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.

324: Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the race of a lifetime by John Heilemann

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