Three Lansing-area library systems want the whole region reading the same book in September.
The East Lansing Public Library, Capital Area District Libraries (CADL) and Michigan State University Libraries have selected Hanif Abdurraqib's "There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension" for the 2026 One Grand Read. The community reading program, which includes local bookstores across Ingham and Eaton counties, culminates in a free meet-and-greet with Abdurraqib on Sunday, Sept. 27, at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center, East Lansing Info reported.
The program begins at 2 p.m. with a keynote address by Abdurraqib, followed by an interview with a CADL staff member, a live Q&A, and a book signing. Admission is free, but organizers encourage advance registration through Eventbrite.
Abdurraqib, a poet, essayist and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio, structures the book like a basketball game, with four quarters and a countdown clock. He weaves personal memoir with reflections on LeBron James, Ohio basketball and broader themes of community and belonging. The book is a New York Times bestseller. It won the 2024 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism and was longlisted for the 2024 National Book Award in Nonfiction.
East Lansing Public Library Director Chrissie Evaskis-Garrett said the book spoke to her because of its themes of belonging.
"Folks who are seeking belonging here — whether you are an immigrant, refugee, freshman student at MSU, or a general person in the community — I think we are always seeking places [where] we belong, where we can dig in our roots," Evaskis-Garrett said.
Library leaders chose the book for its themes of systemic changes, religion and adversity. A committee representing all three library systems spent months narrowing 40 titles to one. Members weighed length, representation, narrative fit and programming potential, along with practical questions like whether they could acquire enough copies and whether audiobook and non-English editions were available.
One Grand Read launched in September 2025 with Christian Cooper's "Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World" as its inaugural selection.
Free lead-up events run throughout September, including book discussions, a memoir writing workshop and a teen blackout poetry session. Residents can pick up a copy at any participating library or local bookstore.
Coming up:
- Sunday, Sept. 27, 2 p.m. — Hanif Abdurraqib keynote, Q&A and book signing, Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center (free; register via Eventbrite)
