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A Psychopath Swims in The Rain

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K Mark Schofer

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A Psychopath Swims in The Rain

List three books that have had an impact on you. Why?

I spoken a previous post about three books that had an impact on me earlier in my life. That is Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities, Wally Lamb’s I Know This Much is True and Frederick Backman’s A Man man called Ove.

Let’s Go Swimming

However, there is one book that has a tremendous influence. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders is a book that serves as a master class on writing, reading, and life, using seven classic Russian short stories by Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol as its foundation. Based on a course he teaches at Syracuse. This book with introduced to me in our Book Club.. my wife and I listened to it on one of our usual soirees up and down I5. I was mesmerized by the stories. I was mesmerized by Saunders analysis of these stories. He would read the stories and break them down by bit.

Alyosha The Pot it’s one of those short stories. It is one of the saddest love stories I’ve ever read, however, brilliant. Alyosha and Ustinya show up occasionally in my writing. I have become a big fan of Russian short stories and Russian novels. I also became a big fan of the short story and I have had twelve short stories published since reading this book five years ago.

There is A Test

The Psychopath Test is another book, that has highly influenced me. It is a non-fiction book, and it explains the inner workings of a psychopath. It is the foundation and leadership of many companies as well as the current administration in the United States.

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson is a non-fiction book that investigates psychopathy, starting with a mysterious book sent to neurologists and leading Ronson into the world of mental health professionals, CEOs, and inmates to explore how we define and diagnose madness.

I could go on with his prompt forever. There are so many books that I’ve read that influenced my life. The last two I’ve had the most recent impact and I refer back to them often.



One response to “A Psychopath Swims in The Rain”

  1. vermavkv Avatar
    vermavkv

    What a rich and deeply thoughtful reflection on the books that have shaped your creative and intellectual journey.

    I especially love how you’ve described A Swim in a Pond in the Rain not just as a book, but as an experience that opened doors—both to Russian literature and to your own voice as a writer. That kind of ripple effect, where reading transforms into creating, is something special.

I would love to hear you opinion as well

Hello,

I’m Mark

His friends observe Mark seems wired a little differently. Perhaps it’s more likely that noticing little things often missed by others is a relic of a quieter, simpler time. He has a way with words, which he refuses to let be hindered by sub-par typing skills. People have great stories to tell if you sit and listen.

A belief dear to Mark is that there is certain beauty in the world. You simply have to look for it.

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