The Laughing Stranger

The Laughing Stranger
by Vina Delmar
1953
pages: 250

This is a story of a star-crossed family with all of the misfortune in life, and only the fortune of monetary wealth.

Based during the time of the Civil War on the coast of New Jersey, young Elizabeth Carpenter takes you through a year’s period of their life, recounting the full story of their encounters with the laughing stranger. Elizabeth, despite her circumstances, is a well versed, well mannered young lady. I wish more people in the world had a character like hers.

This book was an accidental read for me. I got it from the bookshelf in my local laundry mat, and kept it around. I was curious a few days ago what the story could be, and was immediately sucked in!

This book I guess is technically a love story, and I usually don’t read those!! It turns out that the love story has much more to it than just gushy romance, but it involves the character and integrity of people, or lack there of!

Because of Elizabeth’s circumstances, she has found a way to entertain herself with witty games and dream of the impossible. Until one day her dream is shattered. Sitting with her father, Powell, he says to her “It is the emptiness that troubles you now, Liz. The aching question of what to put in place of a dream. Shall I tell you what to put there, darling? It’s very simple. Just put another dream”. She answers, “there are no other dreams.” “Not for me.” He smiled in a way she had not seen him smile before. “I am an authority on the subject,” he said. “And I assure you there are always other dreams.” She shook her head. “For others perhaps. For me, no.”

I will share this, it wasn’t the end for young Elizabeth. She thought she’d live on in life with a disappointed heart, but something happened to fill her heart more than she ever could have imagined. This ended up being so encouraging to me on a personal level. Sometimes things don’t work out how we’d like to see them work out, but in the end, sometimes even more magical events can happen in our lives! I was feeling a bit like Elizabeth, wondering if my future would be one of trials and tribulations with my dreams quickly going by the wayside. I’m still kind of feeling like Elizabeth, that there are dreams for others, but none for me.

Coincidentally, upon completion of The Laughing Stranger, I saw on my bookshelf “Dreams Underfoot” by Charles de Lint. I tried reading this book before, and it just didn’t get moving for me. Probably because some inspiration was needed. :) Thanks to Elizabeth Carpenter of “The Laughing Stranger”, I am now contemplating my thoughts and feelings towards my own dreams. As I read the Introduction to Dreams Underfoot, I found my inspiration! A small portion of the intro reads,

“’Using archetype and symbolic language’, writes folklore scholar and author Jane Yolen, ‘[fantasy tales] externalize for the listener conflicts and situations that cannot be spoken of or explained or as yet analyzed. They give substance to dreams…[and] lead us to the understanding of the deepest longings and most daring visions of humankind. The images from the ancients speak to us in modern tongue though we may not always grasp the ‘meanings’ consciously. Like dreams, the meanings slip away, leaving us shaken into new awarenesses. We are moved by them, even when –or perhaps because – we do not understand them on a conscious level. They are penumbral, partially lit, and it is the dark side that
has the most power. So when the modern mythmaker, the writer of literary fairy tales, dares to touch the old magic and try to make it work in new ways, it must be done with the surest of touches.’’’

W.B. Yeats once wrote “Tread softly, because you tread on my dreams”. I hope Mr. de Lint does tread softly, because I look forward to being moved by his writing, and discovering the dreams that are under my feet.

Great advice from my friends!

I just wanted to post real quickly that I appreciate all of the feedback regarding my decision to participate in NaNoWriMo or try to meet my goal of 25 books this year.

So, 99% of my feedback was to read and do my writing on the side.  The other 1% was my mom.  She said, “write! write! write!”  She really wants me to be a writer.  :) 

Anyhow, thank you everyone for your feedback.  You helped me prioritize and see what is most important for now.  And not just that, but committing to reading will in essence help me with future writing (and will make me a better writer!) I’ve decided that I may not read 25 books exactly, but I’m going to go back to practicing my piano as well.  I’m guessing I’ll finish about 20 books and try to learn some Christmas songs before the end of the year!!  I figure reading music counts for the 5 books I’ll be missing for the year.  Reading music is hard!!

Thanks everyone.  I’m sure I’ll be back for more of your input.  There’s an old quote that says there is wisdom to be found in a multitude of counsel.  So congrats, you’re helping me to be more smart. ;)

~Chele

What should I do? Read or Write??

I have a goal, well, an informal goal to be honest, to read 25 books this year. So far I have completed 18! I'm pretty darn close to my goal, but something new has come up. NaNoWriMo.

NaNoWriMo is a challenge to take on for National Writing Month, which just so happens to be starting in about 34 hours from now. (Yikes!) Writers begin writing on November 1st, and have until midnight on November 30th to write a 175 page/50,000 word novel!! The idea is to give the writer a goal, concentrating on quantity and not so much quality. Not that quality isn't important, but sometimes the challege of writing in general is just sitting down and doing it!

So, a big THANK YOU to Care for mentioning NaNoWriMo. Whether I participate or not, I was very glad to learn more about the goings-on in the writing community. :)


Just a side note, author Sara Gruen, writer of Flying Changes, was birthed from her participation in NaNoWriMo. Wow. Big things are possible with NaNoWriMo!


What do you think? Should I try meeting my 25 books-read goal for the year? Or should I jump on this opportunity to see if I got the stuff to be a writer??

Is this life real, or just an Illusion?

Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach

Where to begin! This read was entirely by accident for me. A friend loaned the book to my husband because it is about pilots flying their biplanes. Turns out, it was full of hidden treasures!

The story is about two pilots, Don and Richard, the former being the “Messiah” in the story. During their adventures together, Don is teaching Richard about the power he has within him, and how this power is the reason for everything that happens to him. At first I thought I would be an Objective Reader, as I am a believer in the Messiah aka J. Christ. But I got to thinking, and discussed the title of “Messiah” with my co-worker. And basically, a messiah is a liberator. I can honestly say, the words in this book in no way changed my religious beliefs, but have liberated me in a new way of thinking. The book is very philosophical in nature, as in, if a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around, does it make and sound. And furthermore, if no one is around, does the tree even exist? :) So how have I been liberated? I have been reminded that I have the power of choice. Not just, will I have chocolate or vanilla ice cream??? I mean, the power to choose everything about my life. A few years ago, my husband and I moved to the ocean, a few hours from where we were raised. When we told people they said “you can’t do that!” Why not? Turns out I can do that. I rented a U-Haul, turned the key, and started driving. Simple as that. Well, this book has reminded me that I can continue to make choices in that fashion. If I choose to live somewhere and make the most of it, then so be it! If I choose to paint designs on hubcaps and sell them on E-Bay for a living, I can do that too! What my heart desires, with the proper focus, I can accomplish.

The challenge I’ve been given………

It’s funny how things work. I’ve always wanted to be a writer, and recently was VERY inspired by a book my friend loaned me about writing and what it entails to become a writer. It turns out, in the book Illusions, Richard received similar inspiration from Don. It’s sometimes funny how everything in life can start to connect, and you really can’t put your finger on why. :) I leave you with a quote from the “Messiah’s Handbook”… “Every person, all the events of your life are there because you have drawn them there. What you choose to do with them is up to you.”

So it looks like I have some work to do. The inspiration for writing is all around me, and I think I have the power to make it happen!

Today is the first day of the rest of my "blogging" life

I've been thinking that I need to get with the program and start blogging. I think about blogging and great topics, but I never sit down and do it!

So I've decided, my blog will be about books, music, and life. I'll try to keep it more to just books and music. Those are the "feel good" topics of the three I listed. :)

Music has been on my mind. Recently, I read Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett. I wanted to read it because you always hear such raving about this book, and I wanted to know what all the hub-bub was about. :) The story was OK for me. I learned two things - not all books will be written and/or end the way I want - and #2, it was the music that kept me enthralled in the story. The basic premise of the story is a group of people are being held hostage, one of them a world famous soprano opera singer. The most amazing part of the story, and the reason why I have a little bit of a fondness for it, is because amidst their captivity, I think they were all held more captive by her voice. There is something about music that acts as a salve during times of crisis or difficulty, allowing you to somehow rise above your circumstances.

Consequently, I've been listening to classical music about 90% of my waking hours, and have begun to practice my piano (keyboard, really, but if I say keyboard, one might think I'm bettering my typing skills). So, I've been practicing my piano, and am finding that I might have a knack for it!

Anyhow, to sum up, even though life might be a difficult place to be, it looks like books and music are going to be my saving grace. Come to think of it, blogging may be a good thing for me too. :)

~Chele

testing a blog post from my blackberry

Well, here goes nothin'!
So I want to be better at blogging. No offense Facebookers, but I kinda like the whole blog thing better. Probably because I can read and know what's truely on someone's heart. Facebook doesn't give me that. :( But the good news is you can come comment @ my blog cuz I think my blog posts to my Facebook and I have no clue how this happens. I think I have "connection overstimulation" right now. There are just too many ways to communicate!!
Anyhew.
To sum up my first test post from my bberry (whose name is Pinky by the way...thank u *Softdrink) :) (just found I can't hyperlink :( oh, summing up, um, ok. I'll just end by saying thanks for reading me & if ur someone who is a regular contributor to the topics I blog on, your friendship is invaluable to me. :). Ok, now back to my housework. Yea me. :). *Chele*

I'm back!

I'm posting this "I'm back!" note to get the ball rolling for myself to get back into posting blogs and being part of the blog community. :)

Last night I joined a reading challenge to read a book about Benjamin Franklin. Yikes! Honestly, I'm very interested in this book/project as I feel I need to learn more about American History (in as painless of a way as possible). :)

So, stay tuned and I will be trying my best to format a good website and post "treasures" on a regular basis.

So off I go to collect my thoughts, put my feet up, and read my book. Currently I'm reading "The Little Friend" by Donna Tartt. It's a hard one to put down!!

But a big thank you to Softdrink for texting me the book challenge! You are a great encouragement and a great supplier for my new addiction....reading.

Chele