LIBRARIES OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY, PA: LINDERMAN LIBRARY AT LEHIGH UNIVERSITY

I mentioned a little over a week ago that I was beginning a new series on libraries of the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania, and I am this is the second entry in that series. My piece will feature the beautiful Linderman Library of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA.

Linderman Library is the humanities library, and it is my favorite place on campus. I earned my M.A. and Ph.D. in English Literature at Lehigh University, and this extraordinary abode of books is a comforting and inspiring place to work. I have spent many hours doing research and writing in this safe haven for book people.

Linderman Library has many places to work, including a long reading room, which feels like something out of Hogwarts from the Harry Potter books, many nooks with desks, and one of the best features of the library–the rotunda. Several levels of books fill the outside circle, and a winding metal staircase goes from the first to the third floor.

One of the most beautiful features that is often missed is the dome that caps the rotunda. It is one of striking beauty,  and made of stained glass. If you have the opportunity to visit Lehigh University, you should go to Linderman Library, visit the rotunda, and look up at the dome!

I am fortunate to live in an area with so many libraries, and I was doubly fortunate to attend a University with a humanities library that is not only filled with thousands of volumes of books and journals, but also it is beautiful. The very nature of its architecture encourages students to study in its comfortable environment.

I will continue this series on libraries and bookstores in the Lehigh Valley, PA soon.

I will also shortly begin a series on bookstores in the Lehigh Valley, PA.

Quotations On Libraries

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“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”

                                                                              Jose Luis Borges

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“The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.”

                                                                                  Albert Einstein

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“A library is a place where you can live a thousand lives. So why are you waiting when you could be living? Visit your library today.”

                                                                                 Stephen King

“Libraries are the democratization of knowledge. With only the need for a library card, anyone can access the information of the world.”

                                                                         Charles F. French

A Thank You To All Writers and Creative People!

I simply wanted to offer a thank you to all the writers and creative people out there for your work! Your creations speak to the hopes, dreams, fears, lives, experiences, and imagination of humanity. You make the world a much better place, and I, for one, appreciate what you do.

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Libraries Of The Lehigh Valley, PA

I began this series several years ago, but I must have forgotten about it.  Now, however, I intend to continue and share the wonderful libraries that exist with this section of Eastern Pennsylvania.

The Easton Public Library, located in the small city of Easton, PA, is a place that I loved as a youngster. I have been an avid reader since I was a small child, and this wonderful place gave me much solace and pleasure. When I was very small, we went to a branch library on South Side, Easton, and when I hit young teen years, I would walk the couple of miles to go to the library. It was worth every step.

(georgefattell.blog)

Easton has about 25,000-27,000 people and is located on the banks of both the Delaware and the Lehigh Rivers, and it is the smallest of the cities that make up the majority of the Lehigh Valley, PA. It is in this small urban area that the Easton Public Library sits and serves a wide group of readers.

After many years, I recently visited this library with a friend who was doing research, and I was filled with both nostalgia and joy upon entering. It was hard to believe that I had not been into this place, where I had visited almost weekly for several years. I loved the visit, and while I do not know if You Can’t Go Home Again as suggested in the book by Thomas Wolfe, but I do know that you can return to libraries that you have loved!

I want to thank Sharon Gothard, a wonderful librarian, for her help with these images of the library, including pictures from both the present and the past.

Thank you for joining me in this journey to a place that was deeply important to me as a young person. I will continue the series soon with another library from this area.

 

 

Please Honor Martin Luther King Jr Day–2023

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and I would like to offer a few of this extraordinary American’s quotations as a tribute to him. He was one of the finest, most decent, and empathetic people in the history of the United States of America. We should all remember him and honor his teaching, his legacy, and his call for justice for everyone.

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

“We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

The Beginning of 2023 Self-Promotion Party!

I thought it would be interesting to do a book promotion party by giving not only the name of your book and what it is about but also a quotation from your book, from anywhere in the text.

I offer the following from Maledicus: The Investigative Paranormal Society Book 1 by Charles F. French, which is as much a love story as it is a horror novel:

“As he did every morning, Roosevelt woke up and reached for Sarah, only to be dismayed when he realized she wasn’t there, that she was, indeed, gone, and he would have to make it through another day without her. That was the worst part of every day, having to face another waking period without Sarah” (18).

So, if you would like to join the party and promote your book, please offer a quotation!

Have fun, promote your book, and please share this post.

 

Available on Amazon

Get The Draft Done! is available here: Amazon.com

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.

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

Available on Amazon

Available on Amazon

A Few Quotations on Justice

(https://commons.wikimedia.org)

“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”

                                                                      Elie Wiesel

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“No man is justified in doing evil on the ground of expediency.”

                                                                      Theodore Roosevelt

(https://commons.wikimedia.org)

“When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?”

                                                                       Eleanor Roosevelt

“An injustice to one person is a crime against everyone, and we must always try to achieve true justice in the world.”

                                                                     Charles F. French

Happy New Year–2023!

(Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com)

As this year is approaching its end, I have been thinking about what I am thankful for. I am deeply grateful for my family, including the extended one, and my friends. Additionally, I am extremely grateful for are my readers on this blog. You are a disparate group, but you are also unfailingly intelligent, kind, and civil. I have also made several friendships here with people who live far away, and I value those connections.

To all my blog followers:

Thank you!

Charles F. French

(Photo by Giftpundits.com on Pexels.com)

And I wish everyone a healthy and happy 2023!

Happy New Year!

(Photo by Jill Wellington on Pexels.com)

A Few Thoughts

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As the year comes to its conclusion, I was considering what I thought might be among the most important daily habits to have, not including work and writing! So, I want to present three suggestions to everyone, and their order is not important:

1) Find a bit of joy every day.

2) Learn something new each day.

3) Show some kindness so that you can make the world a better place.

I don’t think these ideas are either revolutionary or new, but I hope they are useful.

To everyone–be well!

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I Wish All A Merry Christmas!

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Merry Christmas to all!  I wish you joy, peace, love, and happiness.

Fröhliche Weihnachten — in German

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Nollaig Shona Dhuit —  in Irish Gaelic

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Boldog Karácsonyt! — in Hungarian

http://gmerrychristmasg.hol.es

These are languages of my background and of my interest.

Merry Christmas!