Dave's LC challenge

When I joined Library Thing a few years ago, I was intrigued by the LC and Dewey Decimal System challenge groups. So I created two spreadsheets and started filling in books that I remembered reading. Then I started broadening my usual reading to try to fill in categories. Finally, about two months ago, I reached critical mass in the LC challenge; I realized that I had read books in over half the categories. So I buckled down and started going to the library (the Boston Public Library - lots of books) and sometimes to Boston University library (even more books) to see if I could actually finish the challenge. Some categories had very few or even no books, so I skipped them. Other categories had only very boring books, so I picked the least boring book to read. Some books I couldn't get through and had to go back and find a less boring book. But I found an interesting book in almost every category. I struck out in only one section, the K's - Law, and I'm a lawyer! The BPL didn't have too many books in that section, and, while BU obviously did, I wasn't going to go to BU every now and then and sit there and read a book about foreign law. So the K section defeated me. Otherwise, I did pretty well, and it really expanded my horizons. I tried to learn something new from every book. So here it is.

Class A: General Works
AC: Collections, Series, Collected Works Paper Trail
AE: Encyclopedias Isidore of Seville's Etymologies: Complete English Translation
AG: Dictionaries and other general Reference Works The straight dope
AI: Indexes - No actual books are published in this section
AM: Museums, collectors and collecting The Origins of museums : the cabinet of curiosities in sixteenth and seventeenth-century Europe
AP: Periodicals
AS: Academies and learned societies Voltaire and D'Alembert - this was a pretty boring book, but I'm a huge fan of Voltaire, and it was one of the very few books in this section
AY: Yearbooks, Almanacs, Directories World Almanac - when I was a kid, my parents would give me a World Almanac every year and I would read it cover to cover. I don't do that anymore, for better or for worse
AZ: History of scholarship and learning Defining the Humanities: How Rediscovering a Tradition Can Improve Our Schools : With a Curriculum for Today's Students

Class B: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion
B: Philosophy The Nicomachean Ethics
BC: Logic Crimes against logic
BD: Speculative philosophy Meaning in life and why it matters
BF: Psychology Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
BH: Aesthetics Artscience
BJ: Ethics Letters from a Stoic
BL: Religions, mythology, rationalism Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
BM: Judaism Defenders of the Faith: Inside Ultra-Orthodox Jewry
BP: Islam, Baha’ism, Theosophy Islam: A very short introduction
BQ; Buddhism Tell me something about Buddhism
BR; Christianity The lost history of Christianity
BS: The Bible Who wrote the Bible?
BT: Doctrinal Theology Life after death: the evidence
BV: Practical Theology Pig in a taxi
BX: Christian Denominations Under the banner of heaven

Class C: Auxiliary Sciences of History
C: Auxiliary science of history - there are no books in this category
CB: History of Civilization The Modern Mind: An Intellectual History of the 20th Century
CC: Archaeology Ten discoveries that rewrote history
CD: Diplomatics, Archives, Seals Presidential libraries and museums
CE: Technical Chronology The history of time: a very short introduction
CJ: Numismatics The big silver melt
CN: Inscriptions Greek inscriptions
CR: Heraldry For which it stands
CS: Genealogy Finding our fathers
CT: Biography Into the Wild

Class D: History, General and Old World
D: History, General The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories
DA: History of Great Britain, Ireland Watching the English
DAW: History of Central Europe - there are very few books in this category (BU had perhaps seven, and they were all tremendously uninteresting)
DB: History of Austria, et. al. Schlepping through the Alps
DC: History of France The most beautiful villages of Provence
DD: History of Germany The house on Garibaldi Street
DE: History of Greco-Roman World Greek & Roman Historians
DF: History of Greece The Founders of the Western World: A History of Greece and Rome
DG: History of Italy, Malta A day in the life of ancient Rome
DH: History of Low Countries The Dutch Revolt, 1559-1648
DJ: History of Netherlands Murder in Amsterdam
DJK: History of Eastern Europe Ticket to Latvia
DK: History of Russia, Poland The Jews of Khazaria
DL: History of Northern Europe A brief history of the Vikings
DP: History of Spain and Portugal Pilgrimage to the end of the world
DQ: History of Switzerland Switzerland Unwrapped
DR: History of Balkan Peninsula Eastward to Tartary: Travels in the Balkans, the Middle East, and the Caucasus
DS: History of Asia The Ends of the Earth: From Togo to Turkmenistan, from Iran to Cambodia, a Journey to the Frontiers of Anarchy
DT: History of Africa The Africans
DU: History of Oceania Lost Paradise: From Mutiny on the Bounty to a Modern-Day Legacy of Sexual Mayhem, the Dark Secrets of Pitcairn Island Revealed
DX: History of Gypsies We are the Romani people

Class E: History of America
E An Evening with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson: Dinner, Wine, and Conversation

Class F: Local History of the United States and British, Dutch, French, and Latin America
F An Empire Wilderness : Travels into America's Future

Class G: Geography, Anthropology, Recreation
G: Geography, Atlases, Maps Alone
GA: Mathematical geography Mapping Boston
GB: Physical Geography At the sea's edge
GC: Oceanography The power of the sea
GE: Environmental Science How the government got in your backyard
GF: Human Ecology, The World without us
GN: Anthropology Genes, Peoples, and Languages
GR: Folklore The cat in the dryer
GT: Manners and customs Omnivore's Dilemma
GV: Recreation, leisure Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster

Class H: Social Sciences
H -- Social sciences America the unusual
HA -- Statistics Changing U.S. Demographics
HB -- Economic theory; Demography Trust: The Social Virtues and The Creation of Prosperity
HC -- Economic history and conditions The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor
HD -- Industries; Land use; Labor Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future
HE -- Transportation and communications Right of the dial
HF -- Commerce Dilbert : The Joy of Work
HG -- Finance Beating the Street
HJ -- Public finance Running on empty
HM -- Sociology (General) Guns, Germs, and Steel
HN -- Social history and conditions; Social problems; Social reform Class: A Guide Through the American Status System
HQ -- The family; Marriage; Woman; Sexuality Bare Branches: The Security Implications of Asia's Surplus Male Population
HS -- Societies: secret, benevolent, etc. The Gentlemen's clubs of London
HT -- Communities; Classes; Races Main Street Revisited: Time, Space, and Image Building in Small-Town America (American Land & Life)
HV -- Social pathology; Social and public welfare; Criminology The Fence
HX -- Socialism; Communism; Anarchism The law

Class J: Political science
J: legislative and executive papers The words of Harry Truman
JA: Political science The Culture Struggle
JC: Political theory The Politics (Aristotle)
JF: Political institutions-general Thinking in an emergency
JJ: Political institutions, North America - there are no actual books in this category
JK: Political institutions, United States The Democracy Index
JL: Political institutions, Canada, etc. Languages in Conflict by Richard J. Joy (Library Thing doesn't appear to have him or any books by him in its database)
JN: Political institutions, Europe English Constitutional History
JQ: Political institutions, everywhere else Death to the dictator
JS: Local government Neighborhood government
JV: Colonies, colonization, immigration On the line: inside the U.S. border patrol
JX: International law Modern man is obsolete
JZ: International relations Warrior Politics: Why Leadership Demands a Pagan Ethos

K- Law My first year as a lawyer
KB – Religious Law General and comparative
KBM - Jewish Law
KBP - Islamic Law Cruel and usual punishment
KBR - Canon Law
KBU - Law of the Roman Catholic church
KD - United Kingdom. England. Wales McLibel: Burger Culture on Trial
KDZ - North America Is NAFTA constitutional?
KE - Canada (general)
KF - United States (general) The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court
KG - Latin America, Central America & Caribbean
KH - South America (general & comparative)
KJ - History of law in Europe. Law of ancient European tribes
KK - Germany. West Germany The Nuremberg Laws
KL - Asia and Eurasia
KM - Asia and Eurasia The Eichmann Trial
KN - Asia and Eurasia The formation of modern Japan
KP - Asia and Eurasia
KQ - Asia and Eurasia
KS - Asia and Eurasia
KT - Asia and Eurasia
KU - Asia and Eurasia
KV - Asia and Eurasia
KW - Asia and Eurasia
KZ - Law of Nations. International law

I read a few K books, but not many.

Class L: Education
L: Education - there were almost no actual books in L, only catalogs of colleges
LA: History of education History Of Education In Antiquity
LB: Theory of education The Educational ideas of Vincent of Beauvais by Astrik Gabriel
LC: Social aspects of education American Lyceum: Town meeting of the mind
LD: Individual institutions, US Biography of a College: being the third half-century of Lafayette College
LE: Individual institutions, N. America Jesus Land
LF: Individual institutions, Europe The Cambridge Apostles
LG: Individual institutions, Everywhere else The price of stones
LH: College and school magazines and papers - no books
LJ: Student fraternities - very few books, none particularly interesting
LT: Textbooks - same

Class M: Music
M: Music - this category is actual music - I don't read music
ML: Literature on music Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey
MT: Musical instruction and study The Classical Music Experience

Class N: Fine Arts
N: Visual arts The art of baseball
NA: Architecture City Life
NB: Sculpture Gutzon Borglum: his life and work
NC: Drawing The Best of Punch Cartoons: 2,000 Humor Classics
ND: Painting American Sublime: Landscape Painting in the United States 1820-1880
NE: Print media Murders and moralities: English catchpenny prints, 1800-1860
NK: Decorative arts The Toaster Project
NX: Arts in general The artist in the office

Class P: Language and Literature
P: Philology and linguistics The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language
PA: Greek and Latin language and literature Institutio Oratoria : Books I-III
PB: Modern languages, Celtic languages Gaelic Nations: politics of the Gaelic language in Scotland and Northern Ireland by Vincent McKee
PC: Romantic languages The Story of French
PD: Germanic languages The Runes of Sweden
PE: English language Old English and Its Closest Relatives: A Survey of the Earliest Germanic Languages
PF: West Germanic languages Cassell's Colloquial German
PG: Slavic languages One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich
PH: Uralic languages The story of Hungarian
PJ: Oriental philology and literature Ancient Aramaic and Hebrew Letters (Writings from the Ancient World, No. 14)
PK: Indo-Iranian philology and literature The Life and mind of Oriental Jones
PL: Languages of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania Chinese language: fact and fantasy
PM: Hyperborean, Indian, and artificial languages In the land of invented languages
PN: Literature (General) A book of nonsense
PQ: French, Italian, Spanish Literature Passionate Minds: The Great Love Affair of the Enlightenment
PR: English literature Annotated Alice: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
PS: American Literature Martians and Misplaced Clues: The Life and Work of Fredric Brown
PT: German, Dutch literature The trial
PZ: Juvenile literature The Wind in the Willows

Class Q: Science
Q: Science, general The Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China and the West
QA: Mathematics Fermat's Enigma
QB: Astronomy The Scientific Companion: Exploring the Physical World with Facts, Figures, and Formulas (Wiley Popular Science)
QC: Physics Perfectly Reasonable Deviations From The Beaten Track: The Letters Of Richard P. Feynman
QD: Chemistry The Double Helix
QE: Geology America's mountains : an exploration of their origins and influences from the Alaska Range to the Appalachians
QH: Natural history, Biology The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution
QK: Botany Magical mushrooms, mischievous molds
QL: Zoology Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior
QM: Human anatomy Body of Knowledge
QP: Physiology The left hander syndrome
QR: Microbiology Understanding germ warfare

Class R: Medicine
R -- Medicine (General) Physician as Man of Letters, Science and Action
RA-- Public aspects of medicine Plagues and Peoples
RB-- Pathology Every person's guide to antioxidants
RC-- Internal medicine Born on a blue day : inside the extraordinary mind of an autistic savant
RD-- Surgery I've got your back
RE-- Ophthalmology Ophthalmology made ridiculously simple
RF-- Otorhinolaryngology Ah-Choo! The uncommon life of your common cold
RG-- Gynecology and obstetrics The clone age
RJ-- Pediatrics Savage Spawn: reflections on violent children
RK-- Dentistry The oral health bible
RL-- Dermatology pHair! Mankind's historic quest to end baldness
RM-- Therapeutics. Pharmacology Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat: Secrets of My Mother's Tokyo Kitchen
RS-- Pharmacy and materia medica Medicine Quest
RT-- Nursing Flying Nurse
RV-- Botanic, Thomsonian, and eclectic medicine (no books)
RX-- Homeopathy Homeopathy for common ailments
RZ-- Other systems of medicine Arigo :surgeon of the rusty knife

Class S: Agriculture
S -- Agriculture (General) Seed to Civilization: The Story of Food
SB-- Plant culture Frederick Law Olmsted and the Boston park system
SD-- Forestry Strangely like war
SF-- Animal culture All Things Wise and Wonderful
SH-- Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling. Seaworthy
SK-- Hunting sports Falconer on the edge

Class T: Technology
T -- Technology (General)Grown up digital
TA-- Engineering (General). Civil Engineering The laws of simplicity
TC-- Hydraulic engineering - Ocean Engineering Leonardo Lives
TD-- Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering Water Wars
TE-- Highway engineering. Roads and pavements The Roads of the Romans
TF-- Railroad engineering and operation Subways: the tracks that built New York City
TG-- Bridge engineering Covered bridges of the Northeast
TH-- Building construction A carpenter's life
TJ-- Mechanical engineering and machinery Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World
TK-- Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear engineering Blogging for dummies
TL-- Motor vehicles. Aeronautics. Astronautics Traffic : why we drive the way we do (and what it says about us)
TN-- Mining engineering. Metallurgy Hubbert's Peak: the impending world oil shortage
TP-- Chemical technology The Long Emergency
TR-- Photography Photographing Weather
TS-- Manufactures Killing Green
TT-- Handicrafts. Arts and crafts Measure Once, Cut Twice
TX-- Home economics Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

Class U: Military science
U -- Military Science (General) Legion of the lost
UA - Armies: Organization, distribution, military situation Defending Israel
UB - Military administration The men who stare at goats
UC - Maintenance and transportation Lawrence and the Arab revolts
UD - Infantry To be a paratrooper
UE - Cavalry. Armor Sound the charge: the U.S. cavalry in the American West, 1866-1916
UF - Artillery The fate of the Earth
UG - Military engineering SR-71 revealed: the inside story
UH - Other services Wounded: Vietnam to Iraq by Ronald J. Glasser

Class V: Naval science
V Naval science (General) nothing much here
VA Navies: Organization, distribution, naval situation Island of Shame
VB Naval administration Spy sub
VC Naval maintenance Feeding Nelson's Navy
VD Naval seaman nothing here either
VE Marines Making the Corps
VF Naval ordnance - or here
VG Minor services of navies Seal Team Six
VK Navigation. Merchant marine A time to die
VM Naval architecture. Shipbuilding. Marine engineering The survival of the bark canoe

Class Z: Bibliography, Library science, Information resources
Z -- Books (General). The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, a History
ZA -- Information resources (General) Google and the myth of universal knowledge

Conclusion:

Seneca said that one should read deeply, not widely. He was probably right. This was an experiment. In the Dewey Decimal System classification, I am somewhere in the vicinity of 350 out of the 908 categories. I don't think that I will get much further in that, so some day soon I'll post that reading list. This challenge was very interesting and informative, but I'm glad to now get back to my usual reading.

Wow!

This is very cool.