A Note of Thanks & News about Patreon for 2022

Dear friends,

One year ago this month, Bethany and I were embarking on a new adventure.

On November 18, 2021, we opened Goldberry Books. We were, of course, unsure of what the future held. We were hopeful, but we didn’t know for sure whether our local community here in Concord, NC would want what we had to offer. We felt like we had a good plan, we believed we were called to the work, and we were optimistic in our ability to operate a successful, well-curated, beautiful bookshop. But you never know.

A year later, we are still here and are even more optimistic about our future prospects. Our local customer base has grown, we’ve learned a lot about how to run this particular kind of business, and we are increasingly confident in the things that make us distinct. But our confidence derives from one other key factor: You.

Goldberry Books is growing because of the Close Reads community.

From the beginning, you have supported this dream. Many of you have come to visit, purchased books online through our Bookshop.org page, and told your friends about us. And, what’s more, 500+ of you have also supported our endeavors on Patreon.

We are grateful because your support allows us to pay our on-air contributors (Heidi and Tim and Ian Andrews, who will be joining again in 2022), our editor, Logan Green, who deserves a ton of credit for the work he does, and Graeme Pitman, who helps promote the show and makes all the sweet graphics. It also helps pay for the various expenses that go into producing multiple weekly podcasts, including those that go with hosting and distributing the shows. And it contributes to the income of the bookstore, as well, which can be pretty seasonal, of course, and is what pays our bills. All this to say: The Close Reads Patreon community is a consistent blessing as we strive to continually create the content that you’ve come to love, as we seek to share some goodness and beauty with the world.

With that in mind, we’ve been discussing ways to enhance the rewards you get when you support the show via Patreon. For the last few years, we have recorded bi-weekly bonus episodes, with the occasional live show, and we’ve mailed out a few items of sweet show swag. But we think we have more to offer. So starting this month we will be adding a couple of great benefits to our current roster.

• We will be recording quarterly LIVE episodes on select short stories for any Patrons who contribute $5/month and up.

• For those who contribute $10 and $20 each month, we will be adding a new segment called Close Rants. You know those times when one of us is ready to go off on a long tangent but we don’t because, well, we have a show to do? Now we’ll be going on those tangents and sharing them on Patreon. Don’t worry, this will be a funny segment. Nothing morose or clickbaity.

• Meanwhile, those who give $10 or more each month will be able to participate in new Patron polls that will help us choose future books and topics for discussion.

• And if you contribute at the $20 level each month we will send you a bundle of books customized for you by the Close Reads team.

Below the sign-off to this email, you can see a full summary for each tier. Several things will be staying the same (the tote stays, don’t worry), so much of it should look familiar.

We are excited about these new ways of saying thank you—especially the community experiences we think will come via more live and bonus content.

Will you join us and help secure the future of Close Reads? Our goal is to add 100 more Patrons before January 1, 2022.

We are honored to be a part of your lives—to be talking with you while you are doing chores or running errands or exercising—and we don’t take for granted the ways that you support us each week. If you are already a Patreon supporter, thank you! If you are planning to join next year, thank you! And if you can’t afford to support us financially but are tuning in each week and spreaing the word, thank you, too!

The future is not always clear, but good neighbors make the uncertainty less foggy.

Much love from David and the entire Close Reads/Goldberry team.

Here Tim, Heidi, and I are at last June’s Close Reads retreat!

Happy reading!

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Here is a summary of the tiers for 2022

The new rewards have an asterisk next to them.

The Skimmer Tier: The tier for those who need to mark their place when they actually stop reading. If you’re a member in this tier you receive; 

• The Close Reads Bookmark

• Access to occasional LIVE patron-only recordings of episodes

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The Bookworm Tier: The tier for the diehard reader who loves to make lists, keep a commonplace, and quote witty remarks from the episodes. 

• Close Reads bookmark

• Access to patron-only live recordings 

• Access to bonus bi-weekly patron-only episodes (such as our series on Anna Karenina or The Lord of the Rings)

• Access to quarterly LIVE episodes on short stories *

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The Bibliophile Tier: The tier for the book-obsessed reader who takes books everywhere. 

• Close Reads bookmark

• Access to patron-only LIVE recordings 

• Access to bonus patron-only episodes

• Access to quarterly LIVE patron-only short story episodes*

• Close Reads canvas tote bag

• Access to our new Close Rants segments*

• The option to vote in patron-only polls about future books, stories, etc. *

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The Savant Tier: The tier for the Close Reads lover who wants to make sure we’re here for the long haul! 

• Close Reads bookmark

• Access to patron-only LIVE recordings

• Access to bonus patron-only episodes

• Access to quarterly LIVE patron-only short story episodes*

• Close Reads canvas tote bag (with snaps)

• Access to our new Close Rants segments*

• The option to vote in patron-only polls about future books, stories, etc. *

• A set of two books chosen specifically for you by the Close Reads team*

Nota Bene: We will no longer be including the Goldberry Books notebook which we are no longer able to source at a reasonable price.