This year’s On The Same Page book selection is Holes by Louis Sachar. It is an extremely well-crafted book, winning the Newbery Medal in 1999 for “the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.”

Holes tells the story of Stanley Yelnats, a kid who seems subjected to the destiny of a family curse when he is sentenced to a youth detention camp after being wrongly accused of stealing a baseball star’s shoes — shoes that had been donated to a charity auction. All the boys at this institution must dig a hole, five feet wide and five foot deep, in a dry lake bed every day. (The book’s ominous opening line: “There is no lake at Camp Green Lake.”) Stanley gradually discovers the purpose of the holes while the reader finds out the history behind the curse.

Holes is a great selection. Not only is it a superb book, but it lends itself to all kinds of neat events. A big group went out this past Saturday and dug holes! With thanks to our very, very cool friends at Intown Ace Hardware for donations of plants and tools, we assisted Habitat for Humanity in doing landscaping work at a new house.

Next up is a shoe drive for Our House, followed by an on-line auction of four pair of shoes worn by baseball stars: Atlanta Braves players Freddie Freeman, Tommy Hanson, Chipper Jones(!), and Kris Medlen. (The shoes are on display at Little Shop; more on the auction later.) There will be a screening of the movie (starring Shia LaBeouf, Sigourney Weaver, and Jon Voight), book groups, a party, and the pièce de résistance, a visit by author Louis Sachar on December 7th.

On The Same Page is run by Little Shop of Stories under the Decatur Book Festival and is sponsored by lots of great organizations such as the Decatur Rotary Club and the Decatur Education Foundation. You can contribute as well!

One fun way is to lend a hand is to come to the Second Annual Decatur Root Beer Festival this Saturday. Not only do you get to taste some wonderful brews, but all profits go to On The Same Page.

This Week

The Great Judy Schachner, author of Skippyjon Jones: Cirque de Olé, Thursday, October 18th, 4:30pm, Little Shop of Stories, free.

Patricia Cornwell, author of The Bone Bed, Friday, October 19th, 7pm, Carter Center, sponsored by A Cappella Books, free.

David Abrams, author of Fobbit, Tuesday, October 23rd, 7pm, Toco Hills – Avis G. Williams Library, sponsored by Georgia Center for the Book, free.

Gena Gershon, actress and author of In Search of Cleo: How I Found My Pussy and Lost My Mind, Wednesday, October 24th, 7pm, Presser Hall, Agnes Scott College, sponsored by Georgia Center for the Book, free.

Mark Your Calendars

Christopher Paolini, October 27th
Robert Olen Butler, October 30th
Camille Paglia, October 30th
Salman Rushdie, November 4th