With the year winding down, many of us are focusing on putting together our end of year lists. You know the ones:

• Top ten books of 2024
• Five books I wish i would have read
• The biggest and smallest book I read

And of course… which books made me cry.

It’s that last one I want to focus on. Because, while I am a very emotional person who cries fairly regularly (like… daily), only two books brought me there in 2024. One of them was The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters, which is about an indigenous woman who was kidnapped as a small child and her brother, who spent the rest of his life believing it was his fault. When I tell you that book ruined me emotionally, I mean it. I am currently near tears just thinking about it. Watching as that little girl grew up, plagued by the woman she only knows in her dreams (her mother), and fighting to figure out who she really is in her waking world. I just… I can’t. That book will MESS YOU UP.

But it’s the other book that I want to talk about right now, because it’s actually our Bookclub pick for January.

House of Frank, by Kay Synclair, is one of the best books I read this year. But it’s also very different than any of the other books I read. Jaysen Headley, the acquiring editor who picked up the book, calls it “a warm hug on your worst day”, and I can’t think of a better description!

House of Frank follows a Black woman who is trying to deal with her grief over the loss of her sister. It has been about a year since Saika’s sister was tragically taken away from her, and now she has arrived at Frank’s with one purpose in mind: to fulfill her sister’s dying wish of having her ashes buried at the magical Ash Gardens. But little does she know, there is much more to be found at Ash Gardens than just a burial ceremony.

She arrives alone, overwhelmed and struggling to use her magic. But what she will leave with is hope, a new family and a future that she thought had died with her sister.

Y’all… this book is everything. I snorted, I laughed, I blushed and I wept as it brought back every moment of grief I had been too busy to really wrestle with throughout my life. Saika is exactly what I needed to find peace and I cannot wait to share her with you!

If you are not already in my Fable bookclub, now is the time to join. We are starting the year off strong with this next level book and we will only get stronger from there. Here is a direct link to the club and it is FREE to join and participate in: https://fable.co/club/left-unread-with-michael-laborn-207620876510

I will also link the book down below. Just click the little picture of the cover and it will allow you to purchase the book from multiple different places. I would greatly appreciate it if you used those links, as I do receive a small commission and that is a part of how I fund the work I do here. Those links will take you to bookshop.org or amazon--boo hiss. (I deeply prefer you choose bookshop.org, but do you).

And now for the part you’ve been waiting for…

MY ANNOUNCEMENTS:

First… I have already spoken to the author (Kay Synclair) and she has agreed to do a virtual event with us while we are reading the book. We have not worked out the details yet, but it will be in January and I will provide you details with plenty of advance warning so that you can arrange your schedule! We have done an event with her before and it was a real delight, so I can’t wait to talk with her again!

Second… I will be giving away three special edition copies of House of Frank!

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These editions are only available through Bindery and they cost around $30 each. But three of you will be getting one for FREE as a thank you for being a part of this community and our monthly book club! All you have to do to enter for a chance to win is be subscribed to this community and to comment on this post with your most anticipated read of 2025!

All subscribers are eligible, whether you are subscribed for FREE or at a paid tier. I am grateful for all of you!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

Date of drawing: January 10th

Eligibility: Be subscribed to this community at any tier and comment your most anticipated read of 2025 on this post

Limitations: This will only be available for US subscribers. Sorry!

Winners will be notified via email, so please watch your inbox around the 10th, as we cannot hold the book indefinitely.

I cannot wait to dive into this incredible story with all of you!!!

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