Friday Fives: Top Posts

For the last article in my Blog Birthday Celebration week, I’m giving you TWO top five lists. The first is a list of the top five blog articles of all time according to WordPress stats–as of the time of writing, of course. These are articles that people have gone to directly (usually from a web search), not including the home page, which by definition would be the most visited post. Here they are:

Top Five Blog Articles to Date (Statistically Speaking)

1. Banned Book Profile: The Harry Potter Series: Last year, during Banned Books Week, I ran a series on banned books, featuring a different book each day of the week. I don’t recall these being big hits at the time, but clearly people keep going back to them (either for the article, or for the book pictures).
2. Book Review: THE SHINING by Stephen King: I mentioned this one as a “slow burner” on Tuesday. Reviews as a whole don’t seem to get a lot of initial interest, but, over time people seem to hunt them out.
3. Banned Book Profile: The Hunger Games: See #1.
4. Who Review: Revenge of the Cybermen: I’m not sure whether it’s my review of the classic Doctor Who story Revenge of the Cybermen that people are interested in, or the picture on that article.
5. The Truth about Captcha: I have referenced this clip a few times on Twitter, and I still think it’s really clever. If you grumble and complain about Captcha–or reCaptcha–watch this.

The second top five list is five of my favorite articles–which is not really a top five, I suppose. Some of these were popular at the time they posted, some perhaps not so. Either way, I enjoyed writing them, and I still enjoy reading them. I hope you do too!

Five of My Favorite Articles

1. Favorite Book Cover: My first ever Road Trip Wednesday contribution. I was overwhelmed with the number of comments and kind words I received, and I made new blog friends that day. Road Trip Wednesday has helped me find a lot of great blogs and great blog friends over the past year, so this first RTW article will always be special.
2. Query Success Stories: I had just started querying my novel when I posted this. The article contains links to some well-known YA writers’ query letters. BUT the main reason I like this post is because I link to an interview I found that Janet Reid did with the BBC’s World Service back in 2009. If you want to hear the Query Shark herself talk about queries, and discuss finding Dan Krokos–you should check it out.
3. The Victorian Yorkshire Pudding Experiment: My WIP is set in Victorian London, and I was reading some history books to get a feel for the atmosphere of the period. In the course of my reading, I came across a “recipe” for Yorkshire pudding, so I decided to have a go at making it. This is the story of what happened…
4. RTW: The Name Game: The Road Trip Wednesday from January where we discussed pseudonyms. I like the picture, enjoyed writing the article, reading everyone else’s articles, and reading the comments people left. Fun fun fun!
5. Hourglass: I hope it doesn’t sound too egotistical of me, but I really like my fiction! I could have listed any one of the stories I’ve written for this blog, but this one stands out for me because it’s my first attempt to portray a dystopian world. Since it’s a short story, though, I have to world-build by hints and suggestions. I’m pleased with how it turned out.

That’s it for Blog Birthday Celebration Week. Starting Sunday, we begin the new schedule (or lack thereof). Thank you all so much for sticking with me over the last year. I hope you’ll continue to do so.

Don’t forget the Blog Birthday Giveaway!

I’m giving away a choice of a $20 Amazon Gift Card, or $20-worth of books from The Book Depository. The giveaway is open internationally (as long as The Book Depository ships to your country–assuming that’s the option you choose if you win).

And finally, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my SixthBorn–my youngest daughter–who turns 8 today! 🙂