Audiobook Samples from Solid Gold

On a lonely farm in the Karoo, three children grow up under an enormous sky. Lyndall is fierce and clever and wants a life no woman of her time is allowed. Waldo is a dreamer who carves, questions and builds, and has everything he loves taken from him. Em is gentle and steady and expects very little. Around them move the formidable Tant' Sannie and Bonaparte Blenkins, one of the great frauds in fiction. First published in 1883 under the pen name Ralph Iron, The Story of an African Farm was a sensation in London and is still called the first great South African novel. Olive Schreiner wrote about faith, freedom, love and the right of a woman to choose her own life, decades before those questions were safe to ask. It reads as boldly today as it did then. This is Solid Gold's new, complete and unabridged recording of Schreiner's original text, which is out of copyright. It is read by Melanie Walker's Digital Twin: a licensed digital voice of the South African broadcaster. A short note at the start explains the recording and the pen name. Email Solid Gold · For links to buy this book

First published in 1905, this short story tells the tale of a young couple, Jim and Della, who are very poor but want to buy each other meaningful Christmas gifts. This is another UPDATED demonstration (version 3) of a digital twin voice. This version featuers Melanie Walker. Email Solid Gold · For links to buy this book

This is a sensitive, faithful, amusing account of the unique experiences of a Free State farming family during the Anglo-Boer War. From the author’s mother being mistaken for an English lady by a British officer, to his own imprisonment as a thirteen-year-old at Green Point POW camp; from his three older brothers’ exploits on commando, to General De Wet’s address – in a voice ‘shaken with emotion’ – to his men after the war was lost; from his younger brothers’ experiences as favourites with the soldiers at a British military camp where they were detained, to the whole family’s hope and courage in the aftermath of war – this book is a true delight. Email Solid Gold · For links to buy this book

The secret of Markus Jooste and the Steinhoff crash When Markus Jooste died in 2024, he took many of Steinhoff’s secrets with him. But not all of them. The collapse of Steinhoff wiped more than R200-billion from global stock markets and exposed the largest corporate fraud in South African history. For years the full account of what happened remained locked inside a confidential forensic report and was kept from the public. Now, James-Brent Styan, author of the bestselling 2018 book on Steinhoff, returns to the scandal that shook South Africa’s business world. Drawing on the full forensic report and multiple interviews with key insiders speaking for the first time, Styan uncovers new details about Jooste’s secret lives, the way he ran his company and the silences that allowed the deception to grow. This gripping sequel reveals how unchecked ambition and blind self-interest outmanoeuvred every corporate-governance safeguard and built a house of cards in plain sight. Until it all came crashing down. Email Solid Gold · For links to buy this book

Why do some individuals and businesses thrive despite impossible odds? What allows them to persevere when others quit? How can you develop the courage and conviction that define some of most remarkable success stories? Vusi Thembekwayo and Michael Hinton challenge the conventional wisdom that life is about becoming the ‘top dog’ and argue that the greatest competitive advantage in business and in life is the willingness to think differently, embrace adversity and keep moving forward when all seems stacked against you. Drawing on stories of business disruptors, visionary entrepreneurs and purpose-driven organisations, Underdogs uncovers the mindset, habits and values that enable ordinary people to achieve extraordinary outcomes. Through fascinating case studies – including those of Nando's, Hyundai, Canva and Gift of the Givers – this book distils practical lessons on innovation, leadership and perseverance. Part inspiration, part playbook, these stories show that success is rarely the result of perfect circumstances but belongs to those who are determined to achieve more than the world expects of them. A powerful guide to unlocking the underdog within. Email Solid Gold · For links to buy this book

First published in 1905, this short story tells the tale of a young couple, Jim and Della, who are very poor but want to buy each other meaningful Christmas gifts. This is an UPDATED demonstration of an AI -generated version of Malcolm Gooding's voice. Email Solid Gold · For links to buy this book

A Game Ranger's Journey. From the kitchen of his family's Italian restaurant in Johannesburg to the front lines of Africa's most dangerous anti-poaching operations, this is the story of a man who always belonged to the wild. Raised on Sicilian family stories and the constant bustle of his father's Italian restaurant in the heart of Johannesburg, Mario Cesare grew up rooted in tradition, but his heart was elsewhere. From an early age, he was drawn to open spaces and the untamed edges of the world beyond the city. Nature was never a passing fascination; it was a calling that refused to be ignored. That calling led him deep into South Africa's most prestigious game reserves (Thornybush, Mala Mala, Olifants) where beauty and brutality exist side by side. As a game ranger on the front lines of conservation, Mario faced the grim realities behind Africa's wildlife tourism: armed poachers, mutilated animals, and the constant emotional toll of protecting what cannot protect itself. From rescuing orphaned rhino calves beside their poached mothers to tracking dangerous criminals with his trusted K9 partner, Saba, Mario's journey is one of courage, heartbreak, and unwavering commitment. This is not a romanticised tale of the bush, but a raw, honest account of what it truly means to live the life of a game ranger in South Africa. Email Solid Gold · For links to buy this book

Case Studies of a Forensic Pathologist in Africa. Forensic pathologist Ryan Blumenthal calls the mortuary his office. He will make your hair stand on end as he describes the strange death scenes, rare murder cases and a range of unnatural deaths that are part of his world. Forensic pathologist Ryan Blumenthal works in a world few people are ever exposed to . . . the mortuary. He spends his days among the dead, uncovering how they died and whether a crime was committed. To date, he has performed over 13 000 autopsies. In Trace, Ryan takes readers behind the scenes of some of the strange death scenes he has attended, such as a shallow grave beside a river where a body was found with an amputated finger. He also shares rare and unusual cases, including a man who may have died from autoerotic asphyxia and a suspected poisoning that turned out to be a shooting. His work has brought him face to face with many kinds of unnatural deaths, including those caused by lightning strikes, wild animals, muti killings, and even a solitary wasp sting. Through it all, Ryan sees himself as a voice for the voiceless, striving to bring justice to the dead and truth to their loved ones. Email Solid Gold · For links to buy this book

Drift happens. Not because leaders lack intelligence. Not because the strategy was flawed. But because execution decays quietly under the weight of competing priorities, unclear ownership, and fragmented attention. Ethiopian Airlines sustained commercial focus through five government transitions to become Africa's most profitable carrier. Dangote built pan-African cement capacity while competitors collapsed. Rwanda's tax-to-GDP ratio climbed from 9.5% to 13% of GDP within six years. They didn't try harder. They designed differently. Focus is a design choice. Most organisations have, unknowingly, designed for drift. FOCUS5 is a disciplined system built from what actually works. Not theory, but documented practice from organisations that couldn't afford to let strategy fade. Five moves that protect attention instead of fragmenting it. FRAME. OWN. CADENCE. UNBLOCK. SUSTAIN. If you've wondered why strong strategies stall after strong starts, why teams remain busy but progress slows, why accountability erodes without anyone noticing, or why execution relies on heroic effort that can't be sustained, this book, Drift Happens, written by Nkululeko Khumalo, shows where the real leverage sits. Because strategy doesn't fail all at once. It drifts. And drift is preventable. Connect with Nkululeko on LinkedIn · Book Dineo to narrate your audiobook · Email Solid Gold · For links to buy this book

A Personal Invitation To Embark On A Journey From Brokenness To Wholeness. This audiobook for the Healing of Trauma is a ‘seed of healing’ to begin or go deeper in your inner restorative journey. It offers a structured roadmap to help you move beyond the pain of trauma towards a place of wholeness and restoration. Engage in carefully crafted, reflection exercises that guides you through the layers of your trauma, gently unraveling the knots that bind you to the past. Reclaim your life, your divine purpose and your joy with ‘A Time to Heal’. Email Solid Gold · For links to buy this book