Book Briefs for Nov. 26-Dec. 2, 2013

JIM AND BEVERLY ROGERS PLEDGE $10 MILLION TO BLACK MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE

UNLV announced a $10 million commitment from business leader and Nevada System of Higher Education chancellor emeritus Jim Rogers and his wife, Beverly, to support the expansion of literary programming within the university’s Black Mountain Institute. In recognition of the gift, the institute is set to be renamed the Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute.

The gift is expected to infuse the institute’s budget with between $500,000 and $800,000 annually for 15 years, allowing it to reinstitute and expand its City of Asylum program, increase support for existing Ph.D. and fellowship programs and enhance its public programming and outreach.

The institute also plans to use the new funding to create the Black Mountain Institute Prize, a biennial $50,000 award for fiction to be judged by a panel of noteworthy writers.

For more information, visit blackmountaininstitute.org.

WEST LAS VEGAS LIBRARY TO CELEBRATE 40TH ANNIVERSARY

Celebrate the 40-year anniversary of the West Las Vegas Library, 951 W. Lake Mead Blvd., from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Dec. 2 in conference rooms A and B. For more information, visit lvccld.org or call 702-507-3980.

LIBRARY TREE LANE TO FEATURE ROBYN CARR

Best-selling Henderson romance author Robyn Carr is slated to be the featured guest author at this year’s Library Tree Lane Gala, scheduled from 7 to 10 p.m. Dec. 6 at the Paseo Verde Library, 280 S. Green Valley Parkway. Patrons can bid on more than 200 gift baskets, holiday decorations, books and more during the annual benefit. Tickets are $35. For more information, visit hdplfriends.org or call 702-492-6584.

TEEN WRITING CLUB TO MEET

A teen writing club for youths 12 to 17 is slated to meet from 4 to 5 p.m. Nov. 26 at the Green Valley Library, 2797 N. Green Valley Parkway. For more information, visit mypubliclibrary.org.

MEMOIR-WRITING WORKSHOPS SLATED

An ongoing series of free four-week memoir-writing workshops is scheduled from 10 to 11 a.m. Fridays at the Las Vegas FamilySearch Library, 509 S. Ninth St. For more information, call 702-382-9695.

CHARLESTON HEIGHTS ARTS CENTER TO HOST DISCUSSION GROUP

The Charleston Heights Arts Center, 800 S. Brush St., plans to host a book discussion group for readers 16 or older led by Aleida Castro. The group’s next meeting is set for Dec. 12. Organizers suggest readers call 702-229-6383 to confirm which book will be discussed.

CHEFS FEATURED IN DIGITAL COOKBOOK

Local celebrity chef Laura Augsburger has joined with chefs and food bloggers across the country in the digital cookbook “Spreading Cheer With Philadelphia,” a book benefiting Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign. The book includes Augsburger’s peanut butter mousse tart. Other submissions include Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger’s apple cream cheese bread pudding and key lime pie, and Izzy’s Red Velvet Curly Cake courtesy of Todd English. The book can be downloaded at cheesecakecheer.com.

SIGNING SET FOR ‘TREASURE OF THE SOUL’

Local author Chrystal Hallam is set to sign copies of her book “Treasure of the Soul” at 1 p.m. Jan. 8 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

‘BAD KITTY’ AUTHOR PLANS LAS VEGAS VISIT

Nick Bruel, best known as author and illustrator of the tales of the cantankerous cat Bad Kitty, is scheduled to sign copies of his soon-to-be released title “Bad Kitty Drawn to Trouble” at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 15 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

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.

‘ON TWO FRONTS’ AUTHORS PLAN SIGNING

Lan Taubold and Adam Fenner are set to sign copies of their book “On Two Fronts” at 1 p.m. Jan. 25 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble. Taubold is also slated to sign copies of the book he wrote with Richard Devin, “Ripper: A Love Story.”

ALIANTE LIBRARY TO HOST WRITERS CLUB

The Aliante Library Writers Club is scheduled to meet from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month at the Aliante Library, 2400 W. Deer Springs Road. For more information, contact facilitator Glory Wade at glorywadewriter@gmail.com.

BOOK ILLUSTRATIONS ARE ON DISPLAY

An exhibit titled “Imaginings through Illustrations: Work by Children’s Book Illustrators” featuring artwork by illustrators Jorge Betancourt-Polanco, Elisha Cooper, Adam Gustavson, Bethanie Murguia, Kip Noschese and Joseph Watson is slated to be on display through Nov. 30 at the Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth St. The exhibit is open by appointment. For more information, visit vegasvalleybookfestival.org.

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 more information, visit lasvegaspoets.org.

FREE READ TO ME PROGRAM OFFERED

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.

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.

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. For more information, visit hendersonwritersgroup.

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.

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 videos 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 blackmountaininstitute.org and select “multimedia.”