Twenty Something

Matt Martinusen lost his job at a precarious time. He was the sole breadwinner, and his wife, Lisa, a stay-at-home mom, had just had their third baby.

The idea came in a dream. It was just like the movies, the fantasy of every writer who has slogged away at a keyboard, awaiting inspiration.

The latest book by Sam Usher stopped me in my tracks. I’ve devoured the children’s books brilliantly illustrated by this Chicago dad, and the title of his new release immediately drew me in: “A Night at the Frost Fair.”

Emily Hannon was surprised by the children’s clothes she saw at big-box stores and popular websites when she became a mom. And not in a good way.

Just as “Tiger King” became a defining show of our early quarantine days and “Bridgerton” carried us through the first COVID winter, “Squid Game” has dominated this fall. It’s not hard to see how the Korean drama resonates more deeply in the pandemic’s long shadow.

We never really outgrow the desire for a bedtime story. It just takes different forms when we’re older: Netflix, the evening news, Instagram Stories.

Every fall the push to do more intensifies. Sharpen your pencil and dig in.