When you own a business, or do anything in life, everyone has an opinion about how you should do it and how you can do it better.

"You should hire so-and-so."

"You should build your website on such-and-such platform."

"You should get on this app."

And my favorite, and maybe most innocuous:

"You should read this book."

This advice is always my favorite because, in the back of my mind, I know I won't read the book. Don't get me wrong, I love to read. But I hate reading business books. And more than that, I hate being told what to do. I'd rather consume my business content through podcasts, articles, events, and—believe it or not—real-life conversations. That's not to say I don't think there are lessons to gain from these books. I'm just saying that reading is my leisure activity. I don't want my work to creep into that.

But, in the spirit of "you shoulds," I'm sharing some of my favorite reads that, though leisurely and highly entertaining, had something to teach me about branding.

I first heard about this book in 2018, when Sam Anderson was a guest on 99% Invisible. At the time, I was working in tourism at Visit Franklin, and I had lots of interest in how cities are organized (or in OKC's case, disorganized), branded, and why people have so much pride for their cities. The episode blew my mind (as many episodes of the show do), and I found myself recommending this book to people I worked with, even though I hadn't read it myself.

Years passed, and in 2024, my husband and I traveled to Oklahoma City for our tenth anniversary to see our beloved Grizzlies get crushed by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

When I travel, I love to visit local bookstores, and so, when in Rome, I finally picked up a copy of Boom Town. As luck would have it, the book was a signed copy—a perk of shopping locally. Upon our return to Nashville, I dove into the book and was immediately disappointed I hadn't read it sooner. When friends asked what I was reading or for book recommendations, I launched into a spiel about the book. Their response was very similar to the one they gave when I shared we traveled to OKC.

Why?

What's in Oklahoma City?

That's weird.

Uncomfortable and disappointed silence.

But Sam Anderson is a storyteller and transforms what most see as "boring" into entertaining. His writing sheds new light on a city infamous for being boring, flat, and middle (of the road, of America). Boom Town tells the story of the founding of Oklahoma and Oklahoma City but through the lens of the 2012-13 Thunder franchise. This new spin made for such an unputdownable book that (Christmas spoiler) I plan to gift to my sisters in our annual book exchange.

Let me start by, this book is full of more meaningful ideas and stories than the loose (and vastly unimportant) connection I’ve made here. Please read it.

A great member of my co-working community organizes a book club each month(ish). Though we share a workspace, we have yet to read a "business" book. Each month, we put our book selections to a vote to determine our next read. In the spring, we selected Chain-Gang All-Stars. I'd seen the book on many best-of lists but had yet to dig into the premise.

As described via Goodreads, "Welcome to Chain-Gang All-Stars - the highly popular, highly controversial profit-raising program inside America's private prison system. Harkening back to the time of gladiators, but watched by millions of live-stream subscribers, prisoners compete for the ultimate prize: their freedom."

The book, though fiction, draws parallels between historical events and laws, present-day turmoil, and a not-so-distant, fictitious future (or, perhaps a very real present that many of us choose to ignore). The author paints a picture of a society the reader can envision living in—for better or worse. But, he never explicitly says that this future is ours. Because the reader is smart enough that with the right evidence and story, they can connect the dots themself.

In the early oughts as a teenager, I spent my evenings glued to MySpace, the *ping* of MSN messenger was my constant soundtrack. This continued through high school and college when I abandoned MySpace for Facebook and eventually expanded to Instagram when I got my first iPhone (remember when the app was only available for Apple devices?).

My first job was as a social media manager (The term content creators was a glimmer in our eyes) for beauty brands. And my second, most influential-to-me job, was also based around social media, as a marketing manager at a tourism bureau. Several career pivots later, I started my business and didn't know how to do that without social media. So, I built my brand on Instagram (and in other places I owned like any good strategist, but my content marketing was focused on Instagram).

Before 2023, I constantly told myself, "I'd love to get off social media, but I can't because of work."

That was a lie.

But, after reading Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention — and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari, I realized that the idea that can't leave social media is a false narrative fed to us by the people who make these apps. Their profit (existence?) hinges on my FOMO. This FOMO was holding me back from building the business and brand I wanted—one that felt real, both in the meaningful and tethered-to-reality sense, and met my needs as a person who has a business (not a person who is a business).

If you're fighting an ongoing inner monologue of "Should I stay or should I go," and "If I go, what does it mean for my brand," I highly recommend starting with this book! Then, read more! Here are some of my favorite follow-up writings about the topic from people in my orbit:

Your brand is more than your name, logo, and social channels. Your brand is how you make people feel, how people picture your product, and what people say about you when you aren't in the room. Curtis Sittenfeld's Romantic Comedy captures this idea perfectly.

The book follows Sally Millz, a sketch writer for "The Night Owls," as she grapples with her assumptions about love and handsome pop stars. And while Sittenfeld never mentions the book's real-life inspiration (Saturday Night Live), anyone with fringe knowledge of the iconic brand can see how the narrative borrows from the concept. (Similar to the iconic 30 Rock, where Tina Fey is the creator and head writer of a late-night sketch comedy show, "The Girlie Show").

Even in SNL's "bad" (read: uncomfy, non-election-year) seasons, people tune in to stay current. It's so mainstream that no matter what you call it—that late-night sketch show, SNL, Saturday Night, Weekend Update, "The Night Owls," or "The Girlie Show"—people can envision the brand and tap into those feelings it gives them.

Life lessons can be found everywhere, not just in the popular business books that frequently top the "best of" lists. I will never (hold me to this!) tell you you should read a specific book. Instead, I encourage you to read what you enjoy.

Books are truly magical (speaking as the daughter of a librarian), and you'll discover new perspectives and insights wherever you look.

P.S. Do you have a library card? If not, you should (there I go again) get one. Library cards take you everywhere and most public libraries give you access to physical, audio, and e-books.

Reading is for everyone!