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The Best and Worst of November
It’s already December, so let’s take a look back and reflect on November, shall we? For starters, I just want to say that overall traffic is down this month, likely due to the travelling madness Thanksgiving causes in Americans. (How dare you people want to spend time with your family!) However, the good news is that in October I had 5, 421 views while in November it was only slightly down at 5, 346. Not that bad, considering. So what articles were the most popular in November? Let’s take a look:
1. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
2. The Hunger Games and Ancient Rome
5. Ark Angel by Anthony Horowitz
If you’re thinking this sounds familiar, you’re absolutely right. A quick look back at October shows that all 5 articles that were at the top then are still at the top now. The only difference is the order. So what about the bottom articles?
1. The Historian by Elisabeth Kostova
3. The Horus Road by Pauline Gedge
4. The Necromancer by Michael Scott
Once again you’ll notice that the bottom 5 are rarely consistent. Not one of these articles I listed above has made an appearance on the worst 5 before. The only really surprising things are that The Necromancer and Uglies are part of the 5 ‘worst.’ I guess Michael Scott isn’t as popular now that his series ended and Uglies is an older YA book. Maybe the current generation will discover it like I did.
That’s how my November went. How was yours?
World War Z by Max Brooks
Today it’s my turn to guest post for Caleb Flanagan over at 20four12, so I reviewed a book I read on my plane when I was travelling: World War Z by Max Brooks. It was small enough to fit in my carry-on laptop, but long enough so that I wouldn’t finish it halfway through the flight. So what did I think of World War Z? Go on and check it out!
Home Sweet Home
I’m back from a hectic week in Ottawa. Wow! The architecture was impressive, Question Period was a bunch of preschoolers arguing and the book shopping was great. But now I’m exhausted, so here are some pictures:
This is Notre Dame Cathedral in Gatineau, Quebec. Gatineau is right across the river from Ottawa, for those of you who don’t know. It was built by the Irish and French Canadians, which explains both the opulence and the shamrock over one of the doors leading into the cathedral. They built this in their spare time, which is rather depressing for us lesser mortals who like to read or watch TV in our spare time.
Also: No, there is no real gold. All of the carvings are actually wood with gold coloured paint. Still, this is a very impressive cathedral and my picture hardly does it justice.
And this, of course, is Parliament. I took the tour, drooled over the library and nearly slept through Question Period. Sometimes I think preschoolers are better behaved than our representatives, but I am quite the cynic.
I also went to the enormous Chapters bookstore near Rideau Hall (yes, it was amazing!), but I have no pictures of that. Needless to say I just finished my Christmas/birthday shopping for the year and have a lot of new reading material. More on that later, after I get a decent night’s sleep.
So what’s new with you guys?
20four12: Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
This week it’s my turn to post over at 20four12 so I reviewed Fablehaven by Brett Mull, a book that I borrowed from a good friend of mine. It is one of her favourite books, but to see my thoughts on it, head on over to 20four12! And while you’re over there you should check out the rest of Caleb’s site for your daily recommended dosage of science fiction.
A Look at the Month Ahead
Can you believe it’s November already? I can’t. That’s because October was busy for me, but I have a feeling November is going to be even busier. So what’s going on here at The Mad Reviewer?
Well this month there are going to be two giveaways for sure: one of them is a fantasy novel and the other is a science fiction novel. I loved both of them, which is why I’m glad their authors also agreed to do interviews with me. I am also interviewing Krystal Wade for the second time because the last book in her trilogy Darkness Falls will be released on November 5th.
I am still working on editing the anthology but will also be working with Mark Lee on another still top secret project designed to help writers and book reviewers. Hint: you’ll be seeing me on Twitter a lot more in the future. But that’s all I can say for now.
My personal life is also going to be pretty hectic because during all of this blogging-related chaos I am flying down to Ottawa for a week. No, I’m not taking time off; the laptop is definitely coming with me and I (hopefully) will have scheduled enough posts to get me through the week. If not I’m sure you’ll understand.
So what does November look like for you guys?