In this episode Clay is joined by Liza Libes. Liza is an author, content creator, and voracious reader of classic fiction. She is also the owner and operator of Invictus Prep, a college consulting company that helps applicants leverage the power of narrative to get into their dream school.

This is an episode that can be divided into two main parts.

The first part consists of Liza’s unique and fascinating origin story as the daughter of Soviet immigrants, as well as her and experience with woke, professors, TAs, and students at Columbia University.

• Starting at 04:02

In the second part, Liza brings her considerable literary knowledge to bear on questions like “Why is it important to read classic fiction?”, “Is modern literature any good?”, and “Why are Russian novelists particularly talented?”. She also shares her takes on Sally Rooney, Ernest Hemingway, the new Harry Potter HBO show, and much more.

• Starting at 54:35

You can follow Liza on Instagram, X, and YouTube.

And of course, please get yourself a copy of one of Liza’s fantastic collections of poetry.

Books mentioned in this episode

• Harry Potter — J. K. Rowling

• Vanity Fair — William Makepeace Thackeray

• The Master and Margarita — Mikhail Bulgakov

• Anna Karenina — Leo Tolstoy

• The Brothers Karamazov — Fyodor Dostoevsky

• The Iliad — Homer

• Mansfield Park — Jane Austen

• Metamorphoses — Ovid

• Wuthering Heights — Emily Brontë

• Animal Farm — George Orwell

• 1984 — George Orwell

• The Sun Also Rises — Ernest Hemingway

• The Plague — Albert Camus

• The Fall — Albert Camus

• The Stranger — Albert Camus

Articles by Liza mentioned in this episode (from her Substack)

• Leave Literature Alone

• Harry Potter Changed my Life

• The Real Problem With the New Harry Potter Series

• The New York Times is Wrong About Motherhood

• The Publishing Industry is Allergic to Money

• Why Modern Movies Feel So Empty

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