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.

Careless in Red by Elizabeth George

I just finished Careless in Red, the new Inspector Lynley book by Elizabeth George. I read it before, but I wanted to pick it up again to read it. I did and I loved the book. It is better than the last Lynley novels I have read. Careless in Red shows us where Thomas Lynley is after the murder on his wife Helen. He is walking the coast of Cornwall when he finds the body of a young man. When it looks like murder, Thomas is the first suspect. The book is big, but this time it is well written. I did read more big Lynley book, where I read chapters that really didn't intrest me. I want to read about a murder and then the 2 detectives who solve it. In this case Barbara Havers, Thomas's Scotland Yard partner and Bea Hannaford. Thomas Lynley is suspect, but he also reveals some secrets that should have never come out. This book is a good read for a holiday, although I don't recommand to read it on the beach. But a garden or balcony will do very well. At least it works for me.

The first time I heard about the Inspector Lynley Mysteries was through the TV series with Nathaniel Parker and Sharon Small. The first episode I saw was A Suitable Vengeance, and it was also the first book I've read. It was a shock to see that the Thomas Lynley in the books was blond, with glasses. Not at all like the Thomas Lynley in the TV series. I was also surprised to find that the book was about the engagement of Thomas with Deborah and not (like in the TV series) with Helen. I really had to get used to it. Now I think of the books and TV series as different stories. The characters in the books are not at all like the ones on TV. A thing that bothers me about the books is the way Barbara Havers is portrayed. She is very ugly in the books, she dresses bad and she has a horrible haircut. It gets annoying to see that in every book. It seems that Barbara can't do anything good in Mrs Georges eyes. I am getting tired of reading that Barbara is ugly and she has no taste for clothes. In my opinion Barbara is a beauty of her own. She has her own style and her own way of living. Barbara is Barbara and no one can change that. To me she became a dear friend, and it doesn't matter if one of her tooth is broken, her haircut is bad and she wears baggy clothes. It is the person within that counts. I am looking forward to read the next Lynley book. Now the TV series has come to an end, it is good that the books are still there. Careless in Red played tricks on my mind to be honest. When I read it first there was nothing wrong, but when I read it again and I found the description of Bea Hannaford, the first one that came to my mind was Jo Brand. She should have been perfect to play that part in the series (if there was an episode). And also Dellen Kerne's description looks like another famous person to me. When I read about her, I see the mother of The Nanny (the American comedy). She looks very much like Dellen Kerne, as I have her in mind. Careless in Red is a good read and it is good to pick books like that up again sometimes. I always discover something new in these books. Next on the list is something completely different. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, another great author. But that is a blog for another time.

Bitten by the Horse Racing Bug

Two years ago a friend of mine talked about the Grand National, a famous horse race. I had never heard about it, but I was curious. As I was in London that day I didn't see any of it. Last year I corrected that. I saw Comply or Die win this race. I liked what I saw, and I was curious about it. This year I saw the Grand National again and this year Comply or Die came in second. Too bad as I had my hope set on him. Mon Mome was a great winner this year. One thing was sure, I was bitten by the horse racing bug. I wanted to know more about it, I really don't know anything about it. I just look at the looks of the horse or the name and that is it. Now I really want to dig deeper into it. i want to know more about it. I found the site of trainer David Pipe and congratulated him on the good result of Comply or Die. He sent me a very nice email back. I once saw a small documentary on race horses and they were all treated very well. As David Pipe mentioned in his email to me "The horses live in a 5 star hotel". People tell me that these races are there to abuse the horses. I don't agree with that. From what I see, the horses have fun doing it, otherwise they would never go with the rest, if their jockey falls off. And I always look at the ears too. I don't know if that goes for horses too, but the time you have to watch out for animals is when their ears are turned backwards or close to their heads. The only time I get to see a race or meeting as it is called too, is when the BBC is showing them. They don't show much and their internet site is not good when it comes to watching as their clips are just avaliable for UK residents. I am not a UK resident, so I have to watch elsewhere. I am glad that YouTube has good race clips and there are lots of sites where I can find information about races. I hope to visit a racetrack one day. It would be great to watch the Grand National or a race at the Cheltenham festival.

Ever since I was a child I have a passion for horses, but I never came any further than a ride at the fairgrounds. Riding a horse is pretty expencive and I never had the money to learn to ride. I might give it a try this year. I really hope that I can find a nice place here in town where I can learn to ride a horse. Buying my own horse is no option. I have no money for that for sure. But riding a horse sounds really wonderful to me. It is something I wanted to do for years and I hope I can make that dream come true one day.

Some great links to Race forums, clips and the Racing Post.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FInUXkCF0ac
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpRUSezk15U
http://www.racingpost.com/
http://www.theracingforum.co.uk/forum/index.php
http://www.grandnationalinsider.co.uk/default.aspx

The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy

After reading Far From The Madding Crowd I got very curious about Thomas Hardy and I bought more books he wrote. The first one I read was The Mayor of Casterbridge. I finally finished it. It took me a while as I did put the book away sometimes. The story is well written, but very depressing from time to time. It is about the rise and fall of Michael Henchard. He sold his wife and daugher at a fairground atraction and became mayor of Casterbridge. Then his wife and daughter re-appear and everything goes wrong from there. As I said, it is very well written and one of Hardy's best books. But I can't help it but feeling depressed sometimes when I read some parts of the book. I don't want to feel depressed so I did read some other books in the meanwhile. Or parts of them, as I should say. I find this book a nice one, but I have no idea if I read it again. I don't feel the same vibes that I felt when reading Far From The Madding Crowd. I think that that is really Hardy's best book. I am off Hardy for a while now. I started a Stephen Fry book and I have more books I have bought and are waiting to be read.