Hello, out there: Fun with statistics -- with a bow to the photographers

1 July 2011

Photo: Marc Roumagnac

It was four months ago that this online literary salon first saw the light of day. In that time, there have been three banner photographs, all of which are displayed in this new post as a way of reminding you to check out the galleries and the photographers' own websites.

This morning I checked out who’s been visiting www.lindaleith.com, and here are the top 30 of 41 locations during the month of June.

Most of you -- 40.2% -- are in Canada, and what surprises me is that there are 27.12% US locations. Not sure why there are so many 19.63% identified only as “unresolved/unknown.”Can anyone explain that?

Am amazed to discover there are people, or at least computers, in 40 countries checking out this salon, and can even correlate these visitors with what I posted on any given day. Peak time to read salon posts is lunchtime, between 12 and 2 p.m. And the number of visitors spiked on June 13th when I announced the publishing company.

Won't provide all the stats, but here the international list, in order:

40.20% Canada

27.12% United States

19.63% Unresolved/Unknown

1.82% China

1.61% Great Britain (UK)

1.35% Australia

0.73% Germany

0.72% France

0.68% Hong Kong

0.58% Japan

0.57% Singapore

0.56% Romania

0.41% Mexico

0.39% Italy

0.33% Ukraine

0.32% Poland

0.29% Belgium

0.26% Spain

0.25% India

0.22% Switzerland

0.20% Ireland

0.19% Philippines

0.18% Netherlands

0.17% Indonesia

0.16% Hungary

0.14% Brazil

0.14% El Salvador

0.14% United Arab Emirates

0.11% Russian Federation

0.10% Pakistan

View from the Rock

Photo: Judith Lermer Crawley

P.S. Latest figures (July) are that there are people and computer from 60 countries checking out www.lindaleith.com.

Linda Leith

.ll.

The book industry needs to get its act together: Petition to boycott HarperCollins

Pitched battles between publishers and librarians are not going to help anyone survive the digital revolution.

The Immortal Dany Laferrière

Salon .ll. congratulates Dany Laferrière, the first Canadian to join the Immortals

[Photo: Linda Leith]

Where Good Books Come From, by Linda Leith. Part III: The importance of writer-publisher relations

There is a greater need than ever for the good smaller publisher. For those of us interested primarily in quality, in good books that speak to their time and place, the importance of the smaller publisher can hardly be overestimated. It is in the smaller companies that the writer-publisher relationship happens. And this, I would suggest, is where good books come from.

From Kenneth Radu: The Sculptures of John Félice Ceprano

These works fall to the force of nature every year and are rebuilt in new formations in late spring and summer when the river releases itself from winter’s grip. The rock remains, the art vanishes, only to reappear, because the artist is moved to do so, change and transformation being essential to his aesthetic. And that’s a rather exciting concept. Ceprano’s purpose is not to create a never changing artifact, but to celebrate the phenomenon of change itself.