food Archives – Liza Achilles

A man walks on the street in Macau, China wearing a protective mask to prevent infection by the coronavirus.

Book Previews

When Fiction Gets a Little Too Close to Nonfiction . . .

February 12, 2020 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments

The novel Severance, by Ling Ma, is a fast-paced, apocalyptic story. It was the perfect novel for me to read while recovering from my concussion. I read it way back in the early days of my recovery, when my brain was having trouble processing anything difficult or deep. But this novel is suddenly way deeper than I had bargained for....

Reading time: 1 min

Tales

The Inquisitive One Eats Corn on the Cob on a Date

August 23, 2019 by Liza Achilles 11 Comments

The first date was a dinner date! When the waitress came, the inquisitive one ordered the Sloppy Spaghetti With Corn on the Cob. The waitress’s face acquired a look of uncertainty. She said, “Are you sure you would like to order the Sloppy Spaghetti With Corn on the Cob?” The inquisitive one proclaimed, “Yes!” Soon, the food arrived. The inquisitive...

Reading time: 2 min

clean energy - renewable energy - wind turbine - solar panels - fighting climate change and global warming in the snow

Incidental Musings

Climate Change: What Can One Person Do?

August 2, 2019 by Liza Achilles 5 Comments

The problem of climate change is disconcerting. Many people are frustrated. They would like to do something, but are uncertain about whether any action they take can make a difference. A couple dozen—myself included—of these millions of concerned people gathered together at a recent Meetup event in my community, Rockville On Tap. The topic of the evening was “Climate Change...

Reading time: 7 min

Cute bakery in London with a nook for working and fabulous wifi. Also shown: carrot cake and English tea with milk

Incidental Musings

What to Eat in London

May 27, 2019 by Liza Achilles 10 Comments

What should one eat while traveling in London? I’m glad you asked! I have been overwhelmed, actually, by requests from family, friends, blog readers, acquaintances, and strangers who heard that I am traveling in London. “Okay, so you are in Europe,” they say to me. “Okay, so there’s art and culture and fascinating people and bloody weird language permutations and...

Reading time: 13 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...

Reading time: 7 min

Tales

The Inquisitive One Revises the Resolution

January 11, 2019 by Liza Achilles 3 Comments

On New Year’s Day, the inquisitive one sat down with a brand new pad of paper and brand new pen, both received as gifts the previous month. The inquisitive one thought very seriously for a few minutes, biting softly on a thumb. Then suddenly, the inquisitive one removed the thumb from the mouth, picked up the pen, and wrote a...

Reading time: 3 min

Two photos. First is of Louis XVI drawing room with brasses and brocatelle. Second is of ugly ceiling of old dark factory warehouse room.

Book Previews

Brocatelle and Asphyxia

January 9, 2019 by Liza Achilles 6 Comments

One thing Émile Zola handles particularly well in his novel The Ladies’ Paradise is contrast. The existence or absence of contrast in a novel is, in fact, a pretty good indicator of quality. After all, it is only in relation to other things that we are able to perceive anything with any degree of accuracy or understanding. Can we fully...

Reading time: 1 min

Las Vegas neon lights at night that advertise a casino, a club, and other places

Book Previews

Designed for a Purpose

December 21, 2018 by Liza Achilles 1 Comment

I laughed aloud when I read this passage from Matthew B. Crawford’s book The World Beyond Your Head: “I recently visited Las Vegas, a place designed for the single purpose of separating you from your money.” It’s funny because—beneath the surface—it’s true. Las Vegas is exciting because it’s full of things humans are hard-wired to pay attention to: bright, flashy...

Reading time: 3 min

Tales

The Inquisitive One Runs With a Friend

November 14, 2018 by Liza Achilles 4 Comments

The inquisitive one attended a few runner’s club events and became friends with another runner. They decided to meet, on the following Sunday, at a trailhead and run south along the stream together. “I grew pumpkins this year,” said the inquisitive one, between breaths while running. “I grew two kinds of pumpkins, one kind to carve and another kind to...

Reading time: 1 min

veggies and eggs on cutting board with knife and pan

Incidental Musings

How to Cook Anything (Part 1 of 2)

October 1, 2018 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments

When I think of wisdom,* I think of Henry David Thoreau and his 1854 book Walden; or, Life in the Woods. In Walden, Thoreau urges the reader, through both theoretical arguments and reflections on the two years he lived alone in the woods near Walden Pond, to simplify life and focus on what is really important—like health and wellness, quiet...

Reading time: 3 min

Load more posts

A blog for readers and thinkers.

When Fiction Gets a Little Too Close to Nonfiction . . .

The Inquisitive One Eats Corn on the Cob on a Date

Climate Change: What Can One Person Do?

What to Eat in London

How to Read a Difficult Book

The Inquisitive One Revises the Resolution

Brocatelle and Asphyxia

Designed for a Purpose

The Inquisitive One Runs With a Friend

How to Cook Anything (Part 1 of 2)

Posts by category

Books previewed

Posts by month

Search this blog

Most frequent tags

Get posts by email

The Twitterverse

Calling All Readers & Thinkers!