Post by michaeldaly on Dec 8, 2014 3:39:35 GMT
There is definitely a difference between reading a true crime book and reading a violent fiction book. The blood chilling reality behind true crime books are that the horrible events actually happened to other living people. An unsettling thought that people have is: if it happened to this person in real life then what are the odds it happens to me? However when you read a violent fiction book if you get too caught up in the events all you have to do is remind yourself that this didn't happen and the author is probably just some crazy person with too much time on their hands. Another key difference is that generally speaking humans have are predisposed to want to believe that everyone is good and that as humans we have the ability to make good choices. As you read fake violence you dismiss it as irrelevant because no normal human being could be capable of committing such atrocities. Spoiler alert! They are more than capable. Instead of reading false stories, true crime books educate you on some of the most lethal beings that we inhibit this earth with and what they are competent of committing. Growing up you are instilled with this perfect idea that in the end the bad guy is righteously punished and the good guys live happily every after. Some times in the end both side lose. While the Clutter's murders were punished for their crime I don't think it honestly makes it any better. Unfortunately, the Clutter's are still dead. They don't get a happy ending. It is scary to think that ourselves might not get a happy ending. This is the effect that true crime books have on the reader. Who knows, you could be the next true crime book that other people read about.
