Looking back at 1700 Posts in Under 11 Years

1700 Posts in Under 11 Years

1700 might not seem like a lot of posts but for a boy who grew up struggling in school and hardly able to read until much later than others my age because of a dual form of dyslexia it seems like a milestone.  I never aspired to write, I never expected to have a few hundred book reviews and articles published in newspapers or magazines. I sort of fell into being a writer.

Since I overcame my dyslexia and learned to read, I have always loved books and reading. And when I started getting ARC's (Advance Reader's Copies) of books and was writing what I thought about the book for the publisher or marketers I thought why not try and put them in my University paper, Imprint. And from there it just grew, reaching out to other papers and magazines, reaching out to publishers for review copies, reaching out to authors for interviews.

Now with life changes the number of articles I write has gone up and down. Since that first article in the spring of 2005, I have had 3 children, an injury and was off work nearly 3 years, donate bone marrow, and tried numerous fitness programs to hold at bay middle age spread. I have also gone from a massive collection of books, to about 50 favourites and unread books and read the rest electronically.

Some Random Stats About My Writing:

Most Posts in a Year: 282 - 2010
Fewest Posts in a full Year:  70 - 2014
Reviews and Articled on Catholicism: 296
Reviews of Books by Scholastic: 322
Fitness Reviews or Articles: 97
Author Profiles and Interviews: 65
Reviews about Computer Certifications: 55
Top Ten Lists: 49
Posts about Arthur Slade and his books: 40

Yesterday I saw two very different movies, both were good but not great. First I watched Odd Squad the Movie with my children. They TV series both season one and two are fantastic. The TV show is entertaining, funny and teaches a lot to kids about math, science and other stuff as well. The movie just seemed like it was trying a little too hard. I also went to see Suicide Squad with my father, it was entertaining, but it felt like it could have been so much more. Also there were at least 3 pieces from the trailers that must have hit the cutting room floor.

Those two moves got me thinking about my reading and my writing. Up until about 10 years ago if I started a book I always finished it. However once I started getting most of my books free to review, I no longer felt the need to finish a book. Life is too short to waste on a book that is not doing it for you. If either of these two movies had been a book I likely would not have finished them.

Sometimes we do not know the places we will end up. But now I cannot imagine myself not writing and reviewing and look forward to the next 1700 posts.

Thanks for reading and feel free to leave comments would love your feedback.