Las Vegas book briefs for Jan. 21-27, 2016

Love at Human Experience: Local poet Lee Mallory plans to read passionate poetry backed up by upright bass player Mizz Absurd at 7 p.m. Feb. 8 at Hop Nuts Brewing Co., 1120 S. Main St. Jazz artist Philena Carter is also slated to perform. A Human Experience open mic is set to follow. Admission is free. Guests must be 21 or older.

Mob Month: The Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, is set to host authors and experts on the mob at 7 p.m. Tuesdays in January. For a full schedule, visit lvccld.org.

Adventure Author: Explorer and author Kim MacQuarrie plans to talk about his South American adventures captured in the book "The Last Days of the Incas" at 7 p.m. Jan. 21 at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. The book is currently being made into a 13-part dramatic series for the FX Channel. Visit lvccld.org or call 702-507-3400.

Writer's Retreat: The writer's retreat series with instruction on fiction, nonfiction, traditional and digital publishing offered by local writers Laurel Gale, Morgan St. James and Gregory Kompes is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Jan. 23, Feb. 13 and 27 and March 12 at Lake Las Vegas. Workshops are free but limited to 25 attendees, and registration is required. Visit mypubliclibrary.com.

Little Rascals Reading: Julia Lee, assistant professor of English at UNLV, plans to read from and sign copies of her book "Our Gang: A Racial History of the Little Rascals" from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 22 at The Writer's Block, 1020 Fremont St. Visit thewritersblock.org.

Barrick Presentation: Former Gov. Bob Miller is slated to talk about his life captured in his book "Son of a Gambling Man" at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 26 in the auditorium of the Marjorie Barrick Museum at UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. Visit liberalarts.unlv.edu/forum.

"Southern Paiute — A Portrait": Author Logan Hebner and photographer Michael Plyler plan to talk about their book "Southern Paiute: A Portrait" from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 28 at The Writer's Block, 1020 Fremont St. Visit thewritersblock.org.

Painted Stories: Writers of Southern Nevada is slated to host an evening of live painting inspired by author readings from 2 to 4 p.m. Jan. 31 at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. Visit nevadawriters.org.

Sign Scholar: Stefan Al, internationally recognized architect, author and academic, plans a presentation titled "Bigger, Better and Brighter: The Evolution of Las Vegas Signs" at 7 p.m. Feb. 2 in the auditorium of the Marjorie Barrick Museum at UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. Al, a scholar-in-residence at the Neon Museum, 770 Las Vegas Blvd. North, is the author of "Factory Towns of South China," "Village in the City" and "Mall City" and is writing a book about Las Vegas architecture. Visit neonmuseum.org.

Book Traces — Digital Humanities and the Future of the Library: Andrew Stauffer, associate English professor from the University of Virginia, plans to talk about the future of the reading experience during a free University Forum Lecture Series event scheduled from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 4 in the Marjorie Barrick Museum at UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. Visit unlv.edu.

Jim Blockey: The local author is set to sign copies of his book "Public Schools — The Worst Case of Child Abuse in American History" from 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 6 at BooksorBooks, 3460 E. Sunset Road, Suite R. For more on the book, visit jimblockey.tateauthor.com.

Kingpin: Ron Chepsiuk, author of "Black Caesar: The Rise and Disappearance of Frank Matthews, Kingpin," is slated to speak at 1 p.m. Feb. 6 at the Mob Museum, 300 Stewart Ave. The event is free with museum admission. Visit themobmuseum.org.

"A Gambler's Apprentice": College of Southern Nevada professor H. Lee Barnes plans to talk about his new novel from 7 to 8 p.m. Feb. 11 at The Writer's Block, 1020 Fremont St. Visit thewritersblock.org.

Bechtel Book: Investigative reporter Sally Denton plans to read from and sign her book "The Profiteers: Bechtel and the Men Who Built the World" from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 18 at The Writer's Block, 1020 Fremont St. Visit thewritersblock.org.

Ongoing events

5/5+ Poetry: Poets are invited to share original work for five minutes followed by attendees offering comments for five minutes during 5/5+, a workshop series put on by Nick Marco, Lana Hanson and Lee Mallory, scheduled every two weeks at BooksOrBooks, 3460 E. Sunset Road, Suite R. Call 702-754-5971, email jtjmarco@live.com, raisewomenup@gmail.com or leewmallory3@gmail.com or search for 5/5+ on Facebook.

Neon Lit: Neon Lit, a public reading featuring writers from UNLV's Master of Fine Arts and Ph.D. writing programs, is scheduled at 6 p.m. the fourth Friday of most months at The Writer's Block, 1020 Fremont St., No. 100. The next gathering is set for Jan. 29. Visit neonlit.org.

Writers club: The Aliante Library Writers Club is scheduled to meet from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. the first and third Tuesday of each month at the Aliante Library, 2400 W. Deer Springs Way. Email facilitator Glory Wade at glorywadewriter@gmail.com.

Poets Corner: The West Las Vegas Arts Center, 947 W. Lake Mead Blvd., plans to host poets corner readings with Keith Brantley at 7 p.m. the first and third Friday of each month. Call 702-229-4800.

Science fiction and fantasy writing group: Readers, writers and editors of science fiction and fantasy are invited to check out a new group scheduled to meet at 2 p.m. Saturdays in meeting room two at the Green Valley Library, 2797 N. Green Valley Parkway. Call 702-334-0204.

Barnes & Noble writing group: The 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble plans to host a writing critique group at 5:15 p.m. the fourth Monday of each month. The group is limited to the first 20 participants per meeting. Sign up at meetup.com/las-vegas-creative-writing-class.

Henderson Writers Group: The Henderson Writers Group plans to meet from 6:30 to 8:45 p.m. Mondays in Room C-2 at Community Lutheran Church, 3720 E. Tropicana Ave. Meetings are typically canceled on holidays. Visit hendersonwritersgroup.com.

Memoir-writing workshops: An ongoing series of free four-week memoir-writing workshops is scheduled at noon Wednesdays and 10 a.m. Fridays at the Las Vegas FamilySearch Library, 509 S. Ninth St. Four-week sessions are set to begin the first week of every month. Call 702-382-9695.