November is normally a melancholy month. Daylight Savings sucks the sunshine away, the wind begins to howl down every skyscraper-lined block, and the bright spots of the holidays are still too far away to reasonably start listening to our festive playlists. This November, though, has been downright balmy — nearly summer-like in its warmth and claustrophobic in its humidity. It’s left us discombobulated, unsure of our place in the year and unseasonably unsettled. So these are the things that have brought our feet back to the ground, settled our breath, sparked our curious minds and cradled our beating hearts. Like fairy lights on a tree, they are our bright spots in the five o’clock darkness. We hope they hug you close too.

Art: “NYC Bird’s Eye View” Joaquín Torres García, 1920 

Poem: “November Night,” Adelaide Crapsey

Book: The Partly Cloudy Patriot, Sarah Vowell

Song: “Opening Up,” Sara Bareilles (What’s Inside: Songs from Waitress)

Video: John and Sarah Host a Scramble Scrabble Dinner (in response to this Art Assignment)

Bonus: The Best “Hello” Parody We’ve Seen Yet, featuring James Corden and Billy Eichner

Quotation: “Life will hit you hard in the face, wait for you to get back up just so it can kick you in the stomach. But getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.” — Sarah Kay, “Point B“

Image Credit: STUDYBLUE