GEOFF SCHUMACHER'S LAS VEGAS

News, Music, Movies, Books and More

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

My profile

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."

September 2008



Obama holds his own in foreign policy debate, so he wins

Fri, 09/26/08 8:07 P GMT-08
Foreign policy is John McCain's area of expertise, so the fact that Barack Obama held his own on that subject in tonight's debate makes it an immediate draw and an overall win for Obama. In other words, if McCain can't blow away his oppon

Obama pulling ahead as McCain stumbles along

Wed, 09/24/08 7:00 P GMT-08
Polls go up and down quickly this time of the campaign season, so you don't want to get too confident, but Barack Obama is surging ahead right now, including in key swing states, as the nation's economic crisis grips America's attention.

And now for the home stretch

Thu, 09/04/08 7:47 P GMT-08
The Democratic and Republican national conventions are finally over. Both parties have to be fairly happy with how their candidates presented themselves on television. Barack Obama's speech to 84,000 people in Denver was historic and compelling.