I’m again linking up with Denyse Whelan whose prompt for today is ‘A favourite post from 2016’. It’s funny as I can easily identify the favourite posts I’ve ever written. There are a few about my dad and his passing, his dementia and a few others penned when I had my Diet Schmiet blog. But when I think about the posts from the last year none really stand out more than others.
Unsurprisingly, my most-viewed and commented posts are always my Sunday Posts (my weekly check-ins) as I link up with book bloggers from around the world (though mostly the US). However… other than a couple of recent wrap-up posts: Ten new authors I read in 2016; and my favourite books of 2016, my book reviews don’t tend to feature highly on my most-visited or most-commented-on list.
As it happens, my (other) most commented-on or viewed posts are those in which I do some navel-gazing; or am bluntly honest about shit on my mind. Other than my ‘moving house‘ post… recent posts about birthdays and bucket lists; being middle-aged; and a rant about ‘isms’ resonated with readers.
Bizarrely – my fave pic of me from 2016!
I’m not doing the new year’s resolution thing. In case you were wondering.
But – as I mentioned in my 2016 review post I’m thinking about the direction of my blogging. I want to do more ‘other’ writing and will need to decide what that means for the blog. I love reading and enjoy my book reviewing, though the reviewing process can be incredibly time-consuming. I find the blithery personal posts far easier to write… though kinda like that not ALL of my posts are heavy and require contemplation. So perhaps my current mix is okay after all… *sigh*
Any suggestions on the blogging front would be greatly appreciated!
Are you a New Year’s resolution kind of person? Any you want to share?
I’m linking up with Denyse Whelan to talk about a favourite post from 2016. Sort of. Oh and… Happy New Year!
January 2, 2017
I’ve wondered how sustainable your reviewing load is – you read and write a LOT.
January 2, 2017
The book reviews take much longer than other posts – setting it up, adding the links AND sometimes if I haven’t written it straight away I need to flick through the books and my notes again!
January 2, 2017
I am a resolution person, & this year they’re all about writing & health. Re the former, I need it to start paying for itself and re the latter, if I don’t do something serious, I’m likely to be spending my hard earned cash on medical professionals rather than travel & experiences!
January 2, 2017
Ah yes… I’m with you on the former in particular!
January 2, 2017
Happy New Year, Deb!.
I’m taking a leaf out of Mia Freedman’s book this year and coming up with a word to represent 2017 for me rather than resolutions. And that word is transition. My life is transition and I’m going to embrace it.
January 2, 2017
That’s an excellent idea and choice of word, amy!
SSG xxx
January 2, 2017
I saw that. I know the ‘word’ for the year is very popular now… I downloaded something last year to help me identify my word but struggled with it. Transition is a great word Amy!
January 2, 2017
I’m not a resolution kind of person, goals and objectives pop up during the year and I tend to redirect my life and energy accordingly.
I’m not much help regarding blog content, I’m sorry. I tend to write without much direction. Whims and fancy most of the time.
SSG xxx
January 2, 2017
I’m getting back to good health and ageing positively both in real life and on the blog. I started to waver a bit …
January 3, 2017
Ah yes… it’s easy to do. I’m reading a book at the moment in which the female 2IC at MI5 in London is – god forbid – 49 and she talks about looking and feeling her age! The way they described her I assumed she was gonna be in her 60s and then she comments on being 49! WTF?!
January 2, 2017
Deb I have no idea how you get through all your reading and reviewing. I think the best ‘resolution’ we can make is to do more of what we truly love and less of what we don’t – as per my recent post on the 20% theory to ‘overcome’ stress. I have been a very slack blogger in 2016 but I have been working on reYINvention course/book so I’m getting somewhere and 2017 will see it come to fruition – at least that is the plan.
January 3, 2017
Exciting times ahead for you Kathy (and a big year behind you as well). And yes…. I need to do more of what I love and less of what I think I SHOULD do.
January 2, 2017
Oh yes I totally agree, the blithery posts are fun to write and so is the engagement that they generate. For a while I tried to write useful parenting/early childhood education type posts but YAWN… it’s just not my thing. I’m more interested in sharing my experiences, thoughts and ideas and having a bit of a giggle while doing it. All the best in 2017 (I’ve toyed with other writing projects too!) Happy New Year Deborah. x
January 3, 2017
I’ve had to do a lot of boring government writing in my working life Shauna so like having the freedom to be me. I sometimes think my book reviews should include less ‘me’ but I think people seem to enjoy (or at least – not mind) the additional editorial flavour I offer. Having said that, when I was writing for a regional newspaper, I made sure there was less of ‘me’ in the reviews!
January 2, 2017
I love your posts because, at the expense of sounding wanky, you are very authentic. And funny!
January 3, 2017
Thanks Jess. xx
January 3, 2017
Resolutions don’t work for me 🙂 I prefer to set small goals, easy to achieve things to keep me happy whenever I can check them off.
January 3, 2017
I’m a lover of lists so agree with the small goal concept Donna. Ticking things off is great and it’s hard to do that if your resolutions are huge. I’ve got some things I want to do before my birthday later this year and they’re all big things so I’ll need to look at how I ‘manage’ and celebrate progress or they’ll feel overwhelming!
January 3, 2017
I love all of your posts but for me, the human condition is always of huge interest! This is because I find it helpful to know “I” am not alone and that others also have their horrid days, their successes and their contemplative days. So, my view…keep on keeping on. However, if you are wanting to do more, do it for YOU!! That will sort itself out more than doing anything for others. As for transition, I have been in that state for 2 years now…and I am ‘over it’ so I am looking for more kindness (that’s my word for 2017) towards myself as I can very critical and each week I am going to write about my intention for the week.
Thanks for linking up…as always! Denyse #lifethisweek 1/52.
January 3, 2017
Yes, when I had my diet blog Denyse I was very blunt about my struggles and a lot of people commented that they appreciated that honesty as they thought they were alone with those feelings – which is rarely the case. My biggest problem is that I never got past them so several years later was still talking about the same things!!!
January 4, 2017
My new years resolution is to work on my social anxiety by going to a geek girl book club. I’ve been an online member for about two years so I figure at least I’m starting by getting out with people I already know. Baby steps.
January 4, 2017
That sounds great! And meeting people that you already know (virtually) should make it a bit easier. Good luck and I hope it goes well!
January 4, 2017
I do like your blog the way it is although I often wonder how you find the time to read and review so many books! Reviews take time…that’s why I don’t review every book I read! In terms of commenting, I guess I read your reviews but don’t always comment because I kinda just think of either adding or not adding to my ever-growing TBR list. Personal posts always resonate with readers and it’s possible to continue a conversation through them anyway which is why we also probably comment more. Either way, don’t stress yourself out too much re the blog, it stops being fun. 🙂
January 9, 2017
I struggle a bit with blog “identity” and what direction I want to take with my writing – similarly my linkup posts are my most popular, but they aren’t necessarily always the ones I enjoy writing the most, and I wonder if I write more personal posts if anyone will be interested in the least (well, except for my mum, ha!)…It’s a bit of a quandary, to be sure!
January 9, 2017
True and I think it goes back to what we want to achieve in our writing and blogging as you said….