Seeking Suggestions: 2008 Dewey Decimal Project

[rsadelle]

It's taken me five and a half years, but I've finally recovered from the burnout I ended up with by the time I graduated from college, and I want to learn something. When I was wandering the shelves at the library, I noticed that each shelving unit in the nonfiction section has a sign describing the Dewey Decimal categories. So then I thought, "I could read my way through this."

This is my plan for 2008: I'm going to read at least one book from each of the ten large categories. I've been struggling with the tension between the artificial limits we place on ourselves and what my boss says about how having policies and procedures free up our energies to focus on other things. So instead of assigning specific categories to specific months, I'm going to just read in whatever order strikes my fancy. I plan to use January through October to make my way through, and then read an additional book from each of two categories (whatever I feel like) in November and December.

And so I'm asking for suggestions of nonfiction you think I might like. Caveat: It must be available from my local library or more than a year old so I can get it through interlibrary loan.

For reference, the Dewey Decimal categories, as listed by Wikipedia:

• 000 - Computer science, information, and general works
  
• 100 - Philosophy and psychology
  
• 200 - Religion
  
• 300 - Social sciences
  
• 400 - Language
  
• 500 - Science
  
• 600 - Technology
  
• 700 - Arts and recreation
  
• 800 - Literature
  
• 900 - History and geography

I already know I want to read How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman (610 G) and (Not that You Asked): Rants, Exploits, and Obsessions by Steve Almond (813 ALMOND). Since I'm going to read more than one book in at least two categories, don't let that stop you from recommending things in the 600s and 800s.

Comments

[meacoustic.livejournal.com]

Yesterday at the library I checked out Modern Book of Yoga, Good Calories, Bad Calories, and Ayurveda: The Science of Self-Healing.

I will let you know if any of them are worthwhile. Also, I really like your idea here.

[rsadelle]

Hmmm. I'm not sure those are really the kinds of books I want to read, but do let me know if any of them are really good.

I have to do this to learn something because my schedule doesn't quite allow me to take a college class. (I was drooling over Chico State's course catalog this week.) I may also make an effort to listen to more things through iTunes U (we went to see Cinderella the ballet last night, so I just finished listening to a Joan Acocella lecture about Ballet and Sex), and I might even see how MIT's Open Course Ware works.

[droneish.livejournal.com]

Quick perusal of what I have on hand leads to the following titles:

305.235 How I Learned to Snap by Kirk Read, 2001, Hill Street Press - *Funny* autobiography of an out gay teen growing up in the South in the '80s.

or for something completely different

333.91 Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water by Marc Reisner, 1986/1993, Penguin Books - Covers water use and politics from early colonization to the current era, with a sizable portion focusing on California. (I almost didn't write this one down because it's so well known and so many people have already read it, but I think it's justly well-known, so... )

--

420.973 Going Nucular: Language, Politics, and Culture in Confrontational Times by Geoffrey Nunberg, 2004, Public Affairs Books - Entertaining examination of the use of words, and the way that use changes over time, in politics and in the modern media. Mostly taken from columns originally published in the New York Times "Week in Review".

--
Depending on whether you are mechanically or biologically inclined:

571.43 Cats Paws and Catapults: Mechanical Worlds of Nature and People by Steven Vogel, 1998, Norton - Illustrated investigation of how things get done in nature and how humans have copied that when developing machines and building structures. It's fascinating, really, and not dry at all.

or

592.64 The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms by Amy Stewart, 2004, Algonquin Books - Yup, a whole book on worms and the people who either study them or work with 'em.

--

741.5 Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud, 1993, Kitchen Sink Press - A "graphic novel" that goes into more detail about drawing telling stories with images than you might have thought possible. Topics include human perception, symbols, what qualifies as art, and comic styles of various world regions.

--

979.1 Going Back to Bisbee by Richard Shelton, 1992, University of Arizona Press - This won the 1992 Western States Book Award for Creative NonFiction. (I mention this because I've enjoyed all the recipients of that award I've managed to get ahold of.) Delightfully written melange of natural history, personal history, and southern Arizona history.

--

I'm having trouble loading the OPAC you linked, so I'm not sure if your library has any of these; they are, however, all older than a year. And of course, I've got *no* idea what you like, so just went with what I like. ::grin::

PS. Thank you so much for sending those books! I'll be sure to let you know when they arrive. :)

[rsadelle]

Wow! Thank you! That's quite a list of interesting-sounding things, and I've only heard of one of them.

[droneish.livejournal.com]

Yay, the books arrived! (Last night, mere moments before the power went out and frustrated my attempt to squee at you then.) They are beautiful and I can't wait to dig in. I usually have to wait aeons to build up a whole series so this is an especially wonderful gift. Thank you!

[rsadelle]

You're welcome!

[dedalvs.livejournal.com]

The complete idiot's guide to learning sign language by Susan Shelly and Jim Schneck: 419 S. (Not that I'm saying that you're a complete idiot, by any means, but I couldn't find what I was looking for regarding the Deaf and sign language in your library system. This could prove interesting.)

[rsadelle]

What were you looking for? If it's over a year old, or will be by August/Septemberish, I have had good luck with interlibrary loan.

[dedalvs.livejournal.com]

I was looking for Deaf in America by Carol Padden and Tom Humphries. I couldn't find it.

Regarding Lakoff, Metaphors We Live By is good, I think. I recommend staying away from Stephen Pinker.

[rsadelle]

I took an intro to Linguistics class in college, and one of our textbooks was one of Pinker's books. I don't know if we ever really actually read any of it.

[allegram.livejournal.com]

Death by Black Hole (523.8 Tyson) A series of amusing and interesting essays about physics and the universe.

The Symbolic Species: the co-evolution of language and the brain (153.6 Deacon, T.) Butte Library doesn't have this, but it's a few years old, really interesting book about thought, language and their evolution

Cleopatra's Nose (909 Boorstin) Butte also doesn't have this one. I don't remember it well enough to tell you exactly what it's about, but I"ve been meaning to re-read it cuz I remember it as being tre cool...

For the 300's you could read something by George Lakoff... He has some interesting books on language and politics, the recent ones (I've heard) have gotten a little preachy, but the first one in 1996 Moral politics was pretty good (I read it in one of my classes). But actually now that I look at it his new books on the subject are in the 300's and his old ones are in the 100's...that makes no sense. Hmmm, well Stephan pinker also writes interesting books on language (I'm not saying he's right mind you, just that they are usually interesting) that fall in the 400's.

Also in the 500's is anything by Stephen J Gould. Funny essays about evolution woo-hoo (Butte has a visual atlas of the earth's history edited by him, that sounds kinda cool)

Ok, now my request list at the library has a bunch of non-fiction on it, what is the world coming to?! David will hardly know me and my parents will be proud, it's just not right!

[rsadelle]

Thank you!

Isn't it weird to have nonfiction on your list?