Some Quick Info and Stats
Here are a few things about the way the blog has been going over the last year. I’ve steadily participated in three weekly memes (my own FFF, Can’t Wait Wednesday, and halfway through the year started up with The Sunday Post). I also consistently posted This Week in Reading on Mondays, which is my own little recap of the previous week and plans for the current week. I also did approximately 20 book tags which is a little less than two a month.
I have been making an effort to review every speculative fiction book I read and have published approximately 122 reviews this past year on the blog (including the mini-reviews I’ve done). I still have about….14 pending, but those will have to go into 2020 now (well, maybe I can get one more out tomorrow).
For actual yearly blog stats, not that they matter, but I hardly ever see anyone sharing these (like it’s some huge secret) so I thought it would be interesting to throw these out there. I have nothing to hide so here they are (these are 01/01/19 through 12/27/19):
- 34,410 total views
- 15,514 total vistors
- 11,068 total likes
- 5,369 total comments
- 351 total posts
- currently sitting at 980 followers
I have no idea how a lot of these stats compared to last year’s end since I didn’t track them, but I know that things went up dramatically in the last half of 2018 (when I started posting daily) and have been somewhat steadily climbing ever since. Posting more often and having a pretty solid schedule has helped, as has making friends with other bloggers in the community. Although my stats did take a bit of dip in August and then went down the next two months in a row before starting to go back up again November, but I’m pretty sure I know the combination of factors responsible for the dip.
Again, not that stats really matter at all, but it’s fun to see an audience grow over time and look at the trends.
Blog Related Events
Here are a few events I participated in around the blog-o-sphere over 2019:
- 2019 Audiobook Challenge hosted by Hot Listens and Caffeinated Reviewer
- The Hanged Man Promo Event organized by Kathy @ Pages Below the Vaulted Sky and Sia @ Every Book a Doorway
- Dragons of Autumn Twilight Readalong hosted by Jason @ OffTheTBR
- 20 Books of Summer Challenge hosted by Cathy @ 746 Books
- 2019 Rewind Challenge hosted by Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy
- Off the Grid Readathon hosted by Shanah @ Bionic Bookworm and Justine @ I Should Read That
- Wyrd & Wonder hosted by Lisa @ Dear Geek Place, Jorie @ Jorie Loves a Story, and imyril @ onemore.org
I had a great time with all of these events! Wyrd & Wonder was right up my alley being a fantasy related blog event. Off the Grid helped me binge read some books I needed to get through. And with every challenge and event I met new bloggers and made some new friends, so participating in some things this past year has been awesome and a win/win for me!
Some of these events are reoccurring (Audiobook Challenge, Off the Grid, Wyrd & Wonder) so keep an eye on the host blogs if you’re interested in joining these events in 2020.
Also in non-blog related events, another mod of r/fantasy and myself decided to start a romantic fantasy book club on r/fantasy called the HEA Bookclub and you can check it out here if you’re interested. It’s been going strong since May!
Reading Habits as a Blogger
This year, I once again am going to close out the year with having read 200 books. Before I started blogging I think the most I read was 80-100 a year but usually more often around 40 or 50. Blogging has helped me to discover so many new books and authors, things I would have otherwise missed.
One of the biggest changes for me over the last two years has been digital books–both audio and ebooks–as it’s become ridiculously easy to sneak in reading time between other things I have going on. This has caused my number of books consumed to go up tremendously. (I’ll have a full stats post up after the new year.) Still, I don’t think I would make such an effort in consumption if not for blogging and being exposed to so many new books I want to read all the time.
One thing I’ve learned over the course of the year is that I really have to be selective with the review requests I take on. Even if it’s a book I really want to read sometimes, it being on a time schedule takes the fun out of it because I am SUCH a mood reader. So now I’m being even more picky about requests and trying not to do too much button pushing on Netgalley and Edelweiss. There’s just no point to it if it makes me stressed and takes the fun out of things. Also I am VERY lucky that I can usually afford to buy the books that I want to read and have access in other ways (such as a great library system). These are things I try not to take for granted because I recognize a lot of bloggers aren’t in the same position.
One thing that I haven’t gotten good at is DNFing books. Usually I just trudge on, hoping to find joy in later chapters. Maybe this is something I can work on for next year…the act of ‘letting go’.
Goals for 2020
I think my biggest goal is just to keep on keeping on. I’d like to continue doing daily posts (for the most part) and keep up with my average of about two reviews per week. It’s a tough pace sometimes, but it also keeps me focused and I need that.
Since I discontinued my Friday Favorite Five posts, I may join up in some other weekly meme on Fridays, not sure which one yet. Or might save that day for something else. Not entirely decided on this yet, guess I should figure that out.
One thing I’ve been trying to do but keep failing at is discussion posts. I think that’s going to be a big one for me next year. Maybe I could try for one per month, that would give me time to plan a topic and write at length about it. Because I am a person with lots of things to say! I just fail at actually sitting down and writing things out, apparently. 🙂
I want to make some new graphics for the site in 2020. I may also make my own header, as much as I like the one I have now I’d like to have one that is unique to me. The other big site change is that I’ve been thinking about going self-hosted. I may or may not pull the trigger in 2020, we’ll see how things go! At the very least I may go paid for a while before I try and go self-hosted, just to get rid of ads for a while. These are all things I’m considering but not yet ready to make a final decision on. So I guess my goal is to make some decisions regarding this stuff!
Overall, I think this last year I’ve really grown as a blogger and have started to figure out my style of doing things and what I want to get out of this whole blogging thing (chat about books, make friends with others so I have more people to chat about books with, find new to me books so I can chat about them, etc). And…I guess that’s it. I hope my next year in blogging is as great as this last one has been!
Last but not least a HUGE thank you to everyone who stops by here and reads my stupid posts and talks to me about books. Y’all are awesome and you make everything I do here worth it. ❤
Way Too Fantasy 
Wow that’s fantastic. You’ve had a great year!!!
Thank you! It was pretty good for sure. 🙂
You’ve had a really good year. Here’s to another great year :0
Thanks, Cathy!
PS that was meant to be a smile!
🙂
You had a fantastic year. It wasn’t until my last 40s and a few years of blogging before i learned the art of DNFing. I will say it opened the door to new genres, series, and authors.
Thank you! I will learn one of these days to DNF, sometime in 2020 I just have to learn how to let go of things. It always feels like such a failure to DNF even though I know it’s not—it’s just a hurdle I have to get over lol.
Woahhhh!! That’s fantastic. Congrats
Thank you! ❤
Wow! What a fantastic blogging year! Wishing you an even better 2020!
Thanks, Merline! Hope your 2020 is fantastic too!
I’m in awe of how many books you read a year. I’m hopefully going to be adding in some audio next year so maybe that will help my own stats. And I’m glad you shared your stats! It’s true that blogging often and blog hopping especially brings more traffic to your blog. I’m always shocked how quickly my daily stats plummet when I miss a couple of days in a row (like this weekend for example😁)
Haha, thanks! I hope you find some audio that works for you, it took me a little while to get thr hang of it (definitely a different skillset) but now I love it.
Yeah, mine too! It’s why I generally try to post daily even if it’s just a ‘gone reading’ post with some gifs to bridge the gap between regular posts lol.
You have had a fantastic blogging year!! I have been read people’s goals for next year and so many of them including myself are saying they want to cut back on different things. My main focus next year is going to be to read my owner TBR. Here’s to an amazing 2020!!
Thanks, Misty, it has been a pretty good year. I also am planning on reading more owned books. My TBR is out of control~ Hope we both have a great 2020!
Thanks I hope we do too!
I’m so glad you had such a great year! I hope 2020 is just as good!!
Thanks, Kaya! Hope your 2020 is a great one. 🙂
Thank you for this great blog! You do an awesome job and often introduce me to books and authors I do not know and would like to read. Thanks for that.
Awww, thank you! And right back at you! I’ve definitely picked up some books from your blog. 🙂
Thanks! 🙂
You can always join in on Friday Face-Off! It had been going on for a while before I joined, one day I just thought it would be fun to do one and I haven’t been able to stop since, lol. And nice stats! I don’t even really know what my numbers are anymore, I hardly ever check though I used to be more cognizant of them when I first started blogging.
Yeah, I definitely thought about joining Friday Face-Off, seems like a fun one to participate in. There are several good Friday memes to choose from so I’m a little undecided. I might pick the one that seems like the least amount of work 😂😂😂
Thanks! I still check mine pretty regularly but I also still consider myself very much a newbie lol. 🙂
I’ve loved discovering your blog in 2019 and looking forward to keeping up with all of your great content in 2020 ❤
Thanks Avery! Love yours as well, good to see you around. Hope all is going well for you. ❤
Wow, what a fantastic year! Hope 2020 is even better for you! 😀
Thank you!
Congrats on another year of blogging! It’s so great that audiobook and ebooks have helped you get through the never-ending pile. 🙂 I read almost twice as many books this year compared to 2018, in part because this was my first full year of blogging. I definitely want to do some more discussion posts, I feel like I’ve fallen off of them lately. Here’s to another awesome year of reading!
Thank you! Well idk if it’s actually made my TBR pile go DOWN but I’m certainly reading MORE lololol
Yeah, I think blogging in general has contributed a lot to me reading so many more books too! Hope you have a great 2020!
What a great year – you can be proud of the blog, it’s going great guns and is always a pleasure to swing by to visit! Wishing you all the best for 2020 x
Thank you so much! I love stopping by yours as well. 🙂 Hope you have a fantastic new year!
I’m pulling a Jedi mind trick on you at the moment *you want to join the Friday Face Off* lol.
Great year in blogging and thanks for sharing your stats – you’re right, they do feel like a state secret for some reason. I try not to obsess about them but I do check them out and my blog has grown fairly steadily, it’s still only a small affair really, this year was between 38,000 and 39,000 views. December was very quiet, especially as I hardly blogged or hopped about.
Hope your 2020 is brilliant.
Lynn 😀
LOL! I’m still thinking about it. I’ll probably have to make a decision soon because I’m running out of other random content for Friday’s soon. 🙂
Thanks! At the end of the day stats don’t really matter, but it feels good to know at least a few people are reading what we write. Almost 40k views is great though! I don’t mind being small, I think I’d feel more obligated if I had a huge audience which might take some of the fun out of this.
Thanks, I hope your 2020 is great!
So glad your year in blogging has been good 🙂 I hope your next one is even better! And those are great stats! I still haven’t gotten good at dnfing either.
Thanks, I hope your blogging year is great for 2020 too. 🙂 Since I’m going through my massive TBR this year (the plan, anyway) I really need to get better at DNFing lol.
Thank you! hehe totally get that!