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In the goal of creating a green future, we're going to have to figure out how to tackle the emissions of our digital infrastructure. Websites are highly energy consumptive, and this book is about how we might reduce the carbon emissions. Greenwood covers a lot of ground, but the areas of action I see are these: we need to reduce the amount of energy our websites consume, and what energy the websites do consume should come from green sources. As climate scientist Leah Stokes points out, if we greenify our energy consumption oh, we've got a long way towards accomplishing our goal!

"A Closed And Common Orbit" by Becky Chambers is set in the same universe as "The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet" but follows side characters from the first book.

It took me a while to adjust to the new cast (I was still in love with the old cast!) but once I took a little break and came back to it with a fresh pallet, I really enjoyed it. I particularly liked how much the characters tried to look after each other.

I enjoyed the premise. Gaiman's themes (what happens when the supernatural interacts with our world in almost a commonplace way) and Pratchet's humor were both compelling and made me want to read more of both authors. I felt the premise and set-up were stronger than the ending. I just wanted more of the angel and demon enjoying each other's company.

I've made an effort to stop reading books that don't grab me. This book sounds ambitious and the topic is important, but I'm not feeling motivated to read it. So, thanks for your service, book, and back to the library you go!

So wonderful. I heard that this was an "optimistic" read, and it's true; the characters tackle the adversity they face by being emotionally intelligent, thoughtful, supportive, ethical. It scratched the same itch as, say, Kim Stanley Robinson. Chosen family was a constant theme. To switch mediums, it felt like a mix between Firefly, Star Trek, and She Ra.

I inhaled it! So good!

Senogo Akpem's "Cross Cultural Design" Highlighted a concept I hadn't heard of before called "power distance", which refers to the degree to which less powerful members of a society both accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. People from low-power distance societies can a open question authority and the distribution of power people from high power distance societies send it to accept the rules of leaders. In terms of design, websites for people in high PD societies tend to emphasize the authority of experts.

I've heard nothing but good about Becky Chambers.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story, which was narrated by Rob Ingles. Many years ago he performed the Lord of the Rings; it was a wonderful surprise to hear that old favorite voice retelling this story. Perhaps because of this narration I felt there were echoes of Tolkien's work. An old wizard, a rising king, a long journey.

I loved the characters, particularly Ged. The idea of a great person who is also extremely humble, a sorcerer who loves to sail — I appreciate the juxtaposition.

I could also see a bit of Le Guin's interest in the Tao Te Ching seeping into the story. When Ged and the other characters discussed leadership, they depicted Lao Tzu's ideal of a sovreign who did very little and allowed people to govern themselves. Strange to have a story of the ascendency of a King to play upon anarchistic themes.