32 ratings | 1 review | avg rating:4.97

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Carter Bays

Goodreads Author

Born

Cleveland, Ohio, The United States

Website

https://www.carterbays.com/

Member Since

January 2018

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Carter Bays is the co-creator of the Emmy-winning series How I Met Your Mother. The Mutual Friend is his first novel.

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Carter Bays’s books

Average rating: 3.68 · 4,751 ratings · 666 reviews · 1 distinct work • Similar authors

The Mutual Friend

3.68 avg rating — 4,751 ratings — published 2022 — 13 editions

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Carter Bays is currently reading

The Berlin Stories

by Christopher Isherwood

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Nov 09, 2024 06:29PM

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Carter’s Recent Updates

Carter Bays wants to read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot, #4) by Agatha Christie	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 13, 2026 12:04PM · like
Carter Bays wants to read Buckeye by Patrick Ryan (Goodreads Author) Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Historical Fiction	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 11, 2026 05:14PM · like
Carter Bays and 2 other people liked Hope's review of The Mutual Friend: "Wow. I devoured this bizarro, kookoobananas book. How did Bays write this twisty turny spider web of a book with its incredibly original and wacky and flawed cast of characters? It’s unlike anything I’ve read before and I absolutely loved it. "
Jan 08, 2026 06:06PM · see review
Carter Bays and 1 other person liked Savannah Rudy's review of The Mutual Friend: "The best book I’ve read all year. I want to read this again and again. Wow wow wow"
Jan 08, 2026 06:06PM · see review
Carter Bays and 1 other person liked Shelley's review of The Mutual Friend: "I’m not sure I fully grasped all the meaning the author intended to create through the various storylines, characters, and interactions, but what I did understand was engaging and unique. This book has a lot to say about connection and the distractio" Read more of this review »
Jan 08, 2026 06:06PM · see review
Carter Bays asked a question about The Mutual Friend: Hi, I'm Carter. I wrote this book. When I was writing it, I was pretty sure I was writing Literary Fiction. Then the book came out and they categorized it as "Romance," which I thought was completely wrong. There's no bodice-ripping in this thing. No horny vampires. I love a good romance, but this ain't it. If you've read the book, what do you think? Am I crazy? Maybe I wrote a romance novel and didn't realize it?
Jan 02, 2026 05:33AM · like · answer this question
Carter Bays is currently reading The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 09, 2024 06:29PM · like
Carter Bays wants to read The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt: The Women Who Created a President by Edward F. O'Keefe	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 25, 2024 11:47AM · like
Carter Bays rated a book it was amazing The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 25, 2024 11:46AM · like
Carter Bays rated a book it was amazing War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 25, 2024 11:46AM · like

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Quotes by Carter Bays (?)

“And that reminds me of something my friend Miriam used to say: ‘Let time take its time.’ She was 97, so she really meant it.”
― Carter Bays, The Mutual Friend

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“Long life takes away all the stuff you love. But there’s other stuff you’re happy to get rid of. The need to be liked. The need to be listened to. The need to see every pretty girl naked. Some of that stuff you look forward to being rid of.” He looked out the window.”
― Carter Bays, The Mutual Friend

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“Religion is there to keep us on an even keel. It magnifies the humble, and humbles the magnificent.”
― Carter Bays, The Mutual Friend

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