Dejah_Thoris' Dewey Decimal Challenge

I stumbled across this group and, given that I've been trying to read more nonfiction, I though it might be fun to give it a try. Then I really looked at the list and decided it was crazy!

Crazy though it may be, I couldn't get the idea out of my mind, so here I am. I am choosing to list books that I've read since I became active on LT again, which means books from 1 June 2017.

Starting point - includes reading from 1 June 2017 through 25 October 2017.
Classes.......................7/10 = 70%
Divisions.....................17/99 = 17%
Assigned Sections……..24/907= 2.6%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

I've decided that I can use ANY Dewey number listed for a book on OCLC Classify (a site I have adored for some time now) or the number used by my library system.

Class 000 – Computer science, information & general works
Divisions: 3/9
Assigned Sections: 5/86
Unassigned Sections: 0/14

000 Computer science, knowledge & systems
007-009 Unassigned

010 Bibliographies
013 Unassigned

020 Library & information sciences
024 Unassigned
027 General libraries: 027.4 The Library Book
028 Reading & use of other information media: 028.909 When Books Went to War
025 Library operations: 025.82 The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts
029 Unassigned

030 Encyclopedias & books of facts

040 Unassigned (formerly Biographies)

050 Magazines, journals & serials

060 Associations, organizations & museums
069 Museum science: 069.5 Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder

070 News media, journalism & publishing
070 News media, journalism, and publishing: 070.44 The Provocative Colette

080 Quotations

090 Manuscripts & rare books

Class 100 – Philosophy & psychology
Divisions: 2/10
Assigned Sections: 2/89
Unassigned Sections: 0/11

100 Philosophy
104 Unassigned

110 Metaphysics
112 No longer used—formerly Methodology

120 Epistemology
125 No longer used—formerly Infinity

130 Parapsychology & occultism
132 No longer used—formerly Mental derangements
133 Specific topics in parapsychology & occultism: 133.109 American Ghost: A Family's Haunted Past in the Desert Southwest
134 No longer used—formerly Mesmerism & Clairvoyance
136 No longer used—formerly Mental characteristics

140 Philosophical schools of thought

150 Psychology
151 No longer used—formerly Intellect
157 No longer used—formerly Emotions
159 No longer used—formerly Will

160 Philosophical logic
163 - 164 Not assigned or no longer used

170 Ethics

180 Ancient, medieval, & Eastern philosophy
187 Epicurean philosophy: 187 Travels with Epicurus: A Journey to a Greek Island in Search of a Fulfilled Life

190 Modern Western philosophy (19th-century, 20th-century)

Class 200 – Religion
Divisions: 6/10
Assigned Sections: 6/88
Unassigned Sections: 0/12

200 Religion

210 Philosophy & theory of religion
216 No longer used—formerly Evil
217 No longer used—formerly Prayer
219 No longer used—formerly Analogies

220 The Bible
222 Historical books of Old Testament: 222.110 Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths

230 Christianity
234 Salvation & grace: 234.23 Faith: A Journey For All
237 No longer used—formerly Future state

240 Christian practice & observance
244 No longer used—formerly Religious fiction
245 No longer used—formerly Hymnology
248 Christian experience, practice, life: 248.2 The Prayers of Jane Austen

250 Christian orders & local church
256 No longer used—formerly Religious societies
257 No longer used—formerly Parochial schools, libraries, etc.
258 No longer used—formerly Parochial medicine

260 Social & ecclesiastical theology
261 Social theology and interreligious relations and attitudes: 261.7 Bible Nation: The United States of Hobby Lobby

270 History of Christianity
278 Christianity in South America: 278.66 Cement, Earthworms, and Cheese Factories: Religion and Community Development in Rural Ecuador

280 Christian denominations
288 No longer used—formerly Unitarian

290 Other religions
291 No longer used—formerly Comparative religion?
297 Islam, Bábism & Bahá'í Faith: 297.092 The Butterfly Mosque: A Young American Woman's Journey to Love and Islam
298 No longer used—formerly Mormonism

Class 300 – Social sciences
Divisions: 7/10
Assigned Sections: 16/92
Unassigned Sections: 0/8

300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology
301 Sociology & anthropology: 301.441 How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York
304 Factors affecting social behavior: 304.660 Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls and the Consequences of a World Full of Men
305 Groups of people: 305.42 Dear Ijeawele, Or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions
306 Culture & institutions: 306.097 Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis
307 Communities: 307.76 Stonewall: Breaking Out in the Fight for Gay Rights
308 No longer used—formerly Polygraphy
309 No longer used—formerly History of sociology

310 Statistics
311 No longer used—formerly Theory and methods
312 No longer used—formerly Population
313 No longer used—formerly Special topics

320 Political science
321 Systems of governments & states 321.9 On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
329 Not assigned or no longer used

330 Economics
331 Labor economics: 331.672 The Devil's Highway: A True Story
333 Economics of land & energy: 333.959 Arctic Icons: How the Town of Churchill Learned to Love Its Polar Bears
335 Socialism & related systems: 335.430 Daughters and Rebels aka Hons and Rebels
338 Production: 338.7 Mission in a Bottle: The honest Guide to Doing Business Differently - and Succeeding

340 Law
345 Criminal law: 345.761 Scottsboro, Alabama: A Story in Linoleum Cuts

350 Public administration & military science
355 Military science: 355.413 The Perfect Horse: The Daring U.S. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis

360 Social problems & social services
362 Social problems of & services to groups of people: 362.870 Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions
363 Other social problems & services: 363.179 Radium Girls: the Dark Story of America's Shining Women
364 Criminology: 364.152 Thunderstruck

370 Education

380 Commerce, communications, & transportation

390 Customs, etiquette, & folklore
392 Customs of life cycle & domestic life: 392.40 The Fishing Fleet: Husband Hunting in the Raj
396 No longer used—formerly Women's position and treatment
397 No longer used—formerly outcast studies

Class 400 – Language
Divisions: 2/10
Assigned Sections: 2/85
Unassigned Sections: 0/15

400 Language

410 Linguistics
416 No longer used—formerly Prosody

420 English & Old English languages
421 Writing system, phonology, phonetics of standard English: 421.1 Eats, Shoots & Leaves: A Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
424 No longer used—formerly English thesauruses
426 No longer used—formerly English prosodies

430 German & related languages
434 Not assigned or no longer used
436 Not assigned or no longer used

440 French & related languages
444 Not assigned or no longer used
446 Not assigned or no longer used
448 Standard French usage (Prescriptive linguistics): 448.342 French for Cats

450 Italian, Romanian, & related languages
454 Not assigned or no longer used
456 Not assigned or no longer used

460 Spanish, Portuguese, Galician
464 Not assigned or no longer used
466 Not assigned or no longer used

470 Latin & Italic languages
474 Not assigned or no longer used
476 Not assigned or no longer used

480 Classical Greek & related Hellenic languages
484 Not assigned or no longer used
486 Not assigned or no longer used

490 Other languages

Class 500 – Science
Divisions: 6/10
Assigned Sections: 13/93
Unassigned Sections: 1/7

500 Science
504 Not assigned or no longer used

510 Mathematics
517 Not assigned or no longer used

520 Astronomy
524 Not assigned or no longer used

530 Physics
530 Physics: 530 Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

540 Chemistry
544 No longer used-formerly Qualitative analysis
545 No longer used-formerly Quantitative analysis

550 Earth sciences & geology
551 Geology, hydrology, meteorology 551.220 The Great Quake: How the Biggest Earthquake in North America Changed Our Understanding of the Planet

560 Fossils & prehistoric life
569 Fossil Mammalia: 569.67 Discovering the Mammoth: A Tale of Giants, Unicorns, Ivory, and the Birth of a New Science

570 Biology
574 Not assigned or no longer used: 574.949 My Family and Other Animals
576 Genetics and evolution: 576.84 The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History

580 Plants
580 Plants: 580.92 A Rum Affair: A True Story of Botanical Fraud
583 Magnoliopsida (Dicotyledones): 583.5 Gods, Wasps and Stranglers: The Secret History and Redemptive Future of Fig Trees
587 Pteridophyta: 587.097 Oaxaca Journal
589 No longer used-formerly Forestry

590 Animals (Zoology)
590 Animals: 590 Unlikely Friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom
594 Mollusca & Molluscoidea: 594.1 Spirals in Time: The Secret Life and Curious Afterlife of Seashells
595 Arthropoda: 595.7 The Fly Trap
597 Cold-blooded vertebrates: 597.400 The Dragon Behind the Glass: The True Story of Power, Obsession, and the World's Most Coveted Fish
598 Aves (Birds): 598.883 The Beak of the Finch: The Story of Evolution in Our Time

Class 600 – Technology
Divisions: 5/10
Assigned Sections: 15/93
Unassigned Sections: 0/7

600 Technology

610 Medicine & health
610 Medicine & health: 610.73 The Language of Kindness: A Nurse's Story
614 Forensic medicine; incidence of injuries, wounds, disease; public preventive medicine: 614.573 In the Wake of the Plague: the Black Death and the World it Made
616 Diseases: 616.994 The Wandering Gene and the Indian Princess: Race, Religion, and DNA
618 Gynecology, obstetrics, pediatrics, geriatrics: 618.928 Iris Grace: How Thula the Cat Saved a Little Girl and Her Family
619 No longer used-formerly Experimental medicine

Engineering & Applied operations
623 Military & nautical engineering: 623.863 Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
624 Civil engineering: 624.320 The Bridge: How the Roeblings Connected Brooklyn to New York
626 Not assigned or no longer used
629 Other branches of engineering: 629.45 Galaxy Girls: 50 Amazing Stories of Women in Space

630 Agriculture
631 Specific techniques; apparatus, equipment, materials: 631.5 The Lentil Underground; Renegade Farmers and the Future of Food in America
635 Garden crops: 635.933 Otherwise Normal People: Inside the Thorny World of Competitive Rose Gardening
636 Animal husbandry: 636.408 The Good Good Pig: The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood
638 Insect culture: 638.13 The Beekeeper's Lament: How One Man and Half a Billion Honey Bees Help Feed America
639 Hunting, fishing, conservation, related technologies: 639.280 Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America

640 Home & family management
641 Food & drink: 641.597 The Potlikker Papers: A Food History of the Modern South

650 Management & public relations
654 Not assigned or no longer used
655 Not assigned or no longer used
656 Not assigned or no longer used
658 General management: 658.1047: Kabul Disco: How I Managed Not to Be Abducted in Afghanistan
659 Advertising & public relations: 659.1 Confessions of an Advertising Man

660 Chemical engineering

670 Manufacturing

680 Manufacture for specific uses
689 Not assigned or no longer used

690 Construction of buildings
699 Not assigned or no longer used

Class 700 – Arts & recreation
Divisions: 6/10
Assigned Sections: 11/93
Unassigned Sections: 0/7

700 Arts

710 Area planning & landscape architecture

720 Architecture

730 Sculpture, ceramics, & metalwork
739 Art metalwork: 739.27 Read My Pins: Stories From a Diplomat's Jewel Box

740 Graphic arts & decorative arts
741 Drawing & drawings: 741.597 March: Book Three
744 Not assigned or no longer used

750 Painting
756 Not assigned or no longer used
759 History, geographic treatment, biography: 759.5 The Lost Painting: the Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece

760 Printmaking & prints
761 Relief processes (Block printing): 761 Madman's Drum
762 Not assigned or no longer used
768 Not assigned or no longer used
769 Prints: 769.904 Wordless Books: The Original Graphic Novels

770 Photography, computer art, film, video
770 Photography, computer art, film, video: 770.92 Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide
774 No longer used-formerly Holography
775 No longer used-formerly Digital photography

780 Music
789 Not assigned or no longer used

790 Sports, games & entertainment
791 Public performances: 791.43 Edith Head: the Fifty-Year Career of Hollywood's Greatest Costume Designer
792 Stage presentations: 792.028 A Dream of Passion: The Development of the Method
796 Athletic & outdoor sports & games 796.522 Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident
797 Aquatic & air sports: 797.123 The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
798 Equestrian sports & animal racing: 798.400 Seabiscuit: An American Legend

Class 800 – Literature
Divisions: 6/10
Assigned Sections: 18/98
Unassigned Sections: 0/2

800 Literature, rhetoric & criticism
804 Not assigned or no longer used

810 American literature in English
810 American literature in English: 810.809 Oh Money! Money!
811 American poetry in English: 811.52 Love Songs
812 American drama in English: 812.52 J. B. : A Play in Verse
813 American fiction in English: 813.6 One Fell Sweep
817 American humor & satire in English: 817.5 My Sister Eileen
818 American miscellaneous writings in English: 818.540 Running in the Family
819 No longer used-formerly Puzzle activities

820 English & Old English literatures
821 English Poetry: 821.12 1914 and Other Poems
822 English drama: 822.912 Ten Little Indians: A Mystery Play in Three Acts
823 English fiction: 823.92 The Delirium Brief
828 English miscellaneous writings: 828 A Journal of the Plague Year

830 German & related literatures
833 German fiction: 833.92 Three Bags Full
839 Other Germanic literatures: 839.693 Snowblind

840 French & related literatures
842 French drama: 842.4 Tartuffe
843 French fiction: 843.912 The Little Prince

850 Italian, Romanian, & related literatures

860 Spanish, Portuguese, Galician literatures
862 Spanish drama: 862.62 Blood Wedding

870 Latin & Italic literatures

880 Classical & modern Greek literatures

890 Other literatures
891 East Indo-European & Celtic literatures: 891.551 The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
nb
894 Literatures of Altaic, Uralic, Hyperborean, Dravidian languages; literatures of miscellaneous languages of South Asia: 894.35 The Gigolo Murder
895 Literatures of East & Southeast Asia: 895.365 The Housekeeper and the Professor

Class 900 – History & geography
Divisions: 7/10
Assigned Sections: 18/90
Unassigned Sections: 2/10

900 History
909 World history: 909.096 In the Wake of Madness: The Murderous Voyage of the Whaleship Sharon

910 Geography & travel
910 Geography & travel: 910.916 The Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship
914 Geography of & travel in Europe: 914.1 Every Frenchman Has One

920 Biography & genealogy
920 Biography, genealogy, insignia: 920.720 The Six: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters
921-928 This range is reserved as an optional location for biographies, which are shelved alphabetically by subject's last name.
921 Biography: 921 The Moon's A Balloon
926 Biography: 926.1 Heart and Soul: The Story of Florence Nightingale
929 Genealogy, names, insignia: 929.209 The Stranger in My Genes

930 History of ancient world (to ca. 499)

940 History of Europe
940 History of Europe: 940.548 Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal
943 Germany & neighboring central European countries: 943.086 In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin

950 History of Asia
950 History of Asia: 950.210 Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
951 China & adjacent areas: 951.042 The Long March: The True History of China's Founding Myth
956 Middle East (Near East): 956.3 Jerusalem 1913: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

960 History of Africa
966 West Africa & offshore islands: 966.023 The Sword and the Cross: Two Men and an Empire of Sand

970 History of North America
972 Mexico, Central America, West Indies, Bermuda: 972.85 The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story
973 United States: 973.381Martyr of the American Revolution: The Execution of Isaac Hayne, South Carolinian
974 Northeastern United States (New England & Middle Atlantic states): 974.710 The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
975 Southeastern United States (South Atlantic states): 975.9 Black Cloud: The Great Florida Hurricane of 1928
976 South central United States: 976.6 Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
977 North central United States: 977.662 Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894
978 Western United States: 978.020 The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride

980 History of South America
983 Chile: 983.530 A Star and a Cross: Memoirs of a Jewish Girl in Chile

990 History of other areas
991 Not assigned or no longer used
992 Not assigned or no longer used

and just in case

Finished on 10/28/2017:

950.210 Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford

Interesting, but not completely engrossing look at Genghis Khan and his impact on the modern world divided into three sections: his reign, those of his sons, grandsons and other relations and descendants, and how they collectively changed the know world.

Classes.......................7/10 = 70%
Divisions.....................18/99 = 18%
Assigned Sections……..25/908= 2.7%
Unassigned Sections....1/92 = 1%

Perhaps some goals for the remaining two months of the year would be in order.

By New Year's Day 2018, I'd like to be 10/10 for Classes and 25/99 for Divisions. Since I still have many categories I commonly read available, this should be pretty easy. I can see that this will get quite hard later.

With the new year, I'll re-evaluate and determine monthly goals going forward.

Finished on 10/31/2017:

635.933 Otherwise Normal People: Inside the World of Competitive Rose Gardening by Aurelia C. Scott.

An entertaining look competitive rose exhibitioners - an the lengths they'll go in order to win.

Classes.......................7/10 = 70%
Divisions.....................19/99 = 19%
Assigned Sections……..26/907= 2.8%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 11/02/2017:



616.994 The Wandering Gene and the Indian Princess: Race, Religion, and DNA by Jeff Wheelwright

In an isolated New Mexico / Colorado valley, a surprising number of women, many related, have developed breast cancer. Even more surprising to these families, which virtually all claim Spanish Catholic and Native American descent, is the discovery of the BRCA1.185delAG genetic variant, which not only indicates a greater risk for breast cancer, but is also a marker for Jewish heritage.

I found this book interesting, but not fascinating. I suspect I may simply have already known too much about the topics involved; I was rarely surprised by Wheelwrights revelations.

Classes.......................7/10 = 70%
Divisions.....................20/99 = 20%
Assigned Sections……..27/907= 2.9%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 11/04/17:



973.381 Martyr of the American Revolution: The Execution of Isaac Hayne, South Carolinian by C. L. Bragg

I was born and currently live in the southeastern U.S., I have visited Charleston, S.C. several times and I am not unfamiliar with U.S. history, and yet, I can’t recall ever having heard of the execution of Isaac Hanye - which is a large part of the point author C. L. Bragg wants to make.

Isaac Hayne was a Colonel in one of the South Carolina patriot militias during the Revolutionary War. I won’t go into details (that’s what the book is for), but Hayne was executed by the British for treason under incredibly dubious circumstances. His guilt was arguably in question, but the real issue was the lack of due process or reasonable trial.

Hayne’s execution by hanging caused a furor at the time; the Continental Congress actually approved the retaliatory execution of a British officer, but this was, fortunately, never carried out.

Hayne himself, his family, his supporters and his long walk to the gallows were, for a time, part of American popular culture. Poems and songs were written and performed and novels were based on or alluded to the tragedy. But Hayne did not linger in popular memory as Nathan Hale, who confessed his guilt and was executed as a spy, did. Bragg suggests several reasons for this. First, there was a belief evident from almost as soon as the war ended that the northern part of the breakaway nation had been militarily more important to the Revolution than the South, and I agree historiography backs that up. Second, after the Civil War, Northern historians were unlikely to sing the praises of any Southern hero and Southern historians were too busy eulogizing their recent dead to remember Hayne.

Published by the University of South Carolina Press, Martyr of the American Revolution has an academic tone, although I was occasionally surprised by an enthusiastic turn of phrase and use of punctuation. It’s not scintillating reading, but it does shed light on a largely forgotten bit of American history. It’s all the more impressive that the author, C. L. Bragg, is not a historian by trade, but an anesthesiologist.

Classes.......................7/10 = 70%
Divisions.....................20/99 = 20%
Assigned Sections……..28/907= 3.0%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 11/11/2017

333.959 Arctic Icons: How the Town of Churchill Learned to Love Its Polar Bears by Edward Struzik



This was an interesting, but not fascinating, look at at how the town of Churchill, on the Hudson Bay in Canada, has, over the course of decades, learned to live with its seasonal polar bear population. While this is not a natural history of polar bears, you can’t help but learn a fair amount about them. Much of the photography is gorgeous, although there is at least one picture I wish I could un-see. The dangers to the polar bear population from climate change / shorter, warmer winters, while not a focus of the book, comes across very clearly.

Classes.......................7/10 = 70%
Divisions.....................21/99 = 21%
Assigned Sections……..29/907= 3.1%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 11/12/2017:

587.097 Oaxaca Journal by Oliver Sacks



Oliver Sacks goes to Mexico with a group of fern devotees, professional and amatuer, takes notes in his journal, adds a some historical detail when he gets back home, and, voila, an entry in the National Geographic Literary Travel Series is born. I liked the book best when he was writing about his fellow travelers and ferns; in fact, I wish there had been more about the ferns. The Mesoamerican history that he added in was interesting, but it wasn’t new material for me. So while I didn’t love it, I plan to read more of Sacks’ work and to seek out other volumes in the series.

Classes.......................7/10 = 70%
Divisions.....................21/99 = 21%
Assigned Sections……..30/907= 3.2%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

I'm pretty sure that everyone who has a 587 got it from Oaxaca Journal... you're making some great progress! I'm impressed.

>20 lorax: Thanks for dropping by! This Group looks pretty quiet, so I wan't sure I ever have a visitor.

Oaxaca Journal has been on my TBR for a while - and I'm actually disappointed there wasn't actually more about ferns in it. I did notice that it was on several lists.

As for progress, thanks for the kind words, but at this point it's all pretty much still the low hanging fruit. I'm going to have to make much more of an effort as get further along, which I'm sure has been true for every one. Having looked at your list, it seems as though you have not many left to go - I'm impressed, too.

Finished on 11/15/2017:

355.314 The Perfect Horse: The Daring U.S. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis by Elizabeth Letts

Classes.......................7/10 = 70%
Divisions.....................22/99 = 22%
Assigned Sections……..31/907= 3.3%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 11/18/2017:

297.092 The Butterfly Mosque: A Young American Woman's Journey to Love and Islam by G. Willow Wilson

Classes.......................8/10 = 80%
Divisions.....................23/99 = 23%
Assigned Sections……..32/907= 3.5%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 11/21/2017:

421.1 Eats, Shoots & Leaves: A Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynn Truss

Classes.......................9/10 = 90%
Divisions.....................24/99 = 24%
Assigned Sections……..33/907= 3.6%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 11/25/2017:

598.883 The Beak of the Finch: The Story of Evolution in Our Time by Jonathan Weiner

Classes.......................9/10 = 90%
Divisions.....................24/99 = 24%
Assigned Sections……..34/907= 3.7%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 11/30/2017:

891.511 The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam by Omar Khayyam, trans. Edward Fitzgerald

Classes.......................9/10 = 90%
Divisions.....................25/99 = 25%
Assigned Sections……..35/907= 3.8%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 11/30/2017:

530 Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli

Classes.......................9/10 = 90%
Divisions.....................26/99 = 26%
Assigned Sections……..36/907= 3.9%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Oh, I loved Beak of the Finch when I read it mumblemumble years ago. (Nearly ten, based on the timestamp of my review.) What did you think?

Did you see that the Grants' research was in the news recently, that they may have managed to observe speciation in action? https://www.princeton.edu/news/2017/11/27/study-darwins-finches-reveals-new-spec...

I loved The Beak of the Finch, too - what a great book! It holds up extremely well, but I kept thinking what a boon more advanced genetic testing would be.

Thanks for the article link - I love that they call the new species Big Bird. I've been looking at two books by Peter Grant: 40 Years of Evolution: Darwin's Finches on Daphne Major Island and the apparently less technical How and Why Species Multiply: the Radiation of Darwin's Finches. Neither is available through my library system, so I may have to give one of them as a present.

I do intend to go back and add reviews - or at least a few words - for each book, but I haven't managed it yet.

Thanks for dropping by.

ETA: I just went back and added reviews for two books I'd already posted on my main thread. More to come.

Finished on 12/03/2017:

261.7 Bible Nation: The United States of Hobby Lobby by Candida R. Moss and Joel S. Baden

Classes.......................9/10 = 90%
Divisions.....................27/99 = 27%
Assigned Sections……..37/907= 4.0%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 12/4/2017:

759.5 The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece by Jonathan Harr

Classes.......................9/10 = 90%
Divisions.....................28/99 = 28%
Assigned Sections……..38/907= 4.1%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 12/06/2017:

976.6 Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

Classes.......................9/10 = 90%
Divisions.....................28/99 = 28%
Assigned Sections……..39/907= 4.2%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 12/11/2017:

335.430 Daughters and Rebels (aka Hons and Rebels) by Jessica Mitford

Classes.......................9/10 = 90%
Divisions.....................28/99 = 28%
Assigned Sections……..40/907= 4.4%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 12/17/17:

966.023 The Sword and the Cross: Two Men and an Empire of Sand by Fergus Fleming

Classes.......................9/10 = 90%
Divisions.....................29/99 = 29%
Assigned Sections……..41/907= 4.5%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 12/30/17:

187 Travels with Epicurus: A Journey to a Greek Island in Search of a Fulfilled Life by Daniel Klein

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................30/99 = 30%
Assigned Sections……..42/907= 4.6%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 12/31/17:

594.1 Spirals in Time: The Secret Life and Curious Afterlife of Seashells by Helen Scales

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................30/99 = 30%
Assigned Sections……..43/907= 4.7%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Back in October when I started this (using books I'd read since June of this year) I wrote:

By New Year's Day 2018, I'd like to be 10/10 for Classes and 25/99 for Divisions. .

Currently, I stand at:
Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................30/99 = 30%
Assigned Sections……..43/907= 4.7%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

That goal proved to be not too difficult, but I can definitely see issues going forward!

With that in mind, for 2018 I'd like to add 20 more divisions (bringing me to 50/99) . I'll aim for about five books a month, planning to hit 100 assigned sections. We'll see how it goes.

>36 Dejah_Thoris:

I just finished Spirals in Time too! What did you think?

>38 lorax: I had fairly mixed feelings about it. Some chapters I thoroughly enjoyed, but others were a slog. Several, including a few toward the beginning, read (to me, at any rate) like disorganized info dumps. There's a strong possibility I wouldn't have finished it based on the early chapters if I hadn't wanted to get 594 done, which would have been a shame, because some chapters were truly interesting.

What about you?

Finished on 1/08/2018:

839.693 Snowblind by Ragnar Jonasson

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................31/99 = 31%
Assigned Sections……..44/907= 4.8%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 1/14/2018:

569.67 Discovering the Mammoth: A Tale of Giants, Unicorns, Ivory, and the Birth of a New Science by John J. McKay

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................32/99 = 32%
Assigned Sections……..45/907= 4.9%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 1/16/2018:

321.9 On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................33/99 = 32%
Assigned Sections……..46/907= 5.0%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 1/20/2018:

551.220 The Great Quake: How the Biggest Earthquake in North America Changed Our Understanding of the Planet by Henry Fountain

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................34/99 = 34%
Assigned Sections……..47/907= 5.1%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 1/26/2018:

614.573 In the Wake of the Plague: the Black Death and the World it Made by Norman Cantor

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................34/99 = 34%
Assigned Sections……..48/907= 5.2%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 1/31/2018:

306.097 Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis by Jimmy Carter

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................34/99 = 34%
Assigned Sections……..49/907= 5.4%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 2/03/2018:

448.342 French for Cats by Henry Beard

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................35/99 = 35%
Assigned Sections……..50/907= 5.5%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 2/06/2018:

248.2 The Prayers of Jane Austen by Jane Austen

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................36/99 = 36%
Assigned Sections……..51/907= 5.6%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 2/11/2018:

797.123 The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................36/99 = 36%
Assigned Sections……..52/907= 5.7%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 02/19/2018:

222.110 Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths by Bruce Feiler

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................37/99 = 37%
Assigned Sections……..53/907= 5.8%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 02/20/2018:

828 A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................37/99 = 37%
Assigned Sections……..54/907= 5.9%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 02/22/2018:

791.43 Edith Head: the Fifty-Year Career of Hollywood's Greatest Costume Designer

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................37/99 = 37%
Assigned Sections……..55/907= 6.0%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 03/2018:

977.662 Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894 by Daniel James Brown

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................37/99 = 37%
Assigned Sections……..56/907= 6.1%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 03/2018:

862.62 Blood Wedding by Federico Garcia Lorca

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................38/99 = 38%
Assigned Sections……..57/907= 6.2%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 03/2018:

631.5 The Lentil Underground; Renegade Farmers and the Future of Food in America by Liz Carlisle

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................38/99 = 38%
Assigned Sections……..58/907= 6.3%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 03/2018:

821.912 1914 and Other Poems by Rupert Brooke

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................38/99 = 38%
Assigned Sections……..59/907= 6.4%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 03/2018:

618.928 Iris Grace: How Thula the Cat Saved a Little Girl and Her Family by Arabella Carter-Johnson

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................38/99 = 38%
Assigned Sections……..60/907= 6.6%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 04/2018:

392.40 The Fishing Fleet: Husband Hunting in the Raj by Anne de Courcy

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................39/99 = 39%
Assigned Sections……..61/907= 6.7%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 042018:

909.096 In the Wake of Madness: The Murderous Voyage of the Whaleship Sharon by Joan Druett

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................40/99 = 40%
Assigned Sections……..62/907= 6.8%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 04/2018:

304.660 Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls and the Consequences of a World Full of Men by Mara Hvistendahl

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................40/99 = 40%
Assigned Sections……..63/907= 6.8%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 05/2018:

910.916 The Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship by Robert Kurson

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................41/99 = 41%
Assigned Sections……..64/907= 7.0%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 05/2018:

576.84 The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................41/99 = 41%
Assigned Sections……..65/907= 7.1%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 05/2018:

025.82 The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts by Joshua Hammer

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................41/99 = 41%
Assigned Sections……..66/907= 7.2%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 05/2018:

638.13 The Beekeeper's Lament: How One Man and Half a Billion Honey Bees Help Feed America by Hannah Nordhaus

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................41/99 = 41%
Assigned Sections……..67/907= 7.3%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 05/2018:

331.672 The Devil's Highway: A True Story by Luis Albero Urrea

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................41/99 = 41%
Assigned Sections……..68/907= 7.4%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 05/2018:

301.441 How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York by Jacob A. Riis

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................41/99 = 41%
Assigned Sections……..69/907= 7.5%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished in 06/2018:

624.320 The Bridge: How the Roeblings Connected Brooklyn to New York by Peter J. Tomasi and Sarah Duvall

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................42/99 = 42%
Assigned Sections……..70/907= 7.6%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 06/2018:

623.863 Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................42/99 = 42%
Assigned Sections……..71/907= 7.7%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 07/11/2018:

978.020 The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride by Daniel James Brown

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................42/99 = 42%
Assigned Sections……..72/907= 7.7%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 07/13/2018:

590 Unlikely Friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom by Jennifer S. Holland

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................42/99 = 42%
Assigned Sections……..73/907= 7.8%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 07/2018:

636 The Good Good Pig: The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood by Sy Montgomery

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................42/99 = 42%
Assigned Sections……..74/907= 8.1%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 07/29/2018:

580 A Rum Affair: A True Story of Botanical Fraudby Karl Sabbagh

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................42/99 = 42%
Assigned Sections……..75/907= 8.2%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

So, at the end of July, I still have 8 new divisions to go to reach my goal of 50/99 by the end of the year. I'll aim for two a month.

I'm aiming for 100/907 assigned sections, which puts me at 5 a month.

I keep running into the fact that I seem to keep reading the books that duplicate Dewey numbers I'v already got covered. I'm going to have to pay more attention, or I won't hit my goals.

Finished 08/2018:

796 Dead Mountain" The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident by Donnie Eichar

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................42/99 = 42%
Assigned Sections……..76/907= 8.3%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 08/04/2018:

234 Faith: A Journey For All by Jimmy Carter

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................43/99 = 43%
Assigned Sections……..77/907= 8.4%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 07/08/2018:

133.109 American Ghost: A Family's Haunted Past in the Desert Southwest by Hannah Nordhaus

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................44/99 = 44%
Assigned Sections……..78/907= 8.5%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 08/2018:

597.400 The Dragon Behind the Glass: The True Story of Power, Obsession, and the World's Most Coveted Fish by Eimly Voight

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................44/99 = 44%
Assigned Sections……..79/907= 8.7%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 08/2018:

843.912 The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................45/99 = 45%
Assigned Sections……..80/907= 8.8%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 08/2018:

798.400 Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................45/99 = 45%
Assigned Sections……..81/907= 8.9%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

At the end of August, I still have 5 new divisions to go to reach my goal of 50/99 by the end of the year, with four months to go. Very doable.

I'm aiming for 100/907 assigned sections and I'm currently at 81/907, which still puts me at 5 a month.

Five new divisions in four months, wow! I guess you have more to choose from than I do, but that's still ambitious. Best of luck!

>80 lorax: I have far more to chose from than you do - but next year is going to be much, much harder. I picked goals for this year before I realized how often I read nonfiction from the same narrow subjects and how unappealing I was going to find some of the choices! In 2019, I'll ease up to something more realistic.

Finished on 09/06/2018:

895.365 The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................45/99 = 45%
Assigned Sections……..82/907= 9.0%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 09/18/2018:

943.086 In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................45/99 = 45%
Assigned Sections……..83/907= 9.1%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 09/18/2018:

975.9 Black Cloud: The Great Florida Hurricane of 1928 by Eliot Kleinberg

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................45/99 = 45%
Assigned Sections……..84/907= 9.2%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished on 09/23/2018:

817.5 My Sister Eileen by Ruth McKenney

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................45/99 = 45%
Assigned Sections……..85/907= 9.3%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 10/2018:

833.92 Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................45/99 = 45%
Assigned Sections……..86/907= 9.4%
Unassigned Sections....1/93 = 1%

Finished 10/2018:

921 The Moon's A Balloon by David Niven

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................45/99 = 45%
Assigned Sections……..86/907= 9.4%
Unassigned Sections....2/93 = 2%

Finished 10/2018:

639.280 Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America by Eric Jay Dolin

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................45/99 = 45%
Assigned Sections……..87/907= 9.5%
Unassigned Sections....2/93 = 2%

Finished 12/2018:

914.4 Every Frenchman Has One by Olivia de Havilland

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................45/99 = 45%
Assigned Sections……..88/907= 9.7%
Unassigned Sections....2/93 = 1%

Finished 12/2018:

739.27 Read My Pins: Stories From a Diplomat's Jewel Box by Madeleine Albright

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................46/99 = 46%
Assigned Sections……..89/907= 9.8%
Unassigned Sections....2/93 = 2%

Finished 12/27/2018:

278.66 Cement, Earthworms, and Cheese Factories: Religion and Community Development in Rural Ecuador by Jill DeTemple

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................47/99 = 47%
Assigned Sections……..90/907= 9.9%
Unassigned Sections....2/93 = 2%

reserved for year end stats

Finished on 1/2/2019:

894.35 The Gigolo Murder by Mehmet Murat Somer

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................47/99 = 47%
Assigned Sections……..91/907= 10.0%
Unassigned Sections....2/93 = 2%

Finished on 01/03/2019:

659 Advertising & public relations: 659.1 Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................48/99 = 48%
Assigned Sections……..92/907= 10.1%
Unassigned Sections....2/93 = 2%

What does every Frenchman have? That is quite a title!

>95 carlym: Sorry to be so slow in responding - I've been in rehearsal for (and since last Friday, in performance of) a play, and I haven't had the energy mental bandwidth to keep up with LT.

It cracked me up that in 1962 de Havilland used such a seemingly suggestive title. As it turns out, what every Frenchman has is a liver. Apparently Frenchmen in that era (and possibly of a certain class) drank like fish and yet were terribly concerned for their livers. Annual trips to spas to treat the liver were, apparently, quite common. Even funnier, shortly after I read Every Frenchman Has One, I read another book (and for the life of me I can't remember what it was) that referenced this purported French liver obsession. Who knew?

Finished 01/2019

027 General libraries: 027.4 The Library Book by Susan Orlean

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................48/99 = 48%
Assigned Sections……..93/907= 10.2%
Unassigned Sections....2/93 = 2%

Finished 01/2019

920 Biography, genealogy, insignia: 920.720 The Six: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters by Laura Thompson

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................48/99 = 48%
Assigned Sections……..94/907= 10.3%
Unassigned Sections....2/93 = 2%

Finished 01/2019

362 Social problems of & services to groups of people: 362.870 Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions by Valeria Luiselli

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................48/99 = 48%
Assigned Sections……..95/907= 10.4%
Unassigned Sections....2/93 = 2%

Ha, that's funny! I'll have to check it out!

Finished 05/19:

610 Medicine & health: 610.73 The Language of Kindness: A Nurse's Story by Christie Watson

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................48/99 = 48%
Assigned Sections……..96/907= 10.5%
Unassigned Sections....2/93 = 2%

Finished 05/19:

926 Biography: 926.1 Heart and Soul: The Story of Florence Nightingale by Gina K. Gorrell

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................48/99 = 48%
Assigned Sections……..96/907= 10.5%
Unassigned Sections....3/93 = 3.2%

Finished 06/19:

658 General management: 658.1047: Kabul Disco: How I Managed Not to Be Abducted in Afghanistan by Nicolas Wild

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................48/99 = 48%
Assigned Sections……..97/907= 10.6%
Unassigned Sections....3/93 = 3.2%

Finished in 06/2019:

629 Other branches of engineering: 629.45 Galaxy Girls: 50 Amazing Stories of Women in Space by Libby Jackson

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................48/99 = 48%
Assigned Sections……..98/907= 10.8%
Unassigned Sections....3/93 = 3.2%

Finished 06/2019:

956 Middle East (Near East): 956.3 Jerusalem 1913: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Any Dockser-Marcus

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................48/99 = 48%
Assigned Sections……..99/907= 10.9%
Unassigned Sections....3/93 = 3.2%

Finished in 07/2019:

770 Photography, computer art, film, video: 770.92 Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide by Isabel Quintero

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................49/99 = 49.4%
Assigned Sections……..100/907= 11.0%
Unassigned Sections....3/93 = 3.2%

Finished in 07/2019:

983 Chile: 983.530 A Star and a Cross: Memoirs of a Jewish Girl in Chile by Marjorie Agosin

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................50/99 = 50.5%
Assigned Sections……..101/907= 11.1%
Unassigned Sections....3/93 = 3.2%

Finished 07/2019:

951 China & adjacent areas: 951.042 The Long March: The True History of China's Founding Myth by Sun Shuyun

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................50/99 = 50.5%
Assigned Sections……..102/907= 11.2%
Unassigned Sections....3/93 = 3.2%

Finished 07/2019:

307 Communities: 307.76 Stonewall: Breaking Out in the Fight for Gay Rights by Ann Bausum

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................50/99 = 50.5%
Assigned Sections……..103/907= 11.3%
Unassigned Sections....3/93 = 3.2%

Finished 07/2019:

338 Production: 338.7 Mission in a Bottle: The honest Guide to Doing Business Differently - and Succeeding by Seth Goldman Barry Nalebuff, illustrated by Sungydon Choi

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................50/99 = 50.5%
Assigned Sections……..104/907= 11.4%
Unassigned Sections....3/93 = 3.2%

Finished 08/2019

070 News media, journalism, and publishing: 070.44 The Provocative Colette

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................51/99 = 51.5%
Assigned Sections……..105/907= 11.5%
Unassigned Sections....3/93 = 3.2%

Finished on 10/24/2019:

842 French drama: 842.4 Tartuffe by Moliere, translation by Richard Wilbur

Classes.......................10/10 = 100%
Divisions.....................51/99 = 51.5%
Assigned Sections……..106/907= 11.6%
Unassigned Sections....3/93 = 3.2%