Category: Site Announcements
Guest Posting with Adrienne deWolfe
Today I’m branching out and guest posting for author Adrienne deWolfe over on her blog. At the time I’m writing this the post isn’t up yet (and won’t be until 9:15am CST), but when I come home from work I”ll give you an exact link. So in the meantime, please check out Adrienne’s blog for all things writer-related.
If you’re wondering, my guest post is about book reviewing/reviewer FAQs. When do you call yourself a reviewer? How do you, as an author, get your book reviewed by a book blogger? You know, the usual things.
UPDATE 09/01/13: Okay, I’m dumb. It’s not until next Wednesday.
The Mad Reviewer Reading Challenge Has Begun
UPDATE: The lovely Ms. Diantha Jones designed this button for me, which you can all paste on your blogs as part of the challenge if you like. Just please link the picture to my first challenge post here.
Well it’s January 1, 2013 and so my reading challenge has now started. In case you missed it, I figured out how I’m going to do the draw.
1. Mad Reviewer: 104 books in one year (4 entries)
2. Crazy Reviewer: 52 books in one year (3 entries)
3. Slightly Sane Reviewer: 26 books in one year (2 entries)
4. Sane Reviewer: 12 books in one year (1 entry)
I am still figuring out the exact prize, which will likely be larger than I first thought because Mark Lee of The Masquerade Crew is once again helping me out by pooling our resources. That’s really all I can say right now, but just know that the prize is likely more than just one free book.
I forgot to mention that if you’re new here and want to join the challenge, be my guest! Anyone can join between now and the deadline (11:59pm Central Time December 31, 2013). Anyone who reaches their first goal can upgrade and head on to the next level or if they don’t reach their high goal, will have the number rounded off to the next lowest level. Continue reading
The Best and Worst of 2012
It’s been one heck of a year for me, that’s for sure. Not only did I read and review 260 books, I’ve made so many new friends and discovered so many great new authors I never would have found otherwise. When I first started my blog, my personal life was chaotic but the daily posting regime has helped me with time management and increased my sense of responsibility. It’s also made me realize that I absolutely love blogging and will likely be here this time next year. After all, I have to finish my own reading challenge, don’t I?
Since this is a recap of the entire year, I’m not only going to do my best and worst posts in terms of traffic, but also the most commented, most liked and the ones I think are my best work. Well, here we go:
The 5 Best Posts (Traffic)
1. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton (2, 615 hits)
2. The Hunger Games and Ancient Rome (2, 467 hits)
3. Matilda by Roald Dahl (2, 025 hits)
4. The Giver by Lois Lowry (1, 701 hits)
5. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (1, 414 hits)
Now, for me this is not all that surprising. I’ve consistently had search engine traffic for each post and most posts are older posts, which gave an advantage over the other posts that are just now gaining speed.
The Best and Worst of December
Yes, I know it’s only December 31. However I don’t think my stats will change all that much in the next 24 hours. Since it’s December and the holiday season for most people out there, monthly traffic is down from 5, 346 in November to 4, 222 views. According to WordPress’s new unique visitors feature 2, 255 different people have visited this month. So what did all these people view? It may surprise you!
1. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
2. The Hunger Games and Ancient Rome
Yes, for the first time in two months we actually have a new top 5 post! My Favourite Books of 2012 did surprisingly well, gathering 93 views since December 10. My post The Mad Reviewer Reading Challenge came in a close sixth, however. And now for the worst posts of December:
1. Introducing my New Guest Poster: Caleb Flanagan of 20four12
2. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
3. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
4. Just Thought You’d Like to Know
5. The Three Best Books to Read in the Bathroom
Meh, I’m not really that surprised about the bottom five. I can absolutely understand why #1 was my introduction of Caleb because it’s no longer relevant and wasn’t particularly search engine friendly. The only real surprise is that Seraphina, after all the hype it received, is at the bottom. Perhaps the hype has finally died down. As for the rest, well they’re either old books or awkward non-SEO friendly articles. Oh well.
So that is how my December looked stats-wise. What about yours?
Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
Yes, I know, this is the second day in a row I’m away guest posting. That’s just how things worked out this week, though. If you like faeries, you might want to check out Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston. It’s not my favourite book, but maybe it will turn out better for you!