Seen & heard: August

Seen...

1. I first saw Prime a few years ago, and have always liked its unsentimental, realistic ending.  Also, Meryl Streep is amazing as a therapist and mother who unwittingly discovers that her 30-something client is dating her 23 year-old son.
2. Wanderlust was one of the films on the plane and I really enjoyed it: silly, uncomplicated and very funny.
3. Much Ado About Nothing is a great summer film, best watched when the sun is shining outside and you can pretend that the glorious Tuscan scenery on screen might also be glimpsed outside your window.

Seen...

I've read a huge amount this summer, but it's mostly been trash and mostly forgettable.  Three books that kept me absorbed when travelling were...

1. The Stranger's Child by Alan Holinghurst.
2. The Etymologican by Mark Forsyth, a funny and fascinating (if, like me, you're a complete etymology geek) look at where words come from.
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, which I first read the summer it came out and enjoyed just as much on this re-reading.

I also really loved two books about life in contemporary South Africa, with all the tensions and problems that can involve:

1. Khayelitsha: uMlungu in a Township by Stephen Otter, about a white (or uMlungu, in Xhosa) South African guy who lived in Khayelitsha, a Cape Town township, for years.
2. Ways Of Staying  by Kevin Bloom, a South African journalist whose cousin was hijacked and murdered, prompting him to find out more about the violence and fear of violence that mars life there for so many.

Heard...

1. I can't begin to explain how excited I was by the release of Karima Francis' new album, The Remedy.  I absolutely adore her voice, and if recordings never quite capture the magic of seeing her play and sing live, they at least let me listen to her in between jaunts around the country to see her gigs with Abby.
2. I really liked Micachu & The Shapes' first album and was really looking forward to hearing the new one, Never, and seeing them at Summer Sundae.  Neither the album nor the show were a disappiontment: the band are still as bonkers, atonal and weird as ever and I LOVE it!
3.  Finally, I've been listening to a lot of Grizzly Bear in preparation for seeing them live last night.  They were AMAZING (I might write a review, so watch this space) and I can't wait for their new album, which is due for release on 17th September.