New book on Steve Jobs by African writer

What can young people learn from the business strategies that Steve Jobs employed so successfully in transforming Apple Inc from a small company into one of the most profitable and innovative in the world?
That is the question that the new book by Ng'ang'a Mbugua, which is published this month by Big Books Ltd, seeks to answer.
The 100-page title distills the business, entrepreneurship and leadership lesson that young people can borrow to start their own companies, become innovators in their work places and learn strategies that can transform them from ordinary performers into achievers.
The 100-page book is based on extensive research and has ten chapters, each examining an aspect of Steve Jobs' business life that transformed him into a global figure who not only changed the computing world but also the way companies do business with each and with their clients.
The book also examines Kenyan companies and individuals who have used similar attributes to achieve outstanding successes in their respective fields, from photojournalist Mohammed Amin to retail giant Nakumatt and East African Breweries Ltd, the maker of Kenya's most popular beer brand, Tusker.
Ng'ang'a Mbugua has borrowed immensely from his journalistic experience, working with the leading business newspaper in Kenya and also from his creative writing experience.
The author won the inaugural Pan-Africa Broadcast and Heritage Award (PABHA) for his journalistic work in 2000 and the Wahome Mutahi Literary Award (2010) for his work of fiction, Terrorists of the Aberdare. He has authored seven other books and a leading publisher is later next month expected to unveil his latest fiction offering.
A copy of The Wisdom of Steve Jobs, retails at only Sh400 and will soon be available in e-book format for oversees readers.
The book is expected to be in bookstores next week but one can get his or her copy sooner by emailing editor@bigbooks.co.ke.
A sample chapter will be made available to readers of this blog before Friday.
Enjoy.
To get a free sample chapter, email the author at mbugua@bigbooks.co.ke

Have Nook, will read award-winning novella by Ng'ang'a Mbugua

Have you read an e-book lately? Well, now you have a chance to devour another!

Starting today, readers anywhere in the world can buy the award winning novella, Terrorists of the Aberdare, from Barnes & Noble for only $4.99. Yes, that is the right price.

All one has to do is click here.

The novella won the Wahome Mutahi Literary Prize in 2010 and was First Runner-up in the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature in 2011. 

Readers unfamiliar with the work might be asking, what is Terrorists of the Aberdare all about?

Well, it is a love story. No kidding.

It is also a story of heartbreak, of a man striving after an ideal that turns out to be much too high and all too costly for him. But authors are not always the best people to speak about their works.

Alphonce Shiundu of the Daily Nation newspaper read the book some time back and wrote the following review.

Dr Mike Kuria of Daystar University, Nairobi, was reading the novella at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport not so long ago and recorded his unique experience here.

The book was launched in Kenya in 2010 with the support of the Goethe Institut, Nairobi. Dan Whipple, an American living Kenya, was one of the readers who attended the launch and wrote the following report.

There are readers who will ask: "How do I get to buy and read the e-book?"

If you own a PC, Mac or iPad, all you need to do is go to the Barnes & Noble Web site and download the right app for your computer. You will also need a credit card to pay for the purchase. Once you pay for the book, it will be downloaded to the Nook app on your computer and viola! you can dig your teeth right into it.

Too bad the author can't autograph the e-book but trust some genius to come up with an app for that one of these fine days.

But we say too much.

Enjoy your reading! And feel free to share your thoughts.

Want to buy a Kenyan novel? Try Rachel's online bookshop

Rachel Muthoni is one woman to watch.
Although she told me that she studied biomedical science and technology at Egerton University, she is passionate about books.
Today, Racheal has a full time job but she is keen on selling books. What's more, she delivers them to the readers for a modest fee, so they do not have to walk to a bookshop to look for the titles they want, saving them time especially if they have busy schedules or they find themselves too far from the nearest bookshop.
Her model is unique because in Nairobi, book sellers hardly give new Kenyan authors a chance to showcase their books even when they are using the consignment (also called sell or return) model. Under this model, the author or publisher leaves copies of his or her publications with a book seller and collects money only after the books are sold. If they are not sold, say within a month or any other agreed period, then the bookseller gives back the books. This comes at no cost to the bookseller, besides stocking the books in their shelves. But Racheal is different.
Together with her husband, Enock Essendi, a computer science graduate from Egerton University, she runs Racheal's Bargain Corner, probably Kenya's only online bookshop.
Her model is very simple. She does not stock the books herself. Instead, she only buys them from publishers or other bookshops (if the publisher is not in a position to sell her the books in time). Then she delivers the books to the customers, whether they are in Kenya or abroad.
What's more, the site offers even used books for as little as Sh200 (just slightly less than $3).
So, next time you are looking for a novel, whether by a Kenyan author or by a foreign writer, you might want to check out her book shop.
For more information, visit their Web site. And while there, you can order a copy of Terrorists of the Aberdare, the novella which won the Wahome Mutahi Literary Prize in 2010 and was runner up for the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature in 2011.
Enjoy

Time for reforms after taking a break to learn

In the last one week, we did not post any new material because I had taken off some time to learn how to interact with readers better.
What this means is that in coming weeks, you will be seeing new features, pictures, a more dynamic presentation and of course, your regular news, views and reviews.
As readers, you are also welcome to share your thoughts and reviews on your favourite books, be they from Kenya or other parts of the world. At the moment, there is a great deal of excitement about E.L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey and we are looking forward to hearing what you and other readers have to say about this sensational book.
The point is more to create a forum where ideas can flourish and we welcome authors, literary critics, readers and book lovers to share their thoughts on the subject of books and publishing.
As promised earlier, the next publication by Big Books Ltd will be coming out later this month, probably in less than ten days but you will be the first to know when the book rolls off the press. All I can say for now is that the book has 100 pages and one of the chapters was expanded from an article published in the Business Daily some time last year.
Today, a journalist who kept the cutting came over to me and said: "That piece you wrote was powerful!"
And all I could say to him in reply was: "Watch this space!"
To you my friends, I say the same thing.

Computer to plate; Asia's printers are humming business

Not so long ago, I received a call from a printer based in Beirut. Yes, you heard correct, Beirut!
"Is that Mr Mbugua of Big Books Ltd?" He asked, and I answered in the affirmative. He went on to give the name of his company, which I have forgotten, and to explain that he would offer high quality printing services if I gave him the chance.
The call came as a surprise because for all the time I have heard the name Beirut mentioned, my mind always associates it with the staccato sound of automatic gunfire and shrapnel. Never, with the hum of printing presses. The only thing that made me reconsider that view was an article published in a recent edition of Newsweek, in which the writer praised the city as the place where she found her voice. Of course, a week later, a Newsweek reader promptly wrote back, arguing that  Beirut was a city where people - and especially women - disappeared and where immigrants were denied a voice. But that is besides the point.
Beirut, it appears, has been fishing around for business in the publishing industry and that has taken it to the waters of Africa.
Before the call came, I had received another offer from a company in China but I could not consider it largely because the reputation of Chinese companies is in tatters. The only good thing they appear to make is the iPad; if you don't dwell too much on the working conditions that have made some workers there commit suicide.
Of all the offshore printers, India's are the most aggressive. And they offer such bargains that I wonder why it is so expensive to print in Nairobi. Were it not for corruption at the port and the veiled extortion that is the stock in trade of clearing agents, printing in India makes more business sense than printing in Nairobi. What I have never come to terms with is that the cost of printing a book in India and delivering it to the Mombasa port is cheaper than printing in Nairobi. The big challenge, and the only reason we are not printing offshore, is because of the small challenge of getting the consignment once it gets to the port.
Once, I had this conversation with a local printer and all he could say was: "Why do you want to export jobs?" But why not?
The pricing of books is more than a value proposition. One has to also factor in the cost of production, since that is one of the guiding principles. Then of course, there are other overheads like the booksellers' discount, the author's royalty, corporate tax and profit for the publisher, all of which, together with staff and miscellaneous costs, have to be factored into the retail price of a book.
Some of India's printers' critics have opined that their books come unstuck too easily because the quality of binding is low but that is an argument that could as well be applied to printers in Kenya, for many of whom delivering quality work on deadline is alien. Often, one finds himself repeating instructions over and over even in writing, but the final work only approximates the needs of the client.
The long and short of it is that printers in Kenya will need to up their game, review their pricing and commitment to confidentiality if they are to continue winning business from local publishers who demand quality work. For, if Kenyan publishers are to compete fairly with foreign ones, they have no choice but to demand quality service from printers.