Barnes Noble

DC Comics' efforts to expand digital distribution of its graphic novels has gotten it caught in a battle between two book-selling giants. Barnes & Noble said Friday it will not stock physical copies of 100 of DC's graphic novels that the Warner Bros.-owned unit is making available exclusively on competitor Amazon.com's Kindle platform, including the upcoming Kindle Fire tablet. DC agreed to give Amazon exclusive digital distribution rights for the books, which include "Watchmen" and graphic novels featuring Batman and Superman, for four months starting with the launch of the Kindle Fire on Nov. 15. The deal gives DC's books, which are being made available digitally for the first time, the advantage of being part of Amazon's huge marketing push for the Kindle Fire.

Lifestyle maven Martha Stewart is expected to cause quite a stir Monday at Barnes & Noble as she sends her fans to cooking school with her new book. Managers at the Americana at Brand bookstore anticipate hundreds of fans will begin lining up outside as early as 5 a.m. Monday to ensure they are one of the 400 people allowed to have a few seconds of face time with the mass media business magnate. The stop is one of only two in the Los Angeles area for Stewart as she promotes her latest book, “Martha Stewart’s Cooking School: Lessons and Recipes for the Home Cook.

Karen S. Kim Barnes & Noble aims to do its part in keeping students' brains from turning to mush with disuse this summer. The store will host a trivia tournament, called Brain Quest America Challenge U.S.A.: "It's OK to be Smart," at 1 p.m. Saturday. Teams of children, grades three through six, and adults are invited to step up to the trivia challenge. Questions will involve important figures and events that helped shape the United States. "It's part of one of our activities in the summer to keep kids reading and learning as they're out school for the summer," Barnes & Noble Assistant Manager Gail MacDowell said.

Barnes & Noble Children?s Department will read a variety of children?s books at 11 a.m. on the third Floor of Barnes & Noble at The Americana, 210 Americana Way, Glendale. Call (818) 545-9146. ? The Verdugo Hills Group of the Sierra Club will meet at 6 p.m. to hear a presentation by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy at the Stough Canyon Nature Center in Burbank, 2300 Walnut Ave., Burbank. Come early at 4:45 p.m. for the hike, and bring a table setting and dish to share.

Soccer clinics come to La Canada Flintridge LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- The San Gabriel Valley Flyers Soccer Club has established an academy for boys and girls 9 to 17 years old. Clinics will focus on high-intensity training and development of soccer fundamentals. The clinics will be Fridays and Sundays at the La Canada High School varsity field. Clinics will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Fridays for all abilities, and from 4 to 5:30 p.m. for ages 10 to 13 and 5:30 to 7 p.m. for ages 14 to 17 for more experienced players.

Workshop on voter registration The city clerk?s office, in coordination with the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder/county clerk, will host a Deputy Registrar Training workshop from 5 to 7 tonight. The workshop will be held in the Glendale Police Department Community Room, 131 N. Isabel St. This program will provide information to individuals and organizations who plan to be involved in registering voters and conducting petition drives during the April 7 election season.

Power was down for more than hour Wednesday in a portion of the Glendale Galleria after a circuit breaker blew out, officials said. Glendale firefighters arrived to the Galleria just after 11 a.m. after smoke from the circuit filled an electrical room near Nordstrom, Capt. Stuart Stefani said. No customers were affected by the outage or smoke, he said. No one was evacuated from the mall. Veronica Rocha Transient ordered to steer clear A homeless man was arrested Saturday after he allegedly punched an assistant manager at Barnes & Noble in the face, police said Wednesday.

Brand galleries taking submissions The Brand Library Art Galleries is now accepting submissions from artists, artist groups and curators for exhibitions to be scheduled in 2010. Original work in all media will be considered. Submissions will be accepted through Jan. 31. For more information and application instructions visit www. brandlibrary.org.   Educators will be honored at reception All educators are invited to the Educator Appreciation Reception at 11 a.m. Jan. 17 at Barnes & Noble, 210 Americana Way, Glendale.

DC Comics' efforts to expand digital distribution of its graphic novels has gotten it caught in a battle between two book-selling giants. Barnes & Noble said Friday it will not stock physical copies of 100 of DC's graphic novels that the Warner Bros.-owned unit is making available exclusively on competitor Amazon.com's Kindle platform, including the upcoming Kindle Fire tablet. DC agreed to give Amazon exclusive digital distribution rights for the books, which include "Watchmen" and graphic novels featuring Batman and Superman, for four months starting with the launch of the Kindle Fire on Nov. 15. The deal gives DC's books, which are being made available digitally for the first time, the advantage of being part of Amazon's huge marketing push for the Kindle Fire.

CIVIC CENTER — A homeless man on Friday was ordered to stay away from the Glendale Central Library for three years after harassing and threatening to hit several city employees. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Laura Matz issued the restraining order to Daryll Worrell after hearing testimony from three library employees who claimed to have either seen, or been a victim of, his harassment since last year. Some employees testified that Worrell made derogatory references about their sexuality or weight and threatened to hit them.

Power was down for more than hour Wednesday in a portion of the Glendale Galleria after a circuit breaker blew out, officials said. Glendale firefighters arrived to the Galleria just after 11 a.m. after smoke from the circuit filled an electrical room near Nordstrom, Capt. Stuart Stefani said. No customers were affected by the outage or smoke, he said. No one was evacuated from the mall. Veronica Rocha Transient ordered to steer clear A homeless man was arrested Saturday after he allegedly punched an assistant manager at Barnes & Noble in the face, police said Wednesday.

DOWNTOWN — The Glendale Galleria has found a temporary solution to its empty-anchor problem. Its three-story anchor tenant space at Brand Boulevard and Broadway has been vacant for much of the year since box retailer Mervyn’s folded and moved out. A pop-up Halloween costume store brought some brief activity to what had become a desolate corner, but shoppers have otherwise had no opportunity to move directly into the mall from...

Send DATEBOOK items to Glendale News-Press, 221 N. Brand Blvd., 2nd Floor, Glendale, CA 91203 or fax to (818) 241-1975. Submissions must be received two weeks before publication. ? TODAY The Glendale Parks Recreation and Community Services Department will have a Cuban Salsa concert by featuring the band Charangoa from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the north end of Verdugo Park, 1621 Cañada Blvd., Glendale. Guests should bring a picnic dinner, folding chairs or blankets for seating.

TODAY The Glendale Parks Recreation and Community Services Department will have a swing/big band concert by Verdugo Swing Society from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the north end of Verdugo Park, 1621 Cañada Blvd., Glendale. Guests should bring a picnic dinner, folding chairs or blankets for seating. Admission and parking are free. For more information, call (818) 548-4098. ? La Crescenta Presbyterian Church will present a lecture titled ?The Magic Behind Harry Potter?

A night well spent at Americana I went to the Americana at Brand on Saturday evening to pick up some books at Barnes & Noble. As I’m on a walker, I decided to ask the concierge if they could get a wheelchair for me. As it was rather late, they suggested they pick up the books and bring them to me — a telephone call to Barnes & Noble giving them my credit card was all it took. Everyone, including men and women, at that desk were so courteous. I sat and listened to the beautiful taped piano music, and in a few minutes, they had picked up the books.