Our adult summer reading theme for 2023 is All Together Now, which is focused on unity, friendship, and kindness. Check out our book suggestions that go along with this theme. 

If you are participating in our Adult Summer Reading Challenge, reading any of these books will help fulfill our All Together Activity Challenge. (And if you aren’t participating yet, find out how!) 

Genre Types

Books About Friendship: Fiction

ManCalledOve

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

FellowshipPoint

Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark

TheseImpossibleThings

These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany

FireflyLane

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

Survivors

The Survivors by Jane Harper

PeopleWeMeet

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

EleanorOliphant

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

AskAgainYes

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

FriendshipList

The Friendship List by Susan Mallery

HelloBeautiful

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

RoseCode

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

IslandofSeaWomen

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

InFiveYears

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

BestOfFriends

Best of Friends by Kamila Shamsie

SwingTime

Swing Time by Zadie Smith

BrokenGirls

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

JoyLuckClub

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

FellowshipRing

The Fellowship of the RIng by JRR Tolkien

HailMary

Hail Mary by Andy Weir

TomorrowTomorrow

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

Books About Friendship: Nonfiction

FindYourPeople

Find Your People: Building Deep Community in a Lonely World

ArtShowingUp

The Art of Showing Up: How to Be There for Yourself and Your People

FriendshipEvolution

Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life's Fundamental Bond

WeShouldNot

We Should Not Be Friends: The Story of a Friendship

TalkingToStrangers

Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know

IllBeThere

I'll Be There (But I'll Be Wearing Sweatpants)

MarleyMe

Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog

Books About Friendship: YA & Youth

CodeNameVerity

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

BookThief

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

OneOnlyIvan

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

BecauseWinnDixie

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

BridgeTerabithia

Bridge to Terabithia by Katerine Paterson

Books to Inspire: Motivational Nonfiction

TinyBeautiful

Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed

BigMagic

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

AtomicHabits

Atomic Habits by James Clear

WhyHasNobody

Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before by Dr. Julie Smith

WhenBreath

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

LifeChangingMagic

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

DareToLead

Dare to Lead by Brene Brown

YearOfMagical

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Untamed

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

LightWeCarry

The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama

Books to Inspire: Uplifting Feel-Good Fiction

GeorgieAllAlong

Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn

CommunityBoard

Community Board by Tara Conklin

MidnightLibrary

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

MakingOfAnother

The Making of Another Motion Picture Masterpiece

HappyPlace

Happy Place by Emily Henry

YoursTruly

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

DogOfNorth

The Dog of the North by Elizabeth McKenzie

SeasideLibrary

The Seaside Library by Brenda Novak

IonaIverson

Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley

RemarkablyBrightCreatures

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

StillLife

Still Life by Sarah Winman

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