Get ya geek on: Really useful resources for NCEA Māori

Are you studying NCEA Māori this year? Ka rawe!

Learn te reo Māori

We have a bunch of great Māori language courses in our collection, which you can borrow from one of our community libraries now open.

• Reo Maori o Naianei is a beginners’ course with workbook and CD, featuring songs and exercises;
• Practice your pronunciation and master basic sentences with Q’s Course in Māori;
• Pronounce Māori with confidence is another winner;
• Pictures That Talk caters to different of learning styles, using audio, visual and interactive tools to teach te reo Māori;
• Work through levels one to four of Te Whanake using the multimedia set or by going online;
• We also have more courses, dictionaries and other resources for te reo Māori on our website.

Other helpful websites

• Educate yourself on Māori history, art and culture, and more by visiting our website;
• Read local Māori history;
• Access information on all matters Māori, from biographies to health to beliefs and legends;
• Find out what you need to know and do to achieve in NCEA from NZQA;
• Learn about New Zealand’s Māori people on Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.

So where did we find these great resources? On The Pulse, the library’s website for teens.

The Displaced Reader: Redwood Library, octagonal treasure

It was a lovely sunny morning but I was in the dark finding Redwood Library. The route to it was perfectly clear but picking up the location and the car park entrance as I rattled along the Main North Road in busy traffic was a bit stressful. I turned into the car park (and out again – it was full) and managed to find a car park along the road a bit.

Parking angst over I found myself in a small but light and airy library. With octagonal design, high roof and high windows all round, Redwood feels spacious. Set back from the street, traffic noise doesn’t intrude. There is bright artwork on the walls and suspended from the ceiling.That morning there was good music playing and comfortable chairs in corners. The place had a pleasant hum of business and I could have happily settled down with a book or magazine. It is a comfortable community place with thoughtful touches like the adult height door release button to activate the sliding zig-zag front doors – stops the littlies running out on to a busy street.

Visiting Redwood would make a good combined shopping and library trip as it is not far from Northlands Mall and Northwood shopping centre. There is a cafe across the road as well. It is easily accessible via major roads but note there is a bus lane outside from 3pm to 6pm.

Find out which libraries are open and learn more about Redwood Library.

Next stop on the library tour is Spreydon, which feels a bit like a tree house with its beautiful park outlook, so keep following the Displaced Reader on her travels.

Put on your killer heels and go west!

Or any other compass direction for that matter, just get out of Christchurch for a bit. I went to Auckland last week, where the full impact of how our earthquake  lives have changed hit home. It was the footwear that got to me in the end. High strappy sandals in bright sunny colours for the women and polished Italian shoes for the men.

Will I ever again see shoes like that pounding the streets of Christchurch? To cheer myself up I actually bought a book  and repaired to the nearest coffee shop – which had collected $181.60 for my home town. This kindness made me feel as if I came from a far away galaxy where the citizens are very old and wise  and wear ugly shoes.

As for the book – this is the first time that Annie Proulx (she of The Shipping News fame) has let me down. In her memoir Bird Cloud she manages to  both welcome her readers in and simultaneously lock us out. Apparently, even the very rich and famous (who clearly have not watched enough episodes of  Grand Designs) can also make disastrous property decisions.

In Proulx’s effort-filled building project, the house sounds dire, the landscape forbidding and the endless pondering over minute archaeological scraps left me stone cold. But it was only when I found myself having uncharitable thoughts about migratory birds that I  got out the killer heels.

Back home, I’ve been so relentlessly positive lately that I found it quite hard to stick the stiletto into this book. Now it’s done, I feel so much better. As Lionel Shriver said: It’s OK to hate a book.

So, join me and cross over to your dark side. Which books do you love to hate?