Webradio 100% Mylene Farmer

I mentioned Mylene Farmer earlier in a blog. Today I discovered that I don't need to put her CD's in the computer to listen to it. As Mylene is currently on tour (and I don't have tickets) I look all the information about the new tour up on a site. It seems now that that site also has internet radio. I started to listen to it a bit earlier and I can't get it off. I even skipped the 7.30 news, which is on at the moment because I love to listen to this radiochannel. It is great to hear Mylene's music through this site. I am not a fan of the mixes that are made of her songs. I prefer the original versions, but this channel also has these mixes on the radio. But they are not irritating at all. They play one or two and then some "normal songs. Mylene is my favorite French singer. She hardly gives interviews or appears in TV shows. Her videoclips are like small films and they are very good. Not all my taste, but there are some very beautiful clips out there. Every few years Mylene surprises her fans with a new CD and a tour. She recently started a tour through France. I would love to go, but the ticket prices are a bit to high for me. At first it was announced that she would do a concert at the Stade de France. I hate big stadium concerts, as you hardly see anything. Later on it was mentioned that there would be more concerts in concert halls and stadiums. These concerts sold out in no time. Mylene is a real cult in France. She is a mystery, not much is known of her past and her private life. Some stars are very open about their private life, Mylene don't talk much about it. That is fine with me as I am not really interested in that. Mylene is a good singer and her shows are wonderful to watch, but that is it. She needs to do her grocery shopping too, like me and everybody else in the world. Mylene has many fans who bring out magazines and have lots of websites for and about her. This webradio is wonderful as I can hear all her songs, also the ones that I don't play much. We all have our favorites and songs we don't really like. This is a great way to listen to both. If you want to know more about the mystery Mylene Farmer, you can visit the link under the blog, and if you want to listen to her music, you just follow the other link.

http://www.mylene.net/

http://www.mylene.net/mylene/mylene-farmer_webradio

Tony McCoy's biography

I am very interested in horse races, as I mentioned in an earlier blog. So I wanted to know more about it, and found the biography of Anthony McCoy, a very succesful English National Hunt Jockey. I started to read the book and I couldn't put it down. It is a very nice read and it tells the story of Tony, as he was called later, or AP untill the early years of this century. The book starts with a young boy who hates school and does everything to be at a stable near his house and ends with one of the most succesful jockey's in history.

I loved the book, but there was one thing that struck me when I read it. There are a few chapters about Tony getting punished for using a whip on the horses. I felt very sorry for him. I understand that people don't want the horses to get hurt, but you can take that to far aswell. I understand very well that there are people out there who are for wellfare of the horses, but from what I read, they took it a bit to far. I see that the horses enjoy the races and I am sure that the jockey's don't mean any harm on the horses when they use the whip. If the horses don't like it, I am sure there are plenty of ways for them to show that they don't like it at all. Tony seems like a very nice and reasonalble man to me. All he wanted was to make his dream come true. He made it come true for sure and he is one of the best jockey's in British history. The book also has a lot of wonderful pictures of Tony, the horses he rode and the people that were and are important in his life. Ofcourse his parents, but also Billy Rock and Martin Pipe played a big role in his carreer. This is really a book that I recommand to read. But for people who love racing and want to know more about the person behind the jockey. I am really looking forward to read the biography of Timmy Murphy, another succesful jockey.

The Outcast by Sadie Jones

I had never heard of this author before, but the story sounded promising, so I gave it a try. I wanted to save this book for reading on my trip to London next month, but it was tempting to read it now. I read the Dutch translation and I must say that I was happy with the translation. The book is about Lewis a boy with a "normal" life in war time. When his dad returns from the war his life changes. His free life with his mother is over and he has to adjust to the village life. During a picknick Lewis sees his mother drown before his eyes. He becomes estranged with everybody and sets the local church on fire. When he comes out of jail 3 years later the people in the village find him interesting, but also sees him as threat. The daughters of his boss try to helphim, but their help has fatal consequences.

When I started to read the book I felt like I was an outsider, but that soon changed. I was drawn into the story quickly and was hardly able to put the book down. It is very well written and is at some points funny. Not much though, as in my opinion, the book is more tragic. The further in the book the more tragic it becomes. I felt very sorry for Lewis, but also for the daughters of his boss. It seems that everybody in the book has something tragic in him or herself. You can't help but feeling sorry for these people.

Sadie Jones is a new author as this is her debut novel. It was nominated for the Galaxy bookawards Populair fiction awards. She didn't win, but this book won my heart and I hope to read more books by Sadie in the future. I found out about this book through the Richard and Judy book club. I can't get Watch, the channel that airs Richard and Judy in the UK, as I don't live there. But I do see some clips sometimes and this book was recommanded by them last year. This book is very well written and I can see a film being made of it. Another recommandation is Imperfect by Julian Fellowes, but that is for another time, as that is the book I try to save for my trip to London next month.

The Graveyard Book

I started to read this book just a few days ago and I am finished already. What a wonderful book this is. It is about a boy called Nobody Owens who lives in a graveyard. I am not going to tell more as I don't want to spoil the surprise for other readers. But this really is one of the best books I've ever read. It is very well written, and the humor is just great. It really is a Neil Gaiman book as it should be. I did read a few of them, but this is the best I've read so far. I found out about Neil, through Stardust. I heard about the film, when they were filming it. I was curious about the book and I bought it. I couldn't stop reading and was curious about other Gaiman books. There are still a few that I have to read, but I can say that Neil is an inspiration and a great writer. I love his dark sence of humor and the way he writes. I want to read Coraline too and I want to see the film. The Graveyard Book is a wonderful story for a film if you ask me. The characters are alive (depends on who they are though), and you can feel the graveyard atmosphere all around you when you read this book. It really is a recomandation. It is in my top 10 of favorites for sure. I want more Neil Gaiman books, and I can't wait to read the newest one when it comes out.