One Grand Read is a community reading initiative designed to bring people together through the power of a shared story. Our 2026 title selection is There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension, by genre defying poet, essayist, cultural critic and memoirist Hanif Abdurraqib.

This fall, One Grand Read will feature a series of free community programs inspired by the book’s themes and opportunities to create and connect in the community through conversation. The 2026 program will culminate in a special visit from Hanif Abdurraquib on Sunday, September 27, 2025, at 2 p.m. at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich., offering attendees the opportunity to hear directly from the author.

Check out a physical or digital copy of There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension at any of CADL’s 13 branches, ELPL or MSU Libraries, or pick up from participating local bookstores.