Summer Round Up

Summer is over, so I'd just like to round up some of the entertainment highlights. 

Books

How My Summer Went Up In Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski - I loved this book, it really made me laugh. 

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan - This was my favourite adult book of the summer. Again, extremely hilarious. 

Music

Live music: Despite my general dislike of them, I ended up at two festivals this year. First of all, I went to Lovebox in East London. It was one of the hottest days of the year during our fantastic heatwave, so everybody was in a great mood. I was lucky enough to enjoy the sounds of: Charlie Wilson, Julio Bashmore, Redlight, Wiley, Disclosure, Annie Mac and Azealia Banks. The crowd was amazing- everyone just wanted to enjoy the day- and there were decent toilet facilities (at a small charge), which is always a plus in my books. 

Then I went to V festival in my hometown, which was almost the polar opposite. The weather was rubbish, the crowd was miserable and unappreciative and it was just generally a not very nice day. To be fair, I only wanted to see Beyonce but even the debut of her new hairstyle couldn't make the evening any better. Poor Bey was singing her heart out and whipping that bob around like nobody's business but the crappy sound and the boring crowd won in the end. They even dared to boo her! To make matters worse, we were stuck next to a group of chatterers who then started fighting and we witnessed a man punch a woman in the face. Classy Essex as always. 

Best albums: Settle by Disclosure (check out Ed Macfarlane from Friendly Fires singing one of my favourite tracks from the album at Reading- I always have love and respect to give to a committed dancer); Modern Vampires of the City by Vampire Weekend; True Romance by Charli XCX; Ciara by Ciara; Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke; Unorthodox Jukebox by Bruno Mars; and Body Music by AlunaGeorge.

Best songs: Well, you know my Songs of the Summer but I also enjoyed some others that I've put in a playlist for your listening pleasure. Extra special kudos to Icona Pop who have been contenders for Song of the Summer with I Love It two years in a row!

Film

I haven't really seen much at the cinema this year. I missed all of the blockbusters and superhero flicks. I was also supposed to go to TIFF but circumstances changed. However, these were my picks and I will look out for their general release dates: Gravity, The Fifth Estate, Rush, August: Osage County; Third Person; and How I Live Now. 

However, I have made good use of the various on demand services I'm signed up to such as LoveFilm and Netflix and enjoyed fun summer movies such as Almost Famous, Adventureland and Walk the Line- all of which had amazing soundtracks. I also enjoyed Lakey Peterson: Zero to 100, which was very interesting and inspiring. 

Television

I've been watching Elementary. It took a while to really get into it but now I am IN LOVE. It's very different to the BBC's Sherlock but I think I prefer Jonny Lee Miller's portrayal a little more than Benedict Cumberbatch's (*quickly hides from the Cumberbatch superfans*). Whoever decided to cast Lucy Liu as Watson deserves an award because the idea-and execution-is genius. I really like the dynamic Sherlock and Watson have got going and hopefully they keep it platonic. I'm up to the episode where Sherlock asks Watson to stay on as his apprentice - what a beautiful speech! Oh and I covet Watson's wardrobe. 

Also, the second season of Scandal has been airing over here to fill The Good Wife/Nashville void. I'm not sure I'm really on board with this show anymore partly because I don't believe in Olivia and Fitz (he's so spineless) the same way I believe in MerDer. Kerry Washington is awesome though so I'm glad Scandal is pushing her more into the limelight. 

Rookie Blue is also back on the air over here. I love this show - it just keeps getting better and better.

Finally, I've become quite invested in the little MTV show Washington Heights, which is a bit like a real life How to Make it in America (cut down in its prime). It's kind of refreshing to see a reality show that doesn't have too much drama. I don't think there's a second season, which is a shame but at least they got their five minutes of fame and hopefully the opportunity opens some more doors for them. They seem like a nice, hard-working group of twenty somethings.