Liza Achilles - Seeking wisdom through books and elsewhere.
  • Home
  • Bio
  • Publications
  • Services
  • Events
  • The I.O.
  • Contact
Home
Bio
Publications
Services
Events
The I.O.
Contact
Liza Achilles - Seeking wisdom through books and elsewhere.

Seeking wisdom through books and elsewhere.

  • Home
  • Bio
  • Publications
  • Services
  • Events
  • The I.O.
  • Contact

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.
  • 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.

    SHOW MORE
    SHOW LESS

    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.

    SHOW MORE
    SHOW LESS
    • Recent posts
    • Popular posts
    Tennis court flooring
    Book Previews

    More Than Tennis

    June 1, 2018 by Liza Achilles No Comments
    So what’s that big book about, anyway? That fat book you’ve been reading for months on end—the one with a blue sky and white cloud on the cover—what’s the deal with that? Is it about the sky? I’ve heard of it, Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace, but before I commit to such an undertaking as to actually attempt to...
    Share:
    Reading time: 1 min
    Dinner table with candle
    Book Previews

    A Prandial Puzzle (A Juicy Jest)

    May 30, 2018 by Liza Achilles No Comments
    Learn a new word, and suddenly you see it everywhere. I ran into more than a few new and strange words in the behemoth I just finished, Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. But the one that most jumped out at me was prandial. Prandial and postprandial: relating to a meal and after a meal. Dated to 1820. Usually used...
    Share:
    Reading time: 1 min
    Bird in the sky
    Incidental Musings

    Thinking of Space

    May 29, 2018 by Liza Achilles No Comments
    It’s not just a room (of one’s own) that is needed. We also need room—that is, we need space. Space to think. Space to grow. Space to be. When the traffic is swerving and backed up and blocking you into a lane that feels too narrow . . . When you’ve been trying to make it to the coast, but...
    Share:
    Reading time: 1 min
    Demolished room with chair and desk
    Book Previews

    Not What She Had in Mind

    May 25, 2018 by Liza Achilles No Comments
    A room of one’s own—this is what every woman writer wants and needs. Notice the many glories of this office environment! Such artistry has gone into the decor! (I do love a room with an open window.) I joke, you protest? Ah, but sometimes the best ideas arise from the worst circumstances; am I wrong? What does your ideal office...
    Share:
    Reading time: 1 min
    Open book
    Book Previews

    The Only Advice Indeed

    May 23, 2018 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
    If a book has a forward, introduction, or preface written by someone other than the author, I read it after finishing the book. I don’t want to tarnish my reading experience by learning anything about the contents beforehand. I like to experience the work unadorned so that I can form my own opinions. Also, I hate spoilers. The preface to...
    Share:
    Reading time: 1 min
    Neat and clean home office
    Book Previews

    A Self of One’s Own

    May 21, 2018 by Liza Achilles No Comments
    Does a woman writer, in modern times, still need a room of her own, plus enough money to provide her with food, housing, and other necessities? It’s been almost 100 years since Virginia Woolf published her classic book about women and fiction, A Room of One’s Own. Having read it last week, I was astonished by how applicable her thoughts...
    Share:
    Reading time: 1 min
    Overlooking scenery with water and mountains from a high point
    Incidental Musings

    View From the Top

    May 14, 2018 by Liza Achilles No Comments
    I made it to the top! Wow! Look at this lovely vista stretched out before me. The water, the trees, the distant towns, the sky . . . every splash of color is comfortable, serene, and in its rightful place. Ah, what a landscape! What a view! Less metaphorically speaking, I just finished a book. I wrote and wrote, until...
    Share:
    Reading time: 1 min
    Overlooking foggy mountain with pine trees
    Incidental Musings

    How’s the Clime Near You?

    April 30, 2018 by Liza Achilles No Comments
    “What’s the clime like where you live?” Has anyone asked you that lately? No? I recently looked up clime in some dictionaries to scout out its deal. Webster’s says clime is the same as climate and dates back to the 14th century . . . a seriously old word. Then I turned to the Online Etymology Dictionary. It notes that...
    Share:
    Reading time: 1 min
    chick with flower
    News & Events

    Baby’s First Blog Post

    April 22, 2018 by Liza Achilles No Comments
    As they say, “Hello, World!” I read somewhere that your first blog post is bound to be flawed, so you might as well get it over with so you can get on to subsequent posts, which will be much stronger and more interesting. But this blog post isn’t so bad, is it? I mean, really, World, this post isn’t making...
    Share:
    Reading time: 1 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...
    Share:
    Reading time: 3 min
    three monkeys in India
    Incidental Musings

    Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys

    November 4, 2020 by Liza Achilles 4 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...
    Share:
    Reading time: 3 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...
    Share:
    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...
    Share:
    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...
    Share:
    Reading time: 7 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...
    Share:
    Reading time: 6 min
    bicycle on campus of a university
    Incidental Musings

    A “Friendly Debate”

    February 22, 2019 by Liza Achilles 11 Comments
    A few weeks ago, a reader of this blog sent me the following message: Hello Liza, I have a longstanding inner dialogue going on about the usefulness of academic humanities like literature, philosophy, and history. I love the humanities and I think they are and will always be extremely important but there are some people who seem to think they...
    Share:
    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:...
    Share:
    Reading time: 4 min
    Load more posts
    Page 30 of 30« First...1020«27282930

    Search this blog

    Posts by category

    • Book Previews (181)
    • Guest Posts (2)
    • Incidental Musings (82)
    • News & Events (36)
    • Tales (56)

    Books previewed

    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

    SHOW MORE
    SHOW LESS

    Get the newsletter

    art of colorful tree with hearts
     
    This blog is about seeking wisdom through books and elsewhere. Subscribe to engage with some of the greatest books and ideas of the present and past.
    (I invite you to view the Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.)

    You're almost done! Confirm your subscription by checking your inbox (or spam folder) and clicking the link.

    art of colorful tree with hearts

    Most frequent tags

    anxiety art blogs books bookstores brains children comedy communication concussions coronavirus dating doctors drugs family fear food friends health history Internet love mental health mind money music novels philosophy phones poetry politics psychology publishing reading running science self society the inquisitive one truth wisdom women work writers writing

    Posts by month

    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018

    Common questions

    envelope with mail icon        How do I subscribe to the newsletter?
    comment bubble icon        How do I comment on a blog post?
    hand icon        How do I say hi to the inquisitive one?
    envelope icon        How do I send Liza a private message?

    Please support this blog

    1. Patreon logoGet exclusive intel through Patreon.
    2. Bookshop logoBuy a previewed book on Bookshop.
    3. Buy any book on Bookshop:
    4. This Website Is GreenGet green web hosting.

    Let’s connect on social media

    Facebook iconView my Facebook page. (Like me!)
    Twitter iconView my Twitter page. (Follow me!)
    LinkedIn iconView my LinkedIn page. (Connect with me!)
    YouTube iconView my YouTube channel. (Subscribe!)
    © 2021 Liza Achilles | View the Privacy Policy. | Thanks for visiting my website today!