On my "To Read" list:

There is always a huge teetering pile of books on my bedside table waiting to be read, and everytime I read enough of them to shrink it a little, I cant help myself and dash into my fave second-hand book shop for more!

Here's what's in the pile at the moment:

1) Dude Where's My Country - Michael Moore
2) The Nun - Denis Diderot
3) Upside Down, Inside Out - Monica McInerney
4) The Wonder Spot - Melissa Bank
5) Irish Girls Are Back in Town - various
6) The Memory Keepers Daughter - Kim Edwards
7) Chart Throb - Ben Elton
8) Lady Chatterley's Lover - DH Lawrence
9) Top Horse Training Methods Explored - Anne Wilson

Aside from that, here's what else is on my bedside table:

Bottle of water
Old receipt
Small tube cocoa butter (chewed in places by Cookie)
Paw paw ointment (makes GREAT lip balm!)
mobile phone charger
half drunk cup of green tea (very cold by now)
3 book marks
dust

Stupid White Men

Having seen Farenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine, I have started reading Mike Moore's 'Stupid White Men'.

You have to admire the guy for being gutsy enough to take on 'the system'. And some of the stuff he has uncovered is pretty shocking. Hey, I've heard lots of comments for and against him, but I say: Good on him for having the guts to shake up the system and 'keep the bastards honest'.

Another goodie for us horsey gals

Just finished reading this one and it's a really good book. It's advertised on Amazon as an 'adult fiction' novel, but it's really more teen-fiction I think. Be that as it may, I haven't been a 'teen' for a number of years now and I really enjoyed it!

It's realistic, it's funny, it's very horsey, and the central character 'Francie' was someone I could really relate to. I thought it was an interesting look at the world of American Horse Shows, and the end is not predictable or cliched, but satisfying and inspiring.

My congratulations to authour Kim Ablon Whitney for an excellent horsey novel.

And then, you grow up...

As a kid I read HEAPS of horse books (actually I still do!) - ANYTHING I could lay my hands on that was vaguely horse-related, I devoured. Since my Mum was a sole parent until i was 14, I couldn't afford to have lessons or join pony club, so i relied on books to teach me to ride.

Undoubtedly, my favourite horse books of all time were the Jinny series, which were written by Patricia Leitch and set in Scotland in the 70's. I still have all 12 books in the series, and I still pick one up every so often and read them.



I also loved:

The Saddle Club - Bonnie Bryant
The Taronga Road Riders - Toy Martin
Anthing by the Pullein-Thompson sisters (Christine, Josephine, Diana)
The "Jill" series.
The "Blue Ribbon" series.

These books offered a young horse-mad girl like me such optimism: Girls can do anything; good things happen to good people; one little girl can save the world; there's always a happy ending....



AND THEN, YOU GROW UP.

And life begins to suck.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this list is dedicated to all the ways the Saddle Club let me down...

1) It rains. And it gets muddy, and cold, and horses get dirty.
2) Horses hurt you. They bite, they kick, and they throw you off and break your bones.
3) Horses cost money. LOTS of money.
4) As a result of the former point, to afford to own a horse, you need to work. ALOT. And therefore, you never have time to ride your horse.
5) Your friends won't always be there.
6) Sometimes, you're tired, and you don't want to ride, but you have to anyway. Usually alone.
7) There are virtually NO male riders. The ones who do, are gay.
8) There is NO WHERE to keep your horse in the real world, that resembles anything like Pine Hollow Stables.
9) The good guys don't always win. Sometimes, you do work as hard as you can, and you still dont succeed.
10) Even if you REALLY REALLY WANT TO: You will never be a famous rider.

...sorry for that flood of disillusionment. But kids: Real life and owning a horse is NOTHING like the Saddle Club.