We doubled our runtime for this one, and honestly? Worth it. John O’Hara’s “Over the River and Through the Wood” (1934) immediately had us both leaning forward on the bed, which is saying something at 11 PM. We started by digging in to the actual Thanksgiving poem that clearly inspired O’Hara’s  story, then spiraled into everything from Jane Austen to *The History of Love* to—yes—Shiv and Tom Wambsgans. But here’s the thing: this 90-year-old story feels shockingly modern, with a surprisingly mature take on masculinity. Also, we talked about O’Hara’s epitaph, which may or may not count as gossip corner. Get the book: Support your local bookstore or grab it through Bookshop.org link Next episode:"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber (1939)  If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review—it really helps other exhausted parents find us!**

We’re kicking things off with E.B. White’s 1926 ”Life Cycle of a Literary Genius”—and honestly, we almost didn’t make it past the title. After forgetting to read the introduction (parenting brain strikes again), stumbling into some juicy gossip about White’s complicated relationship with his New Yorker editor, and one of us starting out pretty skeptical about the whole thing, something unexpected happened: we actually came around to it. By the end, we were already looking forward to the second story.  Get the book: Support your local bookstore or grab it through Bookshop.org link Next episode: ”Over the River and Through the Wood” by John O’Hara (1934) If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review—it really helps other exhausted parents find us!