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Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Books I’ve Recommended and Why

By georgelthomas on 29 Oct 2025 • ( 8 )

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. Today is Wednesday, and it’s time for another post in the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge hosted by Long and Short Reviews. If you’d like to participate in the challenge, you can find the list of topics for 2025 here. If you’re interested in reading other people’s responses to this week’s topic, you can do so here.

Books I’ve Recommended and Why

I’ve recommended so many books over the years for many different reasons.

Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig
I’ve recommended this one to various friends and family members who have been going through hard emotional times; it’s helped me a great deal, and I know it will help others. It’s a memoir of sorts about Matt Haig’s struggle with mental illness and his journey to becoming well again. I recommend it to you, too, if you’re struggling.

A Dog’s Purpose
I’ve spoken about this book many times. It’s about a dog who is reincarnated at the moment of death, over and over again, searching for his purpose. It’s heartbreakingly sad, joyful, hopeful, and has brought me a strange sort of peace over the loss of my own dogs, for whom I still grieve even though they’ve been gone for over a decade.

Heartstopper
Heartstopper is a graphic novel which tells a coming-of-age ‘love’ story of two sixth-form boys and their friends. It’s a little different than most LGBTQ stories in that there’s no overdone melodrama and no tragic ending. In fact, the story is quite hopeful.

I wish I’d had stories like Heartstopper when I was growing up, hating myself and wishing I wasn’t alive because I felt so different. I’ve recommended this to people who have family members I think might relate to the characters, or even people like me, who can read the book and see how much things have changed from when we were younger.

Practical Magic
I first read Practical Magic many years ago and recommended it to so many people. It is a great family drama about witches and relationships with themes of love and identity at its core. If you love ‘witchy’ stories and stories of magic or of finding oneself, then definitely give this a read (and the other three books in the series).

Which books have you all recommended?

As ever, thank you for stopping by to read my words. I appreciate it.

Until next time,

George