A note from Jane
My mom has smoked all her life, and I’ve always hated the habit. As a kid I used to plead with her to stop and even hid her cigarettes on one occasion. (That did not end well.)
Over time, I stopped begrudging her the habit. In fact, during those rare moments when she tried to stop, I felt anxious. She didn’t engage in the comforting patterns I grew up with. Her progress of finishing a cigarette was bound up in how we carried on conversations, where conversations ended, how points were emphasized through puffs of smoke.
Mom rarely expressed guilt or shame over being unable to quit smoking. It was what it was. But now at 90 years old, she’s been advised for many years to quit, and mostly has, but still allows herself a handful of cigarettes every week. My siblings and I trade texts, “Did she smoke in front of you today?” as a way of gauging her well-being.
Recently I accompanied her on a doctor visit, and practically the first question they asked was Are you smoking? No, she said.
I don’t know when she started lying to them. But later when I was reviewing her MyChart, I saw the following notes from the staff:
“Patient says she no longer smokes.”
Then: “She has been exposed to tobacco smoke.” (Subtext: We are not fooled.)
Maybe she’s just trying to get the doctors off her back, but I hope she doesn’t feel the need to hide the habit from family. At this point, smoking is one of the last activities that bring her back to herself and how we used to be.
Jane
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An alternative to Todoist: Apple Reminder
In the last issue, I recommended Todoist for to-do lists. Reader Maureen O’Connor Saringer responded, “I am an aficionado of productivity things and am now using Apple Reminders to its fullest extent. I was already using reminders but this video (no affiliation) really took things to a new level for me. I have it set up now where it emulates Trello-style boards and also pushes things to my calendar.”
The two apps are incredibly similar. So if you’re an Apple user using iCloud, Apple Reminders could be the solution for you.
I’m just now coming around to Merlin
Because I got hooked on the game Wingspan, I’m now far more aware of bird song outside my house. I downloaded the free Merlin app so I can identify who’s out there. It really is like magic and a delight to use.
People are using AI like search engines. How do certain websites and brands rank?
For those curious and/or worried about optimizing websites or brands for AI search, you’ll want to test out some searches at ProductRank.ai. For more analysis on SEO and AI, read this article at Bain & Company.
Find the best flights for your points
I’ve been banking frequent flyer miles in anticipation of a big trip next year, but I know it takes a bit of skill and luck to secure highly desirable transoceanic seats using miles. I stumbled on Seats.Aero and hope it does the trick when it’s time to buy. There’s a free version and paid version. (If you have tools you prefer, let me know!)
The second edition of The Business of Being a Writer is now available!
Many people ask me what’s different about the second edition of my book. The biggest change is that my thinking about the business has evolved. The book opens differently than before and addresses mindset issues upfront. I also address platform early on, not because publishers and agents think it’s important, but because writers need to flip the script and see how and why platform helps them most of all. Learn more about the second edition.
Not sure if this book is for you? Can’t afford it?
- Check local libraries. The first edition received a starred review from Library Journal, so it is carried by many library systems in both print and ebook form. If your library doesn’t yet have the second edition, ask them to order it; they probably will.
- You can always access the book’s supplementary resources at no cost to you.
Buy the book: Bookshop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble (first two are affiliate links)
If you already have the book, thank you! I’d love it if you left a review at Amazon or Goodreads.
Your turn: books in translation 📚
In the last issue, I asked you to tell me about your favorite book that’s been translated into English. Here’s a selection of what you said.
- I immediately knew my answer to your question because it had a lasting and profound effect on me. I recommend the emotionally charged memoir, A Silenced Voice: The Life of Journalist Kim Wall by Ingrid & Joachim Wall. In the summer of 2017, 30-year-old Swedish freelance journalist Kim Wall was murdered by her interview subject, an eccentric inventor, aboard his man-made submarine. —Angela Eckhart
- I won’t pretend to have read many works of Russian literature in English, but those I have tried have been translated from the Russian by the husband/wife team of Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. I first learned of them via a fascinating interview on CBC Radio in which they make clear just how creative an endeavour literary translation is. —Amanda Le Rougetel
- My favorite work of translated literature is Dora Bruder, a nonfiction work by Nobel Prize winner Patrick Modiano, which Kirkus described (far better than I can) as “a hauntingly fetching book” that “weaves research, logical speculation, and emotive imagination around a Jewish girl who runs away from the convent school that is hiding her” in Vichy France. (British readers will find it under an alternate title, The Search Warrant.) —Jay Wigley
- The children’s book series Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. The prose is striking and poetic, often surprisingly complex for a children’s book. It’s a delectable meal for any book lover. Plus, Funke just released a fourth book in the series! —Anna Hedges
- Still with Me by Thierry Cohen, translated from French, has never been far from my thoughts in the 15 years since I read it. A suicide at the beginning results in a dreamlike split reality, and to say more would require expressing my interpretation of a story which is magnificently left open to interpretation. —Dana Sweeney
- A Line in the World by Danish author Dorthe Nors. It’s a series of essays about her travels along the North Sea coast of Denmark from north to south, but so much more as she examines her childhood, family ties, her ties to the land and sea. So beautifully written, I can only imagine how wonderful it is in its native Danish. —Carol Bartold
- The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón: “…a coming-of-age tale of a young boy who, through the magic of a single book, finds a purpose greater than himself and a hero in a man he’s never met.” I can’t remember much of what happened in the book, but I can still feel the ache, the magic, the beauty. WOW. —Sue Granzella
- I highly recommend The Travelling Cat Chronicles written by Hiro Arikawa, translated by Philip Gabriel. Narrated in large part by the cat, the story unfolds in such a way that the reader suspects what’s happening before the cat figures it out. The climactic scene left me literally sobbing in a way no other book ever has. (Possible spoiler to cat lovers: fear not. This is not a feline Old Yeller.) —PJ Burgh
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- ECPA Leadership Summit (Nashville), April 29–30, 2025
- It’s About More Than Book Sales (BAIPA online), May 3, 2025
- AI and Publishing: The Technology Is Here to Stay. So Now What? (Reisterstown, MD), May 17, 2025
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