2025 Reading Across Rhode Island Kick Off Event at the RI State House

Readers are invited to join Honorary Chair and award winning storteller Len Cabral, and Reading Across Rhode Island Chairs Amy VanderWeele, Maureen Nagle and Emily Goodman for an engaging introduction to THERE'S ALWAYS THIS YEAR, the 2025 Reading Across Rhode Island book.

Event is free but registration is required, as seating is limited at the RI State House library

Each attendee will receive a free copy of THERE'S ALWAYS THIS YEAR

Parking is FREE in the RI State House parking lots

If any reasonable accommodation is needed to ensure equal access or participation, please contact Kate Lentz at [email protected] by January 20th. More advanced notice is highly advisable.

About This Year's Book

Growing up in Columbus, Ohio, in the 1990s, Hanif Abdurraqib witnessed a golden era of basketball, one in which legends like LeBron James were forged and countless others weren’t. His lifelong love of the game leads Abdurraqib into a lyrical, historical, and emotionally rich exploration of what it means to make it, who we think deserves success, the tension between excellence and expectation, and the very notion of role models, all of which he expertly weaves together with intimate, personal storytelling. “Here is where I would like to tell you about the form on my father’s jump shot,” Abdurraqib writes. “The truth, though, is that I saw my father shoot a basketball only one time.”

LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER

A “powerful” (The Guardian) reflection on basketball, life, and home—from the author of the National Book Award finalist A LITTLE DEVIL IN AMERICA

A TIME AND PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN NONFICTION

Reading Across Rhode Island is a program of the Rhode Island Center for the Book, made possible through a vibrant collaboration of librarians, teachers, book group leaders and readers from across the state.

Host or Publisher Rhode Island Center for the Book