2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

Hi Everyone!

It is time to start nominating books for our August 2016 group read! The theme of the month is Friendship

We're nominating for August! Summer is upon us already! I hope you have a great summer with lots of ice cream, swimming and sun. Please remember to state a connection to the theme when you nominate. Thank you :)

Here are some short rules for nominating books:

~ Each person can nominate 1 book.

~ Book must be available both as a physical copy and as an ebook.

~ Authors: Please do not nominate your own book.

~ Please include the name of the book and the author or link to the book.

~ Please do not nominate books that are part of a series, unless it is the first book.

~ You can second someone else's nomination, but that will count as your nomination.

~ When nominating, please state a connection to the theme.

~ You cannot nominate a book which has previously been a group read. Past buddy reads are fine. (See Group Reads in the bookshelf)


This thread will be closed by June 25th, and we will choose ten books for the poll. If there are more than ten books nominated, we will choose the ten most nominated. If there is still a tie to get into the top ten, we'll go back to the Goodreads average rating to see which is highest.

I nominate One Day by David Nicholls because it tells the story of a developing friendship over a period of 20 years or so through snapshots of one particular day.

I nominate A Little Life by Yanagihara. It tells the story for four friends over the course of decades.

I am going to nominate The Alchemist. From what I understand, it is about a man who goes in search of a treasure and makes a true friend instead. It is a book I have wanted to read for a while.

I nominate The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina because friendship is such a fundamental underlying principle to the book and to the series. It's a semi-dystopian YA novel with fantastic writing by an Australian Aboriginal woman. The entire premise is about Ashala entering enemy territory to win out and she is only able to do that because of friendship.

I'd like to nominate the new book by Kate DiCamillo, Raymie Nightingale. It's about three young girls who become unlikely friends while competing against each other. I've heard it's extremely touching, and it's a book I'm excited to read!

I'd like to nominate Girl Through Glass. from what I read in review it tell the friendship between characters.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak because of the brilliant friendship between the main characters Rudy and Leisel (not sure how you spell it sorry).

The Invention of Wings, a book about a different friendship. A white girl and a slave girl. They don't admite they are friends but they always take care of each other <3

Sue Monk Kidd is amazing!!!

Thank you everyone! Very nice to have so many suggestions already!

This has been really hard for me. I'm stuck between three different books.

One of which, the writing style seems unrelatable compared to how the movie portrayed friendship. I feel like I'm the only person on the planet who has not read it.
Second option, too gender specific.
Third, I don't know if it's romance or friendship.

Sigh... I'm going to go with option one. I don't know how many people will like the odd moments, the quirks, and the journal style to the pages. I haven't read it, it's not on the GR bookshelf, so here goes nothing.

I'm nominating The Perks of Being a Wallflower


A book about a coming of age boy, a wall flower branching out, discovering new friends, and experiencing with said friends. Never judge a book by its movie, but what I've heard from reviewers, it doesn't sound like your typical obvious "friendship" novel. But! I'm going for it! It's out there for all of you to consider. :)

If it's not relatable, I have more don't you fret. I am locked and loaded!

I have had a book on my TBR for a while and really want to read it but every month I find new and more shinny books to pick up The Friends We Keep. So I'm going to nominate this one and maybe I'll finally read it :)

The Fellowship of the Ring, because it is truly a tale of friendship through hardship.

i would like to nominate The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Carmen got the jeans at a thrift shop. They didn’t look all that great: they were worn, dirty, and speckled with bleach. On the night before she and her friends part for the summer, Carmen decides to toss them. But Tibby says they’re great. She'd love to have them. Lena and Bridget also think they’re fabulous. Lena decides that they should all try them on. Whoever they fit best will get them. Nobody knows why, but the pants fit everyone perfectly. Even Carmen (who never thinks she looks good in anything) thinks she looks good in the pants. Over a few bags of cheese puffs, they decide to form a sisterhood and take the vow of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants . . . the next morning, they say good-bye. And then the journey of the pants — and the most memorable summer of their lives — begins.

The Girls of Mischief Bay by Susan Mallery

Nicole Lord wants to be a good wife, but there's a difference between being supportive and supporting her husband, who quit his job to write a screenplay she's never seen. He won't even help take care of their son, leaving Nicole to run the house and work full-time.

Sacrificing a personal life for her career is how Shannon Rigg became VP at her firm, but she wonders now whether she made the right choice. An exciting new relationship with a great guy convinces her that it might not be too late—until he drops a bombshell that has her questioning whether she really can have it all.

Although Pam Eiland adores her husband, she feels restless now that the kids are grown. Finding sexy new ways to surprise him brings the heat and humor back to their marriage, but when unexpected change turns her life upside down, she'll have to redefine herself. Again.

Through romance and heartbreak, laughter and tears, the girls of Mischief Bay will discover that life is richer with friends at your side.

Blagica wrote: "i would like to nominate The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Carmen got the jeans at a thrift shop. They didn’t look all that great: they were worn, dirty, and speckled with bleach..."

I second this nomination. I have been wanting to read this for a while now.

I nominate My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. It's been on my TBR for awhile, and I've seen it recommended many times. "My Brilliant Friend is a rich, intense, and generous-hearted story about two friends, Elena and Lila. Ferrante’s inimitable style lends itself perfectly to a meticulous portrait of these two women that is also the story of a nation and a touching meditation on the nature of friendship."

Taylor R wrote: "This has been really hard for me. I'm stuck between three different books.

One of which, the writing style seems unrelatable compared to how the movie portrayed friendship. I feel like I'm the onl..."

I second this nomination!

Ana wrote: "I have had a book on my TBR for a while and really want to read it but every month I find new and more shinny books to pick up The Friends We Keep. So I'm going to nominate this one..."

This book is the second in a series, unfortunately since people like to read books in order we can''t have books that is in the middle in the series. You can nominate the first book of course if you want to :) (or another one)

Edit: Actually the first one is nominated too :)

Sid wrote: "The Fellowship of the Ring, because it is truly a tale of friendship through hardship."

This book is already in the poll running for next group read. If it doesn't win the poll I can add it for next, but if it does win then we won't read it twice. We only have books that have not been a group read already :)

Taylor R wrote: "This has been really hard for me. I'm stuck between three different books.

One of which, the writing style seems unrelatable compared to how the movie portrayed friendship. I feel like I'm the onl..."

Looks like a great book Taylor! Unfortunately it's already been a group read. If you have another one to nominate that would be great though! :)

I would like to nominate Greyfriars Bobby as dogs are known to be man's best friend. Also the story is set in Edinburgh and August is the month of the Edinburgh festival and fringe where thousands of visitors will go and see the statue of Bobby.

So many great nominations! I'd like to second My Brilliant Friend.

I also second My Brilliant Friend. have heard incredible things about the author.

Stephanie (R-A) wrote: "I am going to nominate The Alchemist. From what I understand, it is about a man who goes in search of a treasure and makes a true friend instead. It is a book I have wanted to read for a..."

I second The Alchemist. I also have wanted to read it for a while.

I nominate- 'YATHARTH GITA" by SWAMI ADGADANAND

I nominate "The One-In-A-Million Boy" by Monica Wood. The Amazon description reads, "The incandescent story of a 104-year-old woman and the sweet, strange young boy assigned to help her around the house — a friendship that touches each member of the boy’s unmoored family".

I nominate Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens. The friendship between the two main characters is just very indescribable.

I nominate Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett. It is the moving story of the friendship of Ann Patchett and Lucy Grealy.

"This is a portrait of unwavering commitment that spans twenty years, from the long winters of the Midwest, to surgical wards, to book parties in New York. Through love, fame, drugs, and despair, this is what it means to be part of two lives that are intertwined . . . and what happens when one is left behind"

Blagica wrote: "i would like to nominate The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Carmen got the jeans at a thrift shop. They didn’t look all that great: they were worn, dirty, and speckled with bleach..."

This is the other one I was going to nominate! :) I totally wouldn't mind throwing my idea out the window and reading this again!!!! :)

Winter wrote: "Taylor R wrote: "This has been really hard for me. I'm stuck between three different books.

One of which, the writing style seems unrelatable compared to how the movie portrayed friendship. I feel..."

Dangit I always get the Buddy Read and Group reads list mixed up. That's honestly totally fine because I was normally going to put Blagica's idea. I'm just going to second The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Jamie wrote: "I nominate A Little Life by Yanagihara. It tells the story for four friends over the course of decades."

I second this nomination! :D

Megan wrote: "I nominate My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. It's been on my TBR for awhile, and I've seen it recommended many times. "My Brilliant Friend is a rich, intense, and generous-hear..."

I would like to second this nomination!

Anirudh wrote: "I nominate- 'YATHARTH GITA" by SWAMI ADGADANAND"

I can only find this one in Hardcover in English. Also I need you to please state a connection to the theme Friendship. It can be any connection :) But if there's no ebook version we can't use it unfortunately. This is because our member's read in different formats and we want everyone to be able to obtain and read if they want too.

I'm going to nominate Elfhunter by C.S. Marks. It's my number one comfort food series when it comes to books. Something that really contributes to that is the way characters are fleshed out. I really enjoy going back and read it again and again. It is fantasy and friendship plays a great role throughout the whole series, it might even be called the essensial theme. I laugh with them and cry as they grow closer and face new challenges.

How about All the Single Ladies by Dorothea Benton Frank?
It just came up as a suggested title and it described as follows:
"The perennial New York Times bestselling author returns with an emotionally resonant novel that illuminates the power of friendship in women’s lives, and is filled with her trademark wit, poignant and timely themes, sassy, flesh-and-blood characters, and the steamy Southern atmosphere and beauty of her beloved Carolina Lowcountry."

It sounds pretty good to me!

I nominate Harry Potter, any of them, honestly, but definitely the Deathly Hallows. They tell tales of friendship and loyalty, and show that if you stick together, anything is possible. Also they show that even though things don't always go your way, sticking together with loyal friends can get you out of many sticky situations in the end,

*By J.K. Rowling

I nominate Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. It's about three friends from an unconventional boarding school and how they live and grow together, and finding out the truth about who they are, where they come from, and most importantly- why they are alive.

https://www.amazon.com/Never-Let-Me-K...

I would like to nominate My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell.

This book has been on my TBR list for a while and recently was televised in the UK as 'The Durrell's. It follows the move of the Durrell family to Greece, in particular, Gerry and his love of wildlife, but also the new friendships the members of the family make, sometimes with the most unlikely people.

Maddie wrote: "I nominate Harry Potter, any of them, honestly, but definitely the Deathly Hallows. They tell tales of friendship and loyalty, and show that if you stick together, anything is possible. Also they s..."

Thank you for nominating Maddie :) I agree, it's definitely a very good example of friendship! However people usually like to start with the first book in the series so only the first book is allowed in a poll. I'm going to set you up as nominating the first book in Harry Potter, does that sound good?

Thank you everyone :)

I second A Little Life, though I almost don't want to inflict it on anyone. Anyone unsuspecting, that is (I don't want to assume everyone knows about this book already). Definitely I don't want to read it again anytime soon. Though that's because I only just read it a few months ago. (It was definitely worth it btw, even if it got a little long and ... traumatic at times.)

Thank you Paul.

I will close nominations tomorrow. Last day of nominating!

Kaitlyn wrote: "I nominate Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. It's about three friends from an unconventional boarding school and how they live and grow together, and finding out the truth about who they are, wher..."

Sorry I'm late, but if it is still possible, I'd like to second this nomination!

Ilona wrote: "Kaitlyn wrote: "I nominate Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. It's about three friends from an unconventional boarding school and how they live and grow together, and finding out the truth about wh..."

It is :) Closing it now, it got a little bit more hectic than expected.

Poll is up!!

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...