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2015 Challenge Prompts > Prompt 19: A book based on a true story

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message 1: by Ann (new)

Ann What books are you reading in this category? What recommendations do you have?


message 2: by Emily (new)

Emily (elimeno) | 17 comments Lost Girls by Robert Kolker. It's about the mysterious deaths of escorts on Long Island. It's nonfiction, so if you are looking for something fictional, I can't help ya :)


message 3: by Ann (new)

Ann I just finished In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. I'd recommend it for anyone who likes true crime stories. I think it's mostly written from accounts collected by the author but it seems there are some parts that were assumed or theorized by the author.


message 4: by Heidi (new)

Heidi (heidi28) I'll be reading The Lost Child of Philomena Lee (the book the film Philomena is based on)


message 5: by Alycia (new)

Alycia | 65 comments I was thinking this might be the time to finally read Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, but do you think it needs to be a fictional account of a true story or would non-fiction work?


message 6: by Heidi (new)

Heidi (heidi28) Alycia wrote: "I was thinking this might be the time to finally read Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, but do you think it needs to be a fictional account of a true story or would non-fiction work?"

I think both word work for this. It's totally up to you which way you go.


message 7: by Julia (last edited Feb 06, 2015 02:34AM) (new)

Julia (_mj_howard) | 57 comments I read "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail" by Cheryl Strayed and loved it, can't wait to see the movie adaptation.


message 8: by Boo (new)

Boo | 7 comments I read " We Hear the dead", I wouldn't recommend it though


message 9: by Nada (new)

Nada (njmom3) | 13 comments Just read Rodin's Lover by Heather Webb - fictionalized account of the relationship between Camille Claudel and Auguste Rodin.


message 11: by Ariel (new)

Ariel | 33 comments What's the difference between nonfiction and "based on a true story"? I was planning to read The Eighty-Dollar Champion for this prompt, but now that I've got it from the library I realize it doesn't say "based on a true story" anywhere.


message 12: by Martta (new)

Martta (themarttaship) I'm planning to interpret "based on a true story" loosely and read The Song of Achilles, because the Trojan War probably has some historical basis (based on vaguely remembered bits from my Greek textbooks).


message 13: by Mindy (new)

Mindy (mindyej) I'm reading American Ghost by Hannah Nordhaus for this one, loving it. If you have any kind of interest in genealogy, its really interesting. Its interesting how she incorporates the idea of the supernatural elements without committing to them all the way.


message 15: by Katie (new)

Katie | 63 comments I'm interpreting "based on a true story" to mean a fictionalized account of a true story, since another one of the prompts is for a nonfiction book. I read The Aviator's Wife about Charles Lindburgh's wife & enjoyed it very much.


message 16: by Jackie (new)

Jackie | 734 comments I'm choosing to define this one as a narrative based on a true story, as a way of distinguishing it from my nonfiction selection which is not necessarily narrative. My based on a true story choice was A Man for All Seasons which is a play based on the true story of Sir Thomas More and his choice to not support King Henry VIII's divorce. In contrast, my nonfiction selection was Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes which isn't narrative at all.


message 17: by Belinda (new)

Belinda (belindalt) | 99 comments I was going to read Julie & Julia but based on the reviews I don't think I want to try to read it for this challenge. I have picked Spilled Milk: Based on a True Story instead, it is 1.99 right now for kindle and has great reviews.


message 19: by Michelle (new)

Michelle Johnson (michellecurates) | 85 comments Emily wrote: "Lost Girls by Robert Kolker. It's about the mysterious deaths of escorts on Long Island. It's nonfiction, so if you are looking for something fictional, I can't help ya :)"

Sounds GREAT! Adding to my TBR list.

I read The Wettest County in the World: A Novel Based on a True Story.

I didnt want it to be a memoir (which is my favorite genre anyway) or a non-fiction book. But to actually be BASED on a true story. In my mind that meant it wasnt all factual.

That's what I got from this book. It's fast paced, but sure had a LOT of holes.


message 20: by Ray (new)

Ray Jordan (rjordan1041) Is "The Ox Bow Incident" considered based on a true story? If not, I can always use it for my movie propt.


message 21: by Kirsten (new)

Kirsten  (kmcripn) Ray wrote: "Is "The Ox Bow Incident" considered based on a true story? If not, I can always use it for my movie propt."

I'm pretty sure the Ox-Bow Incident was an actual event.


message 22: by Kirsten (new)

Kirsten  (kmcripn) I just finished reading Euphoria Euphoria by Lily King by Lily King which was inspired by actual events in the life of Margaret Mead.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


message 23: by Sara (new)

Sara I am listening to Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy on Audible.


message 24: by Jazs (new)

Jazs Going to be reading In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick for this prompt as I heard about the movie (this would actually work for that prompt as well) coming out in December this year and it sounded really interesting and didn't realize until recently that it was based on this book.


message 26: by Melody (last edited Jun 05, 2015 04:42AM) (new)

Melody | 208 comments I'm going to assume a play is alright as well since it is also literature (although not a book per se). For this prompt, I used Train To Zakopané: A True Story of Love and Hate by Henry Jaglom. It's based on a fateful train ride the author's father took from Poland to Austria in the late 1920s. His father, a Jewish doctor, falls in love with a Polish nurse who turns out to be strongly anti-semitic. Part comedy, part tragedy, it was overall a very compelling and thought provoking play with several twists that would be unbelievable if they weren't based in truth.

I would definitely recommend this for either the Based on a True Story or A Play challenges.


message 27: by Kirsten (new)

Kirsten  (kmcripn) If you're looking for a book based on a true story, I just finished reading When Christ and His Saints Slept When Christ and His Saints Slept (Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine, #1) by Sharon Kay Penman by Sharon Kay Penman

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


message 28: by Hilary (new)

Hilary | 32 comments Based on other's interpretations, I'm going to use The Nightingale for this prompt. It's based on Andree de Jongh http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obitu...


message 29: by Jh (new)

Jh | 18 comments Nada wrote: "Just read Rodin's Lover by Heather Webb - fictionalized account of the relationship between Camille Claudel and Auguste Rodin."
Did you like it? I have a passive interest in the Rodin/Camille drama.


message 30: by Charline (new)

Charline (charline84) | 29 comments I read Unbroken for this prompt and would highly recommend it. It would also fit into the book that became a movie category too. Just such a great and interesting read.


message 31: by Luella (new)

Luella I'm going to read The Blooding by Joseph Wambaugh. It's murder mystery based on the true story of the first crime solved using DNA identification.


message 32: by Guylian (new)

Guylian Just finished Per J. Andersson "Vom Inder, der auf dem Fahrrad bis nach Schweden fuhr um dort seine große Liebe wiederzufinden". A book about a young man from India who falls in love with a Swedish tourist and cycles to Sweden to meet her again. A true story.


message 33: by Kerryann (new)

Kerryann Franklin | 61 comments I read 12 years a slave by Solomon northup


message 34: by Alexis (new)

Alexis O (saboknits) | 76 comments I just finished the audiobook of Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail this morning. It was all right. I can't understand how a book that gives detailed description of the pains of hiking like battered, blistered, bleeding feet, blackened toenails, and hips rubbed completely raw can make me kind of want to take a backpacking trip, but it sort of did. I didn't love this book, but I loved the idea of it enough to say that I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it enough that I also still want to see the movie.


message 35: by Michelle (new)

Michelle Johnson (michellecurates) | 85 comments Same thing with me. NEVER wanted to do a long hike before I read that book.


message 36: by Angela (new)

Angela | 27 comments I'm currently reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.


message 37: by Angela (new)

Angela | 27 comments I'm currently reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.


message 38: by Krissy (new)

Krissy (krissystewart) | 79 comments I changed my choice and plan to read:
The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff


message 39: by Tara (new)

Tara Bates | 1008 comments I read fire spook which is written about the reporter/investigator who researched a series of strange fires and other activity on a farm near where I live back in the mid 1800's. The spook farm is notorious around here and lots of people have their own accounts of visiting it and I thought it'd be neat to read the original story.


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