A European Literature Brainstorming meeting is being held on 25 January in London involving publishers, editors and critics from the UK books industry who took part in the EU trip to Brussels I reported on earlier this month, to take forward the ideas and needs that were generated. The idea is to get more people in different countries able to read other nations' best books.

Jessie J from Essex has won the BBC Sound Of 2011 Poll, voted by 160 artists, DJs and other tastemakers approved by the BBC. From its launch in 2003 when 50 Cent topped the poll, it has had a remarkable knack of predicting and being a catalyst for pop success.

The specialist book supplier Dance Books is finally closing up, due to the ill health of its longtime proprietor. David Leonard’s little shop long embellished Cecil Court, one of the alleys of literature off Charing Cross Road, London, until 10 years ago he moved out to a former bakery in Hampshire focusing on publishing Dance Now, the last serious dance magazine of ideas, and mail order books retail.

...your true love might do worse than bung over a brace of concertos. Which is what BBC Radio 3 is doing on "piano day" as it nears the halfway mark of its 12-day Mozart marathon. Is it a good idea? Does any composer, even Bach, stand up to the complete treatment, hour after hour?

Pete Postlethwaite, who has died from cancer at the age of 64, was an extremely amicable man whom Hollywood had down as a lugubrious baddie. It happened in Aliens 3, in The Usual Suspects, in The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

Fans of BBC Three’s Lip Service have been given an extra seasonal gift in the form of confirmation by the BBC that a second series has been commissioned. The Glasgow-based drama about a group of twentysomething lesbians and their intertwined lives was created by Harriet Braun, who said she was delighted to be working again with Laura Fraser, Heather Peace, Ruta Gedmintas and the rest of the cast.

We have 42 lucky winners of our Only the Best events competition who we hope will have a whale of a time at a variety of shows in all the arts, and possibly surprising themselves. Many thanks to the venues and organisers for the prizes, and good wishes to all the entrants. Please check out our "Boxing Day Bloat" feature of treats to see or do over the holiday period.

We have 42 lucky winners of our Only the Best events competition who we hope will have a whale of a time at a variety of shows in all the arts, and possibly surprising themselves. Many thanks to the venues and organisers for the prizes, and good wishes to all the entrants. Please check out our "Boxing Day Bloat" feature of treats to see or do over the holiday period.

Yesterday was yesterday. Today there's the rest of the week. What are the options? You could go to the shops and exchange all your presents, or you could pursue something more in the cultural line. To which end, theartsdesk is delighted to propose some suggestions. Our writers strongly recommend that you do one or more of the following while opportunity knocks.

ENGLAND

Ninety-five per cent of Napoleon's army was wiped out on the freezing retreat from Moscow in 1812. The statistics weren't nearly as impressive nor, thankfully, so mortal for the Russian National Orchestra's concert in Paris's Salle Pleyel last Saturday. It happened under reduced circumstances that hardly affected the quality of the playing - though sadly nothing could be done about the wayward conducting of the controversial (though not, it seems, in France) Mikhail Pletnev.

Matt Cardle, the X Factor winner, is Number One for Christmas, while John Cage's 4'33" managed to get in the charts at 21, outselling Usher, Tinie Tempah and others for the Christmas charts. Captain SKA didn't get anywhere, however. So will the BBC be playing the Cage? Not if they can help it.