Thursday, May 30, 2013

Armchair BEA Day 3: Giveaways and Literature

GIVEAWAYS:

I dont think I will have a lot to contribute to the giveaways today. I have never done a giveaway nor have I ever truly  participated in a giveaway aside from occasionally entering my email in one. So on this one I am just going to ask: How do you organize your giveaways? Do you pay for the items you giveaway out of pocket, or from your blog proceeds, or giveaway the freebies that you get or already own?
 
Do you think giveaways have helped your blog substantially, and how? How much work would you say you put into your giveaways and is it worth it? Leave the link to your giveaway in a comment and I'll stop by!
 
Again, I've never done one and am pretty much in the dark on this topic so I would love your input!
 
 
LITERATURE:
 
What is "literature"? Before I became a serious reader, I thought that literature simply meant books. It may or may not sometimes just mean books in casual conversation; however, it is obvious this topic is a little more specific. The definition is as follows:
 
lit·er·a·ture
/ˈlit(ə)rəCHər/
NOUN
Written works, esp. those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit
 
Futher inspection has revealed that it means that the plot, characters, every tiny detail has a meaning. The example that was given is that in Twilight, Bella is almost hit by a car to show Edward's strength. Thus, Twilight is not literature. There is no hidden meaning, no symbolism. This makes sense to me. I think I mentioned yesterday that modern writing is much less complex and I suppose many of the young adult novels I read dont fall into the category of literature, haha.
 
I then sat down to think about what major books that are considered "literature" have I read? Well let me tell you: NOT MANY!
 
I don't think I know very much about modern literature. Anyone care to enlighten me?
 
I read a post on another blog recently (forgive me, I cant remember who it was but if I figure it out I promise I will link her!) about being the reader/blogger you are and aspiring to be reader/blogger you want to be. I find myself struggling through so many books that are "before my time" that I just dont get unless I do some research on them because I want to be a more wordly, literature-minded, "well-read" reader/blogger. What am I really? Just a 20-something girl who likes to read fiction, sometimes things that leave me mind-blown because of their depth, but most times things that leave me mind-blown because of the excitement.
 
From looking at other blogger's posts today, I can easily see now that my favorite series on earth is what would be considered literature in today's day and age. HARRY POTTER! Another love of mine is The Hunger Games. I think we can all agree that these books will be ones that transcend time!
 
I guess I still have a lot of misconceptions about literary fiction that aren't classics. Apparently I've read more literature than I thought, haha!
 
How about you guys? How do you think of "literature"? Do you read a lot of books that fall into this category, and do you have any of the same issues that I do when you do? Any recommendations on literature that you loved once you gave it a chance?
 
Looking forward to hearing from all of you and getting to know you! :)
 
A.



6 comments:

  1. Great post! The Hosseni book your reading, along with his The Kite Runner would definitely be considered literary fiction.
    Kerri @ Turn the Page Reviews
    http://turnthepagereviews.com

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  2. if you organize the giveaway yourself, yes you will pay to mail your book to the winner. you can offer a brand new book or an ARC, just be sure you specify.
    but if you review a book for a virtual book tour, you can be offered to organize a giveaway. in that case, you communicate the name of the winner to the publisher, and they themselves mail the book 6to your winner, no cost at all for you, only the good benefits of receiving lots of visitors: yes, people love free stuff, so for sure giveaways attract more readers to your blog. advertize it on twitter with the #giveaway hashtag, on facebook, on Pinterest, and you should see your readership jump on those days

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  3. I agree, Harry Potter is one of the top choices...it's on my list! I have been wondering the same about giveaways, I'm not there just yet with my blog, but I hope to be soon.
    http://wordsfromabookaholic.blogspot.com/

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  4. Usually, if I'm offering a paperback copy of a book, I make arrangements to send it via third party (ie Amazon, The Book Depository, etc) that way you pay for shipping only once. If you already have the book then media mail is your friend with it being $3 to ship. One thing I recommend is, if a publisher or author offers a book or swag for a giveaway, just collect the name / address of the winner and pass it to them that way no one is paying for shipping twice.

    As for the benefit of a giveaway-you do pick up some followers and you may never hear from them again until you have another giveaway. Sometimes though you pick up one or two loyal followers.

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  5. Generally I only do giveaways if the publisher offers. I haven't used Rafflecopter yet. I'm old school about it and just write the names on a piece of paper and then have my boyfriend pull one out of a hat. It works for me, even though it is a bit time consuming if there are a lot of entries.

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  6. Harry Potter and The Hunger Games is a great example of Literary fiction :)

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I love hearing from readers and fellow bloggers! Make sure you leave a link to your blog and let me know if you're following, and I'll pay you a visit and follow back! :)

A.