Hyacinth and the Secrets Beneath


Book Description

The hilarious first book in a middle-grade fantasy trilogy about the magical rivers that run through the sewers of London and shape history in ways you'd never learn in school. Magic is real. History is a big, fat lie. Hyacinth Hayward’s mother has just been kidnapped by lumpy gray monsters in post office uniforms. But why? Well, before Hyacinth moved from Illinois to London, she read up on the city’s history. Too bad for her. Because the books are wrong. The truth is, London was built on magical rivers, and all the major events in its past have been about people trying to control the magic. And her family is somehow tied to it. In the chase to get her mom back, Hyacinth encounters a giant intelligent pig in a bathing suit, a boy with amnesia, an adorable tosher (whatever that is), a sarcastic old lady, and a very sketchy unicorn. Somehow Hyacinth has to figure out who to trust, so she can save her mom and, oh yeah, not cause a second Great Fire of London.




Keeping Up Appearances


Book Description

Hyacinth Bucket - pronounced Bouquet - star of the BBC1 comedy series, Keeping Up Appearances, imparts her personal views on protecting one's social standing. There are sections on etiquette in the home, entertaining, social obligations, how to strike up an acquaintance with members of the aristocracy, and improving the mind. They all give an insight into Hyacinth's philosophy of life, developed through years of candle-light suppers and charity sub-committee meetings.




Hyacinth and the Stone Thief


Book Description

The hilarious second book in a middle-grade fantasy trilogy about the magical rivers that run through the sewers of London and shape history in ways you'd never learn in school. Magic is real. History is about to be squashed. Now that Hyacinth Hayward knows about the enchanted rivers under London, she's determined to find out more. Unfortunately, London isn't cooperating. Instead, Hyacinth stumbles on a new adversary--a girl who is trying to steal all the ancient stones that keep the city in balance. A girl with glowing, magical fingers, whose entire body is tattooed with spells. A girl called Minnie Tickle. (What? Were you expecting something more . . . fearsome?) To stop her, Hyacinth will need help from stone itself--specifically, a giant talking lion statue and his talking statue friends. Can this enthusiastic but scattered company defeat Minnie before London sinks like a stone?




Princess Hyacinth


Book Description

Princess Hyacinth is bored and unhappy sitting in her palace every day because, unless she is weighed down by specially-made clothes, she will float away, but her days are made brighter when kite-flying Boy stops to say hello.




The Heart of Hyacinth


Book Description

The Heart of Hyacinth, originally published in 1903, tells the coming-of-age story of Hyacinth Lorrimer, a child of white parents who was raised from infancy in Japan by a Japanese foster mother and assumed to be Eurasian. A crisis occurs when, 18 years after her birth, her American father returns to Japan to reclaim her just as Hyacinth has become engaged to a Japanese aristocrat, and she forcefully asserts her Japanese ties only to find that her prospective father-in-law will not tolerate a white wife for his son. Onoto Watanna creates in her protagonist a young white woman who not only claims a Japanese identity but shifts between her Japaneseness and her whiteness as expediency dictates. In this novel Watanna is on the cutting edge of what we now call race theory, using that theory—of racial constructions and fluidity—in the service of an avant-garde feminism.




Girl in Hyacinth Blue


Book Description

This luminous story of an alleged 36th Vermeer painting begins in the present day and traces the ownership back to World War II, Amsterdam, and to the work's inspiration.




In Defense of Plants


Book Description

The Study of Plants in a Whole New Light “Matt Candeias succeeds in evoking the wonder of plants with wit and wisdom.” ―James T. Costa, PhD, executive director, Highlands Biological Station and author of Darwin's Backyard #1 New Release in Nature & Ecology, Plants, Botany, Horticulture, Trees, Biological Sciences, and Nature Writing & Essays In his debut book, internationally-recognized blogger and podcaster Matt Candeias celebrates the nature of plants and the extraordinary world of plant organisms. A botanist’s defense. Since his early days of plant restoration, this amateur plant scientist has been enchanted with flora and the greater environmental ecology of the planet. Now, he looks at the study of plants through the lens of his ever-growing houseplant collection. Using gardening, houseplants, and examples of plants around you, In Defense of Plants changes your relationship with the world from the comfort of your windowsill. The ruthless, horny, and wonderful nature of plants. Understand how plants evolve and live on Earth with a never-before-seen look into their daily drama. Inside, Candeias explores the incredible ways plants live, fight, have sex, and conquer new territory. Whether a blossoming botanist or a professional plant scientist, In Defense of Plants is for anyone who sees plants as more than just static backdrops to more charismatic life forms. In this easily accessible introduction to the incredible world of plants, you’ll find: • Fantastic botanical histories and plant symbolism • Passionate stories of flora diversity and scientific names of plant organisms • Personal tales of plantsman discovery through the study of plants If you enjoyed books like The Botany of Desire, What a Plant Knows, or The Soul of an Octopus, then you’ll love In Defense of Plants.




Keanu Reeves’ Excellent Adventure - An Unauthorized Biography


Book Description

Talented actor. Charismatic celebrity. Woman magnet. Author. A free thinker and an independent soul. That’s the shorthand when it comes to the worldwide perception of Keanu Reeves. But there’s more to the real Keanu than pop culture talking points and, in Keanu Reeves’ Excellent Adventure: An Unauthorized Biography by New York Times bestselling author Marc Shapiro, the star of Speed, John Wick, Point Break and countless big and small films proves to be a lot more contrary and anti-establishment than most Hollywood cookie cutter celebrities. Equal parts biography and character study, Keanu Reeves’ Excellent Adventure: An Unauthorized Biography is an ink blot/rat in a maze journey as the actor deals with his life and times in straightforward, often philosophical and spiritual manner. He can be shy, self -effacing, an introvert and somebody who has been a pain in the side of the Hollywood establishment. He’s also found time to be an all around good guy as he deals with life’s ups and downs. But at the end of the day, Keanu Reeves is nothing less than human. He’s dealt with the deaths of those he’s loved the most. He makes no bones about the fact that he comes from a dysfunctional upbringing. He’s walked away from big-budget studio films in favor of doing Hamlet for peanuts. And, early on, he didn’t think twice about starring in the overtly gay-themed way out of the mainstream theater production Wolfboy. He’s readily admits to having done drugs and has had his run ins with the law. And along the way his risen to that rarified air of international star.




A History of the Water Hyacinth in Africa


Book Description

Humans and animals are not the only creatures that migrate. Plants also do. This book is a comprehensive and analytical account of the migration of an Old World plant, water hyacinth (also known to botanists as Eichhornia Crassipes) from the Amazon Basin and surrounding areas to Africa through human agency from about 1800 to the present. As an integrative work, which benefits from methodologies and conceptual approaches drawn from limnology, botany, biology, geography, history, ecology and other social sciences and humanities, the book further explores the political, economic, and ecological consequences of the spread of water hyacinth from its native habitat through European botanical gardens to Africa rivers, lakes, dams, and wetlands. In part, as a narrative of Western tinkering with African ecologies gone awry, the study has strong lessons for environmental historians, and social scientists as well as contemporary foundations, aid workers, development experts and African governments. Although it may appear to be a micro-history of a single plant, water hyacinth, it illuminates broader issues in the history of the modern environment in Africa and similar studies worldwide. This study is primarily rooted on the histories of colonialism, bioinvasion, environmental realities and experiences in Africa. The highly visible pathways of hyacinth’s spread across international frontiers along watercourses and communication networks means that not only is this a trans-boundary environmental affair, but one which directly involves bilateral relations between African states.




Plants of the Bible


Book Description

Whether you're a veteran gardner looking for new horizons or a beginner itching for inspiriation, planning and growing a garden of bliblical plants is a wonderfully rewarding experience.