Time to get the kids outside

Do you find your kids hang about inside even when the weather is fabulous?

Let’s get them inspired to play outdoors:

• get into some outdoor games
• learn a sport
• dig in their own garden
• try some outdoor crafts
• read a good story under a tree with a picnic.

Kid’s say they’re bored of their books? Try searching a reading list for other authors that write stories like their favourites and they can join the Summertime Reading Club where they may win a prize!

Teens can check out The Pulse for what’s new and happening. Garden City SummerTimes is here and the World Buskers Festival is just around the corner so there’s no excuse for not getting out this summer!

 

NaNoWriMoUhOh!

Just when things were settling down in my life, I’ve gone ahead and done something crazy. I’ve signed up to NaNoWriMo!

On Thursday this week I am about to embark on a creative writing marathon and I’m panicking. 50,000 words in a month. That averages out at 1666.66 words a day. Eeek. Am I ready for such a commitment? Do I have the concentration? Will the muse even bother to talk to me? Have I stockpiled enough pencils and Arabica espresso beans to keep me going?

I’ve joined the National Novel Writing Month Christchurch Group and they’re a friendly, supportive bunch. There was a kick-off party over the weekend and we were encouraged to wear a crazy hat so you see can see that although writing is an introvert’s sport there is still a chance to get together and have some fun. The group will meet at Central Library Tuam and Upper Riccarton Libraries during the event so people can touch base and support each other. I think we’re going to need it!

Vanessa, who’s in charge of organising the group tells me that even NaNoWriMo veterans like  herself (this is her fourth year) have pre-event insecurities so I’m not alone. It’s going to be tough but if I manage 50,000 words I’m going to feel pretty darn pleased with myself. There is no editing or revision involved. There is no marking, assessment or prize giving. This is an exercise is ‘an experiment in pure output’. Bring it on!

I’ll be blogging about my experiences over the next four weeks. If you’re keen to join in, there is still time to sign up. For more information on National Novel Writing Month visit www.nanowrimo.org or to contact a Christchurch Municipal Liaison email Vanessa vanessachchnano@gmail.com

 

Psst … wanna win some Writers Festival tickets?

Thanks to the fab The Press Christchurch Writers Festival crew we have  two double passes to give away to the following sessions:

An hour with Chris Cleave Friday 31 August 11am – 12pm. Chris will be chatting with  Tim Wilson, formerly TVNZ’s US correspondent:

Publishers Weekly has described his third novel, Gold, published in 2012 and set in the world of Olympic speed cycling, as ‘thrillingly written and emotionally rewarding’.

An Hour with John Boyne  Friday 31 Aug 2012 2pm – 3pm. John talks with Lynn Freeman, the presenter of Radio New Zealand National’s The Arts on Sunday.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, published in 2006, was embraced by all ages. It was shortlisted for or won a host of international awards, topped the New York Times Bestseller List, has sold more than 5 million copies worldwide and has been made into an award-winning film.

An Hour with Kate Grenville Sunday 2 September 11am – 12pm

Kate Grenville is one of Australia’s finest writers. Her bestselling novel The Secret River has been published in more than twenty countries. It has received numerous awards, including the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Miles Franklin Literary Award.

The Stuff of Life. Sunday 2 September 2pm – 3pm. Joanne Harris, Nicky Pellegrino, Felicity Price – chaired by Graham Beattie:

These three authors have all written books that speak of the magic and joy that can be hidden in the difficult, mundane stuff of everyday life. They talk about their own work, and about the books that they love – the authors who have enhanced their lives and given them inspiration, delight and solace.

Fatal Attraction?  Saturday 1 September 12:30pm – 1:30pm. Julian Novitz, Michael Robotham, Ben Sanders and Paul Cleave.

Session chaired by crime fiction enthusiast and blogger Craig Sisterson is the deputy editor of NZ Lawyer and the organiser of the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel.

Acclaimed crime writers Michael Robotham, Paul Cleave and Ben Sanders, and Julian Novitz, whose new novel revolves around a murder and a mystery, talk about the attraction of evil and the perils of genre fiction.

How to win

Email us at competition@christchurchcitylibraries.com with your name, email address and phone number – and which session you’d like tickets for. (Sorry, Christchurch City Libraries staff aren’t eligible to enter). Good luck Christchurch booklovers!

 

Win double passes to the movie Hope Springs

We’ve got a great movie ticket competition courtesy of Roadshow Film Distribut0rs – 10 double passes to the movie Hope Springs (Rated:M – Contains sexual references). The movie is released in New Zealand on August 23, 2012.

Starring Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones and Steve Carell, it tells the story of Kay and Arnold. Decades of marriage have left Kay wanting to spice things up and reconnect with her husband. When she hears of a renowned couple’s specialist in the small town of Great Hope Springs, she attempts to persuade her sceptical husband, a steadfast man of routine, to get on a plane for a week of marriage therapy. Just convincing the stubborn Arnold to go on the retreat is hard enough – the real challenge for both of them comes as they shed their bedroom hang-ups and try to re-ignite the spark that caused them to fall for each other in the first place.

If you are a Meryl Streep fan we have a good collection of DVDs that show the amazing range of her acting. Tommy Lee Jones and Steve Carell also make it into our DVD collection.

So how can you win? Just email and tell us your favourite Meryl Streep movie  -  email us at competition@christchurchcitylibraries.com including your name, phone number, library card number and address. We’ll get in touch with the winners and hook you up with the tickets.

• The competition is open to Christchurch City Libraries members.
• Staff of Christchurch City Libraries and their immediate families are not able to enter.
• Competition closes on Monday 20 August. Winners announced on 21 August.

 

Win tickets for My Week With Marilyn

We’ve got another hot movie ticket competition courtesy of Roadshow Film Distribut0rs – 5 double passes to the movie My Week With Marilyn. The movie is released in New Zealand on March 8, 2012.
Early in the summer of 1956, American film star Marilyn Monroe  set foot on British soil for the first time.  On honeymoon with her husband, the celebrated playwright Arthur Miller, Monroe came to England to shoot The Prince and the Showgirl – the film that famously united her with Sir Laurence Olivier, the British theatre and film legend who directed and co-starred in the film.
That same summer, 23-year-old Colin Clark set foot on a film set for the first time in his life.  Newly graduated from Oxford, Clark aspired to be a filmmaker and found a job as a lowly production hand on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl.  Forty years later, he recounted his experiences of the six-month shoot in a memoir entitled, ‘The Prince, the Showgirl and Me.’ But one week in Clark’s account was missing.

You can read that account as  My Week with Marilyn from our library catalogue. To find more recommendations  check out our Read the book then see the film.

So how can you win? Just email and tell us who is your favourite Marilyn Monroe image or movie is -  email us at libwebteam@ccc.govt.nz including your name, phone number, library card number and address. We’ll get in touch with the winners and hook you up with the tickets.

• The competition is open to Christchurch City Libraries members.
• Staff of Christchurch City Libraries and their immediate families are not able to enter.
• Competition closes on Tuesday 6 March. Winners announced on 7 March.

 

Super competition – 5 double passes to Extremely Close & Incredibly Loud

Don’t forget to enter into the draw for tickets to the movie Extremely Close & Incredibly Loud: find out more here.

Competition finishes on 23 February, 2011.

 

Win tickets for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (Rating:PG – Contains Coarse Language) is coming to cinemas on February 23, and Warner Bros. Pictures and Christchurch City Libraries are giving you the chance to WIN 1 of 5 double passes to see this film.

Based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Jonathan Safran Foer, the film tells the story of one young boy’s journey from heartbreaking loss to self-discovery, set against the backdrop of the tragic events of September 11.

Eleven-year-old Oskar Schell is an exceptional child: amateur inventor, Francophile, pacifist.  And after finding a mysterious key that belonged to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on 9/11, he embarks on an urgent, secret search through the five boroughs of New York.  As Oskar roams the city, he encounters a variety of individuals, all survivors in their own way.  Ultimately, Oskar’s journey ends where it began, but with the solace of that most human experience: community.

The film stars Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock. Other big names appearing include James Gandolfini, Max Von Sydow, John Goodman and Viola Davis (who just scored the Screen Actors Guild best actress for her role as Aibileen in The Help). Thomas Horn is Oscar.

So how can you win? Just email and tell us who is your favourite child film star  -  email us at libwebteam@ccc.govt.nz including your name, phone number, library card number and address. We’ll get in touch with the winners and hook you up with the tickets.

• The competition is open to Christchurch City Libraries members.
• Staff of Christchurch City Libraries and their immediate families are not able to enter.
• Competition closes on 23 February. Winners announced on 24 February.

 

Win tickets for The Artist

Did you read Marion’s post about the Oscar Season?

We’ve got a hot giveaway to offer courtesy of Roadshow Film Distributors – 5 double passes to the movie The Artist.

Outside a movie premier, enthusiastic fan Peppy Miller literally bumps into the swashbuckling hero of the silent film, George Valentin. The star reacts graciously and Peppy plants a kiss on his cheek as they are surrounded by photographers. The headlines demand: “Who’s That Girl?” and Peppy is inspired to audition for a dancing bit-part at the studio. However as Peppy slowly rises through the industry, the introduction of talking-pictures turns Valentin’s world upside-down.
Starring Jean Dujardin – Golden Globe Winner and Uggie – Palm Dog winner

The Artist was nominated for 6 Golden Globe® Awards and is nominated for 12 Baftas® and 10 Oscars

The Artist is in Cinemas 9 February 2012
See www.theartistmovie.net for more information on the movie or watch a trailer here

So how can you win? Just email and tell us who is your favourite animal star in the movies -  email us at libwebteam@ccc.govt.nz including your name, phone number, library card number and address. We’ll get in touch with the winners and hook you up with the tickets.

• The competition is open to Christchurch City Libraries members.
• Staff of Christchurch City Libraries and their immediate families are not able to enter.
• Competition closes on 15 February. Winners announced on 16 February.

 

We have a winner …

After a random draw,  the winner of the copy of Christchurch Dreaming is OisO. We will be in contact to get your prize to you!

Her favourite image in our collection is “A horse with cart is watered at Armagh Street Bridge, Christchurch : Provincial Buildings and Supreme Court at left”:

Thanks to those of you who shared your favourites:

Roy chose these two  image “Princes Street Bridge, Woolston (now Rutherford Street), looking east” and “The old Rakaia combined road & rail bridge : at right the new road is under construction”:

 

Jan chose this image of “Cashel Street Christchurch, looking west toward the Bridge of Remembrance “:

And sweetasnzgirl chose this fab pick of a 1960s musical interlude in New Regent Street:

 

Yesterday, today and tomorrow – win a copy of Christchurch dreaming

A surprising number of books have already emerged following the earthquakes. One of the nicest is Christchurch dreaming. Read our interview with author Mary Hobbs.

The first part of the book covers the establishment of the city and is illustrated with some great photographs, many of them drawn from Christchurch City Libraries heritage collection. The rest of the book looks at the most loved places and aspects of Christchurch life, finishing up with a hopeful vision of the future city from a number of architects. Throughout are messages and thoughts from Cantabrians both famous and unknown.

The book has a wealth of fascinating images, including a coloured version of the famous Black map of 1856 which shows the natural features of Christchurch.

One of Mary’s favourites from our collection is this photo of Hurst Seager’s street decorations.

We have a copy of Christchurch dreaming from the lovely people at HarperCollins to give away to a lucky library member – it would make a great present. Just add a comment and link to your favourite image from Christchurch City Libraries.

• Browse our image collection
• View our photos by topic
• Check out our Flickr pictures

Competition terms and conditions:

• To enter this competition you must live in Canterbury.
• If you are a winner, you consent to your name, photograph, entry and/or interview being used for reasonable publicity purposes by Christchurch City Libraries.
• Staff of Christchurch City Libraries and their immediate families are not able to enter.
• The competition ends on Friday 2 December at 5pm.
• We will announce the winner on Monday 5 December 2011.
• We will notify the winners by telephone and/or email.
• The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.