A friend recently admitted she had started but not finished Thinks Out Loud. She said she had not gotten very far in it. She added she’s never been a reader of science fiction/fantasy.
I was sorry she hadn’t enjoyed the novel, but I also recognized that not everyone is going to enjoy a book, any book. In the case of Thinks Out Loud, many traditional readers might be put off, for example, by the blog concept, especially in the opening pages.
As for science fiction. . .myself a fan of science fiction since I was ten, I can still understand that speculative fiction does not appeal to many readers who feel the genre often sacrifices complex character development in favor of gadgetry and theoretical extrapolation of technology, often mixed with big doses of dystopia.
However, is Thinks Out Loud science fiction? In the case of TOL, I would say it borrows motifs and elements of science fiction but doesn’t go all the way. Some readers might say the book is more a high-tech suspense story. Others an adventure and romance set in the South Seas. And a few might even suggest it’s a coming-of-age bildungsroman.
And I say, let all of those genres comes out and play. Stir it up. Go beyond labels and boundaries. Have some fun. So, while there are writers who do rightfully claim their genres (mystery, suspense, romance) and do so proudly. Let’s let other writers just go for it and see what happens.
SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT THE BOOK AND AMAZON: If you order Thinks Out Loud from Amazon Prime, you will be receiving an older version that is out of date and whose printing is lighter than the current edition. If on Amazon, order from the Thinks Out Loud seller option which will be the newer better print version. You can also order the newer version directly from the publisher via this website, thinksoutloud.com, or from your local bookstore, which will either have the book in stock or available via a quick special order from Ingram, the wholesaler.
Thinks Out Loud, a Blog at First
by Martin Perlman
https://www.thinksoutloud.com/