Bookish Beck launched six years ago today. This is the 874th post, which means I’m producing 2.8 posts per week – a pleasing average.
My six most popular posts of all time, with the number of views, are:
Some new interest there in super-short novellas and in a Barbara Kingsolver event. Me daring to admit I don’t love Elena Ferrante has been quite a draw. My The Diary of a Bookseller review was in my most popular lists last year and the year before as well. The First Bad Man was one of the first reviews I ever published here and has always been among my top posts, for some reason. The Clock Dance review was in the top four at the time of my fourth anniversary, took a break last year, and is now back in the rankings.
It’s also International Women’s Day today. Six of my favorite books by women that I’ve read in the last few years are:
Fiction
March by Geraldine Brooks
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver*
Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
Nonfiction
Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott*
Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood
A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas*
*These were rereads and I loved them even more the second time around.
Bookish Beck = Rebecca Foster. American transplant to England. Freelance proofreader and book reviewer.
Well, happy blogging anniversary! And oddly for me, I’ve read all three of your fiction titles, but none of the non-fiction. I’d better put that right.
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Thank you! (Those don’t necessarily strike me as books for you, except for perhaps the Thomas, and you wouldn’t readily find it in the UK.)
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You are very Marmite for me with non-fiction, Rebecca. I tend to love your natural world choices, and the others, particularly medical, not so much.
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A fair assessment! I’ll keep sending the nature book recommendations your way 🙂
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Happy Blog-Birthday! Only 6 years? Feels like more (in a totally good way!). The Bythell remains my most popular post too – still getting around 50 views a week!!! I remain in awe of the breadth, depth and quantity of your reading and such superb posts. Have a great day. x
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Thanks! I agree, it feels like longer. I’d been writing about books for a couple of years beforehand, freelance and for some web magazines that have since shut down, and for a few years before that I wrote reviews in a Word file just for myself but they never saw the light of day. So it feels more like a hobby of 11 years’ standing 😉
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You, Annabel and Mr Blythell: an ongoing tale of book-loving folk… Happy blogging anniversary! I’m never less than astounded at how many books you have on the go at any one time.
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Thank you. How many years is it for you now?
It is funny how popular those reviews have been. I guess we were lucky to get in there early before his books were seemingly everywhere.
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I’ve lost track but I’ve a feeling it may be coming up to eight. WordPress will no doubt remind me!
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Happy Blogversary Rebecca! Always love reading your blog. Here’s to many more great years
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Thanks, Cathy!
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Congratulations on your anniversary! Nice to see that the Kingsolver report is one of your most popular posts 🙂 It was such a great event.
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Thank you! I was surprised to see that one up there as I don’t recall it being popular before.
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I’m not a fan of Ferante (sp?) either… phew. Glad I’m not the only one. I just can’t get into her stuff…
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I tried her three times (My Brilliant Friend, The Lost Daughter, The Days of Abandonment) and had to conclude that she is not for me!
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Congratulations on your blogoversary! Long may yo9u continue to read, report and enjoy.
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Thank you, Alison!
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Congrats. It’s always interesting to see what posts attract the most hits, isn’t it? It’s never quite what you might expect… It was my blog anniversary last week but I never got around to posting anything. I’ll wait until I get to 18 next year!
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WOW! 17 is very impressive. You must have been one of the first book bloggers out there?
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Yep… I could write a book about it but don’t think anyone would be interested. Things have moved on. There’s been an enormous amount of change and everything’s become so much more professional.
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Happy blogiversary! Yours never disappoints. Thanks for all you do!
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Aww, what a sweet thing to say! Thank you.
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Congrats! 😀
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Thanks!
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Oh, how did you get those stats on your reviews? And good stats too! Congrats on 6 successful years and here’s hoping the next 6 are just as good if not better!
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Thank you! (If you’re on WordPress) From the Dashboard you go to Site Stats, at the top where it offers enhanced stats click Show Me, then click on Posts & Pages and select All Time.
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Ah… cool… found it, thanks!
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Happy blogiversary! I always manage to miss mine. A great rate of posts, too.
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Thanks! I feel like you’ve been around in the blogging world for a long time, in various guises … how many years now?
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I started on LiveJournal in August 2005! I don’t recall when I moved to WordPress as I dragged all the old, tiny LJ reviews with me when I did … The paper reading journal reaches back to 1997.
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Happy BookishBeck-i-versary! It’ll be hard to fit all that on a cake, I s’pose.
I didn’t know you were a fan of The Poisonwood Bible. It’s a longtime favourite of mine too. Great idea to simply choose some favourites to mark the 8th!
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Thanks! How long has your blog been going now? A long time, I reckon. I reread Poisonwood in the summer of 2019 (having not read it since perhaps 2002) and it leapt right onto my favourites list.
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January 2010 as far as BIP goes. My writing website has been up since 2000. How times flies! Likely I should have known/remembered that because I know you’ve been a dedicated reader of hers.
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11 and 21 years — most impressive!
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Happy Blogiversary! Our blogs are the same age. 🙂 Wishing you many fulfilling blogging years to come.
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Great to share a vintage with you 😉
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A belated blogversary!
It’s always interesting to see the posts that draw the readers (for years my top posts have been about the ending of books – notably The Other Typist and more recently Sorrow and Bliss – quite funny given that I avoid even a hint of a spoiler!). My other top posts are the ones where I dislike Elena Ferrante (!), Marie Kondo, and FSoG 😀
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Thanks! That’s funny. People are clearly looking for someone to explain or speculate on the endings for them!
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I do wonder though why my 1/5 posts get more hits than books I’ve given 5/5… do people like to read a ‘trashing’?!
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I’ve noticed that on Goodreads the most popular reviews are usually 1-star or 5-star; not much room for nuance in the online world 😉
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Congrats on 6 years!
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Thanks, Katie!
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