Reading with Style discussion

10.5 Darwin Darwin Day celebrates the birth of Charles Darwin. Read a book with the DDC classification in the 500s at BPL.

Please ask any questions about this task in this thread.

What is BPL? Boston Public Library? I only ask because that's what I think of whenever I see those initials.

Karin wrote: "What is BPL? Boston Public Library? I only ask because that's what I think of whenever I see those initials."

No, Brooklyn Public Library. There is a link in the quick links thread, and in the Styles thread of every season. It's the library catalogue we always refer to.

Amanda wrote: "Karin wrote: "What is BPL? Boston Public Library? I only ask because that's what I think of whenever I see those initials."

No, Brooklyn Public Library. There is a link in the quick links thread, ..."

Thanks, I figured it had to be something else. However, I thought that the way DDC worked that 500s would be the same (but the breakdown in them might vary a bit).

Karin wrote: "What is BPL? Boston Public Library? I only ask because that's what I think of whenever I see those initials."

And here is the link, which you may wish to bookmark. After determining the book is not on Bloom's Canon, it is this library that is the determinant whether or not a book is YA, and from which we take our cue to look at the Lexile score.

http://catalog.brooklynpubliclibrary....

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Karin wrote: "What is BPL? Boston Public Library? I only ask because that's what I think of whenever I see those initials."

And here is the link, which you may wish to bookmark. After determining ..."
I've bookmarked it and as long as we don't lose access to our latest user on our computer (it's happened 2 or 3 times in the past year) I'm all set.

Karin wrote: "as long as we don't lose access to our latest user on our computer (it's happened 2 or 3 times in the past year) I'm all set. "

As Amanda mentioned, the links are always in the Quick Links post found in the Rules and Guidelines folder.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Karin wrote: "as long as we don't lose access to our latest user on our computer (it's happened 2 or 3 times in the past year) I'm all set. "

As Amanda mentioned, the links are always in the Quick..."

Yes, but I was thinking I might forget that later if I have it bookmarked. I'll just look for 500 books at my local library and then double check with the Brooklyn PL, unless there's something already on my tbr.

What if it's a nonfiction book not found in the BPL? That Canon looks like classics. I'm not even sure this book will qualify if it has too many photos, but I'm looking at The Sinister Beauty of Carnivorous Plants since it's already on my tbr.

Karin wrote: "What if it's a nonfiction book not found in the BPL? That Canon looks like classics. I'm not even sure this book will qualify if it has too many photos, but I'm looking at [book:The Sinister Beauty..."

If it's not shelved at BPL, it does not qualify for this task.

Yes, Bloom's Canon is the classics. I mentioned it because I went on to discuss the YA rule. While there is some YA nonfiction at BPL, the number is tiny compared to fiction.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Karin wrote: "What if it's a nonfiction book not found in the BPL? That Canon looks like classics. I'm not even sure this book will qualify if it has too many photos, but I'm looking at [book:The S..."

Okay, I thought so. Not a big deal, since it might be hard to find in my library system. If I get enough books read that I'm ready to do this one, I can look then. It's always easy to plan to read more than actually gets read.

Karin wrote: "It's always easy to plan to read more than actually gets read. "

Indeed! It's an unusual season when I read as many as 20 books, but most seasons will find my spreadsheet with 40 or more titles from which to choose.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Karin wrote: "It's always easy to plan to read more than actually gets read. "

Indeed! It's an unusual season when I read as many as 20 books, but most seasons will find my spreadsheet with 40 or ..."

Yes. However, I tend to read a lot more in the winter than the summer (no gardening, cold weather, lots more waiting time for my children too far to go home and not a good place for errands) so it's possible I could make it once or twice a year, especially with audiobooks and enough driving to help.

any suggestions?

ok I did look these up and they appear to meet the criteria but want to confirm before I start.
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements

Periodic Tales: The Curious Lives of the Elements

Rebekah wrote: "ok I did look these up and they appear to meet the criteria but want to confirm before I start.
[book:The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World fro..."

Yes, both of those work.

Does anyone have any suggestions about how I can go about finding a book for this task.
I went through my TBR shelf and none worked.
I searched my library catalogue for interesting topics, but none of the books I fancied were in BPL.
I looked at promising lists but none of the books I tried were in both BPL and my local library.
I borrowed promising books from the library, brought them home and found they did not work.
Is there a better avenue of attack that I have missed?

Coralie wrote: "Does anyone have any suggestions about how I can go about finding a book for this task.
I went through my TBR shelf and none worked.
I searched my library catalogue for interesting topics, but no..."

I guess I would ask what are you interested in? 500s is considered 'pure science'. I possibly could recommend something (?!) but I would need direction. Of course, the difficultly might be getting them at the library!

Coralie wrote: "Does anyone have any suggestions about how I can go about finding a book for this task.
I went through my TBR shelf and none worked.
I searched my library catalogue for interesting topics, but no..."

I'm back....

I read The Owl Who Liked Sitting on Caesar for 10.8, it is amusing (3*) and is 598.97.

If I get to this task I plan on reading What Darwin Really Said which is 575.01. Even if you aren't keen, it's short 117 pg. Also, you get combo pts.

Coralie wrote: "Does anyone have any suggestions about how I can go about finding a book for this task.
I went through my TBR shelf and none worked.
I searched my library catalogue for interesting topics, but no..."

I don't have suggestions as to your real question "how to go about finding a book", but I can tell you that most who have claimed a book for this task, or as a combo have read H is for Hawk. There are also a couple of other bird titles in Karen's thread that qualify for this task.

I have scanned the "Readers Also Enjoyed" of the Hawk title, and find most of them classified other than 500s. However, one title that does qualify is The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating. Not sure that is a subject I would ever have thought worth perusing, however ... it's short, and will also garner you points for 10.6!

Valerie wrote: "Coralie wrote: "Does anyone have any suggestions about how I can go about finding a book for this task.
I went through my TBR shelf and none worked.
I searched my library catalogue for interestin..."

I just checked and I see that My Family and Other Animals is in the 500s. I love this book, and if you aren't keen on darwin specific/science specific books this is a good one. His other books are potentially in the 500s as well.

I've got Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks lined up for this task. It has a few combos and the family member who recommended it to me spoke very highly of it!

Coralie wrote: "Does anyone have any suggestions about how I can go about finding a book for this task."

Katie at the blog Doing Dewey breaks down her reviews by decimal number and has quite a few listed in the 500s.

On LibraryThing there's a group doing a Dewey Decimal Challenge, and their wiki has suggestions broken down by number. The classifications may be slightly different at the Brooklyn Library but most should work. You can find the 500s here.

Also at LibraryThing you can find the Melvil Decimal System, a classification that pretty much follows Dewey though not exactly, as it's copyrighted. The books shelved most rise to the top of the results, so you can use that as a proxy for what's interesting/popular. You can also drill down to very specific subject areas if you have a yen for something in particular though again, checking against Brooklyn is a must. Here are the 500s, and here is a sample drill down to 509.73 - Mathematics and Science → General Science → Biography and History → North America → United States.

Books I've read in the 500s that I can recommend are Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race (510 at Brooklyn), This Explains Everything: Deep, Beautiful, and Elegant Theories of How the World Works (500 at Brooklyn), and The Cloudspotter's Guide (551 at Brooklyn, not my fav but still quite good).

Best of luck finding something!

Thank you all for your suggestions. I think my problem is that I don't like animal stories. Most of the suggestions are shelved under biography and/or 600's in my library which doesn't help. But while I was browsing again, I remembered that I wanted to read How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming which actually works.

I have been frustrated with the BPL because there are a lot of books they just don't have, but then the Library of Congress, which has more, doesn't have everything either. I found the PERFECT book looking through the 500s at my local library, and while the BPL has some by the same author (not all in the 500s, but some) they didn't have it. I have found a distant second choice, but am not sure how readable it will be.

I suspect that if it weren't for trying to get style points, this would go much more easily
.

I love looking at the stars, but I have never read anything by Stephen Hawking. So, I am going with A Brief History of Time, which is 523.1 at BPL.

Karin wrote: "I have been frustrated with the BPL because there are a lot of books they just don't have, but then the Library of Congress, which has more, doesn't have everything either. I found the PERFECT book..."

I've found that as well. I'm always happy that our little library has something of interest to me when we have a DDC task, but then I'll find the BPL doesn't have it. In my case, it can be a 'Canadian content ' problem.

It's also interesting (and frustrating!!!) how different the shelvings can be between different libraries. You'd think with something like the DDS, which is pretty darn detailed, it would be more consistent...my book for this task is shelved under 921 at my library!

Sam wrote: "It's also interesting (and frustrating!!!) how different the shelvings can be between different libraries. You'd think with something like the DDS, which is pretty darn detailed, it would be more c..."

Each library can employ DDS as it will, leading to different numbers everywhere. The only number that stays the same (that I know of) is the Library of Congress Classification, which is printed on the copyright page of US books and searchable on their site.

Valerie wrote: "Karin wrote: "I have been frustrated with the BPL because there are a lot of books they just don't have, but then the Library of Congress, which has more, doesn't have everything either. I found th..."

It is not just a Canadian problem. It is a regional problem particularly on nonfiction. I have found a number of books of interest in the NW US that aren't held by the BPL.
I am also frustrated by their YA system which seems to be based on what high school teachers assign. And, let me tell you, some teachers assign some very challenging books that no one has even thought of running through the Lexile system.

itpdx wrote: "It is not just a Canadian problem. It is a regional problem particularly on nonfiction. I have found a number of books of interest in the NW US that aren't held by the BPL.
I am also frustrated by their YA system which seems to be based on what high school teachers assign. And, let me tell you, some teachers assign some very challenging books that no one has even thought of running through the Lexile system"

Yes, that's true at other libraries as well. Library cataloging is often at the whim of the librarian in charges.