2022 – A Blogging Year in Review

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I devoted a lot more of my free time to growing my YouTube Channel in 2022, which led to more comic books read but less “proper” books completed. Despite this change in hobby priorities, I still published 48 posts in 2022. Of those posts, only 14 were book reviews, 9 were comic book reviews, and 8 were Movie or TV reviews. In total, 31 reviews compared to 34 the year before.

After a quick check on the Wakizashi’s Teahouse YouTube Channel, I see that I made 104 comic book review videos in 2022. Imagine if I’d also posted short written reviews of those comics on WordPress. Definitely something to consider for this year.

Stats

Click on the Image for higher resolution

In 2022, the Blog got 13,014 views, up 27% on last year. “Visitors” were up 28% compared to 2021. But “Likes” and “Comments” were both down. Most of my traffic came from the United States, followed by the U.K., Australia, Canada, and Germany.

My Top 10 Viewed Posts in 2022

  1. The Fog Horn (1951) by Ray Bradbury with 556 views
  2. The Best Introduction to the Mountains (2001) an essay by Gene Wolfe with 555 views
  3. Mockingbird (1980) by Walter Tevis with 411 views
  4. Impostor (1953) by Philip K. Dick with 342 views
  5. Reading the Sci Fi “Canon” with 328 views
  6. The Ballad of Black Tom (2016) by Victor LaValle with 324 views
  7. The Doctor of Death Island (1978) by Gene Wolfe with 230 views
  8. We Can Remember It For You Wholesale (1966) by Philip K. Dick with 217 views
  9. Midnight Diner is Food for the SOUL with 195 views
  10. Gray Matter (1973) by Stephen King with187 views

Interesting to note that the only Post from 2022 in the Top 10 is “Midnight Diner is Food for the SOUL” at Number 9. The next highest 2022 Post is “DC Comics H8TES You, The Customer” in 25th place.

Plans for 2023

I need to keep a better record of all the books and comics I read this year. I was using Goodreads for this, but got sick of it and deleted my account in summer last year. I can’t quite remember why. I’ve since opened a new account and will use it just for keeping a record. I’m no longer going to write reviews on that site. If anybody has suggestions for a better way to keep a record of everything you read, please let me know in the comments. Thank you.

Let me once again wish you all the very BEST for 2023. Let’s make it a ‘Year to Remember’ for all the good reasons we can.

Thanks for reading!

-Wakizashi *now actually glad I woke up ridiculously early because I got this Post finished!*

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26 thoughts on “2022 – A Blogging Year in Review”

  1. Thank you for all the nice moments I spent in your parts of the Internet in 2022, I’m definitely going to stick around in 2023 🙂
    When it comes to keeping track of what you read… LibraryThing is a bit nicer than GR, perhaps? I use both, actually, GR to rate what I read and LT as a catalogue of what I own (but you can also rate books there). Take a look, you might like it..

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  2. For keeping track of what you read, do you want something that already has all the info and you just select it (like devilreads or even Librarything) or do you want something where you have to enter all the data but have total control? (just be aware that LT isn’t real good for individual comics. It’s a lot of work and can be a massive pain in the neck)

    I ask because I’ve heard good things about StoryGraph if you want a “just select it” kind of online site. If you want a real catalog, i still highly recommend Calibre. While it does have a big learning curve, it is also quite scaleable so you can start with it right out of the box and just learn it. Once you’re comfortable you can start exploring more of the options. And the support is top notch.

    Congrats on growing your YT channel. But I would definitely be interested in even very short reviews of various comics you read throughout the year here on WP.

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    • I was hoping for the easy way, that’s why I was using Goodreads. They usually have the comics I read listed on there, but some of the lesser known indie comics don’t always get put on the site. There is a good site just for comics called League of Comic Geeks, but I was hoping to have books and comics all in the same place.

      I looked at StoryGraph but I was put off by the prominence of “content warnings,” as well as the general feel of the site. Also, they don’t have a lot of comics on there. I know you have talked about Calibre before. I tried it but didn’t continue after I got a new pc. Perhaps it’s time for another try. I take it you can catalog anything, including individual issues of comics?

      Thanks for your congrats on the YT thing. I’m not sure how popular the comics reviews would be on here, especially if I post a lot more than I usually do. I’ve always tried to keep this site focused on book reviews, but maybe it’s time for a change?

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      • re: Calibre
        Yes, you can catalog anything. It’s best for books, but can be used otherwise. With most individual comics you’ll have to manually enter the data, unless the issue has an isbn, then you can enter that and let calibre find the metadata online.

        In regards to comics and your site, I guess that’s up to you. You could always try an experiment of a month or three and see how it works out too.

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  3. Looks like you have a nice upward trend with some of your statistics. I’ve not looked at any of mine from last year, but likely will at some point.

    As for keeping track of what I’m reading, I started using a simple spreadsheet on my computer (LibreOffice) several years back and found it works for me. It’s under my control, I can use it when offline, and it’s less likely to break or have the interface completely changed (though of course software updates do bring that risk). Sometimes I’ll add a new column to track another data point, like page count, language, year published, etc. And I’ve slowly created pivot tables and charts to better view the stats. I do still put my books and reviews in Goodreads and take advantage of some features they offer, mostly related to what I’ve read or want to read. I don’t do very much with their social-type functions. I’ve heard from some folks who’ve moved away from Goodreads and to StoryGraph but I’ve never tried it.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Thanks for the information on LibreOffice, Todd. I had thought about using a spreadsheet, but I wasn’t sure of a good one to use.🙏
      I will see if I can find you on Goodreads and send a friend request. I lost everyone’s contact details when I deleted my old account.

      Liked by 1 person

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  5. Hah, the ratio of book reviews, comic reviews and movie reviews on your blog is scarily similar to mine. I have to be careful not to swamp my blog in comic reviews because they read much faster.

    I just use an excel spreadsheet to keep track of my reading. That way I can make some nifty graphs.

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