Friday, July 5, 2013

Friday Hops, 7/5/13




This hop is hosted by Billy over at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. Every week participants answer a question and then visit other blogs participating. The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers the chance to meet new bloggers, get to know one another better, and get new followers. This week's question is:

Do you like or dislike Rafflecopter and why? 

A: I have mixed feelings about Rafflecopter. I do use it whenever I am setting up for my giveaways. I find it an easy way to gain followers and to pick winners. What I dislike about it is that not everyone follows the directions so I have to go through the list to make sure the rules are followed.
Also, I usually don't like to enter blog giveaways that have Rafflecopter. Some giveaways have many tasks to fill to earn entries. This overwhelms me for some reason. I rather like to keep my giveaways simple. I'll continue to use it until I could find something better.
 


Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader and The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice.



Dance the Moon Down by R.L. Bartram


The beginning: "It was during the spring of 1910 that it became a subject of heated debate between Victoria's parents as to whether or not she should attend university and continue her education. Her father had been a staunch advocate of the idea, whilst her mother had vigorously opposed it."

Page 56: " We regret to inform you--killed in action--Lord Kitchner sends his sympathy--"


My Thoughts: Education wasn't a must for women back then. Women were expected to become dutiful housewives and mothers. When I read the first lines, I suspected that the main character wanted to further her education. I found it interesting but not surprising that it was her father who wanted her to continue with it. The mother in the other hand did not agree. Her mother's education was denied and she had been ingrained that the only role that a woman could have is that of being a mother and a wife. The mother only wants what she thinks it is right for her daughter.

I'm only on page 42 in this book so when I read the line from page 56, I am a little worried about a certain character. I hope that nothing bad happens to him.

14 comments:

  1. I do not like Raffelcopter at all.

    I won't enter a contest that has it, and I never use it for giveaways.

    I only found one other person on the hop so far that doesn't like it. :)

    Too many hoops to jump through.

    Stop by the link below for my full "rant" if you like.

    Happy Hopping!!

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My Blog Hop Answer

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  2. I don't like Rafflecopter, either...too many tasks and too difficult to complete them all easily.

    I like your excerpts...thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

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  3. Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting! I agree that some blogs make you jump through too many hoops, and yes I think it is overwhelming as well! Simple and easy is the way to go. :D

    -V

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  4. I read "Dance the Moon Down" its very good. The beginning is slow but it gets much better!

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  5. Yes! The hoops. Even retail says "no purchase necessary". I feel like I am purchasing the mother load for some of these contests.

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  6. Great answer Vonnie, you make some really good points. That for stopping by my hop and I followed you :-)

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  7. The "hoops", I think, are more on the part of the person setting it up, I think. I dislike Rafflecopter for other reasons. When I was using it, the only mandatory entry was a comment, which would have been a mandatory entry without it anyway. Additional entries for liking or following and Tweeting - those were additional entries I had available without it. I like a simple way to enter,so that's how I host .. other people, maybe not so :)

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  8. I like Rafflecopter mainly because it's easy to pick a winner when there are so many entrants. But, I can see why it could be a problem with so many tasks to complete.

    I love your 56. Sounds like a good read.

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  9. Hey, Vonnie!

    You're right that not everyone follows the instructions, and they click on entry options anyway. However, some people will always try to get a free ride, no matter what method is used to pick a giveaway winner. When I did those famous names-pulled-out-of-the-hat giveaways (I actually did two of them), I had to go through the comments to see if the person whose name I had pulled had actually followed the instructions...

    Whenever I enter a Rafflecopter giveaway, I don't do all of the options. For instance, if I'm being asked to tweet the giveaway, or follow a Twitter account, I simply don't do that option. I don't have a Twitter account, nor do I want one! I just don't have the time to be tweeting constantly.

    As for your Friday 56, I've already checked the book out on Goodreads, and added it to my TBR shelf there! It sure looks like a GREAT read! As you know, I LOVE books with strong female characters. I also ADORE a great love story!

    Thanks for dropping by and commenting on my BBH post!! Hope you have a WONDERFUL weekend!! :)

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  10. I like the sound of this book...and would like to read it!

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  11. Oh my, a sad snippet for #56 but the story intriques me because it sounds like everyone isn't on the same page in the beginning. Thanks for stopping by!

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  12. I like Rafflecopter.
    That books sounds interesting too!

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  13. I like Rafflecopter.. mind you I have only had 2 giveaways on my blog ever and they were actually contests for my goodreads groups. But it was easy to use and chose a winner. Plus since the publisher gave me the giveaway items I didn't make it a requirement to follow me so I didn't gain that many followers from the giveaways.

    Angie

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  14. :) hey vonnie ... always a good and bad side to anything!

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