I’m pausing content today to mark Blogiversary #8, provide a brief blog update, and offer my sincerest thanks for all the follows, likes, shares, and comments. Please enjoy a virtual cupcake!

Celebrating 8 Years of Book Blogging!

Find all the books I’ve reviewed here.

Reflections on 8 Years:

Virtual Friendships

If you had told me that one of the greatest joys of blogging is the supportive and friendly blogging community, I don’t know if I would have believed you. I was intimidated to push “publish” on those first few posts. I was terrified to comment on a stranger’s blog and to interact with strangers on my own site. It didn’t take long for me to set aside those apprehensions and fully embrace the connections! If I interact with you regularly, you know who you are, Dear Friends! Some of the lovely bloggers I interact with most frequently participated in my recent summer collaboration: “Summer’s One Must Read Book.”

My Tip For New Bloggers: Connect, Comment, and Collaborate!

Stats

The most important aspect of blogging is not the numbers. Blogging, reading, and reviewing is NOT a competition. However, I’m a stats nerd and I enjoy tracking my stats as a way to measure progress (competing with myself). The actual number doesn’t matter to me as much as the consistent upward trend. At eight years, I am satisfied with my overall stats. I have experienced steady growth as a result of diligent effort and persistence. 2023 has been my best year of blogging stats-wise. 2024 views were a bit sluggish. 2025 has picked up, but it can’t compare with 2023. Have other bloggers experienced this?

I surpassed 1,000 posts this year! This post is #1,386

Recently, I was excited to exceed the high bar of 2,000 followers (2,183) which is exhilarating in light of that first 100 follower milestone! I realize that for some bloggers this is a low number and for other bloggers this might seem like an unreachable number. Each blogger is on a unique, personal journey, and every milestone is celebrated by the community.

I passed another significant milestone this year as my current total number of views/hits exceeded one million! (1,308,406 as of this moment) Wow! Thanks everyone!

Tip For New Bloggers: Persistence/consistency in all areas–quality content, scheduling of posts, interactions with the blogging community, and (social media) promotion–is KEY.

One other important and related stat I track is the origin source of my views. Over eight years, the highest source remains search engines (which indicates that my SEO work is paying off) followed (in order) by WordPress Reader, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter/X, and email. Instagram drives very little traffic to my blog these days because I’d rather be reading than making reels.

Domain Authority: A stat I track out of curiosity from time to time is my Domain Authority (DA) rank. In the simplest terms, it’s how your site ranks in search engine queries. You can check your DA free: Domain Authority Checker. (and check anyone else’s as well). One way to raise your DA rank is to optimize every post for SEO. DA is the most frustrating stat because it fluctuates for no apparent reason. I usually check it once a month. I’ve been bouncing around between 25-35 the last few years. Last month I was 29, and today I’m 25. So unpredictable and erratic. My record high is 36. The only reason to care about this number is that certain sites or brands you might want to work with might require a certain DA rank. You can read more about DA here. Most hobby bloggers can safely ignore DA stats. I’m just always curious.

NetGalley: Another stat I’m proud of and worked hard for is my NetGalley ratio. (NG is one way reviewers receive advanced reading copies) If you are a book reviewer and use NG, you know! I’ve maintained an above 80% ratio (currently at 96%) for a few years now! I also earned my 200 reviews badge. I realize that 200 reviews seems low compared with other bloggers and 8 years of blogging but I’m picky about my ARCs….I dread having to DNF them or award less than 3 Stars or request so many that my ratio suffers. I’m making good progress toward my 500 reviews badge as I’m currently around 350.

Unrelated to Reading Stats: In case you wonder if I do anything else besides read, I need to tell someone that I’m at level 5269 in Candy Crush! LOL It’s my brain break! Anyone else still playing CC? I work the booster reward system and have never spent a dime. I limit myself to about 10 minutes a day (unless I happen to fall into a winning streak or earn 30 min of free boosters!)

Blogging Tip:

In 8 years, I’ve learned a few things (sometimes the hard way).

I learned one new thing this year! How to hide text.

Let me explain. I have a love/hate relationship with Trigger Warnings because, although I firmly believe in them and the reader’s right to know, I realize that they can contain spoilers that others might not want to see. I knew there was a way to hide text, but I hadn’t been especially motivated to learn the process. My excuse is that learning a new trick takes time, and I’d rather be reading or churning out reviews. Recently, I reviewed a book that included a trigger warning, which would reveal a major spoiler. When I became frustrated enough with trying to write my review, I decided now was the time to investigate hidden text. It’s fairly simple, and I should have done it way sooner.

In Word Press, you have to download the (free) Ultimate Blocks plugin. Then, (in block editor) when you begin a new paragraph, click on the plus sign and enter Expand into the search bar and a new option appears: Expand. Click on it and it will bring up a block with two + signs. Click on the first + , select paragraph, and add visible text. Next, click on the second + , select paragraph, and add hidden content. When you are finished, click away from the block and it will look like this:

I can send you screenshots if needed! I have no idea how to do this in the Classic editor or with other platforms. Here’s the WP video I watched to help me learn.

In Other Blogging News:

Block Editor: The transition from Classic Editor to Block Editor is complete. It’s not without it’s frustrations, but I’m no longer experiencing high levels of frustration. I’m gradually updating old posts (usually on Throwback Thursday)

Book Club Kits. I’m continuing to work on my new feature: Free Book Club Kits. I have five now and I’m working on a sixth. They are time-intensive, but they attract lots of views, so I believe the time spent is worth it. Thanks to Jo @ Jo Linsdell for the inspiration!

• James Book Club Kit
• Go As a River Book Club Kit
• West With Giraffes Book Club Kit
• The Boys of Riverside Book Club Kit
• The Correspondent Book Club Kit

Have you used one of my Book Club Kits?

New Feature!

Another new feature (in addition to Book Club Kits) I’ve added this year is a once-a-month (last Friday of the month) Link Party (open for 30 days) for your most memorable or captivating character of the month. Find my posts here. Join me for this fun monthly feature!

Book Reviews are FREE and Written by ME (not AI)

I’m continuing to offer FREE book reviews. However, if you’re feeling especially generous and have appreciated certain content, I welcome donations.

Sorry About the Ads

One way I avoid a pay wall is by allowing ads on my page. The small amount I make from the ads pays for my Word Press blog expenses. If there’s money left over, I use it to buy a few books or make donations to support other bloggers. I realize that ads are annoying, so thanks for tolerating them.

Another way I finance my blog is to use Amazon affiliate links. When you purchase a book (or anything really) from my link, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Amazon issues me gift cards which I use to buy books for review. Over half of the books I review are ARCS (free advanced reader copies) and I’m a heavy library user, but I depend on that affiliate link to purchase the rest. Thanks for using the link! Every purchase helps support the blog!

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Thank You! THANK YOU!

Each visit, follow, comment, and share is so appreciated. I could not do this without you! Grab a virtual cupcake as you leave today!

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QOTD:

If you blog, how many years do you have under your belt?
If you are a new blogger or are considering a blog, do you have a blogging question for me?

I would love to hear (in comments) about one book you’ve read as a result of reading one of my reviews or posts.

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Let’s Get Social!

Thank you for visiting and reading today! I’d be honored and thrilled if you choose to enjoy and follow along (see subscribe or follow option), promote, and/or share my blog. Every share helps us grow.

Find me at:
Twitter/X
Blue Sky
Instagram (Threads link in bio)
Goodreads and StoryGraph
Pinterest
SubStack: @carolreadingladies
Reading Ladies Book Club on Facebook

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