Post #7 Book Talk Prezi

Post #6 Book trailer

Perks of Being a Wallflower Book Trailer

Post #5

•          How true does a book have to be in your mind to be considered non-fiction?   Why?

•          Are half-truths okay if it’s still a good story? Does it matter if Frey or Mortenson bent the truth to tell their stories?

•          Is David Shields right?  Do we need lines between genres—do we need to label something fiction or non-fiction?  Why does it matter?

 

1. I believe that in order for a book to be considered non-fiction it needs to be at least 97% true. There should be at least a little bit of leeway for gaps in a person's memory or for inaccurate facts that the author didn't realize weren't completely true, but it should be almost entirely true. Of course 100% would be the desirable percentage of truth in the book, but I'm willing to give the author just a little benefit of the doubt.
2. I believe that if you're reading the book for a good story it wouldn't matter because regardless of if the content is completely true or partially true it would still be a good story. However, if you're reading the book for inspiration or to help you get through something similar to the characters and then found out the book was a lie, I would be irate because I would feel betrayed by the author. In the end they shouldn't have lied so much because it breaks the trust you have with the reader.
3. I believe that David Shields is right because if Frey's book had been published as a novel or fiction there would've been no outcry about it and the story would still be just as good as it currently is. But in his eyes selling it as a memoir would lead to better comercial value and more books sold because all of the publishers rejected it as a ficiton novel. Even though giving a book a defined genre helps the reader decide to read it I don't think we should put so much weight into whether a book is a memoir or ficiton and just look at it for its story and meaning. The meaning still doesn't change but can be hurt based on what genre we define it as. Books are books, and giving them a specific genre won't change that.