Explorers Club
Membership

Hypothetically Asked Questions

I just landed on this page, have never heard of you, am not entirely convinced but am willing to give you a shot. Where should I begin reading before I decide to become a member?

Depends on what you're interested in. Most of my work falls into the following categories: books, photography, walking, literature, Japan.

For book / book design / book philosophy, the essay "Lets Talk About Margins" is a good start. For more publishing eco-system related stuff, this Wired piece might be a better start.

If you're curious about meditation, specifically of the vipassana kind, Roden 013, 015, and 019 are all good entrances.

If you're into photography, my mega-review of the Leica Q or my classic review of the Panasonic GF1 are fun. For more of a philosophical bent on photography, try "The Future of Photography is Software".

For more random essays, here's one about me looking for Marlon Brando's room in Kyoto. Here's one about surviving airports and plane travel like the Dalai Lama. Thoughts on walking in "A Need to Walk." On living as an expat for decades in "Notes on the Other." The intersections of bi-culturality, family, identity, and art? Roden 020 is what you're looking for.

Who's handling payments?

Even though this membership page is on my (secure) site, memberships are processed and managed securely through Memberful. Credit cards (and Apple Pay) go through Stripe. Everything is secure. (This is the exact same system used by, for example, Stratechery and Kottke.org.) I don’t see or get any of your payment information. It’s all locked away in high-security digital vaults on billion-dollar company servers. Cancellation is basically two clicks, and can be done at any time from this page. You’ll get email reminders before any recurring payments fire off. I don’t want anyone paying a single cent accidentally.

I'm a student, don't have many bucks, but I want to become a member. Do you have a cheaper plan?

Yep: Micro Explorer ($3/mo) (but this doesn't come with all the perks of the other plans).

Do you have any alternative methods of payment?

You can contribute via Paypal if that's your thing. But using the Memberful interface helps keep things simple for me.

Is your content going behind a paywall?

Nah.

If you don’t have much financial breathing room, or you’re already a member of too many other things. No worries. I feel you. Just please send me a note once in a while saying thanks. (Even that alone means a lot!)

Roden, Ridgeline, On Margins, and any other essays I produce will all be as free and accessible as they’ve always been. This is an important point for me. And, against the advice of most people I’ve spoken with, I believe that your membership support isn’t contingent on super special or exclusive access.

I see projects like On Margins as evergreen and educational — a class in book thinking. I want it to be fully open to students and publishers (big and small, alike) around the world.

So the deal is: You support this work as a member, and everyone gets more of it, as accessibly as ever.

$1000 for Lifetime? Isn't that a lot, bucko?

Sort of? I figure I've been "seriously" publishing here for about ten years now, and I'd like to do so for at least another ten.