Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Lisbeth and Dr. Reid

Dr. Reid, the crazy smart eidetic doctor from T.V.’s Criminal Minds is very similar to Stieg Larson’s Lisbeth Salander from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Both socially awkward and terribly misunderstood characters struggle to blend into normal society while being highly intelligent. Dr. Reid is an eidetic criminal profiler whose job is to get inside the minds of some of the most terrifying killers in order to track and apprehend them. While Salander is an orphaned psychopath she is very technologically skilled and uses her hacking abilities to build profiles. While their skills, lifestyles and jobs are different their socially uncomfortable, and sharp minds allow them to be to in their fields.

A Clockwork Orange Book Trailer

Thursday, February 9, 2012

NON-TRUE NON-FICTION

In my mind to really be considered non-fiction the book has to be completely true. However, books that are based on a true story, but stretch the truth, or lie, are not bad either. But, should an author decide to exaggerate they are responsible for recognizing that their work has strayed into some middle realm between fiction and non-fiction. Not to say that it’s not okay, because half-truths can still make goods stories as long as it is made clear that the book is in fact a half-truth. When you make things up and claim it to be true you are essentially lying to your reader. When a person reads a touching story they believe to be completely honest, I think, it becomes easier for a person to get attached to the characters and the situation. It, for example in the case of Frey’s memoir, to know that there are good things like that actually happening somewhere in the world and that differs from a fictional piece, where the enlightening story is just an idea, not an action. It’s the “real” factor that makes a non-fiction powerful and when you lie about it you’re running a potentially good middle zone half-truth. I don’t think the label of true not-true is really necessary but if you claim you’re book to true it’s need to be true.