Book Briefs for April 3

Boutique to feature 'Women at the well'

Ann Chamberlin plans to sign copies of her book "The Woman at the Well" from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Book Boutique, 19 W. Pacific Ave. in Henderson. For more information, visit annchamberlin.com or call 697-0001.

Yayo Taco to host Poetry Slam

Twelve of the area's best performance poets are set to face off in the Las Vegas Poetry Slam semifinals scheduled from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday at Yayo Taco, 4632 S. Maryland Parkway. Admission is a $5 donation to fund the winning team's trip to the national competition. For more information, visit lvslam.net.

Signing set for the Memoir 'I Wore the Ocean in the Shape of a Girl'

Kelle Groom is scheduled to sign copies of her memoir of addiction recovery, "I Wore the Ocean in the Shape of a Girl," at 2 p.m. Saturday at the 2191 N. Rainbow Barnes & Noble. For more information, visit kellegroom.com.

Paseo Verde Library plans book sale

The Paseo Verde Library, 280 S. Green Valley Parkway in Henderson, is scheduled to host a half-price Scholastic book sale during regular library hours Thursday through Saturday. For more information visit mypubliclibrary.com.

Bookstore to host 'Rude Buay II' events

John A. Andrews plans to sign copies of his novel "Rude Buay II" at 1 p.m. Thursday and 11 a.m. Friday at the 2191 N. Rainbow Barnes & Noble.

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. Mary Wilson of The Supremes is set to be the keynote speaker. For details, visit lasvegaswritersconference.com.

Meet author of 'The Ramos Brothers Trust Castro and Kennedy'

Meet Henderson author Roger DeBlanck as he discusses his historical novel "The Ramos Brothers Trust Castro and Kennedy" at 6 p.m. April 11 at the Gibson Library, 100 W. Lake Mead Parkway in Henderson.

The author's father and uncle, whose experiences of growing up in Cuba and immigrating to the United States in the late '50s inspired the story, are expected to attend the event. For more information, visit mypubliclibrary.com.

Darlene Quinn plans appearance

Darlene Quinn plans to sign copies of her novels "Webs of Power," "Twisted Webs" and "Webs of Fate" at 2 p.m. April 14 at the 8915 W. Barnes & Noble. For more on the author, visit darlenequinn.net.

Book inspired by Josh Stevens

Meet Domenic Russo, author of "Oh, My Gosh, Josh!," a children's book inspired by Josh Stevens' real-life acts of kindness, at 1 p.m. April 14 at the 567 N. Stephanie St. Barnes & Noble in Henderson. For more information about the book, and the foundation named for Josh, visit joshstevensfoundation.org.

Deborah Coonts to speak at Las Vegas Writers Group meeting

Local author Deborah Coonts is scheduled to speak about series writing at a meeting of the Las Vegas Writers Group scheduled at 7 p.m. April 19 at the Tap House, 5589 W. Charleston Blvd. A $5 meeting fee is charged. For more information on the group, visit meetup.com/las-vegas-writers.

Coonts is the author of the popular Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventure series. For more information on the author, visit deborahcoonts.com.

Elaine Cali McNamara plans Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf appearance

"In the Midst of Cowboys, Crooners, and Gangsters: Recollections of the Las Vegas Glamour Era" author Elaine Cali McNamara is scheduled to visit with readers from 1 to 4 p.m. April 14 at the 2220 Village Walk Drive Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. For more information, visit inthemidstofcowboyscroonersandgangsters.com.

Author to lecture on food and fitness

Author and clinical psychologist Dr. Cortney Warren Fishkin plans a free lecture titled "Psychology, Eating and You" at 6 p.m. April 18 at the Downsize Fitness gym, 321 W. Buffalo Drive, Suite 120. For more information, visit downsizefitness.com.

Las Vegas Romance writers to welcome Morgan Kearns

Morgan Kearns, author of "HeartAche," "In It To Win It" and "His Destiny is Karma," is scheduled to speak on making book cover art eye-catching and saleable at the Las Vegas Romance Writers meeting scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon April 21 in the Wengert Room at NV Energy, 6226 W. Sahara Ave. The public is welcome. For more information, visit lasvegasrwa.org.

'Life as Lenke' even planned

A book signing for the memoir "Life as Lenke: A Struggle to Survive," by Lenke Brown and Maureen Woods, is scheduled from noon to 2 p.m. April 14 at the Book Boutique, 19 W. Pacific Ave. in Henderson. For more information, visit or call 697-0001.

Signing set for 'Defying Evil'

Local author Ben Wood plans to sign copies of his book "Defying Evil: How the Italian Army Saved Croatian Jews During the Holocaust" at 1 p.m. May 5 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

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.

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 details, 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 hendersonwritersgroup.com for more information. Meetings are open to the public.

Active Adult Center Book Club to discuss 'Blood From a Stone'

The Centennial Hills Active Adult Center book club plans to discuss "Blood From a Stone" by Donna Leon April 4 and "The Single Thread" by Marie Bostwick May 2 at the center, 6601 N. Buffalo Drive.

The book club meets at 12:30 p.m. the first Wednesday of the month and is free for center members.

For more information, call 229-1702.

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."

Author to lead free career workshop

The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District plans to offer a free career workshops led by PJ Sheldon, local author of "Career Strategies for Success." "Navigating Interviews" is 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. For details, visit lvccld.org.

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.

Library plans Spring Fling Book Fair

Dozens of regional authors are scheduled to meet readers and sign books at the fourth annual Spring Fling Book Fair from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. Select authors plan free lectures and workshops starting at 11:30 a.m. Admission is free. For more information, visit lvccld.org or call 507-3458.

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.