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
palm trees and sky
Incidental Musings

I’m Cured!! – My True Story About Chronic Pain

August 9, 2023 by Liza Achilles 10 Comments
Hello from Florida! I never thought I’d be able to travel in an airplane again, due to symptoms that I recently discovered were due to chronic pain. And yet here I am. In sunny and very hot and very humid Florida, visiting family. My first vacation in over four years. And I’m perfectly well. I used to have post-concussion syndrome,...
walking up steps
Book Previews

Exercised by Daniel E. Lieberman

October 17, 2022 by Liza Achilles No Comments
Everyone knows that exercise is good for you (as noted in my last blog post). But do you know why that’s the case? What’s the science behind why we must exercise to stay healthy? Do you know how people in modern, first-world countries compare to traditional hunter-gatherers in their exercise levels? Do you know how modern humans compare to our...
two paths in a wood
Book Previews

Major Depression

October 13, 2021 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
I often think about the maxim that the most interesting findings occur at the intersections of fields. I recently discovered a book that lands at the intersection of literature, psychiatry, and neuroscience. It was a fabulous read. I discovered this book in a tiny, one-paragraph blurb in the New Yorker; the book wasn’t even featured in an article. But it...
bubbles
Book Previews

What Is Philosophy?

September 6, 2021 by Liza Achilles No Comments
When I was an undergraduate, I did not know what philosophy was. My ignorant assumption was that the role of a philosopher is to prove the existence of the Judeo-Christian God through specious reasoning. I steered clear of those courses; but now I wish I hadn’t. Because that’s not what philosophy is at all. Having missed a college education in...
white stone sculpture of man
Book Previews

Do You Trust the House?

March 5, 2021 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
What do you do when you are alone in an unusual place, with very little evidence that might explain your situation? No matter how good of a scientist you are, some questions cannot be answered. No matter how many benevolent entities surround you, you are still ultimately alone. What do you do? Here is one of the most touching and...
full moon surrounded by clouds
Book Previews

Surely the Scientific Method Is as Rock Solid as the Moon

March 3, 2021 by Liza Achilles 4 Comments
Do you remember being introduced to the scientific method in school? For me, it was a confounding experience. Science, in my head, was this amazing, powerful schema that could build skyscrapers, eradicate diseases, and create video games from mere code. Surely the scientific method, the foundation of science, is as rock solid as the moon it actually got us to?...
blue tilapia fish black background
Book Previews

Simple + Sophisticated = Smart

March 1, 2021 by Liza Achilles 4 Comments
Some books are easy to read but lack depth. Other books are difficult to read but contain great wisdoms. Every once in a while, however, someone writes a book that is simultaneously simple and sophisticated. That’s always something to celebrate! Books like this have something for everyone. They can be read on multiple levels. There’s the simple, fun story; and...
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...
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...
sitting sadly on a bench x3
Book Previews

The Very Best Students

October 16, 2020 by Liza Achilles 2 Comments
What’s the formula for getting the very best students in the world? Great students are a great thing to have in a democracy, because the democratic process requires an educated populace in order to function well. How can people be expected to research candidates and issues and then make informed decisions, without possessing advanced reading and critical thinking skills? Great...
number 12 with long metal staircase
Book Previews

Jared Diamond Does It Again

October 7, 2020 by Liza Achilles 6 Comments
Masterpieces: Plural Wow, wow, wow. I cannot praise Jared Diamond’s most recent book enough. It is astonishing that, more than two decades after publishing his groundbreaking bestseller Guns, Germs, and Steel, and after publishing numerous other cutting-edge, hard-hitting books, and while in his 80s, he has published yet another masterpiece. I do not use these words lightly. Trust me—I would...
bubonic plague bacteria microscope
Book Previews

Dragons, Snakes, Serpents, and Devils

September 25, 2020 by Liza Achilles 6 Comments
Here in 2020—as you well know—there is a debate about whether or not to wear a mask in public. At the core of this debate is how to answer the following questions: Do we trust what scientists are telling us about the virus? It’s clear that scientists do not know everything about this virus; do they know enough that we...
Fall trees near a river in New Hampshire, New England
Book Previews

Ain’t It Great to Be American?

March 11, 2020 by Liza Achilles No Comments
In the 1700s, the world was opening up to Western explorers. Plants from all over the world were arriving in England, and they all seemed wonderfully exotic. A few Englishmen were enthralled. They dedicated their lives to learning about plants from diverse continents, scientifically classifying them, and growing them in gardens and on estates. As Andrea Wulf explains in her...
Ologies with Alie Ward logo
Incidental Musings

Get Your Geek On!!

February 10, 2020 by Liza Achilles No Comments
Oh heyyyyy, it’s that little rodent, tunneling into your inbox, throwing earthy tidbits all over the place and scurrying over your personal correspondence, munching on your spam, and getting into ridiculous amounts of intellectual trouble. . . . Liza Achilles here, still suffering from my concussion setback, but recovering rapidly. I haven’t been able to do much reading or computer...
Five women in colorful clothing lean against a white brick wall
Book Previews

So How Exactly Does One Be an Antiracist?

February 3, 2020 by Liza Achilles 5 Comments
That’s a good question. Glad you asked! I wrote in last Friday’s blog post about the brilliant author Ibram X. Kendi and his 2019 book How to Be an Antiracist. Kendi reveals (as I noted in that post) that many of us unwittingly use words and perform actions that seem innocuous, but are actually racist. So you might be wondering,...
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...
Graffiti on a wall that says If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes politics
Book Previews

Fake Trauma News

April 5, 2019 by Liza Achilles 10 Comments
Today I’d like to share with you an example of the importance of getting the words right. The language we use is immensely consequential in not just how we think about real-world issues, but also how we handle those issues as a society: how much money is allocated, what kind of care people receive, and other important effects. Bessel van...
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...
Albert Einstein portrait
Book Previews

In Defense of History and Philosophy

August 3, 2018 by Liza Achilles 6 Comments
Yep, it’s hard to avoid getting caught up in the cultural biases of one’s own time. However, there is a way out of this trap—as Albert Einstein knew. Adam Becker, in his book What Is Real?, explores how historical events and philosophical ideas affected theories of quantum physics over the decades. He reveals that just because nearly everyone believes in...
astronomy
Book Previews

Stardust

June 18, 2018 by Liza Achilles 1 Comment
On starry nights, far from the technicolor of cities, when no responsibilities are boring into the mind and dulling the senses, it’s easy to romanticize the heavens. The stuff above and the stuff below seem radically different. We are earthly; they are ethereal. We are made of dust; they are made of stardust. But what is stardust? The word seems...
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!