Anne's intention for writing the book was to make this information more accessible to readers and to illustrate the valuable insights that can create greater understanding of ourselves and others and then can be applied to make life better for ourselves and everyone else in our lives. I believe she succeeded. She explained each framework very clearly and I was happy to finally understand the Myers-Briggs cognitive functions! I also enjoyed the personal experiences and insights she shared throughout the book.

I knew very little about personality theories before reading Anne Bogel's book, but I feel much more knowledgeable after reading her book. I particularly enjoyed the "sampler platter" of personality theories that gave you a taste of each, without inundating the reader with too much information. This is a book that is much easier to dip into rather than sitting down and reading it from cover to cover, and I can see it being an excellent reference as readers delve into their own personalities.

I've always been fascinated by personality tests and quizzes (Myers Briggs ISTJ, represent!), but this book takes it a step further by taking common personality tests and showing you how to utilize the information to better understand yourself and those around you. I really wanted to like this book, and I did -- but I didn't. Bogel's writing is very clear and easy to read, with lots of personal anecdotes to clarify her points. But the book mostly seemed like a brief collection of several personality tests, with descriptions of the types. There's no new information you couldn't get from studying each test individually, and in some cases you could get more information by researching each test individually. I'm conflicted on this one, so... 3/5 stars.

As long as I can remember I've loved discussing personality and diving into what makes people (including myself) tick. This book does an amazing job of pulling together just enough information about several different personality assessments to help you learn more about how each is intended to be used. A must read for others interesting in knowing more about themselves and the people in their lives!

“When you learn about your type—the good and the bad—this knowledge can serve as your guardrail. It’s much easier to keep from falling off the edge of the road if your eyes are wide open and the path is lit.”

Whether you’re an introvert or extrovert, an ESTJ or an IFTN, an Enneagram 1 or a 6, this book will teach you about the personality type you are.

But is it helpful to know your type? Some people say it puts you in a box you can’t escape. But according to Anne Bogel, instead of boxing you in, knowing more about yourself helps you open the lid so you can step out.

This book is an excellent primer for prying open the lids of many boxes. Anne addresses the top personality typing systems, one by one. They include:

Introverts/Extroverts
Highly Sensitive People
Five Love Languages
Keirsey’s Temperaments
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
MBTI Cognitive Functions
Clifton StrengthsFinder
The Enneagram

Anne helps you see the strengths and weaknesses of each system, where you can take quizzes on them, and what you can do with the information you discover.

We all have blind spots in our perceptions of ourselves and our perceptions of others. But erasing some of those spots by recognizing personality styles can prove helpful in our relationships.

Anne doesn’t suggest we need to change our type. There is no better or worse type anyway. And we’re all a combination of many types. But understanding our type helps us navigate our circumstances more wisely.

“The goal is, as always, to become more ourselves—our true selves—instead of getting tripped up by the stumbling blocks that tend to befall each personality type. Personal growth takes us out of unhealthy reflexive actions and enables us to be more fully ourselves, more present, more aware, and more intentional.”

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to go deeper into knowing themselves, others, and improving their relationships.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy of this book.

Anne Bogel takes the work of researching personalities and brings the reader an easy to read jumping off point to get to know themselves and those around them better. After years of her own research, she’s letting her readers know her favorite personality typing assessments, where to take the quizzes for yourself, and how knowing your personality can help you relate to the people around you.
The conversational style of the book makes it seem like a chat with a very knowledgeable friend, but don’t let that comment make you think this book is fluff. It’s not, and I know the chapter on cognitive functions is going to take me a few read-throughs.
Simply put, if you’ve ever taken the Myers Briggs assessment, found out your Enneagram number, or wondered if you were a highly sensitive person, then you’d like Anne Bogel and this book. She’ll give you some more insight into those assessments as well as a few others. I like this book enough that even though I was selected to receive a free copy from the publisher, I went ahead and bought another hard copy to reference and pass along.

I really enjoyed learning about all the personality types covered in this book. Some I knew about previously, some I learned about in this book. The author gave a very readable overview without getting too technical. I will definitely reread certain chapters that were more in-depth and really piqued my interest for further study.

f you're an avid reader, you have most likely heard of Anne Bogel, aka Modern Mrs. Darcy. I've been following her blog for years. She's someone you can look toward for a solid book recommendation, a space to discuss what you've been reading with other avid readers, and if you're lucky, personalized recommendations via a spot on her podcast, What Should I Read Next!

What always stood out to me about her writing was its authenticity. She seemed to be someone who knows very well what books she's apt to enjoy and which ones she stays away from (she's a HSP and owns it!) I've always been impressed with the level of self-awareness she seems to possess. Turns out, there's a reason why she's so in tune with her own personality. She's been studying personality as a hobby for the better part of 10 years. Of course you've seen those quizzes online: what Disney princess are you, what famous Shark are you (seriously), and the like, and while those are fun, I've often been interested in finding serious personality quizzes to help me understand myself in a real way.

I know that the quizzes that you find online are not going to be as thorough as the ones you would actually be able to complete with a trained professional, but I do think there are ones that we can take at home that are worthwhile. These assessments can be used as a guide and if you are able to answer honestly, I think you can gain some serious insight. Luckily, Anne has done the hard work for us. I would describe Reading People, her debut novel, as part memoir, part non-fiction, and part self-help.

There are eight different major personality assessments that Anne introduces: Introverts and Extroverts, Highly Sensitive People, The Five Love Languages, Keirsey's Temperaments, The Myers-Briggs Indicator, the MBTI Cognitive Functions, the Clifton StrengthsFinder, and the Ennegram. I have a pretty solid background in psychology, but I definitely still found myself learning new things. I loved all of the citations she gave and there's plenty of if you want to know more about this, turn to this resource. I think what I found different about this book was that it was not meant to be a be all end all overview of all things personality. To me, it seems this was meant to serve as an introduction to personality to anyone who might want to know themselves and the people they work with better. One item that was stressed over and over was to answer the questions in the assessments truthfully and sincerely- answer who you REALLY are, not who you think you SHOULD be. That's harder than you think- but that's a part of the growth process.

I'll admit, I had my eyebrow raised when I saw that the book may change how we live, work, and pray. I am not especially religious and tend to be intimidated by books that might have a religious tone. However, I wasn't turned off by Anne talking about the role in religion in she and her family's lives, since it felt like an authentic part of her experience. I thought the message would hold true for those that are religious and those that are not. I thought it was important to mention that because I'd hate for people to rule this book out for fear of it getting too religious. I her to write in a self reflective and open way. I also enjoyed hearing about how her experience in evaluating these personality constructs helped her. The book reminded me a bit of Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project (but less shallow). One of the ideas that stuck out to me that helped sell me on the importance of personality, is how one key piece of information can reframe everything (relevant, if dated example- finding out in the Sixth Sense what's really going on with Bruce Willis!)

II was reading it on my e-reader, and I'll definitely be getting my hands on the physical version. This isn't a book that you necessarily will need to read start to finish. Rather, you might find yourself reading in fits and starts and going to the internet to find out which personality type you might be. If you would like to order your own copy, you can pre-order now at readingpeoplebook.com. There's some cool benefits that you get for pre-ordering before September 19th, including a free audio version of the book as well as access to Anne's "What your Reading Personality?" class. (I'm an Insider.... no surprise there!)

This might be my #1 read of 2017. With so many different types of personalities, and so many different tests to determine what type you are, this book serves to guide us to the right places to figure out our personality types, and practical ways to apply it to our daily life.
I now know that I am an HSP (this explains so much!) and my personality type (ISFJ), and have added about 5 other books on personality, recommended by the author, to my reading list.

If I had one thing to say it would be, READING PEOPLE is the perfect beginner’s guide to personality frameworks. All the frameworks are broken down in a way that makes them easy for all to understand.
READING PEOPLE is somewhat personal and yet very informative. It’s nothing like a textbook but it provides readers with a vast array of additional resources for further learning and exploration.
Anne beautifully breaks down why it’s important to know certain things and how you can work with individuals who are unlike you. Most importantly, once you identify your weaknesses (what you’re not good at) you can proactively try to improve in those areas. Anne, thank you for writing this wonderful book.
Yes, after finishing I started looking into the many resources Anne provides. I took the 16 personalities test. I plan on further investing time in learning more about what my personality truly means. You will learn something about yourself or others if you read this book.

Reading People was one of the most eye-opening books I've read. Anne Bogel kindly walks you through various personality assessments using common language that is thought provoking without feeling like you're reading a textbook. The anecdotes that Bogel includes allow the reader to relate to each personality type in a positive way. I found that this style of writing helped me to better understand others' thoughts without being given the mentality that one specific type is better than another. Additionally, this book has helped me to understand my own emotions and how my actions are influenced by my personality. I'd highly recommend Reading People - this book will open your eyes to a new world of understanding yourself and others!

Knowing yourself is important for growth, for healthy relationships, and just healthy life in general. Contrary to what many of us think, there are no best personalities, there are different ones with their own unique pitfalls and advantages. Anne Bogel is not a psychologist or personality expert, but she is a normal person who has done personality tests the wrong way and the right way. She’s also seen the benefits learning about your personality can have in approaching life and relationships. She walks readers through some of the different personality tests out there, the best practices for approaching each test, and breaks things down into real people language how to understand it and how it is designed to help you be a healthier you. The book is designed so that readers can pick and choose which tests and personality frameworks to read about and figure out what’s best for them, or they can read the entire thing.

If you’re overwhelmed by the myriad of personality evaluations available, this book would be the perfect place to start. You can get a taste of many and figure out which one(s) to really invest in. Bogel does a fantastic job of hitting home the fact that personality types are neutral, that they don’t change, but that your actions and how you understand yourself and others can change as you understand underlying personalities. I think it also highlights well which personality tests are better at which aspects of evaluation and guidance. Perhaps you’d most benefit from knowing your love language and your Myers-Briggs, or maybe StrengthsFinder would be more eye-opening for you. This could definitely save people hundreds of dollars in money by helping them discern which test to actually pay to take, which book to buy, or perhaps they’ll even find that the information in this book and on the websites recommended are plenty. I’ve done several of the tests before and I found reading this to be a healthy reminder of the way I’m wired, my strengths and weaknesses, and that I need to keep personality in mind when I interact with others. The personality evaluations covered include: Introverts/Extroverts, Highly Sensitive People, the Five Love Languages, Keirsey’s Temperaments, Myers-Briggs (it gets two chapters, one on the basic 16 personalities and one on the 8 cognitive functions), the Clifton StrenghtsFinder, and the Enneagram. The book is written in very easily understood terms and feels like a friend is telling you about each test including personal examples along the way. It is published by a Christian publisher and Bogel mentions that she is a Christian and goes to church, but the book is approachable to anyone whether Christian or not. And even though Bogel is not an expert, it is obvious she’s done her research. This is a great resource, highly recommended. I have a copy for our school now on order.

It seems we spend a great deal of our lives trying to understand ourselves and others. Bogel has written an informative and practical book to help us in those life long pursuits.

She takes readers through a number of personality indication structures. The first is the introvert extrovert difference. I hadn't realized that there were actual physiological differences in the brains. They are literally wired differently. She then writes about highly sensitive people and I found out why two people talking to me at the same time nearly drives me crazy.

Bogel also covers the five love languages, something I was familiar with from previous reading. Next was Keirsey's temperaments. I certainly spotted me there as well as a good friend. It suddenly made sense to me why she behaves as she does. The 16 types of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator are next, clarifying the types with cognitive functions. Bogel then explores the Clifton StrengthsFinder, identifying our naturally occurring talents. The last personality framework Bogel investigates is the Enneagram.

I like how Bogel gives us a bit of history for each personality framework. She also clearly identifies how readers can access tests or otherwise identify the particular personality type. For me, the best part of this book is that it gave me a new appreciation and understanding for the personality types of other people.

Bogle is quick to note that she is not a scholar in this area of personality frameworks. She doesn't cover all of the frameworks that have been designed. She does do a good job of helping us identify our personality types and gives good suggestions for tending to and taking care of ourselves within our personality style. She gives plenty of examples from her own life so we see how these personalities function.

I do recommend this book to those who want to understand who you are and how to best take care of yourself, based on your personality type. You will also be able to better understand others and perhaps see life from their point of view too. I found the book to be very informative with good practical insights and suggestions.

Food for thought: “Self-discovery and self-formation are lifelong processes.” (202)

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

4.5 stars

This is a wonderful book that explores many different types of personality sorters. The author breaks them down so that they are easily accessible and gives information at the end of the book about how the reader can learn more. Learning about personality types not only can help the reader understand him/herself better, but it can help improve relationships as people learn to understand each other.

For my personal reading, this is a 5 star book, but as a librarian I had to drop it down a bit because it doesn't quite fit in my public library or my church library. The book has enough personal anecdotes about church and Bible references that it will not fit in the psychology of personality section in my public library, yet it is not theologically based enough to fit in my church's library. I still highly recommend this book to anyone interested in personality. If you are a Christian, you may relate to the author's stories about church. If you are not a Christian, don't worry, she isn't going to preach and try to convert you!

I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of Reading People, and I dove into it right away. In each chapter, Anne tackles a different personality framework (some popular, some less well-known) and argues that by being purposeful about knowing ourselves, we can then learn to better understand people around us. She intersperses science and explanations with experiences from her own life (and some from literature) that illustrate her points.

It's a fantastic book. Very well-researched and supremely readable. She manages to give us a ton of information without overwhelming the reader, and in fact, I felt even more motivated to dive into personalities after I was finished. Especially as I started to make connections to myself and the people I love. I feel like a learned more about myself--especially in her sections about highly sensitive people (which comes down to having a more sensitive nervous system) and I loved the reminder about love languages and how I needed to think about that with my children.

I really enjoyed this book, and recommend it to anyone who is interested in how understanding different personality types can help strengthen their relationships.

As an avid listener of Anne Bogel's literary podcast, What Should I Read Next, I was so excited when I heard that she was coming out with a book about personality. I find this topic super interesting and enlightening, but there are so, so, so many frameworks that sometimes it feels a bit overwhelming. This book totally resolved that issue! Anne's book is basically the Reader's Digest version of the most popular personality types--from Meyer's Briggs to the Enneagram to Gary Chapman's The Five Love Languages. She also covers introverts and extroverts, and touches on the mindset of Highly Sensitive People (which I so appreciated because I definitely am one). If you're looking for an easy to understand and relatable personality overview, this is it!

I've seen questions asked about whether this is a "Christian" (a.k.a. does it preach at me?) book. The answer? Not at all. Church/God come up a few times but only as it relates to her life (for example, she talks about being overwhelmed by walking into a room full of people at church, but this is to highlight a point about sensitivity).

I really appreciated Anne's perspective that people can change and are not tied down to their personalities. Often learning your type can feel burdensome (especially the Enneagram--yikes) and make you think that you are stuck as you are. She encourages readers to have a "growth mindset"--the idea that personality is a starting point, not a destination.

Overall, a great (and quick) read that makes you want to dive deeper into some of the presented personality Frameworks.

Anne gives and engaging, clear overview of 7 personality frameworks: MBTI (plus, MBTI cognitive functions), The 5 Love Languages, Strengths Finder, Keirsey's Temperaments, Highly Sensitive People, Introvert vs Extrovert, and The Enneagram. She covers the basics of each framework without jargon and uses bookish examples to illustrate types which I found super fun.

Reading People not only explains why it's helpful to know these things about yourself, it also shows how knowing how you fit in to these frameworks will help you better interact with others. I have acted with more patience and grace towards myself and others after recognizing how some of these frameworks function in important relationships.

The section on cognitive functions really helped me nail down that I am, indeed, an INFJ and Anne's chapter on The Enneagram helped demistify what seemed like an intriguing but complicated framework.

Overall, Reading People is an amazing primer on personality that is worth purchasing!

Anne Bogel is known to many readers as one of the best resources out there for reading ideas and recommendations through her blog, Modern Mrs. Darcy, and podcast, What Should I Read Next. With Reading People, she shares with readers her vast knowledge of personality theories and types, distilling the information into accessible, fascinating overviews on many different personality typing systems (MBTI, Enneagram, etc.). The chapters seem to be organized by starting with the most familiar and accessible systems and working their way into the more challenging concepts. Anne's passion for personality research is clear, and by framing the chapters with examples and stories from her personal life, she has prevented the book from becoming a dry overview of personality typing (fans of Anne Bogel will not be surprised by the warmth and passion she brings to her book). I left this book with lots of realizations about my own personality and how I interact with those around me, and an interest in pursuing more in depth analysis of my own personality (the author provides numerous resources for doing so!).

I loved this book! It gave a great overview of most personality tests out there. I teach middle school. I don't think I would assign the whole book (although I would definitely suggest it to some students), but I am planning on using certain sections of it!

Raise your hand if you’ve taken a BuzzFeed quiz today? More than one? Yeah, you’re not alone. I hate to admit I might have just taken a quiz titled “Choose Some Baked Goods and We’ll Predict Your Future” because if you know me, you know I love bread more than Oprah. (Don’t worry, I received good results. I’m going to travel the world.) I’m a sucker for those silly little quizzes, and for good reason too. It’s more than wanting to know if my choice in baked goods will lead me to have a good life; it’s wanting to know more about myself and my life.

Anne Bogel’s Reading People goes beyond the silly check-box quizzes to help you deal with the complexity of real life. She explores several of the leading personality frameworks, including Myers-Briggs, the Enneagram, Keirsey’s Temperaments, and the 5 Love Languages, to show you how they are set up and interconnected. If you’re looking for a good way to get an overview on these frameworks, this is book for you. Read more to hear my thoughts on this highly engaging read.

Disclaimer: I received a free advanced copy of Reading People as part of the Reading People Launch Team, which allows me to give you an unbiased review. Thank you Anne Bogel, NetGalley, and Baker Books. All opinions are my own.)
I’m not going to lie, I consider Anne Bogel my reading spirit animal. She jokingly says she’s just an everyday reader who shares her thoughts on her blog and podcast. But Anne is anything but ordinary. She just gets books. She is so eloquent in her recommendations that I fall for books that I wouldn’t normally pick up. I’ve followed her podcast, What Should I Read Next, since the first few episodes and always come away with at least one new read to add to my TBR. I don’t even want to admit how often I visit her blog over at Modern Mrs. Darcy. So when I heard that she was writing a book, I knew this was one I had to pick up.

Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything takes a look at several of the leading personality frameworks and gives you a basic idea of each of how they are structured. Frameworks like Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Keirsey's Five Temperaments, the Five Love Languages, StrengthsFinder, and the Enneagram are shared through the viewpoint of an everyday human being. You don’t have to worry about fancy language, aside from the specific terminology required for the framework. Anne explains what each framework is all about, shares an anecdote or two about her personal experience with the framework, and then shows you how to use it in your life. She doesn’t go completely in detail with each framework, but she gives you enough to get your feet wet so you can decide if you want to dive into the nitty gritty later on.

Not only does Reading People give you a basic understanding of these frameworks, but Anne gives you resources for more information, including a list of books that she found helpful in her exploration on the topics. She also takes the time to explain how these frameworks are interconnected and can be used to complement each other. Before diving into Reading People, I had pieces of the puzzle. I’m an introvert. I am a Highly Sensitive Person that finds noise, decisions, media, and people to be overstimulating. (I feel all the feels all the time, people.) I value quality time over words of affirmation. I’m an INFP. I’m an Enneagram Type 2. I’m an NF Idealist. All of those are great to know, but Anne helps me to put the puzzle pieces together to see the bigger picture. Now I’m beginning to explore how all of these types work together to make me, me. (If you know what any of that means, leave me a comment because I’m dying to chat about all of them!)

I’m a note-taking reader, and I don’t want to admit how many pages of notes I took on Reading People. I know when I go back for a re-read (which will be very soon, I’m sure) that I’ll have these notes to build on as I explore these personality frameworks more in depth. The frameworks help me understand how I am wired, both positively and negatively. They allow me to understand that not everyone has the same personality that I do. Anne explains in the early chapters that personality is simply a pattern of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make us unique. Seeing all of the possible personality types illuminated by these frameworks have allowed me to take a step back with my friends and family that I interact with everyday. Personality frameworks help us to see beyond the first person to help us understand those we do life with. I understand myself better and then I can work on understanding those around me. ​
​As you become more aware of the amazing variety of people and experiences, your worldview changes, making you more humble, more open, more aware of the possibilities in each person you encounter.
Anne shows us the possibilities we gain when we take the time to truly understand ourselves and others through these frameworks. They can be applied to the workplace, your church life, your friendships, your relationships, even your kiddos or students. Anne is quick to warn that these frameworks shouldn’t be the absolute definition of who we are. ​
​My personality isn’t a limiting label; instead, understanding my personality has blown my possibilities wide open.
These frameworks are conversation starters. They are a way to explore how and why you interact with the work they way you do. They are the lenses through which we see the world. They can be the catalyst to a deeper exploration of who you are. They go beyond silly quizzes about bread to help you learn more about yourself and others. Reading People is the perfect place to start if you’re wondering what personality frameworks are all about and if they are worth your time and effort.
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Reading People will be available on September 19th. I know, I don’t know if I could wait that long either. I have good new though! If you pre-order your book, you’ll receive some great bonuses including Anne’s class on the reading personalities for FREE! (I’ve taken it, and it gives some awesome book recommendations based on my reading personality. You can find out your Reading Personality here). In addition, you can get a FREE download of the audiobook! After you order, you’ll simply head on over to readingpeoplebook.com to get let them know you preordered, and you’ll have all you need to get your fantastic bonus perks.

TL/DR: Reading People explores several popular personality frameworks, showing you how they work together, in order to learn more about yourself and others.
Rating: 5/5 stars