This week's edit - 25th July 2016

Watch
The new Jason Bourne film opens this week and promises great things, bringing Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass back together.

See
David Hockney: 82 Portraits and 1 Still Life at the Royal Academy is BUSY so book in advance but it's a lovely small show of his recent portraits.  Each subject is painted sitting in the same chair, with the same background and within the same three-day timeframe.  Hockney's skill is in bringing each personality to the fore and the portraits exude warmth and joy. 

Listen
As a West Wing addict and US politics junkie, I am becoming quickly obsessed with The West Wing Weekly podcast.

Read

Lie With Me by Sabine Durrant is a page turning piece of griplit, perfect for your sun lounger.

This week's edit - 11th July 2016

Reflector by Alex Katz

See

Alex Katz is an American octogenarian painter, who is best known for his portraits painted simply in flat bright colours.  This exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery focuses primarily on his landscape paintings which are exquisite.  Full of light and depth, their immediate simplicity is deceiving.

Read

Black Water by Louise Doughty.  I loved Doughty's last book Apple Tree Yard, and her latest could not be more different.  I can't put it down.

Watch
I love Greta Gerwig and I REALLY love Julianne Moore so Maggie's Plan is an absolute treat. A warm, witty and intelligent romcom.

Listen

Michael Kiwanuka's new album is out later this week and I can't wait for it to appear on my phone.

This week's edit - 18th July 2016

See

Georgia O'Keefe at Tate Modern is a fascinating exhibition, challenging the myths that have grown around her work and showing a huge range of paintings and drawings from throughout her career.

Read

The Muse by Jessie Burton is next on my list, because I loved her first book The Miniaturist.

Watch

I'm off to see Ghostbusters this evening so watch this space...

Listen

Old school Blondie is my soundtrack for this beautiful hot and sunny week.

This week's edit - 4th July 2016

See

The new Switch House extension at Tate Modern is a real treat.  The gallery spaces are large, airy and considerately curated and the views from the new Members Room and viewing gallery are glorious.  I expect I will be spending a lot of time there this summer.

Read

Saturday Requiem by Nicci French is the sixth in the series of crime novels about Frieda Klein.  Gripping and well-written, I've been looking forward to this instalment since the last.

Watch

Tale of Tales is a fabulous, glorious and intoxicatingly bonkers film - a mad and beautiful fairy tale for grown ups.  I loved it, in particular the performances by Salma Hayek and the wonderful wonderful Toby Jones.

Listen
I'm mostly catching up on all the Glastonbury coverage that I missed while I was on holiday.  Christine and the Queens seems to have gone down well, which is great news because I predicted big things for her having downloaded her album, Chaleur Humaine, some weeks ago.

Summer Reading

As well as the usual mediocre 'grip-lit', I read three really great, and very different, books on holiday last week.

The Girls by Emma Cline is atmospheric, chilling and eminently readable. Perfect holiday reading.

Nina Stibbe's Paradise Lodge has been my favourite holiday read so far this summer.  A sort-of sequel to Man at the Helm, it is joyful, warm, wonderful and laugh out loud funny.

Curtain Call by Anthony Quinn is just fantastic.  A witty and nuanced murder mystery set in 1930s London, I absolutely loved it and have already downloaded Quinn's follow-up, Freya.