I’m going to give us a song or a film clip on posts this week, because we all need those extra few minutes to breathe deeply or sing loudly before facing the rest of the day. Since tonight will be the penultimate night of Hanukkah, I thought I’d share this favorite (which I think is from the New York City concert my family and I were lucky enough to attend when I was a kid):

For our final Tuesday of the Virtual Advent Tour, we return to kathy b at Compassionknit, who has a post for us on gingerbread creations. Yum!

Stop back tomorrow for another stop on the tour!

Since according to today’s post, The Broke and the Bookish will be ceasing publication in 2018 and since I basically just ask Santa for “Books! Please bring me books!” I thought I’d do another off-week post for Top Ten Tuesday (which will continue, but elsewhere).

I wasn’t ready to think about winter last month, when the topic of what’s on our winter to-be-read lists ran, but since the seasons change later this week, I guess it’s time to look ahead.

In no particular order:

• Catriona Lally’s Eggshells, about a woman looking to make a friend named Penelope (NOT Penny!), definitely did not work as poolside reading, but I suspect it will lend itself well to a weekend curled up under blankets with a pot of tea next to me.
• I was lucky enough to snag a copy of John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down on opening day at the West End branch of the library. My dad has already read it and is waiting impatiently for me to be able to discuss it with him.
• Far from the Tree by Robin Benway, this year’s young people’s National Book Award winner, is overdue to the library, so I’m hoping to finish it before the end of the year.
• Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker by Gregory Maguire is waiting for me at the library and is part of the selection of books I hope to read this Christmas season.
• I cannot seem to get around to Susan Dennard’s Truthwitch, which has been sitting on my shelf for over a year. This winter could be the time!
• I’m thinking Frederick Backman’s My Grandmother Asked Me to Say She’s Sorry should lend itself to a winter reading.
• Mysteries are a solid choice for winter and The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry seems like a fun choice from my shelf.
• John David Anderson’s Ms. Bixby’s Last Day is a middle-grade novel that’s been on my shelf for a year.
• Sherry Thomas’ A Conspiracy in Belgravia came out this fall.
• Also in catching up with series, Maia Chance’s Teetotaled is next up in the Discreet Retrieval Agency.

How about you? What’s on your TBR list for the cold months?