Dad's Book Club
The Kitchen Table · August 2026
Holes by Louis Sachar
Page count pending.
If you only ask one
Stanley is punished for something he did not do. When is that worth arguing about, and when do you just dig?
The questions
- Part one, arriving at camp. The warden says digging builds character. Does hard work build character, or does it just make you tired?
- Part one, the first hole. Stanley is the only one who tells the truth about the shoes. What did the truth get him?
- Part two, the boys' nicknames. Everyone at camp is called something other than their name. What does a nickname do to a person?
- Part two, Zero. Stanley teaches Zero to read and gets in trouble for it. Was it worth it?
- Part two, Kate Barlow's story. The town punishes her for who she loved. What does the book want you to see there?
- Part three, the mountain. Stanley carries Zero uphill. Where does he find that, after a hundred holes?
- Part three, the payoff. Which detail surprised you most when it turned out to matter?
- The curse is really a promise that was broken. What does the book say about fixing something your family did before you were born?
- If you had to name the real villain of this book, who would you pick? It is not as obvious as it looks.
Running the night
- Pick the night before anyone leaves the last meeting. A fixed weeknight beats a good date.
- Text the sheet's first question two days ahead. It is the only prep anyone will do.
- Something to eat that does not need a plate on a lap.
- One person keeps time. Ninety minutes, then the book talk stops.
- Start with the round: one sentence each on where they got to. No apologies allowed.
- End by naming the next book and the next date out loud.
For this bookKeep a running list of unexplained details on the fridge. Cross them off as Sachar pays them back.
BringThe book, something to write with, and the one passage you underlined.
dadsbookclub.com · Issue for August 2026