, unique, and not altogether felicitous book. Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald stopped me dead in my tracks many times . . . often in good ways . . . but also in bad ways. The Good Aspects of Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald As expected for a classic Fitzgerald novel, there...
two men and trees in sunlight
Book Previews

Stay True by Hua Hsu

March 20, 2023 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
“I thought college was where I would find my people, which I assumed meant people who dressed like me, and listened to the same music as me, and wanted to see the same movies as me. Variations on the theme of me. But I realized, maybe too late, that all I wanted was friends to listen to music with.” —Hua...
bed at night
Book Previews

In the Middle of the Night

March 17, 2023 by Liza Achilles No Comments
“In the middle of the night, when I woke in the dark with my heart pounding, what really terrified me was the conviction that my doctors did not believe me, and so I would never have partners in my search for answers—and treatments. How could I get better if no one thought I was sick?” —Meghan O’Rourke, The Invisible Kingdom...
sleeping in bed
Book Previews

The Invisible Kingdom by Meghan O’Rourke

March 15, 2023 by Liza Achilles No Comments
I have been reading a lot of books on health lately. I have noticed that, when looking for a pithy statement from authority, everyone wants to quote Susan Sontag or Virginia Woolf. There’s a new dog in town: Meghan O’Rourke. Her book The Invisible Kingdom, part memoir about her chronic illness and part in-depth examination of chronic illness, is full...
stationary bikes
Book Previews

How to Be Perfect by Michael Schur

March 8, 2023 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
Have you ever tried reading a book of philosophy, written by an actual philosopher? I have, and it’s demoralizing. Here I was, thinking I was a good reader, excellent in fact, but then why can’t I make a single bit of sense out of this text? I am a person who needs a dumbed-down version to understand philosophy. But the...
boulder on hill
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What’s the Point, If You Can’t Do What You Love?

March 6, 2023 by Liza Achilles 4 Comments
As I continue to do battle with my concussion, I occasionally sink into despair. What is the point of living, if you can’t do things you love? I found comfort in a 2022 popular philosophy book, How to Be Perfect, by Michael Schur, who created the TV show The Good Place (and worked on many other shows including The Office...
piano keys
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There Are No Mistakes

February 17, 2023 by Liza Achilles No Comments
The following passage from the novel Orfeo resonated with me, as a fallible human being. Note that it refers to the avant-garde composer John Cage: “Maybe I made a mistake. But Cage says: A ‘mistake’ is beside the point. Once anything happens, it authentically is.” —Richard Powers, Orfeo Of course, this is a reference to John Cage’s contention that any...
cello leaning on a chair in a field
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Orfeo by Richard Powers

February 15, 2023 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
Five stars for virtuosity in this novel about music and science—but mostly music. In Orfeo, Richard Powers uses language to describe music with such dexterity, it is as if you are listening, not reading. This novel is beautiful, and it has an interesting plot as well. But mainly its uncanny beauty strikes me. Also, its uncanny ability to describe undescribables....
tiger
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Anxiety, Fear, Tigers, Streets

February 8, 2023 by Liza Achilles No Comments
But isn’t anxiety helpful, at times? you might ask. Doesn’t anxiety help me stay on top of my to-do list and otherwise manage my life, like a kick in the butt when I’m feeling lazy? Doesn’t it keep me out of trouble by reminding me what I urgently need to take care of? Let’s see what Judson Brewer has to...
calm woman beautiful scenery
Book Previews

Unwinding Anxiety by Judson Brewer

February 6, 2023 by Liza Achilles No Comments
I tend to carry anxiety in my body. This has gotten me into a lot of trouble over the years. I have experienced jaw clenching, stomach and esophagus problems, and severe muscle tension in every conceivable muscle in my body. Some of these issues were mere annoyances, while some were truly debilitating. It’s awful to wake up in the morning...
Ouija board
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The Confidence Men by Margalit Fox

February 1, 2023 by Liza Achilles No Comments
This book needs no introduction other than the first two sentences of its introduction: “This is the true story of the most singular prison break ever recorded—a clandestine wartime operation that involved no tunneling, no weapons, and no violence of any kind. Conceived during World War I, it relied on a scheme so outrageous it should never have worked: Two...
jacaranda trees lining a street - purple flowers
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Liberation Day by George Saunders

January 25, 2023 by Liza Achilles 4 Comments
I had read two of the stories in George Saunders’ new collection, Liberation Day, already. Several of the stories had run in The New Yorker, and I had read them there. At first I was bummed about that. I had this pristine library book before me, and I wanted to enjoy all of it. But some of it I had...
woman hiding her face with hat looking out at water and land
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Pandora’s Jar by Natalie Haynes

January 18, 2023 by Liza Achilles No Comments
Someone asked a dear loved one of mine whether she was woke. She said no. She was not woke. I asked her why she told the person that she was not woke. It was then that she admitted that she did not know what the word meant. She assumed it meant something along the lines of “Millennial youngster who uses...
little toy men
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Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty

January 2, 2023 by Liza Achilles No Comments
I give this story collection the highest number of stars. Each story in Night of the Living Rez, by Morgan Talty, describes a different time in the life of a male resident of an Indian reservation in Maine. Some stories describe scenes from his childhood, while others are about his adulthood. The stories do not appear in chronological order; the...
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Hi! I’m Liza

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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 (7)
  • Book Previews (350)
  • Guest Posts (8)
  • Incidental Musings (158)
  • News & Events (70)
  • 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.

On the Calculation of Volume III Solvej Balle
Joyride Susan Orlean
Vigil George Saunders
When Nothing Feels Real Nathan Dunne
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!
 
Your free gift: 20 Best Books in the Last 10 Years