Book Briefs, Feb. 28
Library welcomes comic crime novelist
"An Evening with Tim Dorsey: Umbrella Drinks, Dictators & a Hilarious New Novel" is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday in the Jewel Box Theater at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. A book signing and reception are scheduled to follow Dorsey’s presentation. Dorsey’s novels include "Hurricane Punch," "The Big Bamboo," "Orange Crush," Triggerfish Twist," "Cadillac Beach" and "Torpedo Juice."
For more information, visit lvccld.org.
Author to share biography lessons
English professor Darlene Unrue plans a free lecture titled "Pitfalls, Roadblocks and Serendipity: What I Learned Writing a Biography," sharing her experiences writing a biography about Katherine Anne Porter, at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the auditorium of the Marjorie Barrick Museum at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway.
Celebrate Dr. Seuss at book parties
Celebrate classic children’s book author Dr. Seuss’ birthday with activities all over Southern Nevada. Las Vegas-Clark County Library District parties include An Oobleck Day event for children 6 to 11 from 4 to 5 p.m. Friday and a preschool storytime for children 5 or younger from 10:30 to 11 a.m. Thursday at the West Las Vegas Library, 951 W. Lake Mead Blvd.; parties are also planned Saturday from 2 to 2:45 p.m. at the West Charleston Library, 6301 W. Charleston Blvd., from 11 a.m. to noon at the Summerlin Library, 1771 Inner Circle Drive, and from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Enterprise Library, 25 E. Shelbourne Ave., the Sahara West Library, 9600 W. Sahara Ave., and the Whitney Library, 5175 E. Tropicana Ave. Storyteller Duffy Hudson is slated to put on a 45-minute Seuss program at 10:30 a.m. March 6 at the West Las Vegas Library, at 4 p.m. March 6 at the Centennial Hills Library, 6711 N. Buffalo Drive, at 10:30 a.m. March 7 at the Windmill Library, 7060 W. Windmill Lane, and at 4:30 p.m. March 7 at the West Charleston Library. For a complete schedule, visit lvccld.org.
Henderson Public Libraries plans Read Across America storytimes to celebrate Seuss from 1:30 to 1:55 p.m. and from 2 to 2:25 p.m. Saturday at the Paseo Verde Library, 280 S. Green Valley Parkway. Space is limited. Check in at the children’s desk. Visit www.mypubliclibrary.com for details.
The 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble plans a celebration with a reading of "The Lorax" and crafts at 7 p.m. Friday . The bookstore also plans to host student readers from the Clark County READS program throughout March. Visit barnesandnoble.com for details.
Author to lead free career workshops at local libraries
The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District plans to offer free career workshops led by PJ Sheldon, local author of "Career Strategies for Success"
Workshops include:
"Résumé Polishing" scheduled at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Centennial Hills Library, 6711 N. Buffalo Drive.
"Your Best Image" scheduled at 11 a.m. March 17 at the West Las Vegas Library, 951 W. Lake Mead Blvd.
"Navigating Interviews" scheduled at 10:30 a.m. April 14 at the Spring Valley Library, 4280 S. Jones Blvd.
A book sale and signing is set to follow each workshop. For details, visit lvccld.org.
Novel writing workshop offered
Author Maxwell Alexander Drake plans a novel writers workshop series meeting from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Centennial Hills Library, 6711 N. Buffalo Drive. Sign up at http://www.meetup.com/Las-Vegas-Creative-Writing-Class/.
Book Clubs invited to pre-festival mixer
Book clubs from around the valley are welcome to the Vegas Valley Book Festival pre-festival book group mixer set for 10:30 a.m. March 6 at the Centennial Hills Library, 6711 N. Buffalo Drive. Members of the Centennial Hills Readers Circle and other groups are to gather as Las Vegas Metropolitan Police detective Christopher Baughman leads a discussion of his book "Off The Street." No fee or registration is required. For details, call 507-6107 or visit vegasvalleybookfestival.org.
Event slated for ‘Voice of Cyn’
Cynthia Evans plans to sign copies of her book "Voice of Cyn …Traces of a Backslider" at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.
Newest Lucky O’Toole novel out today
Las Vegas author Deborah Coonts’ newest Lucky O’Toole Las Vegas Adventures novel, "So Damn Lucky," is scheduled to be released today. For more information on the author, visit deborahcoonts.com.
Library to host writing workshop
Poet and writing teacher Barbara Miller is set to lead a writers workshop from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. March 7 at the Summerlin Library, 1771 Inner Circle Drive.
For more information, call Susan Williams at 507-3866.
‘Righteous Porkchop’ author to speak
Nicolette Hahn Niman, environmental lawyer, rancher and author of "Righteous Porkchop: Finding a Life and Good Food Beyond Factory Farms," is scheduled to present a free University Forum Lecture titled "Eating Right and Righteously" at 7:30 p.m. March 8 in the auditorium of the Marjorie Barrick Museum at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway.
‘Vegas Rag Doll’ signing set
"Vegas Rag Doll" author Wendy Mazaros is scheduled to sign books at 1 p.m. March 17 at the 8915 W. Charleston Blvd. Barnes & Noble.
National park adventure series author plans book events
Mike Graf plans to present fiction writing tips and information from his national park series Adventures with the Parkers at 5:30 p.m. March 7 at the Las Vegas Library, 833 Las Vegas Blvd. North, 4 p.m. March 8 at the Spring Valley Library, 4280 S. Jones Blvd., and 10:30 a.m. March 12 at the West Las Vegas Library, 951 W. Lake Mead Blvd. For more information about the author, visit mikegrafauthor.com.
EXHIBIT TO FEATURE HISTORICAL FIGURES
Bauman Rare Books plans to showcase "The American Experience" exhibit through Thursday inside The Shoppes at the Palazzo, 3339 Las Vegas Blvd. South. The exhibit features rare first editions of "The Federalist" and "Lewis and Clark Expedition," and signed documents by Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. For more information, call 948-1617 or visit baumanrarebooks.com.
‘Conversations For Paco’ to be featured
James Lenhart plans a signing for his novel "Conversations For Paco" at 1 p.m. March 10 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.
Stephen Nasser plans signing
Stephen Nasser plans to sign copies of his autobiography "My Brother’s Voice" at 1 p.m. March 11 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.
Author/Columnist Betty Bunch to be featured at Brandeis luncheon
Brandeis University National Committee’s Las Vegas chapter plans to feature Betty Bunch, Vintage Vegas columnist and author of "High Heels and Headdresses: Memoirs of a Vintage Vegas Showgirl," at its 15th annual Book and Author Luncheon, scheduled for March 11 at Spiedini Ristorante in the JW Marriott, 221 N. Rampart Blvd. The group also plans to present the Chapter Outstanding Service Award to Edith Einhorn. Tickets are $65. Proceeds benefit the chapter’s scholarship fund.
To make a reservation, contact Denise Needleman at dfneedleman@gmail.com or Arlene Zonder at abzonder@embarqmail.com.
Las Vegas Writers Conference scheduled for April 19-21
The Las Vegas Writers Conference is scheduled for April 19-21 at Sam’s Town, 5111 Boulder Highway. Registration for the full conference is $450 or $500 at the door. One-day registration also is available.
For more information, visit lasvegaswritersconference.com.
SHARE POEMS AT HUMAN EXPERIENCE
Polish up a poem or two and try them out 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, visit lasvegaspoets.org.
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 Saxbys Coffee Lounge, 72 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway in Henderson, on the first, third and occasional fifth Mondays. Meetings are typically canceled on holidays. Visit henderson writersgroup.com for more information. Meetings are open to the public.
‘Cinderella Dream’ signing set
Jill Stacey is scheduled to sign copies of her book "Cinderella Dream: A Memoir About a Shattered Life Restored" at 11 a.m. March 24 at the 8515 W. Charleston Blvd. Barnes & Noble.
Active Adult Center Book Club to discuss ‘The Double Bind’
The Centennial Hills Active Adult Center book club plans to discuss "The Double Bind" by Bohjalian at 12:30 p.m. March 7 at the center, 6601 N. Buffalo Drive.
The book club meets the first Wednesday of the month and is free for center members.
Selections for future months are "Blood from a Stone" by Donna Leon for April 4 and "The Single Thread" by Marie Bostwick for May 2. A full listing of March events and regular programs is available at the center.
For more information, call 229-1702.
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.
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.
ACCESS RECORDED BOOK PROGRAMS ONLINE
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.
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.
Teen Writing Club plans meetings
A Teen Writing Club meets at the Green Valley Library, 2797 N. Green Valley Parkway. The club schedules meetings every other month. For more information, call 207-4260.
