As difficult as it might be to peel yourself from the couch and that large-screen, gazillion-pixel TV while you toss back your second beer, there’s something happening that’s worth leaving the house for.

Back in the day they called it literature, and for those who haven’t dabbled in a while, the term still holds and might be used freely at this weekend’s Vegas Valley Book Festival.

Promising more than 150 authors, panels, workshops, vendors, food trucks and performances, it begins November 1 with a keynote address by bestselling mysteries author Charlaine Harris (7 p.m., Clark County Library) and concludes November 3 with a young adult literature-themed Steampunk Ball at Bunker’s Mortuary Chapel at 925 Las Vegas Blvd. N. A few other events to consider:

First Friday Poetry Stage

November 2, 6-9 p.m., Boulder Plaza Park, 1047 S. Main St.

Comic Book Festival

November 3, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Clark County Library, vegasvalleycomicbookfestival.org.

Feasting on Wheels

Food trucks serve literary-inspired dishes.

November 3, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Fifth Street School.

Illustrated Word Art

Exhibits including Markus Tracy’s text paintings at community locations and the Javier Sanchez and Marlene Siu installation at the Clark County Government Center.

vegasvalleybookfestival.org/illustrated-word.

Dave Hickey & Katie Arnoldi

Andrew Kiraly moderates All I Need Is the World: A Conversation.

November 3, 1:45-2:45 p.m., Fifth Street School auditorium.

Jennifer Egan

Closing keynote address.

November 3, 3:30 p.m., Fifth Street School auditorium.