We caught up with some of the community’s rising stars and asked them to reflect on the books that had an impact on their lives. We’ve shared their responses below.

Bran Merritt | Sleep Nation – Vocals / Guitars / Keys – Alternative Rock Band

Surrender: 40 songs, One Story by Bono is an autobiography that I’ve recent picked up and consumed. I feel like I can always pickup an autobiography and get into it really easy. This one was the especially case because I am already a huge fan of U2 and Bono. I’ve always felt close to Bono because he is also a musician who lost his mother at a young age, similar to my story. Read more>>

Natalie McMillan | Artist, Designer, Content Creator & Podcast Host

I’m a big non fiction girl. I really try to get into fiction but for whatever reason if it doesn’t have me absolutely gripped from the first page I have a hard time finishing it. I’ve always been interested in people’s stories though, and I love a memoir. My favorite one as of recently was Dave Grohl’s book “The Storyteller.” It was a compilation of stories from throughout his life that all had a common thread of being divinely guided by his creativity and passion for music. Although we’ve led wildly different lives, I resonated with a lot of it and I find myself thinking about some of the chapters often. Read more>>

Brandi Aguilar | Actress and Voice Actress

I read the book “Unreal City” by A.R. Meyering. It’s a fiction novel, and A.R. Meyering was a close friend of mine. She unexpectedly passed away in August 2021. A.R. Meyering was her pen name. Her real name was Alex. She wrote several books and a recurring theme of all her books was death. Unreal City was a one book of hers I had not yet read at the time of her death, and it took me a year to order the book and read it because it would have just been too hard for me to right after she passed. Read more>>