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

Seeking wisdom through books and elsewhere.

  • Home
  • Bio
  • Publications
  • Events
  • The I.O.
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
spinning around in a circle
Incidental Musings

Are We Going in a Circle?

May 19, 2023 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
I find myself reading a hardcore philosophy book once again. I am drawn to these books. I do not mind working hard to understand a book, but working hard to achieve but little understanding seems futile. And yet, every once in a while, I run across a gem of a quote that I do understand, that I do connect with—and...
camera split into all of its smaller parts
Incidental Musings

How to Tackle a Hard Problem

May 17, 2023 by Liza Achilles 4 Comments
A quotation by Descartes popped up twice in my reading for the week, in two different sources. I feel like the universe is trying to tell me something. The quotation in question is the second of four points that Descartes made in 1637 in part II of his work Discourse on Method: “The second, to divide each of the difficulties...
leaning head on someone's shoulder
Book Previews

Anxiety and Friendship

April 26, 2023 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
“It did make Julia feel very nervous and she moved to Alex where he happened to be teasing Angela because he might be nervous too which would comfort her. People who weren’t nervous were useless because they did not know what it meant . . .” —Henry Green, Party Going Misery loves company? I have a history of being a...
star trek kirk and spock
Book Previews

Kirk and Spock

April 7, 2023 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
I can’t believe I’m writing a blog post about Star Trek. This is out of character for me. I don’t think I’ve watched a single episode all the way through, though I did watch one of the movies. (The movie mentioned Moby-Dick, which made me happy.) Despite this, I have somehow imbibed enough of Star Trek culture to know the...
World War One British memorial to the missing of the Somme at Thiepval France
Book Previews

Touring a WWI Battlefield in France

March 29, 2023 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
Some of the characters in Tender Is the Night, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, tour a World War I battlefield in France. A young woman, Rosemary, sheds some tears over the relatively recent war and the loss of life. But then Fitzgerald notes this: “Later she remembered all the hours of the afternoon as happy—one of those uneventful times that seem...
dawn with a tree and boats and water
Book Previews

Listening Harder

September 1, 2021 by Liza Achilles No Comments
This one is very important and very beautiful. Here is an interesting paragraph, plopped seemingly on a random page, in the book Dusk, Night, Dawn by Anne Lamott: “My friends are the low note that hold me. Love is the whisper of wire drum-brushes. And while everyone has to make a living and show up for family, listening is optional:...
dusk with palm trees by ocean
Book Previews

Beyond Redemption?

August 23, 2021 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
This one is for me and everyone out there going through major life struggles right now. I have featured Anne Lamott on this blog before, and I’m doing it again. I’ll probably do it again and again. In a blog about seeking wisdom from books, how could I do otherwise? She is the queen of wisdom writing. Unsurpassed, unsurpassable. Anne...
man reading on park bench
Incidental Musings

What the Wise Man Said

June 2, 2021 by Liza Achilles 4 Comments
I read a short book, long ago, by a man in or nearing retirement. The man had made a life out of studying literature. This is my recollection, anyway. It was so long ago that I no longer remember the title or author of the book. I think the author was affiliated with the University of Michigan, but this could...
roller coaster with mountain and clouds and blue sky
Guest Posts

Clutching Our Books While Riding a Rollercoaster: the Solace and Challenges of Reading During a Pandemic

February 24, 2021 by Liza Achilles 1 Comment
The following is a guest post by Vicki Ziegler, a book lover, blogger, web designer, social media manager, information architect, and organizer of Silent Book Club events in east end Toronto. The two of us set ourselves the challenge of writing about the same topic: how to keep reading during a pandemic. Below is her response. I’ll share mine with...
the inquisitive one
Tales

The Inquisitive One Talks to an Attorney

February 22, 2021 by Liza Achilles No Comments
“Good day,” said the attorney, while entering the small meeting room in the prison. “It’s not!” cried the inquisitive one, who was chained to the table. “Surely your mother did not name you ‘The Inquisitive One?'” “Surely your mother did not let you leave home in that wretched old suit?” (The inquisitive one was in an uncharacteristically bad mood. Which...
emoji with hearts and smiling blushing face
Incidental Musings

My Gratitude Practice: An Update

February 5, 2021 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
I want to share how things are going with the gratitude practice my friend and I initiated a few weeks ago. Since research shows that cultivating gratitude can increase happiness, my friend and I started texting each other every night. In the texts, we would each list three things we were grateful for that day. (I wrote about the genesis...
Canada trees in snow
News & Events

11 Great Books Set in Cold Weather

January 18, 2021 by Liza Achilles No Comments
Remember Mandy Shunnarah, who wrote a guest post for this blog last week? (In case you missed it, here’s her post about how one line in a novel changed her life: This Novel Got Me My Dream Job.) Well, I also wrote a guest post for her blog. And it’s posted today. (We’re awesome mutually sharing friends like that!) The...
emoji with hearts and smiling blushing face
Incidental Musings

I’m Grateful for This Idea

January 4, 2021 by Liza Achilles 4 Comments
A week or two ago, a friend of mine shared with me that they stopped taking their antidepressant. They had been experiencing a bunch of weird side effects—many of which I had never heard of before—and it sounded awful. When I was on antidepressants, I also experienced numerous frustrating side effects. (I’m on a different class of meds now, complete...
washing a fork over a sink
Book Previews

How to Make a Friend

August 19, 2020 by Liza Achilles 8 Comments
There’s something strange about friendship. I used to think, in the ignorance of youth, that it wasn’t possible to be true friends with someone unless there were common interests and beliefs. I used to think that there could be cooperation between such people, but not true friendship. As a result, I shied away from people a lot . . ....
woman reading in darkened room
News & Events

Can’t Concentrate on Anything Not Disease or Quarantine Related?

March 27, 2020 by Liza Achilles 4 Comments
Are any of you book lovers struggling, as I am, to read the books on your bedside table right now? I’m drawn to the news, to the big topics of the day. I was commiserating with a friend about this, and she spontaneously thought up a list of readings, ranging from centuries ago to the present day, having to do...
hand rising from dark ocean under cloudy sky
Incidental Musings

Managing My Anxiety During a Time of Mass Anxiety

March 23, 2020 by Liza Achilles 21 Comments
I’ve been battling my old anxiety demons continuously since my concussion setback. That was seven weeks ago. The concussion symptoms themselves were sorta kinda back to okay within two weeks, though some of the symptoms persisted a few weeks longer. But the anxiety and panic ballooned and ballooned until they once again started afflicting me with physical symptoms that prevented...
Manhattan skyline, NYC under dark clouds
Book Previews

What Happens When You’re Severed From Everything?

February 14, 2020 by Liza Achilles 4 Comments
Happy Valentine’s Day!! Today is the day when we get closer to our loved ones, share our most special bonds, and rejoice in love, romance, and companionship! So snuggle up to your . . . What’s that? You don’t have a special someone to snuggle up to? Well then, snuggle up to your heritage. Or your friends. Or your family....
wrapped holiday gift with holly branch and red and white string
Book Previews

A Holiday Gift Idea

December 16, 2019 by Liza Achilles 8 Comments
Perhaps there is someone in your life with exquisitely refined literary taste. Perhaps this well-read (and certainly well-bred) specimen of homo sapiens is a beloved member of your circle of family and friends. Perhaps this intimately familiar relative or friend with belletristic tastes is on your holiday gift list; and perhaps you have not yet found the perfect gift to...
people networking at a social event
Incidental Musings

“Yes, And . . .” – How to Successfully Build a Friendship

July 22, 2019 by Liza Achilles 6 Comments
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the mantra improv comics like to repeat: “Yes, And . . .” Washington Improv Theater has a show running through August 4 called Starship Odyssey: The Final Mission (Improv Saves the World). I found it to be, as advertised, a funny sci-fi adventure. And I was astonished, as always while watching improv, by...
Silent Book Club icon with books and wine
News & Events

How to Start a Silent Book Club

July 17, 2019 by Liza Achilles No Comments
A new article, written by yours truly, is live on the Silent Book Club blog. It’s called How to Organize and Host a Book Club. If you’ve ever considered starting a local chapter, this article is for you. Silent Book Club is an international organization with dozens of chapters around the U.S. and world. At a Silent Book Club event,...
Load more posts
Page 1 of 212»

Search this blog

Posts by category

  • Book Previews (288)
  • Guest Posts (3)
  • Incidental Musings (141)
  • News & Events (55)
  • Tales (72)

Books previewed

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 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 dating doctors drugs emotions family fear food friends friendship health history love mental health money music novels philosophy phones poetry politics psychology publishing reading running science self society the inquisitive one time truth wisdom women work writers writing

Posts by month

  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • March 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • 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. Bookshop logoBuy a previewed book on Bookshop.
2. Buy any book on Bookshop:
3. This Website Is GreenGet green web hosting.

Let’s connect on social media

Facebook iconView my Facebook page. (Like me!)
Instagram iconView my Instagram page. (Follow me!)
LinkedIn iconView my LinkedIn page. (Connect with me!)
© 2023 Liza Achilles | View the Privacy Policy. | Thanks for visiting my website today!