book reading

Quotations on Reading

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WAR AND CONFLICT BOOK ERA: CIVIL WAR/BACKGROUND: SLAVERY & ABOLITIONISM

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“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”

                                                                   Frederick Douglass

 

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“Feelings, too, are facts. Emotion is a fact. Human experience is a fact. It is often possible to gain more real insight into human beings and their motivation by reading great fiction than by personal acquaintance.”

                                                                  Eleanor Roosevelt

 

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“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”

                                                                  Ray Bradbury

National Book Lovers Day!!!

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August 9 is National Book Lovers Day, and that makes it one of the best days of the year! This is a time to celebrate the people who read and love books–bibliophiles!  I am assuming if you are reading this post, that you are also a book lover.

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No matter the place from which you get your books, whether it be libraries, bookstores, or online, the having and reading of books is one of the greatest pleasures of life! Reading can be done almost anywhere–in a park, in a home, in a cubicle, on a bus or train, or on the beach (and these are certainly not the limits of possible reading locales).  Wherever you might be while reading, you can be transported into many other worlds, through the connection of the writer’s words to the reader’s imagination. That is one of the most wonderful relationships possible!

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I have to thank my mother for helping to instill this love of reading into my soul. I have been reading since I was 3, and it is a crucial part of my being. It is also one of the most important abilities for children not only to develop but also and, perhaps more importantly, to love. If a child has the love of reading, it should stay with him or her forever.

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Celebrate your books and your love of reading!

 

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Gallows Hill can be found here in ebook.

Gallows Hill in paperback can be found here.

An interview about Gallows Hill can be found here.

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Please follow the following links to find my novel:

ebook

Print book

Thank you!

The book trailer:

Maledicus:Investigative Paranormal Society Book I

My radio interview:

interview

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Available on Amazon

 

Quotations on Censorship

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(https://en.wikipedia.org)

“To forbid us anything is to make us have a mind for it.”

                                                                   Michel de Montaigne

 

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(https://en.wikipedia.org)

“Censorship of anything, at any time, in any place, on whatever pretense, has always been and always will be the last resort of the boob and the bigot.”

                                                                   Eugene O’ Neill

 

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(https://commons.wikimedia.org)

“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

             The United Nations: Universal Declaration of Human Rights

 

My First List of Banned/Challenged Books

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The ULS: The Underground Library Society

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As the creator of the ULS, The Underground Library Society, and at the request of several followers, I have decided to put up lists of books that have been banned or challenged. If a book is challenged, that usually means there were people who wanted it removed from a school or library.  Both are forms of book censorship. It is important to note that I am not focusing only on books banned or challenged in the United States of America; unfortunately, censorship is a world wide action.

Here is my initial list of banned and challenged books:

The entire Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling;

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee;

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain;

Beloved by Toni Morrison;

The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie;

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger;

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck;

All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque;

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown; and

Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak.

I will add more lists of banned and challenged books in the future.

 

A Book Reading at the Lit Coffee Roastery and Bakeshop in Bethlehem, PA

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I am pleased to announce that I will be doing a reading from my new novel Gallows Hill: The Investigative Paranormal Society, Book 2 tomorrow at 4:30 at a new coffee shop in South Bethlehem, PA near Lehigh University,  one of the places of higher education where I teach.

This should be a relaxed event, with some readings from the novel and a question and answer period. I am very grateful to Lit for allowing me to do this reading!

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GallowsHillFinalCoverEbook

Gallows Hill can be found here in ebook.

Gallows Hill in paperback can be found here.

An interview about Gallows Hill can be found here.

32570160

Please follow the following links to find my novel:

ebook

Print book

Thank you!

The book trailer:

Maledicus:Investigative Paranormal Society Book I

My radio interview:

interview

 

 

My recent book reading: Gallows Hill:The Investigative Paranormal Society, Book 2 by Charles F. French

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(pic by Heather Simoneau)

I had a wonderful time at my recent book reading of Gallows Hill: The Investigative Paranormal Society, Book 1 at Scheler Humanities Forum in Linderman Library at Lehigh University: Bethelehem, PA.

This was a relaxed affair, with students and colleagues in attendance. I spoke about both books in this series, including Maledicus: The Paranormal Society, Book 1.  After a brief introduction, I read several excerpts and then answered some questions.

I always enjoy this kind of event, and as you can see from the photograph, it was informal and relaxing. And the room in this remarkable library is wonderful, filled with beautiful, old bookshelves and some of the library’s collections of rare texts.

To all who attended, thank you!

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And thank you to Heather Simoneau for arranging this event and creating this lovely poster!

GallowsHillFinalCoverEbook

Gallows Hill can be found here in ebook.

Gallows Hill in paperback can be found here.

An interview about Gallows Hill can be found here.

32570160

Please follow the following links to find my novel:

ebook

Print book

Thank you!

The book trailer:

Maledicus:Investigative Paranormal Society Book I

My radio interview:

interview

Last Night’s Book Reading of Maledicus: The Investigative Paranormal Society Book I

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I had the good fortune of having a book reading at the wonderful Taylor Roasted CoffeeHouse in Northampton, PA last night.  The weather was not conducive to a large turnout because a nasty layer of sleet was falling, and driving was somewhat hazardous.  A few friends attended, and the event became a cozy discussion of my book and of writing in general.

As I always do when at this establishment, I had a very large cup of black coffee, and I consider the Taylor Roasted CoffeeHouse to have the best java in the entire Lehigh Valley, PA, if not everywhere!  They are presently working on redesigning their website, and I hope orders will be available for shipping anywhere. If that happens, I will highly recommend their coffee to coffee lovers everywhere!

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(https://commons.wikimedia.org)

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This was an enjoyable and very relaxing event! On to the next!

Maledicus: The Investigative Paranormal Society Book I by Charles F. French is available for purchase on Amazon either as an ebook or a print book!

Please follow the following links to find my novel:

ebook

Print book

Thank you!

The book trailer:

Maledicus:Investigative Paranormal Society Book I

My radio interview:

interview

 

My Book Reading of Maledicus: The Investigative Paranormal Society Book I by Charles F. French at Lehigh University

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(Liz French 2016)

I had my first book reading of my horror novel Maledicus: The Investigative Paranormal Society Book I on Tuesday at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, and it was a success! It was held in a lovely old reading room in Linderman Library, the humanities library at the university. Approximately 30 attended, and the whole event went extremely well.

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(Heather Simoneau 2016)

I want to thank Heather Simoneau for arranging the event.  She is the Humanities Librarian at Lehigh University, and not only is she wonderful at helping students and faculty with research, but also she is excellent at her promotional abilities!

The reading went very well; I read excerpts from a few chapters, told some stories, and answered questions about the book and my writing. I was pleased to see a wide variety of people there, including undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, and interested library patrons. To all who attended, thank you so much for helping to make my initial public reading a success!

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Maledicus: The Investigative Paranormal Society Book I by Charles F. French is available for purchase on Amazon either as an ebook or a print book!

Please follow the following links to find my novel:

ebook

Print book

Thank you!

The book trailer:

Maledicus:Investigative Paranormal Society Book I

My radio interview:

interview

 

A Book Reading of Maledicus: The Investigative Paranormal Society Book I by Charles F. French

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(https://commons.wikimedia.org)

I am very pleased and excited to announce that I will have a book reading of my new novel, Maledicus:  The Investigative Paranormal Society Book I, at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. The date is 11/29/16 at 4 P.M. in room 200 of Linderman Library.  If you live in this area of Pennsylvania, I invite you to attend.