Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything
Anne Bogel
Baker Books, 2017
Are you a personality type enthusiast? If so, do I have a book recommendation for you. Anne Bogel, creator of the popular Modern Mrs. Darcy blog and host of the podcast What Should I Read Next?, has authored a new book called Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything. In this book Anne gives an overview of some of the most popular personality typing systems and shares how the results and insights she has gleaned from those tests has shaped the way she views herself and influences her daily interactions.
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As someone who is more than mildly interested in personality and is also a fan of both Anne’s blog and podcast, this book was a must read for me. I preordered it last week so that I would be ready to go on release day (September 19th), and eagerly waited for the preorder bonus of access to the audio book to show up in my email.
Side note: I am very particular about the books that I consume by way of audio. So far I have found it best to stick to two simple rules – it must be nonfiction and it must be read by the author.
Since this book adheres to both those rules I listened to it and I’m glad I did. It clocks in at around 4.5 hours of listening time, which is not too long, and I was able to listen to the whole thing in less than 24 hours. I do plan to go back and revisit a few chapters in print form so that I can read and reread a few parts that I need more time to digest. The other benefit to pairing the audio with a print or ebook is that the actual book contains diagrams that are helpful and which, needless to say, can’t be included in the audio version.
There were several personality systems that I was mildly familiar with, a few that I’d never even heard of, and my favorite – the enneagram. The typing system that I am most interested to learn more about is Myers-Briggs. I’ve taken online tests to try to determine my type, but it’s confusing to me. I think my type is INFJ, but I’m not altogether certain that I’m not falling into the common personality trap that Anne will fill you in on in the first chapter.
Reading People is great as an introduction to and side by side comparison of the main personality frameworks that most of us are familiar with. It does not contain an exhaustive study of any of these systems, but there are enough brief descriptions of the different personality types to give you an idea of what you might be and where to go from there. Additionally, Anne thoughtfully includes reading suggestions for those who want to broaden their knowledge on whichever systems intrigue them. If you have ever been interested in learning more about yourself and how you are hard-wired to operate, I highly recommend giving this book a read.
wow I have never done one of these personality tests… so interesting! I used to listen to so many books when I commuted. I loved non fiction, but I listened to some good ficiton as well!
I used to scoff at personality stuff, but since I’ve learned more about it I’ve found it extremely helpful in learning more about the way I think and work best. It’s also helped me see things from my husbands point of view better, which is obviously helpful in marriage 🙂 I really want to listen to more audio, I’m just so picky!
I am a big fan of personality types. I find them to be pretty accurate most of the time, especially when they are backed up by a lot of research.
Me too, and these are well established frameworks. No buzzfeed style quizzes 🙂
I’m an INFJ. 🙂 I am a counselor and took the MBTI a few months ago. It was a nice relief because all the online tests told me I was an INFJ too but I know some of those online ones aren’t very accurate. I love personality tests! I bet I’d love this book.
I bet you would! MBTI confuses me, or at least the online tests do. I would like to take an official test one day to confirm my type!
I’m a tried and true INFJ. I take the test about once a year, change up answers I’m iffy on and always get INFJ. It’s scary how accurate the type descriptions are!
I’m pretty sure I’m INFJ but it’s hard to be sure with some of the tests. I would love to take a real approved test one day.
This is really interesting! I have always wanted to see what my personality type is, and I love watching people and trying to figure out what personality that are.
This might be a good intro for you then! It really is fascinating.
I’ve seen this book around! I should definitely check it out. I’d lovelovelove to learn more about personality types!
This is a great place to start if you aren’t very familiar with the different types. You can read through and decide which ones you want to learn more about!
I’m such a nerd about this kind of stuff lol I think I’m gonna have to check this book out!
I hope you do, I loved it!
Sounds like a great book! I always switch from E to I whenever I take the Meyers -Briggs test, but the rest of the letters stay the same.
I get that. I used to think I was an INTJ but upon further evaluation I’m pretty sure I’m actually INFJ.
A friend of mine read this and LOVED it! It sounds like a great book to read and I love Modern Mrs. Darcy. I think I’m going to check it out soon!
Let me know how you like it!