Tag Archives: Popular Posts

December 30, 2021 · 1:00 am

My Most Popular Posts of 2021

A drawing of a bar chart whose bars move up and down but mostly up.

Let’s pretend these are my proper analytics.

Every December I make a list of my most popular posts of the year. This is something I first began doing in 2017 with a roundup of my 10 most popular posts.

In 2018, I decided to double that number in response to my blogging friend Tom Williams doing the same thing. I continued that tradition in 2019 and 2020 and am back again today with this year’s entry.

This year’s list won’t be as accurate as it was for previous years because the Google Analytics on my site isn’t collecting information anymore and I’ve missed out on some data while trying to figure out why it stopped working.

What can you do? Nothing in life works perfectly all of the time, and I’m grateful for the information I do have about visitors to this site in 2021. Hopefully, my 2022 analytic information will be complete.

The other unusual thing about this year was that I blogged less often during it. I used to write posts on Mondays about fitness, speculative fiction, meditation, and other topics. This wasn’t something I had a lot of emotional energy for this year due to grief and other aspects of the pandemic, so most of my posts were of more structured topics like book reviews or responses to blog hops like Top Ten Tuesday (TTT) or the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge (WWBC). (Those acronyms are included below when applicable).

We will see if this changes next year.

With all of that being said, here are some of my personal favourite posts in no particular order:

. Search Engine Questions from 2020

This is often my most amusing post of the year! People search for the oddest and funniest stuff online.

Man struggling to open a jar of pickles. The man is not wearing a shirt. What I Read in 2020

A Photo Essay Update on Damaged Toronto Trees

How I Changed My Mind About Weightlifting

My Interview at Ginger Nuts of Horror

My Goals for 2021 (WWBC)

What I Include In My Content Warnings and Why

And here are my 10 most popular posts of 2021 according to the data that Google Analytics was able to collect:

A cellphone. Someone has searched for Google Analytics in it’s browser. 10. My Greatest Weakness (WWBC)

9. Places in Books I’d Love to Live (TTT)

8. Colourful Book Covers (TTT)

7. Books That Made Me Laugh Out Loud (TTT)

6. Books I Loved That Made Me Want More of Them (TTT)

5. LGBT+ Book Quotes (TTT)

4. Bookish Gifs (TTT)

3. Books With Mountains on Their Covers (TTT)

2. Books I’d Gladly Throw Into the Ocean (TTT)

1. Books About Fresh Starts (TTT

I love that fact that Books About Fresh Starts was my most popular post of 2021. May 2022 be a better year for us all!

My 20 Most Popular Posts of 2020

A green olympic typewriter that has typed out the number 2020. Every December I make a list of my most popular posts of the year. This is something I first began doing in 2017 with a roundup of my 10 most popular posts.

In 2018, I decided to double that number in response to my blogging buddies Terry Tyler and Tom Williams doing the same thing. I continued that tradition in 2019 and am back again today with this year’s entry.

The first two times I wrote this post, WordPress gobbled them up when I tapped the Schedule button. Talk about frustrating! Let’s cross our fingers and hope the third time is the charm.

Each year there are surprises in these roundups. It’s not always easy to predict which posts will do well immediately, take off months later, or occasionally never garner as much interest as I thought they would.

This year I was a little surprised by how many bookish posts made it to the list. In the past, those topics generally didn’t garner as much interest as they did in 2020.

It was awesome to see so many of my entries for Vintage Science Fiction month be so popular as well. I will be participating in that blogging event again in January, so stay tuned.

I also liked seeing some film and indie book reviews included in the top 20 list. These are topics I could talk about all day.

Fitness was something I blogged about less often than usual this past year. I am hoping to blog more about it in 2021, especially once all of us who can be vaccinated against Covid-19 have been vaccinated and it becomes safer to go places again.

Thank you all for reading what I’ve written this year! Without further ado, here are the top 20 posts of 2020 beginning with #20 on the list.

Winter Blogfest graphic on a blue background with white snowflakes dotting the top and sides. The graphic reads, "Long and Short Reviews Winter Blogfest. A Prize on every post! December 21-January 1."

20. A Free Author Promo Opportunity at Long and Short Reviews

A girl with a bored expression on her face reading a book.

19. 4 Creative Ways to Overcome a Reading Slump

Black and white photo of a pug tilting its head in confusion

18. Why Writers Should Eavesdrop Regularly

17. Vintage Science Fiction Month: The Trouble with Tribbles

Person standing in a 6+ foot tall tunnel built into thick walls of snow and ice.

16. An Exclusive Interview with Winter

Film poster for Jumanji. image on poster shows four main characters standing at the mouth of a cave looking out onto a jungle with mountains in the distance.

15. A Review of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

A Bit of Pickled Pumpkin and Other Short Horror Stories by B.A. Loudon book cover. Image on cover is of a pile of pumpkins.

14. A Review of A Bit of Pickled Pumpkin and Other Stories

A city park landscape. The grass is green and covered in blue flowers. The bushes are just beginning to turn green, and the trees still look bare.

13. A Photo Essay of Toronto in April

gibraltar point lighthouse on Toronto Island in Toronto, Ontario

12. 6 Toronto Urban Legends for Halloween

Child running up a flight of steps

11. 3 Reasons Why You Should Try Mall Walking

Nine speech bubbles in a variety of shapes and pastel colours.

10. Why I Blog About Multiple Topics

Photo of person's legs and orange shoes as they climb a flight of blue stairs.

9. 3 Reasons Why I Take the Stairs Instead of the Elevator

A dead tree. The top half has been shorn off and is lying on the ground. Was it damaged in a storm?

8. A Photo Essay of Toronto in March

Second Variety by Philip K. Dick book cover. Image on cover is of a stylized, human-shaped flame holding the Earth.

7. Vintage Science Fiction Month: Second Variety by Phillip K. Dick

Bananas that are submerged in a bright yellow landscape.

6. On Finding Scope for Imagination During Uncertain Times

six clouds digitally altered to spell out the word dreams.

5. Let’s Talk About Vivid Quarantine Dreams

A toy apple sitting on three textbooks in front of a blackboard. The toy apple has a window and door painted on it so it looks like a little house.

4. 5 Homeschooling Tips from a Homeschooler

Book cover for 1NG4. Image on cover is of a metal structure that has been photographed just after dusk.

3. Military Science: A Review of 1NG4

a room filled with levers on its wall

2. Hopeful Science Fiction: Move the World

Women doing yoga

1. 3 Things I Like About Yoga

My 20 Most Popular Posts of 2019

Every December I catalogue my most popular posts of the year. This is something I first began doing in 2017 with a roundup of my 10 most popular posts. Last year, I decided to double that number in response to my blogging buddies Terry Tyler and Tom Williams doing the same thing.

I was surprised by how popular my reviews of various Youtube workout videos were this year. When they were first published, they didn’t get as many hits as I was expecting, but that changed quite a bit over the longterm. Look for some more reviews of free online workouts in 2020.

Interviews with readers and writers of science fiction were well-represented in this round-up, too. I’d love to do more of them in 2020 if anyone is interested. The informational link on how to sign up is included below.

On a silly note, I thought it was interesting to see how many posts that had stock photos with orange or yellow hues made it onto this year’s list. Maybe my readers really love those colours. Ha!

Woman using a cellphone

20. Put Down Your Phone and Pay Attention

Carved and lit Halloween pumpkin sitting next to a calendar that says October 31

19. My Best Halloween Memories

The personification of spring. She's sitting on a swing that's adorned with pink roses.

18. An Exclusive Interview with Spring

two front doors in a duplex. One door is blue and the other one is yellow

17. 5 Tips to Beat Writer’s Block

Couple cuddling a dog

16. 3 Fictional Families I’d Want to Spend Family Day With

Books covered in a thick layer of cobwebs and dust

15. Why I Prefer E-Books Over Physical Books

Woman stretching over to touch her toes before a run.

14. What to Do If You Missed a Week of Working Out

13. My Review of The House with a Clock in Its Walls

Woman doing an upper body workout.

12. My Review of Fitness Blender’s Toned, Lean Arms Workout

Athletes laughing and jumping.

11. 4 Things I Love About Fitness Culture

Science Fiction fan Tammy Schoch posing by the grand canyon

10. Interview with Tammy Schoch

Stack of books sitting next to a vase of yellow flowers

9. Why Taking Reading Breaks Can Be a Good Idea

Photo of Berthold Gambrel

8. Interview with Berthold Gambrel

Woman dancing while using headphones and iPhone

7. 4 Games You Can Play While Listening to Audiobooks

Grapefruit Slice Lying with Lemon Slices

6. Blogging Advice: Finding and Using Visual Images for Your Site

Photo of author M.H. Thaung

5. Interview with M.H. Thaung

Group of people networking with their cellphones

4. Blogging Advice: Social Media and Networking

Person blogging about coffee on a WordPress blog

3. Blogging Advice: Brainstorming and Idea Management

Blue and Red Galaxy Painting

2. If You Love Speculative Fiction, I Want to Interview You

Woman Performing Deadlifts

1. My Review of Fitness Blender’s Brutal Butt and Thigh Workout

My 20 Most Popular Posts of 2018

Wow, this year flew by! Just like I did for 2017, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the most popular posts I published on this blog over the last year.

At the end of 2017, I talked about how surprising it was to see which posts ended up being the most popular on my site. Once again, there was a healthy representation of all of the topicsI talk about, but my posts about blogging and writing tended to dominate the top of the list.

I have no idea what prompted this change, but it’s going to be interesting to see if it continues in 2019.

If you’d like to read other people’s lists, my friends Terry Tyler and Tom Williams both recently blogged about their 20 most popular posts as well. The first year I did this, I made it a top 10 list. This year I doubled that number to match what they did. Terry and Tom, you’re good influences! If anyone else blogged about this topic, I’d love to link to your site as well. Just leave a note in the comment section with a link to your post.

20. A Peek at My Never-Ending List of Sci-fi and Fantasy Films to Watch

19. 4 Reasons Why You Should Attend Nuit Blanche

18. 5 Reasons Why You Should Become a Reviewer for Long and Short Reviews

17. Why Do Library Holds Arrive Simultaneously (And Other Questions I Wish I Had Answers To)

16. Characters Who Need a Date

15. 6 Things I Wish My Gym Teachers Had Done Differently

14. 4 Things I Want to Accomplish This Autumn

13. Why Walking In the Rain Is Underrated

12. What Is the Perfect Reading Spot?

11. Science Fiction and Fantasy Rules That Shouldn’t Be Broken

10. I Love the Fuzzy Edges of Science Fiction

9. The World Needs More Blogging

8. Blogging Changes I’m Making This Winter

7. 10 Things That I Won’t Read About

6. Why HALT Is One of My Favourite Mindfulness Exercises

5. Why Negative Reviews Can Be a Positive Thing

4. Families Are Forever: A Review of Pixar’s Coco

3. 15 Things I’ve Learned from 15 Years of Blogging

2. Is It a Good Idea to Take a Blogging Break?

1. Why Creative Writers Should Read History Books

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Filed under Personal Life

Tagged as Blog Business, Popular Posts

December 28, 2017 · 1:00 am

My Most Popular Posts of 2017

2017 was my first full year of blogging here at lydiaschoch.com. Today I wanted to take a moment to look back at the most popular posts of the year. I’ll begin with the tenth most popular post and work my way up to number one from there.

If you happened to miss any of them when they were first published at various points over the last year, now is a great time to click on the links and catch up.

10. My Blog Won a Liebster Award.

9. The Top 5 Must-Haves If You Want to Start Exercising.

8. How to Survive a Post-Apocalyptic Storyline.

7. 5 Things That People Who Have Allergies Wish You Understood.

6. 5 Reasons Why You Should Read Science Fiction and Fantasy.

5. Things Nobody Tells You About Moving to Canada.

4. Scifi and Fantasy Rules That Should Be Broken.

3. Stuff I Miss About Celebrating Christmas.

2. The Tale of the Coveted Cookies.

1. Why You Should Be Following the Mystery of Tom Thompson’s Death.

I was expecting the post about Tom Thompson to rank highly since I received so much positive feedback about it when it was first published. It came as no surprise to me to see it in the number one slot.

It was nice to see so many of my science fiction and fantasy posts be represented. I don’t always get a ton of feedback on them as far as sharing them on Twitter goes, but it looks like they’re still being read and enjoyed.

There were a couple of surprises on this list. I wasn’t expecting the post about moving to Canada to rank so highly, though. It was something I wrote on the spur of the moment when none of my other ideas for that week panned out. I’m pleased that people enjoyed it, though.

The Tale of the Coveted Cookies turned out to be far more popular than I thought it would be as well. It was something I typed up mostly for the sheer joy of reliving that memory, so I was thrilled to see it resonating with my readers. This goes to show that you can’t always predict ahead of time what people will find amusing.

I am planning to continue this tradition of exploring my post popular posts next December. It will be interesting to see if a similar mixture of topics dominates the 2018 roundup.

In the meantime, I hope 2017 was a good year for all of my readers. I’ll post the final Suggestion Saturday in two days, and I’ll be blogging about the books I read in 2017 for my normal Monday post on the first of January.

Cheers!

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Filed under Personal Life

Tagged as Blog Business, Popular Posts

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