The Full Dewey: a non-fiction book club

Each month we’ll focus on one section of the library’s non-fiction collection, from the 100’s to the 900’s, and discuss a book.

Join us on the
Third Thursday of the month!

February – October 2012
7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
In the Library Meeting Room

Book Club Calendar

October 18
The 900’s: Geography & History
To End All Wars: a story of loyalty and rebellion, 1914-1918
by Adam Hochschild  (940.341 Hochschild)
Hochschild highlights the long-ignored moral drama of World War I critics and supporters, including a prominent pacifist whose brother was a commander on the Western Front, and two sisters who had fought together for suffrage but split up bitterly over the war.

How is the book club structured?
After a brief examination of that month’s Dewey Decimal class (e.g., the 500’s: Science), members discuss the featured title for the month.  RSVPs are not required, but if you want emails when new meetings are scheduled and reminders about the meetings, contact Diane at 415-485-3321, or you can join this club on Meetup.com (membership is free).

What is the Dewey Decimal System?
While the library's fiction books are organized by who wrote it (the author's last name), the non-fiction books are organized by what the book is about (the main subject heading). The Dewey Decimal System outlines what numbers to assign to various subjects so that books on similar topics can be found next to each other. 

There are ten Dewey Decimal classes that are then broken down into ever more specific subject headings. Here are the ten classes, each with links to samples of the kinds of books found in that class.

000's: General Knowledge
100's: Psychology & Philsophy
200's: Religion
300's: Social Science
400's: Language
500's: Math & Science
600's: Medicine & Technology
700's: Arts & Recreation
800's: Literature
900's: History & Geography

Want to read more non-fiction? Visit our Adult Booklists page for more reading suggestions!