Cover Image: Reading People

Reading People

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

This is a great book even though it wasn't what I originally expected. I thought it was about book about people who like to read. It was on a topic that is equally as great, which is different personality type tests. It goes over different types of tests like Myers-Briggs, Strengthsfinders, Enneagram, and more. It really helped me to see how people are different from me and how that is a really good thing. We are able to see that everyone experiences the world in a slightly different way and that's okay.

Was this review helpful?

I flew through READING PEOPLE and found myself often stopping to read passages aloud to my husband. I love the brief overview of so many different personality types.

Was this review helpful?

I was very excited when I had the opportunity to join the Reading People launch team a couple months ago. I have been an avid fan of the Modern Mrs. Darcy and the announcement of Anne Bogel’s new book Reading People was right up my alley.

Anne came up with the idea for her book after she became fascinated with personality types, primarily her own and her families, and why people acted a certain way or differently than herself. That’s definitely a very broad start, but Reading People is the perfect book for anyone curious about all the different personality profiles, types, tests, quizzes, etc. you might find out in the interwebs.

One appeal to this book for me, was that I have had first hand experience taking many of the tests she covers in the book, both through school but also at my work. Anne covers some of the most popular profiles you may have heard of including: Anne’s Reading Personality Quiz, Five Love Languages, Myers Briggs / 16 Personalities, Strengths Finder, Keirsey’s Temperament Sorter, and Enneagram.

Each profile/test type has it’s own chapter devoted to her research into the testing, plus her own results and along with personal experiences with friends and family going through the process. Some of the tests or profiles take more time, especially if you find you might closely relate to a couple different types just by reading the descriptions. The questions can be tricky but Anne provides a great resource with extra descriptions of each, plus suggestions on how best to approach each test and evaluate your results.

I came away from reading Anne’s book with so many highlights, other books to read, tests to take, and insights to share with my family and friends. Of course, of all the quizzes I had yet to take (like which Jane Austen character would you marry, or which Disney princess are you), I had to start with Anne’s Reading Personality Quiz. My results were spot on!

Reading People was an amazing adventure into the depths of our personalities and a great eye-opener for me on how I relate with others, react to situations, expectations I set for myself and others, and gave me great tools and information to open my mind to more possibilities that could help strengthen all my relationships. Even if you’re just a diehard fan of Facebook’s quirky quizzes, you will find Reading People to be informative and enjoyable to read

Was this review helpful?

I went into this book already a fan of Anne and her work. I loved this book because I love learning more about myself and the people I’m in relationships with. I think being able to learn how to read people helps us to better love people. I especially enjoy the part about highly sensitive people. My daughter is highly sensitive and this helped me to understand her and communicate with her.

Was this review helpful?

I first pursued this book because of how much I love Anne’s podcast “What Should I Read Next?” Having said that, I was not as intrigued by this book as I thought I would be. She explores several personality theories, but I feel like it’s an aerial shot of each, leaving me wanting more depth.

Was this review helpful?

As a counselor and personality junkie I was really intrigued by this short form guide to major personality assessments l. I was not disappointed! I’ve been a longtime fan of Anne Bogel and this book was another delight!

Was this review helpful?

The subtitle of Reading People is “how seeing the world through the lens of personality changes everything.” And it truly does!

Reading People is a book that gently explains what makes you uniquely YOU through an introduction and thorough description of seven different popular personality frameworks. Most of these I was already familiar with, but got a much more in depth understanding of them and how they contribute and make up my own personality through reading this book.

Throughout the book, Anne also shares life changing insights that can be gained from each of these personality frameworks.

I really appreciated the practical applications that were given in Reading People, covering all facets of life including marriage, friendships, productivity, parenting, and spirituality.

Understanding personality if a big, huge first step to understanding the unique and beautiful way that God created you to be YOU. It’s integral to accepting yourself and growing in your own strengths and relating to others.

I took my first personality test when I was a freshmen at Converse, the all women’s college that I attended that placed a heavy emphasis on women’s leadership. Delving into the results of that Myers-Briggs test gave me great insight into who I was an how I operated. It helped me to accept myself and understand that things that I had previously questioned and criticized about myself.

As I’ve learned about other aspects of my personality, many of which were touched on in Reading People, I’ve gained a deeper and deeper understanding and acceptance of my unique personality.

Not only does being familiar with these frameworks help me to understand my own personality, but it has helped tremendously in understanding and approaching with acceptance the personality of those around me, especially my husband.

One thing that was super interesting as I read was that my personality and Anne’s is very similar (we have the same Myers-Briggs type) and, so I could relate SO well to many of the personal examples that she gave.

And to give you an example of how understanding and accepting my own unique personality has had a profound affect on my life, I am writing this from a hotel room where I am spending the weekend alone.

This was a sweet birthday gift from my husband. Because we understand each other’s personality, we know how to build into one another. Quiet time to read, rest and reflect builds into my soul so much! After two stressful years and a year long separation with Keith serving in South Korea while I homeschooled our four children, this weekend has been a precious gift.

My husband was able to give this gift to me because he knows and understands my personality.

I was able to accept this gift from him because I have learned to understand and accept my unique personality. This is in part thanks to reading Reading People.

Here are some of the personality frameworks mentioned in Reading People and how my own personality fits within them…

Introverts/Extroverts…it would not be a surprise to many to know that I am a solid introvert!

Highly Sensitive People…yup, I am one of those, too! Understanding that and how it affects my personality has been HUGE!

The Five Love Languages…my top love language is time. (My husband’s is words of appreciation) Knowing this helps us to be intentional in the way we give and receive love and grow as a couple.

Keirsey’s Temperaments…I am an idealist, valuing harmony and hating conflict while loving to have deep, meaningful relationships with a small circle of people.

Myers-Briggs…I’m an INFP (introvert, intuition, feeling, perceiving), who is a creative dreamer whose inner imagination guides their values, beliefs, and actions.

The Clifton StrengthFinder…my top five strengths are empathy, achiever, learner, developer, and intellect. It’s so interesting to see how these strengths play out in my life.

The Enneagram…I’m clearly a Nine.

Now, are you wondering what all this means?

Do you want to know and understand your own personality and the unique way that God created you?

Do you desire to have a greater acceptance of yourself and others?

I cannot recommend Reading People highly enough for all of these desires!

Was this review helpful?

I love looking deeper into people's personalities and understanding why they do the things they do. Anne Bogel's book, "Reading People" gives a topical overview of how to better understand people and their motivations behind doing things. This book is informative, helpful, and personable. Like learning from a friend!

Was this review helpful?

A wonderful primer for many, if not all, of the major personality inventories.
My daughter took it from me as soon as I was finished - as did my husband. A book you want on your shelf for reference.

Was this review helpful?

I can't believe I finished this already. I loved every page. I learned so much. Anne did such a fabulous job of succinctly describing each personality type. I feel that my TBR list just kept tripling to be able to go deeper on each subject. I'm pretty excited about that! A personality nerd must read book

Was this review helpful?

I absolutely adore this book! Anne writes beautifully about different types of personality tools. Some were familiar, and others were new to me. I have learned so much about myself and others through reading this book! It has helped my communication with my husband and helped me find new tools to make my life calmer. If you are looking for a good book to aid in self discover or communicating with and understanding others this is the book for you! I deeply appreciate how it expanded my capacity for empathy by giving me a deeper understanding of people's inner lives.

Was this review helpful?

Great book on personality and reading! Enjoyed a refresher on some types and new info on others. Thank you.

Was this review helpful?

Reading People is the first book Anne Bogel has written, and you guys, it's so good! Anne has long been my most trusted book-recommender (her podcast is amazing and always so fun to listen to!) and one of my very favorite bloggers, so I was thrilled to see her write a book of her own, especially one that is such a marriage of my favorite things! It was a joy to be chosen to join the launch team for this one (heads up, there are affiliate links in this post, and you should know I was sent a free copy to read and review with you all!) -- I was dying to read it anyway.

If you are interested in personality types at ALL, grab this one. I'm serious. If you're curious about the ways that WHO you are affects HOW you are and WHY you are, grab this one. If you like trying to figure people out or better understand yourself, grab this one!

For as much of a personality type nerd I am, there was still SO much I learned in this book, especially about the cognitive functions and deeper levels to the MBTI! I especially loved the Enneagram talk since I'm fascinated by all things Enneagram and can't stop reading/talking about it... But there wasn't a single chapter that didn't teach me something new, help me understand myself a little better, and give me something new to think about.

This one is fun (not heavy at ALL!), delightfully written, conversational, easy to read, and still full of great, helpful information about all kinds of personality aspects.

Hope you all love this one as much as I do!

Was this review helpful?

We were the fun department: Human Resources. We all had cute accessories and big hair. (Hey, it was the 80’s.) After the whole department took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test, we gathered after work to discuss the results. Our facilitator began by dividing us into two seemingly random groups tasked with the answer to this question: “What do you do with time?” What we did not know was that she had divided us on the cusp of the final pair of the MBTI’s psychological preferences, the Judging vs. the Perceiving types. When we came back together to report, we were stunned by the difference, for while the J’s used words like “invest” and “schedule,” the P’s happily listed activities like “watch my soaps” or “do my nails.”

That ten minute exercise opened my eyes to the importance of Reading People well — of understanding what makes me and the important people in my life tick, because we are different in so many different ways. As a “J,” it would be easy for me to imagine that everyone thinks of time as a vanishing natural resource that must be rationed, apportioned, maximized, guarded, and measured. In her most helpful book, Anne Bogel reminds me that I would be incorrect.

Using personality inventories to understand her own unique take on the world changed Anne Bogel’s life, so she has shared her five favorite — not in a manner that shouts “Classroom!” or “Laboratory!” but in a tone that says, “Hey, friend, here’s something that has helped me a lot. Let me fill you in.” She shares her own story with the goal of making her readers’ experience of self-discovery go more smoothly than her own.

Defining “Personality”
When we look at people through the lens of personality, we’re looking at a person’s foundational character which includes “patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make that person unique. We’re all inclined to think, feel, and act in particular ways. Our personalities capture what we’re likely to find relaxing or exciting or pleasurable or tough.” (LOC 117) While character is malleable and arises out of core beliefs, personality is fairly fixed. Given this, the five frameworks presented in Reading People are comparable to a good map, for, as we learn the lay of the land, we can begin to live more confidently in a world that goes beyond first person.

The Five Personality Frameworks
The Five Love Languages
The BEST gift I ever received was a load of bark mulch from my four boys. They bought it, delivered it, and spread it on all my flower beds. Can you detect from this that my love language is acts of service? It turns out that not everyone would be as over-the-moon at the memory of that (perfect) gift, because “we all have a vehicle that needs a certain kind of fuel.” (LOC 979) For others, that fuel is love expressed in quality time, words of affirmation, physical touch, or by gifts given and received. The point of knowing someone’s love language is to bridge the communication gap so that we are expressing love in a way that our favorite people can actually receive.

2. Keirsey’s Temperaments

In the 1950’s, clinical psychologist David Keirsey developed an outline of four basic temperaments. Some of us still remember Tim LaHaye’s treatment of this concept from the 70’s (sanguine, melancholy, phlegmatic, and choleric). Under Keirsey’s framework, our temperament is determined and described in terms of how we use words and how we use tools. The identification of Artisans, Guardians, Idealists, and Rationals puts on glorious display the truth of C.S. Lewis’s famous quote:

“There are no ordinary people.”

We honor one another’s differences by appreciating and attempting to understand each other — without trying to shoehorn others into our favorite cookie cutter image.

3. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

Some mother/daughter teams write books together, make quilts, or start family businesses. Katharine Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers developed a personality inventory together. Based on the work of Carl Jung, and overlapping in fascinating ways with Keirsey’s temperaments, the MBTI assessment is based on eight psychological preferences that come in pairs:

Introversion (I)/Extroversion (E)
Intuition (N)/Sensing (S)
Thinking (T)/Feeling (F)
Judging (J)/Perceiving (P)

Because the focus is on personal growth, this is a favorite test for colleges and in the workplace. Online assessments are available, and may be a good place to begin, but looking in further detail at cognitive functions associated with Myers Briggs added depth to my understanding and can also be helpful in clarifying one’s type.

4. The Clifton StrengthsFinder

In 1998, a group of scientists led by Donald Clifton developed a personality framework based on human strengths. The tool is available in a book that was published in 2007 (StrenthsFinder 2.0). Assuming that we are NOT well-rounded, the StrengthsFinder is built around thirty-four “talent themes” which are broken down into four categories: executing, influencing, relationship building, and strategic thinking. Once we find our strengths, the crucially formative question is: Are we using them?

5. The Enneagram

Based on the name for a nine-sided polygon, the Enneagram has been around for centuries and focuses on motivations. I found that focusing on negative qualities of each of the nine types helped me to identify myself, so brace yourself for a personality framework that is neither warm nor fuzzy. In fact, a good indication that you’ve nailed your Enneagram type is if you feel vaguely exposed and uncomfortable about it. There are a number of online assessments, and these will get you started on the basics, but there are wings and arrows and subtypes and enough other details to keep the devoted Ennegram seeker engaged and analyzing for a long time. However, even a rudimentary understanding of our type can help us in becoming a better version of ourselves.

Making the Most of Your Investigation
One of the main strengths of Reading People is Anne’s practical application of self-knowledge. We don’t take personality assessments simply for raw data about ourselves, and there are a number of very helpful thoughts about the use of assessments that bubbled to the surface as I read Anne’s thoughts on personality:

Be honest. “Aspirational answers won’t do you any good; only true ones will.” So when taking a personality assessment, don’t waste time giving the response that you “know is right” or that you wish you were. Report on who you are today.
There is no “best type.” Remember that we are hard-wired for personality. Therefore, by God’s design there are delightful qualities to introverts who think deeply and respond to beauty as well as to extroverts who get the party going and are the last to leave. Those who feel loved when they receive gifts are no less worthy of love than those who prefer acts of service or meaningful words.
Your temperament or type is not the boss of you. Identification of one’s type is not an excuse for living cramped and small. It does not come with a free pass to say, “This is just how I am. You’ll have to put up with me.” Instead, self-knowledge is an invitation to develop what Ann calls “an arsenal of coping strategies” (Loc 560) for dealing with situations outside your comfort zone.
Understanding your personality and the tendencies of your loved ones will not eliminate conflict. However, it will grease the skids in traveling through conflict and make the inevitable friction that comes with life together more manageable and less damaging.
In these days of middle age (on the home front) and angry, opinionated words (in the news), I am drawn to the beautiful humility that comes as a fringe benefit with self-knowledge. Every day, it is my privilege to choose between a “fixed mindset” and a “growth mindset.” (LOC 2666) I can keep plowing my rut deeper and lonelier, or I can beat my plowshare back into a sword of Truth and use it as a pointer toward forgiveness and integral living.

Knowing that God has spoken words of blessing over all the types and temperaments is an invitation to declare a truce in the war against myself and to receive with open hands the gift that is me, and then to turn that gratitude outward in thanksgiving for and acceptance of all the different expressions of God’s creativity.

//

This book was provided by Baker Books in exchange for my review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Was this review helpful?

I savored this book because frankly I wanted to take all the goodness in that was found in every chapter. If you are interested in learning how personalities impact you and those in your life, you need to read this book. Simply, it’s a personality primer that gets you jump started in the right direction to go deeper.

Was this review helpful?

Anne Bogel is a genius. She writes about books in such a loving way that it inspires us voracious readers to read more, and read better. I was lucky enough to be on the launch team for this book and I knew it was going to change my life.
Since reading this book, I have been much more introspective about my reading and what I can do to get more out of my reading life. She has also inspired me to do this same thing for others.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed Reading People. Anne writes just like she speaks on her podcast; she is accessible and provides great examples to back up everything she is saying. As a personality junkie, I liked getting to dive deeper into the MBTI and learn more about the Enneagram. This is a great book for anyone wanting to learn more about how personality impacts their world and the people around them.

Was this review helpful?

"The point isn't to trap you in those boxes; it's to organize your behavior in a way that makes sense and helps you understand how the pieces work together, how to find them when you need them, and how to put them to work in pursuit of your best self."

What a fun and informative read from Anne Bogel. I have always enjoyed personality tests and systems so jumping into this for me was already exciting; however, I believe Anne has approached these systems in such a way that those who know absolutely nothing about them will come away informed and excited to dive into their own personalities. She speaks about each framework with the confidence and authority of someone who's done her research, but she never seems patronizing or preachy. If you've ever wondered, "why do I do this?" or "does anyone else act or think like this?" or even "is this normal?!?" then this book is for you. I also love how Anne was so intentional in this book to not only inform readers about these different frameworks and structures but encourage us to use this new knowledge to better ourselves. I think often times people get discouraged by personality tests because they're not "the type that they want" but she reminds us that it's never wrong to be who you are. Buuut, she also doesn't give us permission to stay the same "just because it's my personality" but urges us to do better, and be better!

I would recommend this to almost anyone, but especially those who already love reading - she uses examples of characters from classic literature to help explain some of the personality types (!!!).

P.S. I'm an INTJ, Enneagram 1, and my Strengths Finder 2.0 Top 5 are learner, input, intellection, discipline, and analytical.

Was this review helpful?

About 25 years ago, when I was working at a big web development company in San Francisco, our Creative Director planned a team summit, the centerpiece of which was a Myers-Briggs expert to help us all learn our personality types. I was young and desperately eager to please, so despite the instruction to answer honestly, quickly, and without overthinking it, I (unintentionally) answered most of the questions the way I wished I would answer them. The result? I was identified as an extrovert.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

I have much better grasp on who I am now. I’m an introvert who likes to occasionally get dressed up and try to be the center of attention. I require plenty of downtime to recover from adventures—but if I don’t have adventures once in a while, I grow very pouty and twitchy.

Getting to know ourselves is a lifelong pursuit—and finding ways to understand and really know the people around us is equally vital to developing the kind of relationships that are sustaining, joyful, rejuvenating—and allow us to avoid unnecessary conflict.

This book is a breezy read that could have huge impact on your worldview by helping you understand what your personality needs—and how to interact with other personalities.

You know how Tim Ferriss experiments on himself then shares the results in his books (The 4-Hour Work Week, The 4-Hour Chef)? That’s basically what Anne has done with personality frameworks in Reading People. She’s done the work on herself to deeply understand the various personality frameworks and generously shares her observations, and—BONUS! — Anne’s voice has zero bro-dude attitude and is infused, instead, with tons of charm and encouragement.

The book begins with personal revelations from Annie and a review of the introvert-extrovert spectrum, clearing up some misconceptions about these two biggies of personality, while acknowledging that the int-ent gap might be the biggest divide we must cross to understand each other: ‘If you’re an introvert and you’ve ever had a baffling conversation with an extroverted roommate and thought, My brain just doesn’t work like that, you’re absolutely right. Your brain doesn’t work like that.”

Subsequent chapters of the book dive into the popular personality-typing frameworks—the Five Love Languages, Keirsey’s Temperaments, Myers-Brigs, StrengthsFinder, Enneagram—outlining how each one works and what you can learn from your results. Anne does a really nice job of leading you through the jargon to clearly explain what terms mean so you can apply the concepts to everyday life.

The strength of this book is Anne’s infectious curiosity about how people work—how our cognition and physiology and personality all work together to make us us. Just as Anne doesn’t judge the books on her podcast—instead she plays match-maker, helping people find the books that best suit them—there’s no judgment in in Reading People. Anne helps you assess the results of your personality investigations with openness, thoughtfulness, and insight so you can make the best choices for you.

The last chapter is like the best pep talk ever and examines what we can do with the information we learn from personality tests—can we really change? As Anne explains, personality traits don’t change all the much over time, “but our behaviors are significantly more pliable. Understanding our personalities makes it easier to change the things within our grasp.”

And that is the beauty of Reading People: “When I understand myself, I can get out of my own way.”

Was this review helpful?

As a long time fan of Anne Bogel, I jumped at the chance to read this book. I love reading and listening to her talk about books, so this deep dive into WHY we read, and how our personalities frame our reading styles was fascinating. Reading about reading - what could be better?

Was this review helpful?