With so many "year-end" and "best-of" book lists to choose from, the Los Angeles Public Library wanted to Spotify—er, simplify, and wrap up your year-end choices with some spot-on picks from our staff.

It's hot! It's boiling! It's sweltering! What do you expect for the Dog Days of Summer? Now I want a Dodger dog and some air-conditioning! But I also want to know where the term Dog Days of Summer comes from, so on I go down that research rabbit hole. And what I found is a scorcher. Read on!

A leap year, also known as an "intercalary year" or "bissextile" year, is a calendar year that contains an additional day, or in the case of a lunisolar calendar, an entire month, compared to a "common" year.

Happy New Year! May your year be sweet and filled with joy!