Books for the price of a cup of coffee

Publishers have been vocal recently about the fact that you can now buy a book for the same price as a cup of coffee. Isn't that sad, they lament? How will it last? Well, of course we'd also like to make big profits and pay rent and eat something other than 2 Minute Noodles. But for now, we need to get more people with those eyeballs of theirs onto our books so that their minds can also be blown by how incredible (and sometimes a little scary) our authors' minds are.

To do list:
#1: blow people's minds
#2: make money when Hollywood comes a-knocking
#3: eat something other than 2 Minute Noodles

So therefore, the point, dearies, of this rant: Look at what you get for a measly R20 these days. It's not much. OR you can spend R20 on a book which will blow your mind, broaden your horizons and leave you looking down at your old school friends who clearly are not as impressive as you are.

Below shows: you can buy a Woolies smoothie, a cup of coffee (not even a double shot anymore), a song on iTunes, a cheapass app or ten diapers. OR you can do better.

This price is only available on the awesome Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-folds 

We were generous and thought we'd even look at what R40 can give you. It includes a Woolies meal, better apps, or a movie on box office movie and some homemade popcorn (no easy popping for you). OR the brain explosion thing.

This price is only available on the awesome Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/idea-war

Be good, but if you can't, you may as well enjoy.

Leani

Free: Comprehension and language worksheet and content

Attention teachers looking for some local content: You can download the free Idea War: Volume 1 Comprehension and language worksheet for Grade 9's here. The worksheet is CAPS-compliant and the story is relatable as it is set in Johannesburg. 

(The link takes you to Abi Godsell's blog, sorry for the redirect, but Wordpress can't host pdfs.)

My top books of 2013 according to Goodreads

Wordsmack is back from holiday! And this year we will be bringing you some amazing books. In the meantime though, if you're looking for recommendations, you can go to my Goodreads profile. I am now the 11th top reviewer on Goodreads in SA.

In 2013 I fell just shy of my target of 50 books with 47 books. Here are my five-star books:

And some local favourites I enjoyed this year (I'm only including one of our own):

To see the full list, click here.

Idea War: Volume 1 by Abi Godsell launching today

Jet-packs and socio-political sci-fi set in a future Johannesburg, South Africa. That and more is what awaits readers of the first instalment in the series Idea War, released today by Wordsmack Publishers.

Author and Johannesburg-cheerleader Abi Godsell uses her city of birth as the setting for her dystopian coming-of-age series. 

“It’s why I write the way I do, locating stories in very specific places. At least, this love of city, and wanting to share that love is one of the reasons,” says Godsell.

“I hope that someone reading Idea War, would take a look at the map and recognise a landmark in the text and suddenly say ‘Hey! But that’s my street! I drive that street to the veggie shop every Saturday,’” says Godsell.

About Idea War: Volume 1:

Sixteen-year-old Callie Baxter refuses to just sit tight and accept the invaders who have occupied her city. Underneath the new Government’s façade of order and fairness lies the ugly reason for its being here, and it’s up to Callie’s group of underground rebels to expose its brutal objective.

She’s worked hard to keep her fledgling group of passionate rebels alive, but as the Government’s hit squads narrow in on them, she realises she has only just begun to understand the pain of loss, and the true cost of growing up.

Idea War: Volume 1 is the first installment in a thrilling new urban series which outlines the story behind the fight for the soul of a future Johannesburg.

The city represents a shining example of recovery to the outside world, but can a small group of determined teenagers overcome the decay that has taken root at its core? 

Buy Idea War: Volume 1 here.

You can read more from Abi at these two blog posts:
Joburg as the perfect setting: 
http://violininavoid.wordpress.com/2013/11/19/writing-joburg-a-guest-post-by-abi-godsell/
Strong female characters in science fiction: 
http://feministssa.com/2013/11/04/gender-roles-story-stereotypes-and-strong-female-characters-in-speculative-fiction/

Be sure to enter our competition 

Follow Abi on Twitter @cyanseagull and read her blog here http://cyanseagulls.wordpress.com