Reading is fundamental – and for seven years, the Sac State University OneBook program has been spreading this message throughout the campus and community.

The OneBook program, launched in 2008 after a generous grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation, is the University’s version of a campus-wide book club, but it’s not just for students. The program aims to promote the fundamentals of reading to “all disciplines, all class levels, and all members of the campus community,” according to the OneBook website.

Hellen Lee, an English professor and Coordinator of the OneBook initiative, says the purpose of the program is to “create an integrated campus-wide intellectual community.” She hopes to spark an intellectual conversation among students and community members by choosing a work of literature that everyone can talk about.

“The idea is…to appeal to incoming students, first year students, as well as faculty members, staff and administration,” Lee said. “We’re looking for a book that has brought appeal, that deals with topical issues – something that’s affecting contemporary life today.”

And that’s one of the reasons why this year’s OneBook selection is Sherman Alexie’s Blasphemy, a short story collection that highlights the Native-American experience. Alexie, a Native American who was born on an Indian reservation, focuses specifically on the struggles and triumphs of Spokane Indians in his book.

Blasphemy is the first OneBook selection written by a Native American writer and the first short story collection to be chosen.

Lee says the book reflects the 500-plus year legacy of these indigenous peoples and explores what happens to this people overtime.

“His stories talk about what it is like to be a subordinated and grieved population – what happens to those people…in terms of when they give up and when they fight back,” Lee said.

Prior to being chosen, the book had to meet a list of criteria and be reviewed by the selection committee, which consists of several students, community representatives, and faculty from a variety of different departments. Members either volunteer or are invited to join the committee.

There is a long process involved in selecting a book: first, volunteers are asked to submit 3-5 books for recommendation; then Lee goes through and sorts the list; eventually, the list is shortened to about 15 books; after several meetings and debates, the list is finally narrowed down to the top four.

“We vote. It’s very democratic,” Lee said. “It’s a deliberative process.”

Sheree Meyer, dean of undergraduate studies, also serves on the committee and says the criteria has allowed them to choose educational works of literature.

“We have done a variety of genres in One Book,” Meyer wrote in an email, “but in each case, we have followed our criteria of selection and chosen works that challenge our educational community to think, discuss and engage with the diversity of human conditions.”

Kim Zarins, an assistant English professor and children’s book author, is serving her first year on the committee. She loves Alexie’s work and says his recent book, Blasphemy, is both funny and thought provoking.

“I think it’s a fantastic book. It’s a collection of short stories and I think there’s something in it for everyone,” Zarins said. “There’s a lot of diversity of the kinds of stories, but they all have that understated quality [in] the writing that pulls you and makes you think.”

Lee likes several of the short stories in his book, including “What Ever Happened To Frank Snake Church,” a story about a Spokane Indian with unrealized dreams.

“What I like about that story is that he comes back to his dream, and he tries to pursue it, and there’s something about that that’s admirable,” Lee said.

But Alexie’s work is not just about Spokane Indians or the social struggles of Native Americans. According to Lee, it’s a story about humanity, about human frailty and redemption through humanity.

“Alexie stresses no matter how crazy these characters may be, there’s something fundamentally human about them, and I think that’s really important for us to learn.”

Sherman Alexie is expected to speak on Author Day at Sac State on Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. in the University Ballroom, where he will give readings and discuss his work.