Bookish Chat About: Search Term Books…

Something a little bit different for today’s post, so bear with me…

I’ve never been what you could call very ‘technologically minded’.  I set this blog up fairly easily but it’s hardly rocket science is it?

I can type a post, I can publish a post and I can check my stats.  Just recently I’ve noticed on the stats page that you are given a list of search terms that people have used in order to land on your posts.  I found it really interesting to see which books were the most searched for and which terms were used to find them.

So I thought I’d just show you the top 7 books that are the most searched for on my blog.  (random number! It was going to be the top 5 but there are 3 books that tied to take the 5th spot!).

Lets get cracking!

Tying in 5th place we have:

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (Orion)

Things In Jars by Jess Kidd (Canongate)

Help The Witch by Tom Cox (Unbound)

Help The Witch is one of the short story collections I recommend the most.  I remember reading this in one big gulp on a rainy autumn Sunday afternoon.  Tom Cox is a hugely talented writer and has a massive Twitter following which is maybe the reason his book gets searched for a lot? I did wang on about it at the time!  My review is here.

I feel like I barely even need to tell you how much I loved Things In Jars…..I think a lot of people associate this book with me because I DID NOT SHUT UP HARPING ON ABOUT IT. I know that this book will always hold a very special place in my heart along with Bridie Divine.  My review of this marvellous book is here.

Lastly (and somewhat controversially) there is The Silent Patient by.  Now this book, in the run up to it’s publication got a hell of a lot of attention.  It was (in my humble opinion) a little over-hyped.  I had read so many great reviews that I was certain I was going to be blown away and when I read it I felt a little underwhelmed.  Now with a little more distance from the book I can confirm that I still fee the same.  At the time of writing my review (which is here) I was a little apprehensive to stick my head above the parapet and say, ‘you know what guys, I just didn’t enjoy it all that much’.  But I had to be honest and honest I was.

 

In 4th Place we have: The Six Loves Of Billy Binns by Richard Lumsden published by Tinder Press.  I received this book unsolicited and when it came through I was unsure whether or not I would even read it.  It looked at first glance like a book I would normally swerve.  If you know me, you will know that I enjoy dark, gothic, slightly twisted fiction and this book with its  love hearts looked like the complete antithesis of this. However, I picked it up and gave it a whirl and was hooked.  Billy Binns as a character is a real eye opener.  He could have been written as a sweet old man but he had an acerbic edge and I loved him! My review is here.

In at number 3 we have The Bus On Thursday by Shirley Barrett published by Fleet.  I’m a little surprised that this one isn’t higher up in the list to be honest.  The most searched for term in relation to this bonkers book is ‘The Bus On Thursday ending’, purely because the ending is very ambiguous! I remember when I was reading it I had to speak to someone else who had read it and double check that we had derived the same meaning from the confusing climax!  At one point I was unsure whether I’d been sent a duff proof copy with a page or two missing.  Anyway, all in all I loved it and can completely understand why people turn to Google to find out what the blazes went on!  My review is here.

Number 2 in the chart is one of my favourite books of all time, Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller published by Figtree.  Interestingly the most searched for term with this book, as with The Bus On Thursday is ‘Bitter Orange ending‘, however with this one I’m unsure why there is any confusion? When I read it I can’t remember being unsure or confused about anything.  I feel like I need to go back and revisit it just to make sire I’m not missing anything! This is a fabulously atmospheric book and I adore Claire Fuller’s writing.  You should definitely check it out! My review is here.

So which book bags the Number 1 spot for the most searched for book on my blog (search term wise)…..

Drum roll please……….

It is…..

Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel by Ruth Hogan published by Two Roads.  There isn’t any reason I can deduce as to why this book is the most searched for…..other than it’s great!  There’s no ambiguous ending, no negativity, it’s just a thoroughly immersive read.  Ruth Hogan as most of you no doubt already know, is a master story weaver.  I have enjoyed each of her books despite me being more on the dark side than ‘up-lit’ if that is infact a real term.  My review is here if you fancy checking it out.

So there we have it!

If you have a blog, go and check out your ‘search terms’ and see what people type in to land on your posts.  It’s always an eye opener and sometimes quite cryptic…

I had ‘Iris and Rose twins Silas doll painting’…… any guesses?……. and my personal favourite ‘Review book 5 days in November’…..I will give you ten points if you can crack that one….

See you all soon.

 

Amanda – Bookish Chat xx