The Dewey Lunatic Project
My goal is to read one book for every number in the Dewey Decimal system, starting on May 19, 2010. There are roughly 1000 numbers between 0 and 1000, although some of them are not in use anymore.
This is obviously a long-term project. Once the list starts getting out of hand I’ll create new pages for all the books in the 100s, 200s, et cetera.
Feel free to play along and let me know what you’re reading in the comments. And whenever I’ve reviewed a book I add to the list, it will link to that review.
Books I’ve read as part of the project
001: The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan
28: Leave Me Alone I’m Reading by Maureen Corrigan
- A fun look at Ms. Corrigan’s reading history. Particular emphasis is given to women heroes in literature.
133: The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson
- Family moves into Haunted House in Amityville. Non-terrifying mayhem ensues.
153: How To Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci by Michael Gelb
- A manual for greater creativity, health, and artistic ability.
155: Bright-Sided: How The Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America by Barbara Ehrenreich
- Unnecessarily mean-spirited in parts, in my opinion, but overall a good look at the damage we may be doing by relentlessly thinking only positive thoughts.
170: Being Perfect by Anna Quindlen
- tiny little manifesto about why we should quit chasing perfection
201: A Confession by Leo Tolstoy
221: Good Book: The Bizarre, Hilarious, Disturbing, Marvelous, and Inspiring Things I Learned While Reading Every Word Of The Bible by David Plotz
272: The Grand Inquisitor’s Manual: a History of Terror in the Name of God by Jonathan Kirsch
302: It’s Not News, It’s Fark by Drew Curtis
- A fun look at the inanity of the news cycles and the creation of the Fark website.
303: You Are Not A Gadget by Jaron Lanier
305: Are Men Necessary? by Maureen Dowd
306: Decoding Love by Andrew Trees
- A look at dating and relationships through the lens of evolution. A fun, light read.
330: Superfreakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
- If you liked Freakonomics, you’ll like this one. More odd questions and the data mountains of the answers.
331: Shop Class as Soulcraft: an inquiry into the value of work by Matthew Crawford
332: The Tao of Warren Buffet by Mary Buffett and David Clark
- Quotes from the master investor, with brief commentary on the principles behind the quotes
338: The Facebook Effect: the Inside Story of the Company that is Connecting the World by David Kirkpatrick
355: On Combat by Dave Grossman
362: Half The Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof
- Wonderful, heartbreaking book about the many areas of the world where women are oppressed, the ways that the oppression occurs, and meaningful suggestions on how you can help.
364: Lust Killer by Anne Rule
- I’m not sure why anyone reads true crime. This is a recounting of gruesome crimes and then he gets caught and then he goes to trial. Not much more to it. Blah.
370: This is Water by David Foster Wallace
501: Don’t Be Such A Scientist by Randy Olson
- A scientist turned filmmaker looks at the ways in which scientists can communicate to broader audiences, rather than simply “hurling facts” and expecting everyone to agree.
610: I Shall Note Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity by Izzeldin Abuelaish
612: The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brains by Nicholas G. Carr
613: Fight Back: Arm yourself with physical and mental self-defense by Dominick DiVito
- Book about mental and physical self-defense tactics. Primarily focused on women, but the principles apply to everyone.
614: The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum
616: The Noonday Demon – An Atlas of Depression by Andrew Solomon
617: Back Trouble: A new Approach to Prevention And Recover by Deborah Kaplan
This was a book written by a personal trainer about back relief through the Alexander method. Some good stuff, philosophical overlap with Gym Movement in some aspects.
646: They Call Me Naughty Lola edited by David Rose
- Hilarious compilations of funny lonely hearts ads from the London Review of Books
658: Work Like Da Vinci, Gaining The Creative Advantage In Your Business And Career by Michael J. Gelb
791: The Making of Enter The Dragon by Robert Clause
- Behind the scenes pictures and stories from the director of what I consider the greatest martial arts movie ever.
794: Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter by Tom Bissell
- Academic treatise on video games as art
796: Total MMA: Inside Ultimate Fighting by Jonathan Snowden
799: The Goshawk by T.H. White
810: Reality Hunger: A Manifesto by David Shields
813: Foundations of Fear edited by David G. Hartwell
814: The Disappointment Artist by Jonathan Lethem
817: Principia Discordia, Or, How I Found The Goddess And What I Did To Her When I Found her by Malaclypse The Younger
823: Out of Sheer Rage: Wrestling With D.H. Lawrence by Geoff Dyer
833: Kafka, A Very Short Introduction by Ritchie Robertson
910: Heaven on Earth: 100 Places to see in your Lifetime by Time Life Books
973: Griftopia by Matt Taibbi
Biography: The Tao of Wu by The RZA
{ 41 comments… read them below or add one }
A bookmark for sure……..if I didn’t feel an urgency to read before, boy do I ever do now!
Josh!
I am in!
2 are better than 1!!!
This is a really great idea, Josh! When I was a kid I wanted to read every book in the library (okay, I was in a small town, it was almost doable, especially at my 6-books-a-day-in-the-summer pace), but now I’m lucky if I get a book read every month or so. Thanks for the incentive to read more!
Hoo boy! I like libraries, but having to read a book from 022 – Administration of Physical Plant? Really? I may join you on this, but I’m not sure how rigid I will actually be when it comes to a couple of categories like that!
So, what are you going to do about categories that are for books written in a language you don’t know (I’m assuming here that there may be a few ;P )? Like 894 Ural-Altaic, Paleosiberian, Dravidian?
I know. I know. Some of these will certainly result in me heading down to children’s nonfiction. For the languages…I hadn’t even considered it. We’ll see.
This is a really interesting idea, I’m going to give it a shot too.
Good luck! I’d love to hear what you read.
What about a Dewey Reading Team, where we fan out among the System?
I really like that idea. If you read something, send me the Dewey number and title and I’ll stick your name in on the record-keeping page. Thank you!
I AM SO IN.
of course, being in children’s/YA libraries, i’ll be reading those books.
That is really a Herculean (is that the word) task. And an interesting one as well. That was the part of the library I always spend the most time. Loved the idea that everytime I had some question I could look it up right away.
But as many books as I took home, there where not many that I read from start to finish. It was mainly more like scanning through, and as soon as my question was answered, I picked up another book for the next question I had.
But I must say I quite like the idea of really reading those books, although I hardly ever go to the library anymore. Lately I have the feeling it is to limited. There are mainly just Dutch books (many of the really interesting books are not translated) and the latest discoveries and insights are not to find in the library, at least not here where I live. For that I need the internet.
But still I like the idea of really reading such books. At least you gave me the desire back to go to the library and find out if the Dewey system is also used here in the Netherlands.
You can jump in whenever you have time and/or the inclination. Say hi to those Netherlands librarians for me and make them subscribe to WSL:)
Here’s my first contribution …
Open to Desire: The Truth About What the Buddha Taught, by Mark Epstein.
My contribution
150
50 Psychology Classics
Tom Butler Bowdon
Another book …
The Pleasure Instinct: Why we Crave Adventure, Chocolate, Pheromones & Music, by Gene Wallenstein.
Dewey number: 152
Kira, you snuck this in because of our dark chocolate conversations, didn’t you?
Ha! Pure coincidence … Or was it?
Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival – T.S. Wiley w/Bent Formby
612.82
Some of his theories are a little out there, but the book as a whole is an interesting read and the main premise is really rather intuitive (as much as we may want to deny it!).
Thanks Chris. Adding it now.
Heft on Wheels by Mike Magnuson (796)
Also:
Kafka: A Very Short Introduction (833)
Science, Order and Creativity by David Bohm and David Peat.
I don’t know the Dewey number. There are several numbers on the book (113/129 and b 68) but I have no idea if one of those is the Dewey number.
Another Book …
(First one read on the ipad … OMG, what a glorious experience!)
The Black Swan : The Impact of the Highly Improbable, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Dewey Number: 3
Another book …
The Science of Leonardo: Inside the Mind of the Great Genius of the Renaissance, by Fritjof Capra.
Dewey Number: 509
Another book …
Bruce Lee: The Art of Expressing the Human Body, edited by John Little.
Dewey Number: 613
Love this one!
Another Book …
The Encyclopedia of Useless Information, by William Hartston.
Dewey Number: 31
(I’m a sucker for trivia)
Another book …
Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers (Third Edition), by Robert Sapolsky
Dewey Number: 616
Another book …
Drive : The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, by Daniel H. Pink.
Dewey Number: 153
Another two books …
Rewire Your Brain, by John B. Arden.
Dewey Number: 153
Save Your Brain: 5 Things You Must do to Keep Your Mind Young and Sharp, by Paul David Nussbaum.
Dewey Number: 612
Hmm … Just noticed I’m starting to repeat with the Dewey numbers … sorry about that.
Another book …
Politics on Demand: The Effects of 24-hour News on American Politics by Alison Dagnes.
Dewey Number: 320.
And another book …
Neurosociology: The Nexus between Neuroscience and Social Psychology by David Franks.
Dewey Number: 613
And another book:
A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age by Daniel Pink.
Dewey Number: 158.
Just had a look at the comments …
Looks like everyone has given up on this project …
Boo!
Not too worry, I think a lot of the books I’ve been reading lately have very similar Dewey codes anyway
At any rate, hope you are well, Josh!
Cheers!
I haven’t given up on it, but it’s slow going with just me!
Very fun and enriching idea. Thanks.
Dewey Lunatic Project suggestion. Why not make the book title a hot link so as to provide possible instant gratification on titles? Who knows, perhaps this link could provide possible revenue. At least a short synopsis of the book would be worthy. Please explain further what the bold numbers are for.
Overall, a very good project.
New subscriber
Mainly because the project will eventually span 1000 books and I don’t want 1000 links on one page, but I am trying to figure out ways to do it better. What I am going to do is make an effort to review each book I add, then I could provide you with a link to that review, although I think I like your idea of a really brief synopsis as well.
The bolded numbers are simply the Dewey call numbers. They’re bold because I bolded them, but don’t have a better answer than that! Glad to have you aboard!
I like this; I want to participate. Let me know how can I help.
This is the list of non-fiction books I am currently reading (I have a very bad reading habit: I read three or more books simultaneously) Could any of these books qualify?
Fritjof Capra, The Hidden Connections.
Diana and Michael Preston, A Pirate of Exquisite Mind.
Hermann Hesse, My Belief.
Also, this is are the Books in my wish list for 2011.
Woodes Rogers, Cruising Voyage Round the World.
Rachel Carson, The Sea Around Us.
Albert Einstein, Ideas and opinions.
James D. Watson, The double Helix.
Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago.
Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams.
You’ve got yourself a very interesting project. You could also try to read something out of every LCC subclass… but that might get a bit long. A more interesting project might be to read something representing every class from Ranganathan’s Colon Classification. And no copy cataloging to help!
That said, your training library is great. It’s hard to argue with Dan John, Pavel, and Brooks. But that’s a whole lot of time on 613…
Great list of books, although I NEVER got the Dewey system. Then again, I don’t get the QWERTY approach to keyboards, either.
Are you a Dvorak fiend?
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