Book Briefs for Dec. 11-17
Chef Tyler Florence plans Las Vegas appearance to sign new cookbook
Chef, Food TV host and author Tyler Florence plans to sign copies of his new cookbook "Tyler Florence Fresh" from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday in the Queue Bar in The Cosmopolitan, 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Books will be sold at EATDRINK inside The Cosmopolitan.
View outdoors columnist plans book events at REI locations
View outdoors columnist and author Deborah Wall plans to speak and sign copies of her book "Base Camp Las Vegas: Hiking the Southwestern States" from 7 to 9 p.m. Dec. 19 at the 2220 Village Walk Drive REI in The District at Green Valley Ranch and from 7 to 9 p.m. Dec. 20 in the 710 S. Rampart Blvd. REI in Boca Park. Visit basecamplas vegashikes.com for more information.
Library card sign-up has perks
The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District and "The Chuck Jones Experience" at Circus Circus have teamed up to present Love your Library? Tell a Friend!, a library card sign-up campaign through Dec. 31. Sign up for a free library card during December, or if you already have a library card, like the library district on Facebook and be automatically entered to earn a chance to win a framed Chuck Jones animation cel from "The Chuck Jones Experience."
Existing library card holders will receive a 50 percent discount off general admission through March 15 (cannot be combined with other offers or discounts). Show your library card at the box office at "The Chuck Jones Experience" at Circus Circus to receive the discount.
The interactive attraction "The Chuck Jones Experience" is designed to educate, inspire and entertain. Learn about the life of Chuck Jones and the famous characters he created, such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, the Tasmanian Devil, Yosemite Sam and others.
To get a free library card, stop by any library district branch to fill out an application or apply online at lvccld.org.
'City of Champions' event slated
Brian Hurlburt plans to sign copies of the book "City of Champions: The History of Professional Golf in Las Vegas" at 1 p.m. Saturday at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.
Kurt Divich schedules signing event
Local writer Kurt Divich, author of the novel "Lords of Las Vegas" and the nonfiction book "The Smith Center for the Performing Arts: A Dream in the Desert," is scheduled to sign books at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.
'Bright Lights, Dark Places' author plans signing at Nellis Air Force Base
"Bright Lights, Dark Places: Pioneering as a Female Police Officer in Las Vegas" author Debra Gauthier plans to sign books at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Nellis Air Force Base Officer's Club, 5871 Fitzgerald Blvd. Base identification will be required to access the facility.
Browse rare books in new app
Searching for rare books? Now there's an app for that. Bauman Rare Books, which has a Las Vegas shop in The Palazzo, 3325 Las Vegas Blvd. South, recently launched an app available on iTunes that will allow readers to see new acquisitions, browse catalogues, view videos, make purchases and manage their personal accounts, and share items via Twitter and Facebook. So if you've got $65,000 to spend on a first edition "The Catcher in the Rye" signed by J.D. Salinger, the app has you covered. The catalogue can also be perused at baumanrarebooks.com.
Meet the Authors Day scheduled
The 8195 W. Charleston Blvd. Barnes & Noble plans a Meet the Authors Day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 22 featuring P Moss and Laraine Harper from 10 a.m. to noon; Joan Whitely and John L. Smith and his daughter, Amelia, from noon to 2 p.m.; Wendy Mazaros and Cork Proctor from 2 to 4 p.m.; and Kurt Divich, Geri Kodey and Mike Donahue from 4 to 6 p.m.
Children's Book Writers and Illustrators plan one-day workshop
The Nevada Region of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators plans a "The Write Resolution" workshop from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Jan. 26 at the Las Vegas Day School, 3275 Red Rock St. Faculty scheduled to participate includes novelists Ellen Hopkins, Suzanne Morgan Williams, Susan Hart Lindquist, Terri Farley and agent Keren Grencik. Registration is for society members is $100 before Jan. 20 or $125 at the door. Nonmembers pay $125 or $135. Manuscript and portfolio reviews are available for an additional $40. For more information, visit nevadascbwi.org.
Vegas Lit to publish fiction with covers by local artists
Las Vegas-based publisher Huntington Press has launched the new fiction imprint Vegas Lit with plans to specialize in works with a Las Vegas or gambling tie-in.
The imprint's first title is "Risk of Ruin," a debut novel by Las Vegas writer Arnold Snyder, who also serves as Vegas Lit's managing editor. On Saturday , Vegas Lit is set to release Michael Konik's satirical fantasy, "Becoming Bobby." David Kranes' thriller, "abracadabra," is slated for an early 2013 release.
Huntington Press is planning to feature original artwork commissioned from local artists on all Vegas Lit covers. Writers and artists can visit lasvegasadvisor.com for submission guidelines. Queries can be emailed to books@huntingtonpress.com.
Radio station and historian honored with Crystal Bookmark Awards
Local author Michael Green and Nevada Public Radio were presented with the 2012 Crystal Bookmark Awards on the closing day of the Vegas Valley Book Festival at the Historic Fifth Street School, Nov. 3. The awards, presented annually by the book festival, are given to an individual and to an organization for advancing the cause of literature and literacy in the Vegas Valley.
Green, a professor of history at the College of Southern Nevada, is the author of several books on the Civil War era and has written or co-authored numerous books on Nevada, including "Las Vegas; A Centennial History" and "Las Vegas: A Pictorial Celebration."
For more information, visit vegasvalley bookfestival.org.
Bank to help bookstore give gift of literacy during holidays
Barnes & Noble patrons can have their donation matched by City National Bank when they purchase a book for donation to local schools through Jan. 1 as part of the Gift of Literacy Holiday Book Drive.
Sign up now for book fair
The Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, is signing up local published authors for the fifth annual Spring Fling Book Fair, scheduled from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 6. Authors who have books to sell can sign up for signing table sessions from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or 1:30 to 3 p.m. Space is limited. The main theater is expected to feature a Hollywood authors panel, a concert and more.
For more information, contact library scheduling specialist Julie Okabayashi at okabayashij@lvccld.org.
'The Child Whisperer' author plans visit
Carole Tuttle, author of "The Child Whisperer" is scheduled to sign books at 1 p.m. Jan. 5 at the 8915 W. Charleston Barnes & Noble.
Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka to speak at BMI event
The Black Mountain Institute plans a presentation by Wole Soyinka, winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize for Literature, at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 in the student union at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. Additional Black Mountain programs scheduled include a Nevada Emerging Writers Series featuring Leslie Jamison at 7 p.m. Feb. 19 in the Greenspun Hall auditorium at UNLV; Mustapha Marrouchi at 7 p.m. March 6 in the UNLV student union; and a conversation with BMI Fellows Criselda Yabes and Oksana Marafioti, moderated by Richard Wiley, at 7 p.m. April 10 in the UNLV student union. For more information, visit black mountaininstitute.org.
Learn to write irresistible queries
LeeAnne Krusemark, author of "101 Ways to Make $Money$ as a Freelance Writer," is scheduled to talk about writing irresistible query letters during a meeting of the Las Vegas Writers Group scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at the Tap House, 5589 W. Charleston Blvd. The meeting fee is $5. For more information, visit meetup.com/las-vegas-writers/.
Henderson Writers Group meetings set
The Henderson Writers Group meets 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 for more information.
Barnes & Noble to host writing group
The 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble hosts a writing critique group the fourth Monday of each month. The group is limited to the first 20 participants per meeting. Sign up at www.meetup.com/las-vegas-creative-writing-class.
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
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 702-240-2665.
Both databases are frequently updated with fresh stories. Parents and teachers can download lesson plans for each book on the website.
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 Coffeehouse inside Emergency Arts, 520 Fremont St. For details, visit lasvegaspoets.org.
Download books and more from 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 Coffeehouse in Emergency Arts, 520 Fremont St.
The library is 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.
