Cover to Cover

Books create images beyond their pages, and this year's Vegas Valley Book Festival is "extending out into the landscape that is the topic of discussion," says organizer Richard Hooker.

The sixth festival takes a specific look at Las Vegas' physical history as well as its ongoing role as a pop culture metaphor.

The El Cortez -- one of the last standing examples of unaltered 1940s architecture -- is home base for several of the events today and Saturday, and activities include a double-decker bus tour of historic Las Vegas locations.

Keynote speaker Sarah Vowell, the writer and on-air contributor to NPR's "This American Life," did a piece about Frank Sinatra for the radio show. It's now preserved in her book of essays, "Take the Cannoli."

Chuck Klosterman, longtime senior writer for Spin magazine, will discuss the theme of "Life Through the Prism of Pop Culture" on Saturday, and Las Vegas is "certainly the epicenter of that," says Hooker, senior cultural specialist for the city's Office of Cultural Affairs.

Urban historian Norman Klein will discuss the future of urban culture in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, when old definitions of the suburb and city switch places.

"It always comes back to being Vegas-centric," Hooker says. "Not that it's necessarily planned that way."

Although the "concept is still emerging in terms of what kind of festival it's going to be," Hooker believes the event is "getting legs" in its sixth year. For its first three years, the Nevada Humanites Committee produced the event in Henderson. The fourth year suffered from an abrupt move downtown when the city of Las Vegas took over coordinating duties.

But last year tapped into the synergy of the First Friday celebration, which organizers hope to repeat this year with an authors' signing tent. Areas of heavy past interest, such as comics and children's books, are getting even more emphasis this year. Comics art will be on display in the Contemporary Arts Collective at the Arts Factory, 101 East Charleston Blvd. The children's festival runs from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at Centennial Plaza on Lewis Avenue.

The "Midnight Architectural Tour of Las Vegas" departs by bus at 10 p.m. today from the parking lot at 500 E. Charleston in the Arts District. Nichols and Mary Margaret Stratton, who restore classic homes and champion retro culture, will lead a tour of vintage homes such as the restored Morelli House, and locations such as the Golden Steer restaurant. Reservations are required for the free tour; call 229-5431.

All panels and lectures are free. Vowell's talk is at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Las Vegas High School auditorium, 315 S. Seventh St. All other events and panels are at the El Cortez, 600 E. Fremont St. TODAY

10 a.m. -- "Las Vegas Bauhaus." A look at Las Vegas architecture with Alan Hess, author of "Viva Las Vegas: After-Hours Architecture" and Chris Nichols, author of "The Leisure Architecture of Wayne McAllister."

11:45 a.m. -- "Down and Out in Las Vegas: The Struggle to Survive in Sin City." Mathew O'Brien and Kurt Borchard with moderator Geoff Schumacher look at Las Vegas from the street level of the homeless and from its underground network of storm drains.

1:30 p.m. -- "Traveling Through the Americas." Travel author Tom Miller shares his experiences.

3:15 p.m. -- "Old Vegas, New Vegas: Everything Old is New Again." Review-Journal columnists Norm Clarke, Heidi Knapp Rinella and Mike Weatherford compare classic Las Vegas to its present celebrity-driven image.

SATURDAY

10 a.m. -- Comics workshop with underground artist Kim Deitch.

11:45 a.m. -- Chuck Klosterman: "Life Through the Prism of Popular Culture."

1:30 p.m. -- Norman Klein: "The Future of Urban Culture: When the Suburb and the City Change Places."

3:15 p.m. -- Tom Miller: "How I Learned English." The experiences of those who learn English as a second language.