rainbowbrarian's Reviews (1.85k)

I just skimmed through this book but I loved the chapter on hosting repair events! I think it might be a really neat event to have at my library.

I was hooked at first sight of just the cover of the first volume. Sapphic space pirates trying to take down the patriarchy? Heck yes, I’m in. This second volume takes a step up in continuing the story of Pan and her ragtag bunch of queer found family. When we last left Pan she’d discovered a secret message from her childhood friend Tara that turned her life upside down. She’s suddenly left having to reconsider things she thought she knew. Did she really make a mistake in helping Tara escape all those years ago? Was it really even an escape?
In this second installment, we’re made to reconsider things right alongside her. Does rescuing princesses one by one really make that much of an impact? Where the first book was a raucous adventure into the cosmos with the characters, this second volume is starting to tell the story of “well we did the thing, now what?” I loved getting to see more depth to the relationship between Cass and Bee, as well as getting some looks into Bee’s backstory. I can’t wait to see where they go with Scottie’s character too. I really like getting to see some development of the Princesses as more than just political capitol.
I didn’t expect them to go into the whole geo political (can you still call it geo if it’s in space?) angle but I am really here for this deepening of the story from a fun adventure into a more fully rounded tale. I also really love the way they use color to set scenes in this series, going from striking acid green and dark blues to these warm moody purpley reds is really effective and helps with scene changes when jumping between perspectives.
I can’t wait for the next one! And thanks to NetGalley for the ARC copy!

Painting Calm is a lovely book. It's both beautiful and useful at the same time. I was captivated by the carefully rendered water color illustrations and the instructions and exercises provided made me feel like I could really paint some of these things. I actually bought a water color journal while reading this book because I was so excited to try out these projects.
At first I wasn’t sure about the book being so focused only on nature since my imagination runs to the more fantastic, but it really fit well. It didn’t feel restrictive as I thought that it might. There was even a section where Buividavice showed circle swatches that looked very much like planets and I loved that. That was the moment I bought the journal so I could try to paint.
The section on watercolor brushes was extremely helpful. I knew there were so many types of brushes but it was really great to see examples of how the different shapes of bristles made different shapes on the pages. It sounds a bit silly to say it out that way, but it was great to be encouraged to play. To just make swatches and understand how to use your tools and not be intimidated by them. I really felt empowered to run out and try watercolor painting.
I’m definitely going to recommend this book as a purchase for the library because I think it’d be a great way for folks to get their feet wet (pardon the pun ;D ) with this art medium.