Las Vegas Book Briefs for June 5-11, 2014

HENDERSON LIBRARIES PLAN SCIENCE SUMMER READING PROGRAM

Henderson Libraries’ summer reading program is scheduled to launch June 7. This year, the program theme has a Generation Steam science focus with activities and reading challenges for readers of all ages.

Syn Shop: The Las Vegas Hackerspace and other local volunteers and technology organizations are slated to host tables featuring hands-on science and technology activities at reading program kick-off events scheduled June 7 from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Paseo Verde Library, 280 S. Green Valley Parkway, the Gibson Library, 100 W. Lake Mead Parkway, and the Green Valley Library, 2797 N. Green Valley Parkway.

For more information, visit mypubliclibrary.com.

LITERARY GUILD PLANS AUTHOR EVENTS

The Sun City MacDonald Ranch Literary Guild plans a literary event featuring Richman Mahlangu at 2 p.m. June 8 at the Desert Willow Community Center, 2020 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway. Admission is free, and guests receive a 20 percent discount in the center’s restaurant the day of the event. The guild is slated to take the summer off and return with an event featuring author Geoff Schumacher in October.

Signing set for relationship book

R. J. Pepper is slated to sign copies of the relationship guide “The Hot Cloth ‑ An Odyssey Into Internet Dating, Sex and Relationships” at 1 p.m. June 7 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble. and at 1 p.m. June 8 at the 567 N. Stephanie St. Barnes & Noble.

Signing set for new book

Local author Anna Mae Zuccari-Teitelbaum is set to sign her new book “You’ll Never Know or Will You,” a look at terror brought on by domestic violence, at 1 p.m. June 7 at the 567 N. Stephanie St. Barnes & Noble.

Historian TO SPEAK ON HISTORY OF GAY COMMUNITY

Historian, author and Nevada State Museum director Dennis McBride plans a free lecture on the history of the Gay community in Nevada at 7 p.m. June 6 at the West Charleston Library, 6301 W. Charleston Blvd. For more information, visit lvccld.org or call 702-507-3964.

EVENT TO LAUNCH SESQUICENTENNIAL BOOK

Celebrate Nevada’s 150th birthday with a free presentation by local writers who contributed to the sesquicentennial book “Nevada: 150 Years in the Silver State,” edited by Geoff Schumacher, at 7 p.m. June 12 at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. Schumacher is slated to be joined by several of the books more than 70 contributors including Patty Cafferata, Scott Dickensheets, Dayvid Figler and Michael Green. For more information, visit lvccld.org.

ILLUSTRATOR TO LEAD WORKSHOP

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators plans to bring award-winning illustrator E.B. Lewis to Las Vegas for a one day workshop from 8:45 a.m. to noon June 28 at TAL Studio, 10801 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite 440. Lewis has illustrated 65 books for children.

Stefanie Von Borstel of Full Circle Literary is slated to conduct a limited number of portfolio critiques for registered attendees and a limited number of mail-in manuscript critiques for novelists who do not need to attend the event.

The workshop is $50 for society members and $65 for nonmembers.

Portfolio/picture book critiques are $35 for attendees who want their work critiqued. Space is limited, and registration closes June 13. For more information, visit nevada.scbwi.org.

DISTRICT PREPARES FOR BIG LIBRARY READ

The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District invites children and their parents to take part in the Big Library Read, a program that gives library patrons worldwide access to one ebook title for a two-week period to create a global virtual book club. Through June 18, library cardholders can visit lvccld.org and download ebook or audio copies of “A Pedigree to Die For,” the first book in the Melanie Travis Mystery Series by Laurien Berenson. For more information, visit lvccld.org or call 702-507-6300.

MEMOIR-WRITING WORKSHOPS SLATED

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. For more information, call 702-382-9695.

LOCAL AUTHOR SERIES TO FEATURE ANDREW NIXON

Andrew Nixon, author of the non-fiction book “50 Shades of Grades My Journey Through Wacademia,” is slated to meet with readers from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. June 25 in the lobby of the Paseo Verde Library, 280 S. Green Valley Parkway, as part of the READ Local Author Series. For more information, visit mypubliclibrary.com.

LUNCHEON TO FEATURE ‘THE CALLING’ AUTHOR

James Cannon, author, with Toi Moore, of “The Calling: How to Discover Your Calling in Three Days,” is set to be a featured speaker at eighth anniversary Visionary Awards and Luncheon scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 1 at the Suncoast, 9090 Alta Drive. For information on tickets, call 702-639-6964.

LIBRARY DISTRICT TO KICK OFF SUMMER READING PROGRAMS

Summer reading programs are set to run June 1 through Aug. 2 at all Las Vegas-Clark County Library District branches. Teens and children are invited to drop by any branch to sign up starting June 1. Kick-off events and activities are planned. For more information, visit lvccld.org.

NORTH LAS VEGAS READING CLUB KICKOFF SET FOR JUNE 5

A Reading Club Kickoff is scheduled at 5 p.m. June 5 at the Aliante Library, 2400 W. Deer Springs Road, and at 4 p.m. June 6 at the Alexander Library, 1755 W. Alexander Road. Children and teens are invited to participate with a chance to earn prizes. A Kindle Fire HD will be awarded as a grand prize to a raffle winner from each reading group. Participants can register for the reading club at any North Las Vegas library branch.

ROMANCE AUTHOR TO SPEAK TO WRITERS GROUP

Las Vegas romance author Moriah Densley plans to discuss giving characters authentic voice during a meeting of the Las Vegas Writers Group scheduled at 7 p.m. June 19 at the Tap House, 5589 W. Charleston Blvd. A $5 meeting fee is charged. For more information, visit meetup.com/las-vegas-writers. For more on Densley, visit moriahdensley.com.

AUTHOR TO DISCUSS THRILLER ROMANCES

Authors Shana Galen and Sophie Jordan plan to present a program on chemistry and romantic tension during a meeting of the Las Vegas Romance Writers scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon June 21 in the Green Valley Library, 2797 N. Green Valley Parkway. For more information, visit lvrwa.org.

SAVE A DIFFERENT DATE FOR VEGAS VALLEY BOOK FESTIVAL

Readers accustomed to attending the Vegas Valley Book Festival the first weekend in November won’t have to wait as long this year. This year’s main festival and the Vegas Valley Children’s Book Festival are slated for Oct. 16-18. For more information on participating authors announced or to apply to be a volunteer, visit vegasvalleybookfestival.org. The Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival (vegasvalleycomicbookfestival.org) is scheduled to remain on the first weekend in November at the Clark County Library.

BARNES & NOBLE TO HOST 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.

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.

SHARE POEMS AT HUMAN EXPERIENCE

Polish up a poem or two and try them out at Human Experience, a free spoken word event scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. Mondays in The Beat Coffeehouse inside Emergency Arts, 520 Fremont St. For more information, visit lasvegaspoets.org.

ART CENTER TO HOST 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. For more information, contact the center at 702-229-4800.

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.

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.

HENDERSON WRITERS GROUP MEETINGS SET

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. For more information, visit hendersonwritersgroup.

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 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.”