Tracking Traffic

As we close out 2021, I thought it might be fun to look back at the 10 Rap Sheet posts that earned the greatest number of hits this year. The biggest attraction, it turns out, was one published way back in 2008, about then 80-year-old Catholic priest-turned-novelist Andrew M. Greeley suffering a serious but not life-threatening mishap in Chicago. (Greeley would survive for another four and a half years.) Also included are an obituary of author Carolyn Teachey Watjen (aka Caroline Todd), a couple of pieces about the most popular books of 2021 and 2020, and a nostalgic trip back to the heyday of made-for-TV flicks.

1. “Greeley Hospitalized After Accident” (November 10, 2008)
2. “Fright Time in the Forests” (June 11, 2007)
3. “On the Critical List” (December 27, 2020)
4. “A Season of Reading and Recovery” (June 8, 2021)
5. “Offenses Galore for the ’Ber Months” (September 7, 2021)
6. “Trophy Life” (December 21, 2021)
7. “A Charming, Gracious Lady Gone Too Soon” (August 29, 2021)
8. “Scream for Deadly Terror!: 11 Great (OK, Pretty Good) Mystery/Suspense TV Films of the ’70s” (July 16, 2021)
9. “Favorite Crime Fiction of 2021, Part II: Ali Karim” (Dec. 14, 2021)
10. “Readin’ and Rockin’” (March 4, 2021)

In total, according to the Blogger software, The Rap Sheet scored 490,000 page views during the last 12 months. Just for the record, this blog took almost three years to score its first half-million page views. It seems the pace of visitations has picked up some since.