Going postal. Or: The stats, stat.

About three years ago I first compiled a list/overview of what were then the most visited posts here at SF and Nonsense. To my surprise, Postscript (or is that post post?) was itself instantly popular. It remains third on the all-time list.

And so, an annual tradition was born. 

Serious posts :-)

From a stats snapshot I captured a few days ago (thanks, Blogger!), here's the complete all-time top-ten list.

Of moons, clouds, and the state of the art(s), a general science-and-tech news post from August 2013, shot straight to the top of the list. I found these items interesting -- but no more so than news I've highlighted in many other posts. I offer no theories why this specific post is so popular.

(If any readers care to offer an opinion, that'd be keen.)

Number two, slipped from the lead position last year, is Betrayer of Worlds, the October 2010 announcement of a novel's original release. This novel being fourth in a five-part series, the persistent popularity of its post is also something of a puzzler.

Number three, as already noted, is Postscript (or is that post post?), the original posting stats.

Number four, from my 2009 post series about SFnal tropes, is Trope-ing the light fantastic (life-sign detectors). It's down one slot from last year.

Number five, There is no fate (of worlds) but what we make ourselves, was the August 2012 announcement of Fate of World's release. Fate is the fifth and final title in the Fleet of Worlds series (immediately following Betrayer.) Fate is also the fifth and final book in the Ringworld series. (Note: Ringworld books 1-4 are solo novels by Larry Niven. The five Fleet of Worlds novels are Lerner/Niven collaborations.)

And six? That's Of fleet Fleets and Known Space, the February 2011 (not counting updates) overview of the Fleet of Worlds series.

Number seven, Kilometerstone (et. al.), December 2008, marked an early accomplishment in my blogging enterprise.

Number eight, Creative Destruction, from February 2011, down from #4 last year, is about my first short-fiction collection.

Number nine, Fleet of Worlds (at last), from November 2011, announced the first book in the eponymous series. Fleet was published in 2007, before I began blogging; I didn't have a reason to blog about it until its trade paperback re-release.

At tenth position, also related to Known Space and (in part) the Fleet of Worlds series, is Humans, Pak, Puppeteers: in one word.

Older posts, of course, have had more time to accumulate views. What about visits made in the most recent month, to give old and new posts an equal shot? Here are the top five (two of which we've already discussed):

Of moons, clouds, and the state of the art(s).

Arcana and sundry -- from February 2014, another science-and-tech potpourri.

Trope-ing the light fantastic (life-sign detectors).

Sorry I was so right, from just last month, about Ukraine and Russian adventurism -- and my 2012 novel Energized (featuring, in part, Russian adventurism).

Home, sweet home

Physics with a Bang, from late last month, about breaking news in physics culminating with apparent evidence of cosmic inflation and its implications.

What can we conclude from all this? That the Fleet of Worlds series remains popular. Ditto my sometimes eclectic take on science and technology in the news. And that the ways of search engines can be inscrutable :-)