Liza Achilles - Seeking wisdom through books and elsewhere.

What is this blog about?

This blog is about seeking wisdom through books and elsewhere, while embracing compassion. In other words, it's about sharing exciting ideas that can enhance our lives in unexpected ways.

The blog is located here on the Home page. (Scroll down!) New posts come out on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings (usually). To receive blog posts in your inbox, subscribe to the newsletter.

Here are the categories of posts:

  • BOOK PREVIEWS—I write about wisdom I discovered in books.
  • GUEST POSTS—Guest bloggers write about wisdom they discovered in books.
  • INCIDENTAL MUSINGS—I write about wisdom I discovered elsewhere.
  • NEWS & EVENTS—I share news and events.
  • PHOTOGRAPHY FRIDAY—I feature a beautiful and artistic photo.
  • TALES—The inquisitive one has mythopoetic adventures.

    • A note about the first category: Unlike book reviews, my book previews are not comprehensive. They do not attempt to describe the entire book. Also, my book previews do not contain spoilers. My goal is merely to seek out interesting and unexpected wisdom and share it with the world.

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    What is this website about?

    This website is about me, Liza Achilles, (hi!!) and how I can help you through writing, editing, coaching, events, and general friendly human being stuff.

    If you're curious about who I am and how I got here, check out the BIO page.

    If you're curious about what I've published, what I've not published, and what projects I'm working on now, check out the PUBLICATIONS page.

    If you're seeking professional writing, editing, or coaching assistance, check out the SERVICES page. You can learn about my services and request a free consultation.

    You can learn about past and future poetry readings and other performances and presentations on the EVENTS page.

    If you're mainly here because you want to say hi to the inquisitive one, you can do so on the THE I.O. page.

    But if you want to say hi to me, or leave me a message of any sort, head on over to the CONTACT page.

    And you'll definitely want to subscribe to the newsletter on the SUBSCRIBE page.

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    quaint house with plants, ivy, and chimes
    Incidental Musings

    Love’s Caprice

    September 3, 2018 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
    I read a lovely, quaint poem that I’d like to share with you today. It has something valuable to say about love. It’s short. I’d print it here if it weren’t for copyright law. Instead, I invite you to do a search for the poem Who’s Who by W.H. Auden. Then read the text on whatever site pops up. Now,...
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    Reading time: 1 min
    carousel horse
    News & Events

    Contest Results and Reflections

    August 31, 2018 by Liza Achilles 1 Comment
    The results are in! I put all the contest entries into a hat . . . and pulled out . . . a rabbit! Just kidding—I pulled out the name of one lucky winner. A hearty congratulations to Rachel Delaney, who is now—that is, who will shortly be, as soon as the package arrives through the mail—the proud owner of...
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    Reading time: 1 min
    Yoda dog blanketed in a forest
    Tales

    The Inquisitive One Finishes Working in the Garden

    August 29, 2018 by Liza Achilles No Comments
    It was during one of those summer days when it’s hot before dawn, hot at the breaking of dawn, hot the entire day long, hot at dusk, and hot despite the coming of darkness—that the inquisitive one was working in the garden. The sun was shining, and the inquisitive one was super hot. The inquisitive one’s neck was dripping, and...
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    Reading time: 1 min
    smoke grenade photography
    Book Previews

    The Accidental Firebrand

    August 27, 2018 by Liza Achilles 1 Comment
    Everywhere she goes, strange things happen. When she communicates with people, they respond in unexpected ways. And the world itself is bizarre, presenting her with clues that she must interpret and act on, without any aid but her own pluck and acuity—which always seems to result in havoc. How can she make sense of it all? “Sorry to disrupt the...
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    Reading time: 1 min
    Asian woman sitting on a couch, looking sad or upset
    Book Previews

    Misfit

    August 24, 2018 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
    Have you ever felt out of place in your mom’s and/or dad’s home, whether as a child growing up or as an adult? This is a common feeling—I have certainly felt this way at times—and I would imagine that being adopted could add extra baggage to one’s discomfort. Although the protagonist of Patty Yumi Cottrell’s novel Sorry to Disrupt the...
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    Reading time: 1 min
    Woman sitting on railroad tracks
    Book Previews

    Unreliability

    August 22, 2018 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
    They call her “Sister Reliability,” or so she says; and I suspect that they really do call her that. However, she’s not very reliable—at least not as a narrator. In the novel Sorry to Disrupt the Peace by Patty Yumi Cottrell, the protagonist sets out to solve a mystery. She presents her actions as if they are logical, and yet...
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    Reading time: 1 min
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    News & Events

    CONTEST! Win a Free Book!

    August 20, 2018 by Liza Achilles 17 Comments
    Welcome to the first contest of my blog! Win a free book! The contest ends Wednesday, August 29, so act soon! One of the best books I’ve read this year is The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante. To enter a drawing to win a copy of it, do any of the following things. If you do more than one,...
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    Reading time: 1 min
    Yoda dog blanketed in a forest
    Tales

    The Inquisitive One Comes to Two Forks in the Road

    August 17, 2018 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
    The inquisitive one was on a long nature walk and became very thirsty and hungry. It was then that the inquisitive one came to two forks in the road. To the left, the road widened to a more-traveled, gravelly way that went past some old Victorian houses and out to a street. In the distance, the inquisitive one saw florescent...
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    Reading time: 1 min
    dark forest with path leading to a light clearing
    Book Previews

    Your Feelings Are Gimmicks

    August 15, 2018 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
    When you notice ice cream, why do you want to eat it? When you notice a tarantula, why do you want to get away? When you notice a hottie, why do you want to have sex? Isn’t it interesting that certain aspects of your surroundings incessantly draw your attention, while you have trouble noticing other aspects at all? In his...
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    Reading time: 1 min
    train tracks intersecting
    Incidental Musings

    Intersection

    August 13, 2018 by Liza Achilles No Comments
    The most interesting studies are at the intersection of two or more fields. Where did I hear that maxim? I was thinking I had read it in a certain book more than a decade ago; but scanning through it today, I could not find a reference to the idea. Perhaps it’s in there somewhere. Or perhaps one of my university...
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    Reading time: 1 min
    Woman meditating in Bali under a palm tree - anxiety relief
    Book Previews

    Who Cares About Meditation?

    August 10, 2018 by Liza Achilles 10 Comments
    This is a photo of me meditating. My usual place of meditation is on a prayer mat on a picturesque wooden balcony in Bali. Just kidding. That’s not me—though the photo really is of a woman doing yoga in Bali. In reality, I sometimes meditate in an awkward cross-legged position on my rumpled bed, in the dark in the suburbs...
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    Reading time: 1 min
    sign with arrows labelled Awesome and Less Awesome
    Book Previews

    This Blog Post Reveals the Awesomest Truth!*

    August 8, 2018 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
    I seem to remember reading, years ago, a book in the “for Dummies” series (or was it the “Idiot’s Guide to” series?) that began by informing the reader—me—that I was no dummy. What a relief it was to learn that! I had plucked the book off the shelf because of its witty title. Hey—it was witty the first time I...
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    Reading time: 1 min
    windmills in Consuegra Spain
    Book Previews

    Don Quixote: What’s the Best Translation?

    February 10, 2021 by Liza Achilles 4 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...
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    Reading time: 4 min
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    Incidental Musings

    Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys

    November 4, 2020 by Liza Achilles 8 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...
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    Reading time: 4 min
    Baker Street - London Underground - London Tube
    Incidental Musings

    Mind the Gap: British Slang in an American Mind

    May 22, 2019 by Liza Achilles 6 Comments
    Mind the gap! This I will do. Yes, sir; yes, ma’am! It would be a shame to drop a personal item between the platform and the train—or, God forbid, a body part. I am finding that the gaps here in London are more irregular than in Washington, D.C., and truly do require some minding. Sometimes the train is flush with...
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    Reading time: 4 min
    tall stack of chocolate bars . . . to eat in moderation
    Incidental Musings

    Everything in Moderation, Including Moderation

    April 22, 2019 by Liza Achilles No Comments
    Everything in moderation, including moderation. Heard that before? Now you have, in any case. Feel free to attribute that quote to me. After all, I wrote it. (Look above, if you don’t believe me.) Take it and run with it, Internet! Origin of the Quote Oh, so you require more persuasion before quoting me on that? You wish to know...
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    Reading time: 3 min
    A difficult book to read may be a book worth reading - published in Bologna, 1694
    Incidental Musings

    How to Read a Difficult Book

    April 10, 2019 by Liza Achilles No Comments
    Humor me for a moment, and mentally discard all those books that are, in your opinion, page-turners. Any reads that you find to be quick, easy, fun, fascinating, lovely, exciting, or otherwise engrossing are irrelevant to this discussion. Next, add to that discard pile all those books that lack redeeming qualities, as far as you can tell. You’ve read a...
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    Reading time: 7 min
    Converse Chuck Taylor All Star sneaker shoe
    Book Previews

    The Comfort of Your Clothing

    January 20, 2021 by Liza Achilles No Comments
    I got into a minor Facebook spat with a friend. I had posted an image of Kamala Harris wearing the Converse sneakers she has become famous for wearing. And I wrote that I was excited about this clothing choice by a woman at the top levels of government. My friend objected. She said, why are people commenting on a female...
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    Reading time: 3 min
    purple woman in room
    Incidental Musings

    A Young Woman With Spiky Purple Hair

    December 18, 2019 by Liza Achilles 12 Comments
    One A tall, paunchy man stood next to the wall. No one could see him, except for me. I was afraid of him. I tried to stuff him into a large trunk and close the lid. The lid would not completely close. I was afraid, knowing he would emerge again. Later, I was in a bedroom packed with people. The...
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    Reading time: 6 min
    sending an email for the purpose of business communications can result in if vs whether grammar pitfalls
    Incidental Musings

    If vs Whether: Grammar at Work

    February 20, 2019 by Liza Achilles 6 Comments
    The following is a true story about if vs whether grammar pitfalls that can happen in business communications. The First Email A few weeks ago, one of the leaders of the company I work for sent all employees an email announcing an upcoming company event and listing possible dates on which it might be held. The leader also wrote this:...
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    Reading time: 4 min
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    Books previewed

    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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