Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion
2018 Read Harder Challenge
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Task #14: A book of social science
Also using the Dewey Decimal Classification trick, anything in the 100s will work as well (Philosophy and Psychology, which are somewhat separate from Social Sciences in the DDC but do also fall under them)
Another recommendation: The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin. It was one of my 5 star reads from last year.
I am very interested in Dataclysm, so I may do that but I have to read Teaching for Learning as part of a faculty learning community I am participating in. Would that count here?
I think I'll be rereading Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions, or read another feminist book, such as Women & Power: A Manifesto (I can't find a Dewey classification for this one, but I suppose it would also fall in social sciences, or Men Explain Things to Me, or Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race.
Eva wrote: "I think I'll be rereading Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions, or read another feminist book, such as Women & Power: A Manifesto (I can't f..."Women & Power is 305.409
I've found that the online catalog for the Library of Congress to be helpful resource: https://catalog.loc.gov/ You have to scroll a little way down the results page to find the Dewey number.
Krista wrote: "Hafsa Z.U wrote: "I'm opting for The Vagina Monologues - has been on the tbr far too long! But a feminist book recommended by my sociology teacher which may work for other people for ..."Social Science is considered a "soft" science such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, politics, women's studies, etc. So basically anything that has to do with a critical examination of how society functions, the way groups of people are treated within a culture, how the human mind functions (outside of "hard" science such as neurology) such as personality theory, how we use language or technology to communicate, all fall under the social science umbrella.
It's a "soft" science even though many disciplines use scientific methods and data, they are not studying anything physical so theories can never truly be "proven". Ex. I can't take an x-ray of your brain and determine you mental health status.
Merriam-Webster's Definition of social science
1 : a branch of science that deals with the institutions and functioning of human society and with the interpersonal relationships of individuals as members of society
2 : a science (such as economics or political science) dealing with a particular phase or aspect of human society
Doris wrote: "Eva wrote: "I think I'll be rereading Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions, or read another feminist book, such as [book:Women & Power: A Manifesto|36525023..."Thanks for the tip! 305, so it's a good one for this task! :)
Kim wrote: "Krista wrote: "Hafsa Z.U wrote: "I'm opting for The Vagina Monologues - has been on the tbr far too long! But a feminist book recommended by my sociology teacher which may work for ot..."I teach and am in senior administration at a liberal arts college and our college, as well as most I work with, classifies psychology as a hard science and women's studies as humanities,
The LibraryThing/Dewey Decimal suggestion was useful. I have several social histories (e.g. Salt, Cod, etc. by Mark Kurlansky, as well as others). So I looked up Salt, and though its primary DD classification was in the 500s, I opened up the list and it was also categorized in the 300s. Yay, one I don't have to buy or even go to the library for--I can just pluck it off my shelf!
yeah so if History falls under social science (rather than a Humanities subject) I'm going to go with Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy. Almost done and it's amazing, although quite long.
I used the Dewey Decimal suggestion as well, very helpfull! And I will be reading Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow - I am currently reading Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and really enjoying it so this works out nicely.
I think I am either going to read a book by Judith Butler or Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlyn Doughty
I just finished The Bell Jar for this one. It has been sitting on my office shelf for years (literally), so I am very glad to have it in the "Read" category. What a tense, poetic, torturous, brilliant book.
I am listening to Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First CenturyI have always liked the idea of retiring and moving into an RV to travel the country working odd jobs but listening to this, I see that it is actually a necessity for many people who can't afford to retire. It is sad to hear of people who worked their whole life and now have to keep working to survive all while facing physically demanding minimum wage jobs, and ageism among other issues.
Laura wrote: If anyone is struggling to find what to read, this link should help:
https://www.good..."
Thank you - I notice that David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell is on this list. I read that book last year and loved it, for anyone still looking for a pick.
The social sciences include, but are not limited to, economics, political science, human geography, demography, management, psychology, sociology, anthropology, archaeology, jurisprudence, history, and linguistics.
What do we think about Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy? This one is soooo not up my alley but I need to read it for my IRL book club, and I would love to count it here.
I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this task. Does the book need to explicitly approach and analyze the subject from a social science standpoint?I was thinking of finally reading Letters to Star Trek for this task, which publishes fan letters written to Gene Roddenberry and, at times, his replies. To me, it's an exploration of fan culture, but also viewer reaction to a show that was commenting on current society.
So correct me if I'm wrong but one of the posts says "The Dewey Decimal System classifies social science books in the 300s." So tonight I was inputting books into the LOC on a lark.
Turns out a book I wanted to use for "A book about nature" is classified as "634": "Orchards, fruits, forestry", which I think means it doesn't count. (Nature is 500, looks like)
So I put in a few more books, ending with Collision Course: The Classic Story of the Collision of the Andrea Doria & the Stockholm which falls into the 300 category: 363, which is "Other social problems & services"
Who knew?! I was using it in another challenge but it looks like I can use it here, too!
Yes, agriculture is not nature, it is technology. But people interpret things really loosely in this challenge.
Bonnie wrote: "Yes, agriculture is not nature, it is technology. But people interpret things really loosely in this challenge."I didn't think of it as agriculture, though. My thought process was "Yellowstone is nature, right? Lots of forests and stuff."
Yeah, no. Not according to the DDS!
Megan wrote: "Bonnie wrote: "Yes, agriculture is not nature, it is technology. But people interpret things really loosely in this challenge."I didn't think of it as agriculture, though. My thought process was ..."
I would also have thought Collision Course was history,,,what do I know about the DDS?!
This is my first finished task and I chose God: A Human History by Reza Aslan. Loved it and would recommend for anyone who hasn't settled on a book for this task yet!
Bonnie wrote: "Megan wrote: "Bonnie wrote: "Yes, agriculture is not nature, it is technology. But people interpret things really loosely in this challenge."I didn't think of it as agriculture, though. My though..."
Right? I was super surprised to see that according to the DDS it's categorized in the 300s!
I guess because cruise ships are 'floating cities': you're around thousands of people. *shrugs*
Turns out that The End of Food, which I just finished, is classed in the 300's, so I guess I'm done with this task!
Rochelle wrote: "This is my first finished task and I chose God: A Human History by Reza Aslan. Loved it and would recommend for anyone who hasn't settled on a book for this task yet!" This is on my TBR list!
I'm reading The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women right now and plan on using it for this topic although I do also have a Brene Brown book on hold.
Jen wrote: "I am listening to Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First CenturyI have always liked the idea of retiring and moving into an RV to travel the country working odd jobs but..."
I listened to this on audio as well. While I previously thought that perhaps a life on the road would be interesting during my retirement years, this book illustrates why you don't want to have to work while travelling. This takes the romance out of the notion that I've had since watching "Route 66" on TV decades ago.
I’m reading Ten Days in a Mad-House. One of the first accounts of the treatment of women in mental institutions, first hand. I figure it counts. :)
I'm reading The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness and it's fantastic. Eye-opening and highly relevant. The author feels prescient at times, describing how those in power will drive a wedge between the white working poor and African-Americans for their own political ends.
Would Unbelievable, by Katy Tur count? It’s a recollection of her time covering the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump. In it, she does discuss some of the politicians motivations, as well as what was driving his supporters to support him.
For everyone unsure if their book "counts" use this:https://catalog.loc.gov/
Type in the book title and search.
Click on the book's title
Scroll down till you see "Dewey class no."
That should tell you if it counts
the Trump campaign coverage sounds like a good microhistory
Linda Millar wrote: "the Trump campaign coverage sounds like a good microhistory"It was really interesting. Each chapter (more or less) goes to an early point in the campaign, and then ends with progressing through Election night. Since she was one of the press that Trump continuously called out and tweeted about, she had a unique perspective of interactions both with the candidate and with his supporters.
Megan wrote: "For everyone unsure if their book "counts" use this:https://catalog.loc.gov/
Type in the book title and search.
Click on the book's title
Scroll down till you see "Dewey class no."
That should ..."
ROCKSTAR! THANKS! <3
Megan wrote: "For everyone unsure if their book "counts" use this:https://catalog.loc.gov/
Type in the book title and search.
Click on the book's title
Scroll down till you see "Dewey class no."
That should ..."
Thanks that is super helpful!
I am reading Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body and I just checked the DDS classification and it is 306 so I am using it for this prompt. I am also reading Option B, which is packed with social science research on resilience and seems like a fit, but it is classified in the 100's so I guess it won't work. I still recommend it.
Bonnie wrote: "I am reading Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body and I just checked the DDS classification and it is 306 so I am using it for this prompt. I am also reading Option B, which is packed with..."Oh wow. I have been wanting to read this. I'm so glad I can fit it into the challenge!
Candace wrote: "Bonnie wrote: "I am reading Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body and I just checked the DDS classification and it is 306 so I am using it for this prompt. I am also reading Option B, which..."I am half way through and so far I am blown away. Her radical candor is extraordinary.
I'm planning to read either:Bad Feminist
Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools
Both have been on my TBR for a while. Bad Feminist is a no brainer, but Pushout just looks so fascinating!
Emma wrote: "I'm planning to read either:Bad Feminist
Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools
Both have been on my TBR for a while. Bad Feminist is a no brainer,..."
Bad Feminist is an 800 not a 300. I was not its biggest fan, but it is worth a read and short. I am reading Hunger now. It is a 300 and it is blowing me away. So far it is just great. Deeply personal but also focuses outward into the broader culture and the way it which society takes ownership of women's bodies.
I was going to read Fanon's Black Skin, White Masks. However, I have to present Jennifer Harvey's Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America for church, so I'm switching my choice.
Bonnie wrote: "I am reading Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body and I just checked the DDS classification and it is 306 so I am using it for this prompt. I am also reading Option B, which is packed with..."The Dewey Decimal system really isn't the be all and end all. It doesn't handle overlapping classifications very well, for one thing. Psychology in general is in the 100s (though it's not the only thing in there) and as discussed near the top, Psychology is considered a social science.
The other issue with the Dewey Decimal system is that there are debates about what fits into social science (and other genres etc.). There's debate about whether history is a social science or one of the humanities. I studied history in 2 different schools, one department was in the humanities, the other was in the social sciences. (I have opinions about how history does and doesn't fit into the social sciences, but that would be needlessly complicating the matter).
The 300s also includes Folklore, which isn't even non-fiction. (The study of Folklore could be a social science, depending on how it's done--it could just as easily not if it's studied as in a literature department).
I find it Interesting that their suggested books are all nonfiction. I think there is a lot of literary fiction that focuses very much on a social science (history, politics, psychology, sociology, cultural analysis).
I figure great books like: The New Jim Crow, Evicted, Hanging Bridge, The Blood of Emmett Till, Hillbilly Elegy, and books like it are perfect for this topic.
I’m reading Tomboy Survival Guide. I wanted to find a Canadian book for this task and Tomboy Survival Guide was on the Canada reads long list this year. So far I’m enjoying it. Ivan E. Coyote is a great storyteller.
I believe I will go with Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal for this one. I also need motivation to stop eating this junk.
I'm planning to finally read Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men. It's been in my TBR since 2014 and this gives me reason to prioritize it!
Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge
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J.D. Vance (other topics)
Elizabeth Catte (other topics)
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Per the discussion about the Dewey Decimal System classification, I couldn't find that information on the librarything.com site, but my library has its call # as 305.897, placing it firmly in the 'social sciences' designation!