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."

June 2005



Bush, war and the American people

Tue, 06/28/05 2:25 P GMT-08
President Bush is full of crap on the Iraq war, naturally, but there's something even more nauseating: the American people. Suddenly, months after the presidential election, polls show 60 percent of Americans think the Iraq war was a mistake. This wa
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Bob

Sat, 06/25/05 1:16 P GMT-08
You know what's great? "The Bob Newhart Show." For Father's Day, I received a very thoughtful gift: A DVD of the complete first season of the ’70s sitcom, in which Bob Newhart plays psychologist Bob Hartley. I've watched the first four episodes so

Replacing Rehnquist

Thu, 06/23/05 2:14 P GMT-08
If Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist retires in the next month or two, as some expect, the battle over his replacement will be the single biggest political issue of the ensuing six months. The L.A. Times reported this week that Democrats
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Why me?

Tue, 06/21/05 8:50 A GMT-08
I received this e-mail today: "The new GE Profile™ French door bottom-freezer refrigerators help design-savvy consumers express their sense of style without sacrificing practical functionality. "The distinctively designed French doors require

San Diego

Sun, 06/19/05 8:52 P GMT-08
Spent a few days in San Diego. The weather was perfect — more sunny than usual for this time of year and wonderful temps in the high 60s. We stayed downtown at the Westin Horton Plaza, a very nice hotel (except for the elevator shortage) and ideall
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The magic of the rock "band"

Wed, 06/15/05 1:39 P GMT-08
This is nothing new, but interesting to think about nonetheless. Through the history of rock music, but especially starting in the early 1960s, there emerged the idea that a certain magic — the proverbial lighting in a bottle — could be conjured

Jackson verdict

Mon, 06/13/05 1:53 P GMT-08
You just know what Michael's thinking right now: Sleepover! Seriously, the only thing less interesting than the Jackson verdict was Mike Tyson losing over the weekend. I wasn't surprised that tired Tyson lost. But if anybody thinks his opponent is
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When dumb is dumb

Thu, 06/09/05 9:30 P GMT-08
I thought I might be able to write a nifty little piece tonight that went something like this: The new Supagroup album is better than the new White Stripes album. I got the two CDs today and I had a hunch that I would like the Supagroup album more, e
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Testing testing

Wed, 06/08/05 7:52 P GMT-08
This is a test item to see if it goes up right away and that it appears for other people. These have been problems of late.
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My Salvation

Mon, 06/06/05 1:38 P GMT-08
Thrift stores can be nirvana for someone like me who collects books but doesn't have any money to buy real collectible books, if you see what I mean. What sometimes happens is you find a kinda rare book but it's beat up, so it's not really worth a lo
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New music store

Fri, 06/03/05 1:20 P GMT-08
Big B's has a new competitor, Zia, which comes out of Phoenix. Zia is on Eastern between Flamingo and Trop — not a great location but no trouble to get to either. It's larger than Big B's and has more CDs and DVDs overall. It's not necessarily bett

Forgive me, but ...

Thu, 06/02/05 4:00 P GMT-08
I know Audioslave is what those in the rock crit world call "mainstream," but I have to say that the band's new album, "Out of Exile," is excellent. I wasn't an Audioslave fan until I heard this album. It's rockin' and smart and the guitar antics are

New acquisition

Wed, 06/01/05 8:11 P GMT-08
Today I found "Conversations with Nelson Algren" at the Academy Fine Books store on East Charleston. I'm a happy dude, as this book is hard to find in Las Vegas. I'm mostly filing this item to see if it posts properly, as there has been trouble latel
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