From O. Henry in 1906, the collection The Four Million:
The Four Million is the second published collection of short stories by O. Henry originally released in 1906. There are twenty five stories of various lengths including several of his best known works such as “The Gift of the Magi” and “The Cop and the Anthem”. The book’s title refers to the then population of New York City where many of the stories are set.
(The 2014 census estimate for NYC was 8.49 million — more than doubled in nearly 110 years.)
Meanwhile, the number of spam comments afflicting this site passed 4 million yesterday.
The spammers tilt heavily towards offering wrinkle remedies and selling clocks and clock parts; well, their software does. Plus those posting from sites in Germany. (I often wonder whether I have any actual readers in Germany.) What an odd world.
Meanwhile, my readership has been declining steadily for several weeks, towards new lows. I’m hoping this just reflects vacation time in North America and Europe, and not growing disenchantment with my postings. (I post on a considerable range of topics, for some of which there are people who deeply dislike the postings and others who want me to post more.)
August 18, 2015 at 6:21 am |
From John Lawler on Facebook:
I’ve inherited my father’s one-volume complete short stories, which I read, several times, as a child and just loved, both for their depictions of a vanished America and for their acid stories about a thinly disguised United Fruit Company in Central America.
August 18, 2015 at 6:36 am |
Does your reader count include RSS consumers? I usually read your posts, but rarely visit your site.
August 18, 2015 at 7:04 am |
I’m not sure. WordPress sends me stats, but I’m not sure how they’re assembled.