Non-fiction (Best Sellers post #8)

I think to be non-fiction, a book needs to be about 97% true. Exaggeration of a story is okay, but when you make up a whole other life for yourself, and call it a memoir, that is lying. If I buy a book and it's labeled non-fiction, I expect it to be a true story. Adding in a few details or maybe a small character that didn't really happen is okay in my opinion. But when it gets to be like a story passed down through a family, getting becoming more and more different than what actually happened, that is too much. I think fiction authors have a lot more leeway when it comes to facts. Fiction writers can write about a real event but make up the story completely (historical fiction, The Book Thief)  or completely make something up from their own imagination. This is something that non-fiction writers can't do. If I had to give it a cold-hard definition, non-fiction would be 97% facts, true story, and 3% exaggeration. If the story isn't the least bit exciting, I can't say that I would sit down and read it. So it makes sense to have a little bit of embellishment thrown in there.