Book Briefs for March 19-25
Vicki Pettersson to release
newest Celestial Blues novel today
Former showgirl and current bestselling author Vicki Pettersson is back with the second book in her Celestial Blues supernatural romantic mystery series. “The Lost” is set to be released today . Before she sets off on a national tour, Pettersson is scheduled to sign copies of the book at 7 p.m. Thursday at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble. For more on the local author, visit vickipettersson.com.
Bestselling author Cassandra Clare’s ‘Clockwork Princess’ tour to visit
Cassandra Clare is scheduled to lead a discussion and sign copies of her newest Infernal Devices Series book “Clockwork Princess” at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble. Patrons must purchase the book to get a wristband for the book signing line. The store will begin handing out wristbands at 9 a.m. today . The film “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones,” set to be released Aug. 23, is based on Clare’s work. For more on the author, visit cassandraclare.com.
‘Personal Foul’ author plans presentation at the Mob Museum
Tim Donaghy, former NBA referee whose intimate knowledge of the game landed him in prison and made him a sports media celebrity, plans to talk about the experiences captured in his book “Personal Foul” at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, the Mob Museum, 300 Stewart Ave. Tickets for Donaghy’s presentation are $24 for museum members and $29 for nonmembers. To make reservations, call 702-229-2734.
Donaghy is also set to present one of his NBA referee jerseys to the museum at 10:30 a.m. today . Guests can meet him during that appearance for the price of an admission ticket.
Admission is $10 for Nevada residents. Visit themobmuseum.org for details.
P Moss to chat about fiction writing
Las Vegas bar owner P Moss, author of the novel-in-stories “Vegas Knockout” and the story collection “Blue Vegas,” is scheduled to speak on the nuances of translating real life into fiction during a meeting of the Las Vegas Writers Group scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at the Tap House, 5589 W. Charleston Blvd.
A meeting fee of $5 is charged.
For more information, visit meetup.com/las-vegas-writers/.
Author to sign ‘Hostile to Reason’
Capt. Kevin M. Smith is scheduled to sign “Hostile to Reason,” a book he co-authored with Ronald J. Lofaro on Operations Decision Theory, a new way of examining socialism, at 11 a.m. Saturday at the 567 N. Stephanie St. Barnes & Noble.
Digital bookmobile to visit libraries
The Digital Bookmobile is slated to visit from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday at Summerlin Library, 1771 Inner Circle Drive, and March 26 at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road.
The 74-foot trailer provides high-tech experience and staff members offer hands on digital download instruction.
Participants have the chance to win a Sony PRS-Y1 Wi-Fi eReader. For details, visit lvccld.org or call 702-507-3860.
Mark Cordova plans bookstore event
Readers can meet Mark Cordova, author of “The Secret and the Truth of the Ages,” at 1 p.m. Saturday at the 8915 W. Charleston Blvd. Barnes & Noble. For more on the book, visit thesecretandthetruthoftheages.com.
READ Local author Series
to feature Bernadette Quander
Bernadette Quander, author of the science fiction novel “Sabre de Pleiades,” is scheduled to appear as part of the Henderson District Public Libraries READ Local Author Series, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. March 27 in the lobby of the Paseo Verde Library, 280 S. Green Valley Parkway. For more on the author, visit sabredepleiades.com.
football player-turned pastor
to sign motivational memoir
Randall Cunningham is scheduled to sign copies of his motivational memoir “Lay It Down: How Letting Go Brings Out Your Best” at 11 a.m. March 30 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble. Cunningham, a past recipient of the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award, is now a pastor and mentor in Las Vegas.
Kaya to sign book on dream interpretation
Performer, author on the subject of angels and dream interpretation, Kaya, is scheduled to share music and sign copies of his book “How to Interpret Dreams and Signs at 7 p.m. March 30 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Barnes & Noble. Visit kayadreams.com for more on the author.
Library launch for ‘Going Vintage’
to include a costume contest
A kick off for the release of “Going Vintage,” Las Vegas author Lindsey Leavitt’s new book for teens and tweens, is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. April 3 at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road.
In the book Mallory decides to swear off boys and technology when her boyfriend finds another girl online. Inspired by a list of goals her grandmother set in 1962, she decides to go vintage and embrace a simpler time.
To celebrate the book launch, the library plans to host a costume contest. Guests are invited dress up in clothes from their favorite era and win prizes.
For more information, visit lvccld.org or call 702-507-3459.
Las Vegas Writers Conference
to include free public reception
The Las Vegas Writers Conference is scheduled for April 18-20 at Sam’s Town. Registration is $475 in advance or $500 at the door. One-day registration for $300 is also offered.
Authors, agents and editors on the faculty are slated to include My Haley, Peter Joseph, Jeniffer Thompson, Jeff Kleinman, Margaret Bail, Sara Sciuto, Sara D’Emic, Rhonda Penders, Michelle Johnson, Johanna Melaragno, John Vorhaus, Randall Platt, Jo Wilkins, Claudia Suzanne, Rachel Ekstrom, Paul Sinor, David Zuckerman, Oksanna Marafioti and Paula Stahel.
A free public reception sponsored by Stephens Press is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. April 18. Stephens Press authors scheduled to be highlighted at the reception include Kurt Divich, Elaine McNamara, P Moss, Brenda Williams, Trish Harris, Vicki Kilbury and Stu Michaels. For more information, visit lasvegaswritersconference.com.
One-man show to share stories from book about gay black men in the South
The College of Liberal Arts at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is slated to sponsor “Pouring Tea: Black Gay Men of the South Tell Their Tales” a performance by Northwestern University professor E. Patrick Johnson. The one-man show, set to feature oral histories from Johnson’s book “Sweet Tea: Black Men of the South,” is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. April 4 at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. For more information, visit unlv.edu or lvccld.org.
Library to host Author Night
with My Haley, widow of Alex Haley
My Haley, widow of Alex Haley and collaborator on “Roots, is scheduled to read from her debut novel “The Treason of Mary Louvestre” during an author night program from 6 to 7:30 p.m. April 4 at the Paseo Verde Library, 280 S. Green Valley Parkway. Copies will be available for purchase and signing following a question and answer session with the author. For more information, visit mypubliclibrary.org.
Library District plans book fair
The Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, plans its fifth annual Spring Fling Book Fair from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 6. Authors are scheduled for signing table sessions from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or 1:30 to 3 p.m. 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.
Sun City MacDonald Ranch plans signing for Wednesday Warriors
The Sun City MacDonald Ranch Literary Guild plans to host a book signing for the Wednesday Warrior Writers’ new book “I Pledge Allegiance: Stories of Valor, Heroism and Patriotism” at 2 p.m. April 14 at the Willows Community Center, 2020 Horizon Ridge Parkway. The event is free and open to the public, and the onsite Willows restaurant is slated to offer a 20 percent discount to attendees on the day of the event.
Romance writers to welcome Tom Keller
Tom Keller, local author of the urban fantasy Return of the High Fae, is scheduled to speak on self publishing and marketing at 10:30 a.m. April 20 during a meeting of the Las Vegas Romance Writers in the Wengert conference room in the NV Energy building, 6226 W. Sahara Ave. The meeting is scheduled to begin with club business at 10 a.m. For more information, visit lasvegasrwa.org.
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 henderson
writersgroup.com for more information.
Harlequin to honor Las Vegas’
Goodie Two Shoes Foundation in ebook
The Las Vegas-based Goodie Two Shoes Foundation, a nonprofit co-founded by Nikki Berti to provide shoes and socks for children, is one of three winners in a national Harlequin More Than Words campaign. As part of the award, the organization is to receive $15,000 and have its story written by one of three Harlequin TEEN authors. The stories are to appear in 2014 in ebook format for free download. Nominations for the award came from the public and were narrowed down by voting online at harlequinmorethanwords.com. The other winners were the Jubilee Women’s Center in Seattle and the Diller Community Foundation in Nebraska.
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 meetup.com/las-vegas-creative-writing-class.
Summerlin Library offers
Readers and writers workshop series
A readers and writers workshop series sponsored by poet, editor and writer Barbara Miller is scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the second Saturday of every month at the Summerlin Library, 1771 Inner Circle Drive. For more information, call 702-507-3866.
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 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 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.
Browse rare books in new app
Searching for rare books? Now there’s an app for that. Bauman Rare Books, which has a shop in The Palazzo, 3325 Las Vegas Blvd. South, recently launched an app available on iTunes that allows readers to see new acquisitions, browse catalogs, view videos, make purchases and manage their personal accounts and share items via Twitter and Facebook. If you have $65,000 to spend on a first-edition “The Catcher in the Rye” signed by J.D. Salinger, the app has you covered. The catalog can also be perused at baumanrarebooks.com.
