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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

A Difficult Decision: Freedom Versus Safety

August 16, 2023 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
Michael Laudor is hospitalized when he is 24 years old, as explained in Jonathan Rosen’s recent memoir The Best Minds. Laudor had had a psychotic break. He is diagnosed with schizophrenia. But he is voluntarily hospitalized, which means that he can leave whenever he wants. Even if he is still experiencing psychosis. Even if his doctors have not yet found...
pink paper heart ripped almost in half
Book Previews

Unlucky in Love

July 7, 2023 by Liza Achilles No Comments
Prince Harry had a problem. He wanted a life partner. He wanted love, marriage, and a family. But he kept being stymied, and for the same reason. It wasn’t him that was the issue. It was the baggage that came with him. “Chels said again that she just wasn’t sure if she was up for this. A lifetime of being...
statue of liberty and manhattan new york city
Incidental Musings

Freedom of Speech

April 12, 2023 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
I’ve been reading about world politics, and I want to say that today I’m feeling grateful to have freedom of speech. Not all countries grant that right. The USA isn’t perfect, but you generally won’t be imprisoned for voicing that you dislike a politician or policy. That’s all for today. I think that’s quite a lot to chew on, in...
open door
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....
many one-dollar bills aka money
Book Previews

Mislaid by Nell Zink

October 19, 2022 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
“But freedom isn’t speaking your mind freely. Freedom is having the money to go to Mexico.” —Nell Zink, Mislaid Taken out of context, this quote has the ring of wisdom. Freedom isn’t freedom of speech, it’s money. Cha-ching, bada bing. Thought provoking, indeed. But while reading the brilliant novel Mislaid, by Nell Zink, you won’t be able to help but...
woman behind bars
Incidental Musings

Women and Freedom

August 8, 2022 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
“For women are to a considerable extent slaves of this world, knowing nothing of their freedom, having not been taught how to be free.” —Olga Tokarczuk, The Books of Jacob What a statement. Bowled me over when I read it. But is it true? The novel it comes from is set in eighteenth-century eastern Europe. Certainly women were not taught...
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Book Previews

The Question of Liberty

October 2, 2020 by Liza Achilles No Comments
There is a third question in the raging virus debate of 2020: 3. Should each of us have the right to make our own choices during an epidemic, in the name of independence, liberty, and freedom? (See my previous blog post for a discussion of the first two questions.) One Strategy: Target the Sick Let’s start by examining people’s liberty,...
hospital room with beds and windows
Book Previews

Involuntary Hospitalization

August 9, 2019 by Liza Achilles 6 Comments
According to the Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, involuntary hospitalization “is an extremely controversial course of action.” In her 2019 book The Collected Schizophrenias, EsmĆ© Weijun Wang steps into this controversy. She presents arguments from both sides. And she offers a unique perspective on the issue, having been involuntarily hospitalized herself, three times. On the pro side of the debate, sometimes...
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...
dinner for two at restaurant overlooking city
Book Previews

Choice Versus Agency

December 19, 2018 by Liza Achilles 8 Comments
I am a paying client of two dating apps. Both allow users to “smile” at matches and receive “smiles” back. This is roughly equivalent to smiling at someone in real life: a way of communicating interest. Both also allow users to send and receive original messages. This is roughly equivalent to having a spoken conversation. One of the apps, however,...
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Book Previews

A Sad Story Told in 50+ Year Intervals

November 28, 2018 by Liza Achilles 4 Comments
When I saw that the great Zora Neale Hurston had a new book out—her being deceased being not at all an impediment to this, and perhaps even, sadly, a furtherance—I rushed to buy it. Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” is very different from the other work I have read by her, the superb literary novel Their Eyes...
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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 (347)
  • 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.

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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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