What is the Literature Continuum?

What is narrative nonfiction? How real is gonzo journalism? And how the heck did we come up with a word like "nonfiction" to describe books that are supposed to be true to reality? A few years ago I heard a talk by the author and war correspondent Sebastian Junger that gave me a clue about why every book is first, and foremost, a complete invention of whomever was holding a pen. He said that no matter how talented you might be, your words will never match the majesty of reality. This video follows from his insight where I describe how closely different genres of literature come to reflecting the real world. This is what I call the "Literature Continuum."

The Literature Continuum chart: https://imgur.com/a/UCPoDM3

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BOOKS I MENTION:

"Tribe" by Sebastian Junger https://amzn.to/3On1hyF
"The Perfect Storm" by Sebastian Junger https://amzn.to/36FZoMw

HISTORY
"Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamond https://amzn.to/3k0RHU5

MEMOIR & BIOGRAPHY
"Becoming" by Michelle Obama https://amzn.to/3v3GZm9

NARRATIVE NONFICTION
"Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand https://amzn.to/3L80saW
"The Vortex" by Scott Carney & Jason Miklian https://amzn.to/3MmIZf3
"What Doesn't Kill Us" by Scott Carney https://adbl.co/3C4MwLc

GONZO:
"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" by Hunter S. Thompson https://amzn.to/3v5q42H
"Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail of '72" by Hunter S Thompson
https://amzn.to/3L5c2Uj

HISTORICAL FICTION
"The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara https://amzn.to/3rKhRP7
"The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett https://amzn.to/3K4jWMe

NOVELS
"Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger https://amzn.to/3vCNmvE
"Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway https://amzn.to/3k0SZhT
"Black Boy" by Richard Wright https://amzn.to/3OvE1P5

MAGICAL REALISM
"Dracula" by Bram Stoker https://amzn.to/3L4psja

SCIENCE FICTION
"Children of Time" by Adrian Tchaikovksy https://amzn.to/3JYtf0c
"Dune" by Frank Herbert https://amzn.to/38hL25u

FANTASY
"Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfus https://amzn.to/3LlL9vv
"The Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula Le Guin https://amzn.to/3OtJmpV

MYTH
"The Epic of Gilgamesh" by Ancient Sumeria https://amzn.to/3L6KdLc
"The Marvel Encyclopedia" by Stan Lee https://amzn.to/3jX5FX8

All the links about my work : https://linktr.ee/sgcarney

Lastly, thanks as always to video editor Ron Perron! https://www.ronperronphoto.com/

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