Sunday Times Books LIVE Community Sign up

Login to Sunday Times Books LIVE

Forgotten password?

Forgotten your password?

Enter your username or email address and we'll send you reset instructions

Sunday Times Books LIVE

Penguin SA

@ Sunday Times Books LIVE

Archive for the ‘E-books’ Category

The Griekwastad Murders: The Crime that Shook South Africa by Jacques Steenkamp Now Available as eBook

 
The Griekwastad MurdersThe Griekwastad Murders: The Crime that Shook South Africa is Jacques Steenkamp’s riveting report of what happened on that fateful day and what went on beyond the courtroom walls.

Written by one of South Africa’s foremost crime reporters, who spent more than a year investigating and reporting on the case, this book contains eight pages of photographs and interviews with all the roleplayers – including the investigating officers on the case, the forensic and ballistic experts, and family and friends of the deceased.

The Griekwastad Murders: The Crime that Shook South Africa is now available as ebook, while the paperback – along with the Afrikaans edition Die Griekwastad-Moorde: Die misdaad wat Suid-Afrika geruk het – will be published later this month. You can pre-order the paperback on the Random House Struik website for a discounted price of R200.

Book details

Image courtesy Random House Struik


» read article

eKhaya Presents Ms Conception: The Suburban Adventures of Jo de Villiers

Ms Conception eKhaya, Random House Struik’s digital imprint, presents Ms Conception by Pamela Power:

Meet Jo de Villiers, mother of two small children, wife of the charming and handsome Nick, and scriptwriter for a local soapie, Jozi Nights.

Her day consists of toddler tantrums, dirty nappies, leaking breasts, potty training, the nursery-school run… In between she squeezes scriptwriting meetings and her writing assignments. She also has to deal with a boss from hell, a self-centred mother, an overly genteel mother-in-law and the Blonde Bob Brigade (mothers at the school). On top of all this, Jo suspects that Nick is having an affair with his PA, Susie the Floozy.

She copes with the help of therapist and George Clooney look-alike Jake and best friend Jasmine, who comes to the rescue with the odd bottle of Bollinger. Together they plot revenge on Susie the Floozy…

Racy, witty, often hilarious – suburban life with small children has never been so entertaining.

About the author

Pamela Power was born in Pietermaritzburg, and educated in Zimbabwe, Johannesburg and Pietermaritzburg. She trained as an Aids counsellor and worked with a drama-in-Aids-education company and got involved in stand-up comedy. She has worked as a director and scriptwriter on South African television shows Top Billing, Generations and Muvhango. In addition to her writing work, Power co-owns a guesthouse in Melville, Johannesburg. She is married and has two children.

Book details


» read article

Zebra Press Launches eBook Library App for iPad

eBook2

 
Two Random House Struik imprints have just launched eBook library apps for the iPad. The apps, Earth & Nature (Struik Nature) and South Africa in Print (Zebra Press), will house a wide selection of natural history and current events eBooks at discounted prices.

Winnie MandelaTo the Point32 Battalion

 
Titles available at the initial launch include Guide to Night Skies of Southern Africa, Basic Bird ID in Southern Africa, Filmer’s Spiders, Winnie Mandela: A Life, Herschelle Gibbs’ biography To the Point and eBook bestseller 32 Battalion.

Additional titles will be added to the libraries on an ongoing basis and will immediately be available for purchase when the customer next opens the app.

The Apple iBookstore is currently not available in South Africa, but South Africans can purchase apps from iTunes. These library applications enable local and international iPad users to purchase South African eBooks. The apps can be downloaded for free from iTunes and customers can then purchase eBooks seamlessly from within the app.

The apps can be downloaded from here iTunes: Earth and Nature and South Africa in Print.

Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd is South Africa’s leading publishing house and offers readers the best of both local and international titles. It promotes books written in both English and Afrikaans through its many diverse and highly respected imprints, which include the Struik Lifestyle, Struik Nature, Struik Travel & Heritage, Zebra Press, Umuzi, eKhaya and Fernwood Press imprints.

Book details

eBook options – Download now!


eBook options – Download now!



» read article

eKhaya to Publish New Bloody Parchment Anthology: Inferna and Other Stories

eKhaya, the digital imprint of Random House Struik, is delighted to announce the publication of Bloody Parchment: Inferna and other stories.

Bloody Parchment is the literary component of the annual South African HorrorFest held in Cape Town, South Africa, each October. The Bloody Parchment short story competition was established in 2010. Edited by prolific Cape Town writer and editor Nerine Dorman, Inferna and other stories is the collection of the winning story from the 2011 edition, ‘Inferna’ by Christina Vincent, runners-up Brett Bruton and Jenny Robson, and finalists by Mico Pisanti, Lee Mather, Stacey Larner, Toby Bennett, SL Schmitz, Benjamin Knox, Austin Malone and Joan De La Haye. The authors of the collection represent a fine international mix of writers from South Africa, the United States, the United Kingdom, Botswana and Australia.

With the success of films like District 9 and Lauren Beukes‘s novel Zoo City, the burgeoning South African genre scene is coming to hungry international attention. eKhaya believes that the Bloody Parchment short story competition is the ideal hothouse to nurture new international genre voices and to encourage cross-pollination between emerging South African and overseas talent, and ultimately develop and encourage indigenous horror stories that appeal to a broad international market.

Bloody Parchment: Inferna and other stories is the sort of cutting-edge book eKhaya is looking to publish in its savvy, electronic format and we look forward to a productive association with the South African HorrorFest.

Bloody Parchment: Inferna and other stories will be released on 1 June 2012 at a recommended retail price of just R70. It will be available as a PDF and ePUB from South African online retailers Kalahari.com and Exclus1ves.co.za, and from Amazon.com internationally.


» read article

eKhaya Presents Independence by Conrad Schultz

IndependenceBetrayed by love, Rupert Richter wants more than anything to be free of intimacy. His wish is granted when he sells mineral rights on his Karoo farm, making him rich enough to retire from society. His sudden wealth, however, draws unusual attention. When he’s asked to act as bait for a syndicate who defraud people of their fortunes, Rupert refuses to be part of the plot. He closes his bank accounts, sells all his assets and cycles into the African sunset.

Except…Rupert has unexpected appointments with fate. His quest for peace is plagued by high drama and beautiful women. After a road accident, he finds himself fighting for his life and, as if injuries and abductions are not enough, his own heart refuses to follow his solitary path.

Independence is a generous mix of action, adventure and romance, an intriguing exploration of the saying, ‘No man is an island.’

About the author

Conrad Schultz is the pen name of an architect living in Clarens, South Africa. He is married with three children and is an alumnus of the Random House Struik Creative Writing Course. This course is presented by GetSmarter, an online education provider which uses an advanced and user-friendly model to reach students in many parts of the world. Visit www.getsmarter.co.za.

Book details

eBook options – Download now!


Independence is published by eKhaya, an imprint of Random House Struik


» read article

Random House Struik bied Afrikaanse e-boeke vir Kindle aan

DwarsVier briewe vir Jan EllisMense van my asemEmma en Nella'n Ander ek

Random House Struik is die eerste hoofstroomuitgewer wat Afrikaanse e-boeke vir die Kindle, Amazon se e-leestoestel, aanbied. Hierdie e-boeke, wat wêreldwyd in Amazon se Kindle-winkels gevind kan word, sluit onder meer in Dwars deur Max du Preez, Steve Hofmeyr se Vier briewe vir Jan Ellis en Mense van my asem en EKM Dido se Emma en Nella en ‘n Ander ek.

Lees die persverklaring:

Random House Struik to make Afrikaans e-books available via Amazon Kindle

Random House Struik has become the first mainstream publisher to release Afrikaans e-books on Kindle, Amazon’s revolutionary wireless reading device that lets you download books, magazines, newspapers, blogs, and personal documents to a crisp, high-resolution Pearl E Ink display that is easy to read in bright sunlight without glare. The initial selection, published by imprints Umuzi and Zebra Press, includes popular titles such as Dwars: Mymeringe van ‘n gebleikte Afrikaan by Max du Preez, Steve Hofmeyr’s Vier briewe vir Jan Ellis and Mense van my asem, as well as Emma en Nella and ‘n Ander ek by EKM Dido. These e-books can be found through worldwide Amazon Kindle Stores.

“We have seen a healthy appetite for our e-books both in South Africa and internationally and are very excited to be able to make both our English and Afrikaans authors’ titles available with major international, e-book retailers such as Amazon,” said Digital Director Mark Seabrook.
“We are delighted to launch this initial range of Afrikaans titles in e-book format and thereby provide our Afrikaans authors with an international platform,” Seabrook added.

Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd is South Africa’s leading publishing house and offers readers the best of both local and international titles.
It promotes books written in both English and Afrikaans through its many diverse and highly respected imprints, which include the Struik Lifestyle, Struik Nature, Struik Travel & Heritage, Zebra Press, Umuzi and Fernwood Press imprints.

Boekbesonderhede


» read article

Zebra Press Goes "e": Selected Titles Now Available as eBooks – Including on Your Kindle!

Zebra Press, an imprint of Random House Struik, is excited to announce its entry into digital publishing with the release of its first selection of e-books, making leading South African authors available digitally for the first time. The initial selection includes popular titles such as To the Point by Herschelle Gibbs with Steve Smith, Steeped in Blood by David Klatzow with Sylvia Walker, and Mense van my asem by Steve Hofmeyr.

eBooks from Exclus1ves:
To the PointMense van my asemSteeped in Blood

These e-books can be found through Amazon via their Kindle Store, on the recently relaunched Exclusive Books website, and through a wide selection of international e-book retailers, including BooksOnBoard (US), WH Smith (UK) and Waterstones (UK).

“We have an aggressive e-book publishing program in place and will be rolling out the majority of our frontlist and selected backlist titles in e-book format during 2011, while continuing to bring on more retail partners. The level of e-book interest in the South African market over the last six months has been very encouraging and we are looking forward to additional e-reading devices and the availability of more local titles,” said Digital Director Mark Seabrook.

eBooks for Kindle from Amazon.com
 
 

More Zebra Press eBooks for Kindle from Amazon.com:


 

“We are delighted to have launched our key frontlist titles in e-book format in time for the Christmas market, and equally delighted by our first e-book sales. We look forward to the majority of our titles being available early in 2011 and thereby introducing our wonderful South African authors to an international audience,” said Zebra Press Publisher Marlene Fryer.

According to Forrester, a well-known worldwide analyst firm, e-book sales will reach $1 billion by the end of the year and the market will triple in the next five years, reaching $3 billion in 2015. The market is mainly led by US consumers, but the international markets, including South Africa, are embracing the e-book trend very quickly.

Not quite ready for “e” – ? Buy these books in their softcover editions:

To the PointMense van my asemSteeped in Blood


» read article

Nuut: Praat verby grense deur Frits en Laurie Gaum (ook beskikbaar as 'n e-boek!)

Praat verby grenseDie e-post wat in Praat verby grense gepubliseer word, is ‘n gesprek so openhartig dat dit grense afbreek en die pad oopmaak vir begrip en aanvaarding. So ‘n gesprek – bedaard, diepgaande, vol respek, en hoogs ingelig – is die teenoorgestelde van die omstandighede wat daartoe gelei het.

Toe tweede Afrikaanse koerante in 2005 private foto’s van Gaum jr. publiseer saam met bewerings oor hom deur ‘n ander jong man, is ‘n uitkringende reeks gebeure gesneller wat spoedig sou lei tot die selfmoord van die jong man en ‘n verslingering van die kerkloopbaan van Laurie Gaum, ‘n NG-predikant net soos sy pa, Frits.

Te midde van die sensasie is vraagstukke oor homoseksualiteit, die Bybel en die kerk, oor verdraagsaamheid en maatskaplike geregtigheid op die voorgrond gedwing. En veral het dit ‘n pa, ‘n leidende figuur in die kerk, gekonfronteer met vrae wat skielik nie meer bloot teoreties was nie, maar lewenskwessies, in sy eie gesin.

Na die verloop van baie tyd en besinning skryf pa en seun nou openhartig aan mekaar oor die dood, ons land, oor liefde en hoe die Bybel verstaan moet word, oor geregtigheid en vergiffenis, en waar die kerk daarin gefaal en waar getriomfeer het.

‘n Ontroerende boek wat geen leser sonder begrop sal agterlaat nie.

  • Die boek is ook beskikbaar as ‘n e-boek:

Random House Struik het sopas hulle eerste e-Boek bekend gestel, onder die druknaam Umuzi. Praat verby grense deur Laurie Gaum en Frits Gaum is gelyktydig in druk en e-Boek formaat vrygestel. En aangesien dit oor die algemeen ‘n paar dae neem vandat ‘n boek beskikbaar is, tot die boek op die rakke in die winkels is, kan die ywerige lesers wat van e-Boeke gebruik maak, hulle hande voor die res op ‘n kopie van die boek kry. Hierdie e-Boek is tans op kalahari.net beskikbaar.

Oor die outeurs

Laurie Gaum het op Stellenbosch vir predikant geleer en ‘n MA aan die Universiteit van Kaapstad behaal. Hy was predikant in die Presiberiaanse gemeente in Guguletu en later in die St. Stephen’s NG gemeente in Kaapstad. Toe dit aan die lig kom dat hy in ‘n gay verhouding staad, het die NG kerk hom ontslaan. Na appel is sy status herstel. Tans is hy verbonde aan die Sentrum vir Christelike Sprirtualiteit en ook betrokke by Inclusive and Affirming Ministries (I AM) in Kaapstad.

Frits Gaum het in die letterkunde, joernalistiek in teologie gestudeer, was predikant en later baie jare redakteur van Kerkbode en LIG, en het ook op die sinode gedien. Hy is tans afgetree en woon in die Suid-Kaap.

Boekbesonderhede


» read article