I finished reading Flowers for Algernon recently. I genuinely enjoyed it but as I progressed I felt it was closer to a human drama than a sci-fi book. I was surprised since it has been recognized as a sci-fi book for so long and won the Hugo and Nebula awards. I was wondering what others thought about it. I will add my rationale below (spoilers).

(Spoilers). The first thing is how shallow the science is, there is only one moment when is commented with ant type of depth and that moment has more big words than science backup, in my opinion. I know it is a book of its time, but I especially missed Charlie doing physical experimentation, taking tissue samples or applying the science that was explicitly mentioned in the book as the source of his intelligence when doing his own research.

The second thing is that the experiment feels like a device to trigger Charlie's specific human drama and to walk us through his childhood trauma. It is an amazing mechanism for that, but I expect sci-fi to hace societal impact and deeper world building. It is a bit reminiscent of the movie Awakenings, that uses specific medical procedures to give someone a window to experience life.

I also feel that the lack of stakes when Charlie escapes and takes Algernon with him are underwhelming, the research lab just let it happen and they don't engage the authorities to bring him back or, at the very least, to retrieve the most valuable mouse lab in the world. It felt as another mechanism to advance the human drama.

Lastly, and this is a common pattern for this theme, there is no time for Charlie to learn all he learns, even with super intellect, he needs to go through the regular knowledge absorption methods of reading and studying, and in a few months, there is just no time for that. He can be a genius, but a genius won't be a neurosurgeon without taking the time to learn.

All in all, I feel that as the tragic story of Charlie the book works exceedingly well. It is cleverly written and Charlie's progress (or lack thereof) felt earned. I would have liked Charlie to be less of a jerk when he became intelligent, but that is of course a creative choice. It does brings a very clear separation between emotional and intellectual intelligence that it is undeniable in the real world, so I can believe it.

I am glad I read it and would recommend it, just not as sci-fi, not sure what others think.

My two cents

Random question. What do the wonderful people of Tildes think about self promotion here? My wife is an indie author. As a proud and supportive husband, if I posted about her new book here is that fine or in poor taste? I searched but nothing came up, which made me assume I just wasn't searching correctly. But maybe no one has asked before?

So I would love to know/hear everyone's opinions.

I happened across Veronica Roth's blog post via GoodReads about a book tour for her upcoming book Seek the Traitor's Son. She'll be visiting various places around the US and UK. I can't say I've ever really thought about going to a book signing or a book tour, but recently I've been thinking it would be a nice change of pace to go to an event like this and support an author or other creative this way. Roth is not first on my list, but it did get me thinking about how to find other events and hopefully get my hands on some cool merch as well.

Do you know of any creatives (but mostly authors, since this is ~books) who are doing tours this year? How do you keep informed about dates of book tours and festivals?

I’m reading Stephen Kings The Dark Tower series and I’m on Wizard and Glass, and I absolutely hate it. I’m half way through now and I’m wondering if I should skip the book and read the Wikipedia page because it’s just making me angry.

I like the rest of the series and really want to see where it ends up but this book is awful, it started out good with the riddle contest but the flashback with Susan I hate every single part of and it’s making me shout at the book angry. I’m halfway through now and I can tell there is a lot being set up for a big battle and a crazy ending, but I can’t stand whatever you want to call what’s happening with Susan, her aunt, and the mayor. Should I power through or call it?

EDIT: Just called it, got to Part 3: Chapter 3. Really needed a good editor, if they cut out the sexual stuff, it could’ve been a good book, but I’m getting to physically angry to keep reading this. It’s awful. I’m going to tell myself it has a Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ending where everyone gets tormented.

Just curious if anyone other Tildes users out there are fans of the Dresden Files novels and might have read the latest, Twelve Months. It just released a few days ago and I just couldn't put it down.

I do want to keep my review spoiler free, but I think this is the best book in the series in awhile.

Wondering if anyone else had thoughts!

I cannot recall the last time I devoured a series so quickly. I loved Cradle. The characters were so colourful and endearing, the plot was permanently escalating at a pace the resonated perfectly with me, and honestly, I found the writing style to be spot on.

And now I've left feeling rather empty... (perhaps rather on point!).

Others who have enjoyed this series, what else did you love?

To give a sample of books I've enjoyed recently: Children of Time, Stormlight Archive, Kingkiller Chonicles, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Red Rising.

I picked up Fairy Tale because I like fantasy. I'm really enjoying it. Also in the time I have spent on the book suggestions and book discussions subreddits, I have noticed that he is still a much loved author.

So if I want to explore his work, where should I start?

When I was a kid, I remember going to a book store with my Mom and asking for a recommendation from the clerk there for something in the fantasy genre. He kindly pointed me to the Dark Elf trilogy by R. A. Salvatore. I noticed that it had a Forgotten Realms logo on the cover, and when I went back to the store I noticed other books with that logo as well. That was my introduction to a setting that is shared between authors who can write stories in the same universe.

On the smaller end, there are settings where 2 (or a few) authors collaborate (like the Malazan universe), while on the larger side of things you have settings with dozens to potentially hundreds of authors (like Warhammer 40k, Star Wars, Star Trek, etc).

Some quick questions I thought of that might be interesting below, but please feel free to share anything you'd like about this topic!

• What was the first shared setting you read books in?
• Do you have a favorite shared literary setting?
• Do you mind the varying quality of the books in shared settings?
• Do you find yourself more likely to read a book in this shared setting compared to a book outside the setting?
• Are there any books in that setting that you don't recommend people read?