I'm a complete Noob, having studied Python 2.7 for less than four days using eclipse on a mac, and I have managed to write a "FizzBang" from scratch in about 20 minutes, but....I'm having one heck of a time with basic algorithms. I'm wondering if this is something I'll speed up at in time, or if there is some sort of "logical thinking" practice that is above me without instruction. Memorizing syntax has been no problem so far and I really enjoy the feeling when it all works out. 
My question is, should I detour from my current beginner book and read something about basic algorithms (maybe something specific to Python algorithms)?
If so, what beginner text would 'yall recommend?
I searched for this topic and didn't find anything that matched, so if this is a duplicative post, or whatever you call it, my bad.
I'd appreciate any help I get from you Pro's. Thanks
Learning the syntax of a programming language to express an algorithm is like learning the syntax of English to express a thought.
Sure, there are nuances in English that allow you to express some thoughts better than others or in other languages. However, a command of English does not automatically enable you to be able to think some thoughts.
Similarly, if you want to pick up an algorithms book, go for it! Your understanding of python is only very loosely connected with your ability to develop and algorithm to solve a problem.
Once you learn how to solve problems, you will be able to develop an algorithm to solve the specific problem at hand, and then choose the language best suited to express that algorithm
… And as you design more and more algorithms, you'll get better at developing better algorithms; and as you write more python code, you'll get better at writing python code.
I don't know what book you're currently reading, but beginner  books tend to orient themselves at teaching the language (it's syntax, semantics, etc) using simple algorithmic examples. If you're having a tough time understanding the algorithms that govern the solutions to these examples, you should probably do some beginner reading on algorithms. It's somewhat of a cycle, really - in order to learn algorithms, you need to be able to express them (and algorithms are most easily expressed in code). Thus to understand algorithms, you need to understand code.
This is not entirely true - pseudocode solves this problem quite well. But you'll need to understand at least the pseudocode.
Hope this helps
Beginning Python trouble with basic algorithms