GEOFF SCHUMACHER'S LAS VEGAS

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Schumacher Literary Hall of Fame

Here is a list of fiction writers who are among my personal favorites (with a representative book listed alongside). These are not the usual suspects, but some of the lesser-known writers I like. Richard Yates, "Revolutionary Road"; John Fante, "Ask the Dust"; Nelson Algren, "The Man with the Golden Arm"; Frederick Exley, "A Fan's Notes"; Charles Portis, "The Dog of the South"; John Williams, "Stoner"; Patrick Hamilton, "Hangover Square"; Richard Russo, "Empire Falls"; Richard Ford, "The Sportswriter"; Don DeLillo, "White Noise"; Jim Harrison, "True North"; Raymond Carver, "Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?"; Willy Vlautin, "The Motel Life"; Michael Chabon, "The Wonder Boys"; Ian McEwan, "Atonement"; Colson Whitehead, "John Henry Days"; Orhan Pamuk, "Snow"; Junot Diaz, "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao"; Avram Davidson, "Vergil in Averno"

Recent reading: recommended fiction

The Secret of Lost Things (2006), Sheridan Hay; Absurdistan (2006), Gary Shteyngart; Five Skies (2007), Ron Carlson; Citizen Vince (2005), Jess Walter; On Chesil Beach (2007), Ian McEwan; We're in Trouble (2005), Christopher Coake; Returning to Earth (2007), Jim Harrison; The Lay of the Land (2006), Richard Ford

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Geoff Schumacher

What's a dogsbody?

It's British slang for "a worker who has to do all the unpleasant or boring jobs that no one else wants to do."

October 2007



Music: Year's best as of 10-28

Sun, 10/28/07 6:59 P GMT-08
With two months to go, this is likely to be close to the final list. Oh, a few new CDs must be considered, but most of the year's most anticipated music is already out. Of course, I haven't heard the new Britney Spears yet . . .Best albums of

Neil and Sean

Sat, 10/27/07 10:02 P GMT-08
Neil Young's new CD, "Chrome Dreams II," is excellent. This is the Neil I like best, more raw and untethered than he has been on a few recent high-gloss albums. There is a 16-minute song, "Ordinary People," that is the highlig

On the balcony in Kona

Tue, 10/16/07 6:14 P GMT-08
There was a time not so long ago when I could not imagine myself visiting Hawaii. For a kid growing up lower middle class in rural Wisconsin and rural Nevada, in a family that did not do a lot of traveling, Hawaii was too far away, too exotic and too

Talese's "A Writer's Life" is not very good

Sun, 10/14/07 6:17 P GMT-08
Gay Talese is a great nonfiction writer. He was in the forefront of the New Journalism in the 1960s, writing many memorable magazine articles, including profiles of Frank Sinatra and Joe DiMaggio. He's also written several highly regarded books,

Philip Roth interviewed in the New Yorker

Sat, 10/06/07 10:38 P GMT-08
Interviewed upon the release of his new novel, "Exit Ghost," Roth was asked about ghosts. He replies, in part:"‘Haunted by the past' is a commonplace phrase because it's a commonplace experience. Even if one is not, stric

Three strong new albums

Tue, 10/02/07 8:16 P GMT-08
Steve Earle, "Washington Square Serenade." Steve Earle is one of my all-time favorites, and this album is a welcome addition. It's not his best, but it's very good. Earle has moved from Nashville to New York City, and part of this a