Book Briefs

NEONLIT TO FEATURE UNLV WRITERS

Kathryn Kruse started the NeonLit Reading Series in 2009 to feature the works of students in the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, master of fine arts and Ph.D. programs. Since then, the monthly events have drawn standing-room-only crowds downtown to hear poetry and prose. Poet Oscar Oswald and first-year fiction writer Brittany Bronson are among student readers scheduled to present their work Friday at the Contemporary Arts Center in The Arts Factory, 107 E. Charleston Blvd. Doors are set to open at 6 p.m. with a cash bar, and the reading is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. For details, visit neonlit.org.

ALL-STAR SLAM OF POETRY PLANNED

National and local poets from Marc Marcel and Harry Fagel to Dayvid Figler and Sean Critchfield are set to be featured at the All-Stars Slam of Poetry today in Ovation at Green Valley Ranch, 2300 Paseo Verde Parkway, Henderson. The event is scheduled to begin with open mic at 7 p.m. Featured poets are scheduled to go on at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10. Visit lasvegaspoets.org for details.

NEW MEDIA EXPERT TO TALK AT UNLV ABOUT DETAILS OF DIGITAL DITCHING

"The Breakup 2.0: Disconnecting over New Media" author Ilana Gershon, from the department of anthropology at Indiana University, plans to deliver a lecture titled "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover: New Media and Breaking Up" as part of the University Forum Lecture Series at 7:30 p.m. today inside the Marjorie Barrick Museum at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. For more information, visit liberalarts.unlv.edu.

‘TEXTING THROUGH TIME’ AUTHOR TO VISIT

Christy Monson, author of "Texting Through Time: A Trek With Brigham Young," plans to meet readers from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday in the lobby of the Green Valley Library, 2797 N. Green Valley Parkway.

SHARPEN WRITING SKILLS AT WORKSHOPS

Author Maxwell Drake plans to offer a free adult writing workshop at 4:45 p.m. today at the Centennial Hills Library, 6711 N. Buffalo Drive.

For more information, call 507-6107.

LIBRARY TO HOST ‘VEGAS DIARY: A DISH SERVED COLD’ EVENT

Meet Rose Titus, the wife of the late Charles Titus, author of "Vegas Diary: A Dish Served Cold," from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Dec. 19 at the Paseo Verde Library, Paseo Verde Library, 280 S. Green Valley Parkway in Henderson.

SHARE POEMS AT HUMAN EXPERIENCE

Polish up a poem or two and try them out live at Human Experience, a free spoken word event, from 7 to 9 p.m. Mondays in The Beat coffee shop at 520 Fremont St. inside Emergency Arts. For more information or to view the events online as they happen, visit lasvegaspoets.org.

SUNRISE COFFEE CO. ON SUNSET ROAD HOSTS OPEN MIC NIGHT WEDNESDAYS

Sunrise Coffee Co. welcomes poets and poetry fans to participate in its open mic night starting at 7 p.m. every Wednesday at 3130 E. Sunset Road.

FREE STORYCORPS TOOLKIT HELPS COLLECT MEMORIES

The national StoryCorps’ Memory Loss Initiative encourages people with memory loss to share their stories with loved ones and future generations. To make that task easier, a free step-by-step toolkit is available to download at storycorps.org/mli.

The Commemorate toolkit offers an individual reminiscence program that family members can initiate or memory loss care facilities can add to activities.

The initiative has collected more than 1,800 interviews with 180 partner organizations.

For more information, visit storycorps.org or call 646-723-7027.

ACCESS RECORDED BOOK PROGRAMS ONLINE THROUGH LIBRARY DISTRICT

Too busy to get out to book programs? The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District has started posting videocasts and podcasts of many of its programs online. Selections available so far include: "An Afternoon with Tony Curtis," John L. Smith’s presentation "Amelia’s Long Journey: The Challenge of Writing What You Know," "Batman" movie producer Michael Uslan’s presentation at the 2009 Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival, Jami Carpenter’s "ABCs of Editing" workshop and Brian Rouff’s "Getting Published: A Long Strange Trip." To access the programs, visit lvccld.org, select "Books, Movies & More" and then "Video and Podcasts."

The Black Mountain Institute has offered recordings of its programming since 2006. To access recordings of a gamut of writers from E.L. Doctorow to Alissa Nutting, visit blackmountain institute.org and select "multimedia."

FREE READ TO ME PROGRAM OFFERS STORIES ONLINE AND BY PHONE

Celebrity storytellers Oscar Goodman, Rita Rudner, Clint Holmes, Terry Fator, Carrot Top, The Scintas and others have donated their talents to the Clark County Education Association Community Foundation’s Read To Me program. Children can view more than 15 videos of celebrities reading books on the website at readtomelv.com. Stories also can be accessed by calling 240-2665.

Both databases are frequently updated with fresh stories. Parents and teachers can download lesson plans for each book on the website.

DOWNLOAD BOOKS and MORE FROM YOUR PUBLIC LIBRARY

Virtual Branch websites make it easy to browse, check out and download digital books and more to a home computer for free. All patrons need is a valid library card and an Internet-connected PC.

Virtual Branch download websites feature a digital catalog of downloadable audio books, e-books, music and video titles.

Each site is meant to look and feel like the library’s main site, and it has many easy-to-use features similar to an online store.

Digital book downloads are borrowed just like print materials. Once patrons select the title or author they want, they follow the steps to check out and then download the title to their home computer.

Patrons can transfer most titles to portable media players, such as MP3 players, PDAs, Kindles or smart phones.

Each title that is downloaded has a designated lending period. When the title expires, it is automatically returned to the Virtual Branch, so there are no late fees.

For more information, visit search.overdrive.com.

Henderson Writers Group meets Mondays

The Henderson Writers Group meets from 6:30 to 8:45 p.m. Mondays. Meetings are at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at 4550 S. Maryland Parkway on the second and fourth Mondays and at Saxby’s Coffee Lounge, 72 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway in Henderson, on the first, third and occasional fifth Mondays.

Visit hendersonwritersgroup.com for more details.

Meetings are open to the public.

ZINE LIBRARY OPEN IN EMERGENCY ARTS

Grab a cup of coffee and check out the independently crafted magazines at the Las Vegas Zine Library inside the Beat Cafe in Emergency Arts, 520 Fremont St.

The library is still small, more of a collection on display for reference and on-site reading than a checkout repository. Contributions of zines are appreciated. For more information, visit lvzinelibrary.blogspot.com.

Ms. China plans author interview

Ms. China plans to interview Toni T. Ellis, author of "Baby Girl’s Mirror," from 2 to 4 p.m. Jan. 14 at the West Las Vegas Library, 951 W. Lake Mead Blvd. Visit lvccld.org for details.