Blog Note: The 1000th Post

It’s hard to believe but this post is the one thousandth post of Ashes From Burnt Roses.  It’s hard to believe that my first post was published on December 29^th, 2012.  That’s about eight and a half years ago.  That’s a 103 months ago.  That’s 9.7 posts per month, averaging 116.5 posts per year. 

That first year, 2014, had an incredible 183 posts, but I suspect there were a lot of short and easy ones thrown in there.  From then I slowly dropped in my pace year by year to a low of 81 in 2017, but from that low I have steadily climbed back up.  I realized at some point after 2017 that what I comment and post at my book club at Goodreads (Catholic Thought Book Club, for anyone interested in joining) I can post here on the blog.  So that has allowed me to pick up my pace.  I’m now up to over a 100 per year.

I don’t delude myself that I have a great following.  I know I don’t.  What is it that Jan, one of my readers, calls this, a “stuffy old blog?”  She says it in good humor though.  There isn’t a great following for the stuffy blog of one person’s reading and faith interests.  That last part is probably the greatest change over the years with my posts, my increasing faith in Christ and His Church.  I think in 2012 I was in a budding stage of my faith, and now it has blossomed.  I probably ought to revise the “About” section to reflect that.  I keep meaning to do it, but add that to my increasing list of things to do.

It’s interesting to see how the type of posts on this blog breakdown.  Because I cultivated the habit of identifying the type of post in the title, it’s easy to see how the types number.  Here are the top twelve post types as it currently stands today.

Faith Filled Friday (148)

Matthew Monday (137)

Music Tuesday (89)

Notable Quote (73)

Poetry (65)

Dante Alighieri (59)

The Divine Comedy (56)

Literature In The News (53)

Short Story (43)

Lines I Wished I'd Written (41)

Personal Story (35)

Memorial (33)

Faith Filled Friday and Matthew Monday are clearly the most frequent, followed by Music Tuesday and Notable Quote.  Dante Alighieri is the single most frequent author I have commented on, and his The Divine Comedy is the most frequently commented work.

I should highlight my Short Story Analysis post type.  Of all the most frequented posts, the various short story analyses seem to get the most traffic, if you can believe the statistics.  It does make sense though.  A well-known novel or book will have a lot of pop ups on a search, but short stories are so much less written on that I probably come to the fore in a search. 

I should point out that there is a little search engine on the very top left hand corner.  If you ever want to see if I’ve commented on a particular book or author, type it in there and a search of this blog will ensue.  I don’t know if people realize that.  Truth be told, I frequently use it myself to see if I have commented on something or someone before.  I don’t usually remember.

Well, I thank you all my readers for still following me.  If you have any suggestions to improve this blog, I’m always willing to listen.  I love the quote from Archbishop Charles Chaput I posted in the very previous post: “We rarely see the full effects of the good we do in this life.”  I hope I’ve been able to add to your reading and spiritual life in some way.  God bless.