Book Briefs for Oct. 23-30

Author STu Michaels to mark birthday with a book bash

Local author Stu Michaels plans to mark his 70th birthday with a book bash dedicated to his memoir "You Can't Make This Up! Cops, Crooks, and Celebrities from Brooklyn to Las Vegas" from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday at the 8915 W. Charleston Blvd. Barnes & Noble. Visit youcantmakethisupbook.com for more information.

Patricia Falanga to be featured

The READ Local Author Series is scheduled to feature Patricia Falanga, author of the novel "American Music," from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Paseo Verde Library, 280 S. Green Valley Parkway. The fourth Monday of each month the series features local authors meeting with readers in the library's lobby. For more information, visit mypubliclibrary.org or call 702-492-6580.

Iconic Sin City postcards inspire Las Vegas Writes anthology

Join the writers behind the postcard-inspired Vegas Valley Book Festival short story anthology "Las Vegas Writes: Wish You Were Here" - Quentin Bufogle, Maile Chapman, Maxwell Drake, Lindsey Leavitt, Corey Levitan, Greg Blake Miller, Kristen Peterson, Lissa Townsend Rodgers and editor Scott Dickensheets - for a presentation and reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. Visit lvccld.org or vegasvalleybookfestival.org.

Inspirational poetry event slated

Shellykay Saunders is scheduled to read and sign copies of her inspirational poetry from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Green Valley Library, 2797 N. Green Valley Parkway. The reading is to be accompanied by acoustic guitar performed by Keith Saunders. For more information, visit mypubliclibrary.org.

Three authors plan group signing

Authors Souraya Christine, Imani True and An Howard plan to sign books at 1 p.m. Saturday at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

'Zombie Movies' signing scheduled

Glenn Kay plans a signing for his book "Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide" at 2 p.m. Sunday at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

Mesquite Fine Art Gallery to host event

Kevin M. Smith and Ronald J. Lofaro are scheduled to discuss and sign copies of their book "Hostile to Reason: Socialism's Final Countdown" at 4 p.m. today at the Mesquite Fine Art Gallery, 15 W. Mesquite Blvd. in Mesquite.

Author to sign 'Stress Pandemic'

Paul Huljich plans to sign his book "Stress Pandemic" at 1 p.m. Saturday at the 567 N. Stephanie St. Barnes & Noble in Henderson.

'Haunted Las Vegas' signing set

Local author Paul W. Papa plans to sign his book "Haunted Las Vegas" at noon Saturday at the 567 N. Stephanie St. Barnes & Noble in Henderson.

'Duck Dynasty' stars to fly into town

Korie and Willie Robertson, of A&E's hit show "Duck Dynasty," are scheduled to sign copies of their new book "The Duck Commander Family: How Faith, Family, and Ducks Built a Dynasty" at 7 p.m. Nov. 2 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

'Feathers & Gifts' to be featured

Local author/photographer P.J. Sheldon plans to sign copies of her true tale "Feathers & Gifts" at noon Nov. 3 at the 567 N. Stephanie St. Barnes & Noble in Henderson.

Las Vegas Romance writers Plan workshop with agent Laura Bradford

An all-day Las Vegas Romance Writers workshop is scheduled to feature literary agent Laura Bradford sharing tips on what editors and agents are looking for and taking pitches from participants from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 17 at the Mountain Crest Community Center, 4701 N. Durango Drive. The cost is $35 for members and $50 for nonmembers, which includes lunch. Register at lasvegasrwa.org by Nov. 12.

BMI fall season schedule to include poetry reading and more

The Black Mountain Institute plans several free presentations including an afternoon with Jennifer Egan, in cooperation with the Vegas Valley Book Festival, at 3:30 p.m. Nov. 3 at the Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth St.; Wole Soyinka at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 in the UNLV student union, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway; A Nevada Emerging Writers Series featuring Leslie Jamison at 7 p.m. Feb. 19 in the Greenspun Hall auditorium, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway; Mustapha Marrouchi at 7 p.m. March 6 in the 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 student union. For more information, visit blackmountaininstitute.org.

Henderson Writers Group meets Mondays

The Henderson Writers Group meets from 6:30 to 8:45 p.m. Mondays at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at 4550 S. Maryland Parkway on the second and fourth Mondays and at Saxbys Coffee Lounge, 72 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway in Henderson, on the first, third and occasional fifth Mondays. Meetings are typically canceled on holidays.

Visit hendersonwritersgroup.com for more information. Meetings are open to the public.

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.

Mob museum hosting Inside Stories

The National Museum of Organized Crime & Law Enforcement, The Mob Museum, 300 Stewart Ave., is scheduled to continue its Inside Stories fall speaker series with a talk by crime-fighting lawyer G. Robert Blakey from 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 13. Tickets are $35. The presentation includes a cocktail reception and hors d'oeuvres. Visit themobmuseum.org for details.

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."

S.P. Grogan's 'bin Laden's Revenge' is now available in its entirety

Local author S.P. Grogan's "bin Laden's Revenge," first released as a serial e-book, is now available in its completed form. The book tracks a bounty hunter reality show on its quest to capture Osama bin Laden. When the U.S. Navy beats them to it, the TV stars uncover an al-Qaeda plot against the United States. For more on the book, visit spgrogan.com.

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.