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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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 on (some) Mondays. Scroll down to read the most recent posts.

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Book Previews

The Way Things Are

January 15, 2024 by Liza Achilles No Comments
From Brazil comes a slim novel told in a unique writing style. The style evokes a dreamlike, wistful state. As if it were possible to distill life’s complexities into the simplicity of the way things are, when you are who you are. As, of course, it is. The protagonist, Raimundo, is forced to escape from his home in rural Brazil....
Elliot Page at the Library of Congress National Book Festival
Book Previews

Elliot Page’s Story

January 8, 2024 by Liza Achilles No Comments
You know me—I’m not a big movie or TV watcher, since I always have my nose in a book. I’ve only seen a few minutes of the hit 2007 film Juno. I haven’t seen anything else Elliot Page has done, either. So I didn’t come to the 2023 memoir Pageboy as a fan of his acting performances, but as someone...
planner with pencil and phone and glass of water in bright home office
Incidental Musings

2024 Resolutions

January 1, 2024 by Liza Achilles No Comments
I had an epiphany a few weeks ago. It was one of those epiphanies rooted in ugliness and despair. I had made some bad decisions and landed myself in misery for several days. From this came the understanding that I can prevent a similar situation in the future by implementing better rules for myself and boundaries with others. I started...
rooster chicken walking on city street by blue wall
Incidental Musings

2023 Resolutions

December 29, 2023 by Liza Achilles No Comments
One year ago, I wrote down six resolutions at the front of my planner. This morning, I checked my planner again—yep, six resolutions in my handwriting. When I wrote them, I knew that some of them, or even most of them, were a stretch. I understood that I might need several years to achieve them all. I figured, it’s perfectly...
old books and old light
Incidental Musings

Most Memorable Books of 2023

December 27, 2023 by Liza Achilles No Comments
2023 was a standout reading year for me. I almost made it to my annual goal of reading 50 books per year. For me, anything in the 40s counts as great. This year, I’m on track to make it to 48. So many of the books I read this year were fabulous. Instead of making a “best of” list that...
snowman mug next to laptop showing lights on Christmas tree
Incidental Musings

5th Annual Christmas Rant!!!!

December 22, 2023 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
Every year since 2019, I have posted a Christmas rant. The rants of Christmas past have been fun and, if I do say so myself, delightfully ironic, considering the charitable feelings the season is supposed to generate. But this year feels different. There’s been so much ranting lately. #amiwrong? Everyone, along with everyone’s goldfish, seems to have a rabid opinion...
Book Previews

An Unreliable Narrator on a Date

December 20, 2023 by Liza Achilles No Comments
If you’ve ever noticed your stream-of-consciousness thoughts, either through meditation or through being alive and observing what you’re thinking, you’ve probably noticed that you often sound a little crazy inside your head. Thoughts come so quickly, and so unbidden. A transcription of them would reveal a fount of irrationality, emotionality, and impulsivity. Fortunately, we have the ability to edit much...
man lying on park bench maybe sleeping
Book Previews

A Life Story Written Backwards

December 11, 2023 by Liza Achilles No Comments
I was drawn to it because I’d heard it was a biography . . . told in reverse. A life story written backwards. How can you tell the story of a person’s life backwards? Isn’t a life story, by definition, a moving forward through time? And even if you do succeed in writing a backwards life story, won’t that just...
girl holding flowers on lap outside
Book Previews

To Be a Girl

November 29, 2023 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
Which is better, Emma Cline’s The Guest (her 2023 novel, which I previewed two days ago in the post How to Make Yourself Unwelcome) or The Girls (her debut novel, published in 2016 to critical acclaim)? If I were to recommend just one of these, which would I choose? Though I love to make judgments like this, I cannot decide...
woman lying on poolside
Book Previews

How to Make Yourself Unwelcome

November 27, 2023 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
Alex’s job is to make herself welcome in other people’s lives and spaces. As an attractive 22-year-old, she can get away with this. Or rather, she can get away with it sometimes. At other times, her personality intervenes—almost without her knowledge or consent—and she inadvertently makes herself unwelcome. Which is a problem when making yourself welcome is your profession. I...
cartoon art of the inquisitive one running through trees
Tales

The Inquisitive One Loses Something

November 20, 2023 by Liza Achilles No Comments
The inquisitive one woke up in the morning and went “brr . . .” with the lips, something the i.o. had never done before. The inquisitive one rubbed the eyes. But to the inquisitive one’s amazement, there were no eyes! There was only smooth skin where the eyes used to be! “Wise Ant!” cried the inquisitive one. “Bring me the...
electrical substation
Incidental Musings

Is Reading Books Dangerous?

November 15, 2023 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
I often rhapsodize about the virtues of book reading on this blog. Books are the best! But are there downsides to book reading? Can books be dangerous? A recent article in Harper’s magazine enthralled and sickened me. “The Machine Breaker,” by Christopher Ketcham, describes Ketcham’s conversations with an “ecoterrorist” named Stephen McRae. McRae shot up electrical substations and toppled billboards....
askew sign that says please stay on the path
Book Previews

Rules? What Rules?

November 13, 2023 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
Reality Winner was only 25 when she leaked a single NSA intelligence report to the media. The report was about Russia’s attempt to influence the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. She was arrested on June 3, 2017, and convicted on August 23, 2018. She was released from prison on June 2, 2021. Kerry Howley, the author of Bottoms Up and the...
man in white shirt looking through large binoculars
Book Previews

Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs by Kerry Howley

November 8, 2023 by Liza Achilles No Comments
It’s interesting to think about who you are as a person, versus who the internet thinks you are. Who NSA thinks you are. A friend told me recently he fears Google knows him too well. I said, I don’t think Google knows me at all. He said he is too predictable, that’s why. He told me my wide-ranging interests are...
cartoon horrified face without nose
Book Previews

To Wake Up Without a Nose

November 6, 2023 by Liza Achilles 6 Comments
To illustrate the creative brilliance of Nikolai Gogol, I will quote from one of his best short stories, “The Nose.” Gogol keeps his readers alert; they must race to keep up with him. Notice, as you read the following passage, how he defies your expectations. Also note that the passage seems like it should be the beginning of the story,...
woman reading a book
Incidental Musings

Fewer American Adults Are Reading

November 1, 2023 by Liza Achilles 5 Comments
A recent report on participation in the arts, by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), says that the percentage of U.S. readers has dropped over the past five years. In 2017, 52.7 percent of U.S. adults were book readers. But in 2022, this figure was only 48.5 percent. In 2017, 44.2 percent of U.S. adults were readers of novels,...
three monkeys in India
Incidental Musings

Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys

November 4, 2020 by Liza Achilles 30 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 8 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 12 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 (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)Ā 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 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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From the book tour

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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