Cozy House Reads: Reading People

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This was not a week for reading.  I just couldn’t get interested in the fiction book I started and ended up quitting it, which I NEVER do.  All in all I was kind of worn out all week, to the point where even reading seemed too mentally strenuous.  So I didn’t.  I did manage to finish one book: Reading People, by Anne Bogel.

So, here’s the story behind how I came to read this book.  I recently received a Kindle from Mr. Cozy House as a combined birthday/Christmas gift.  We have password locks on our electronics, BUT this Kindle doesn’t have one. Sooooo my son managed to purchase a couple of e-books for me a few weeks ago, this being one of them.  Since the book is now in my Kindle library (ahem), I decided to give it a read this week.

I’d definitely heard of this book, but I didn’t know anything about it.  I’m slightly familiar with Anne Bogel; I have listened to some episodes of her podcast and checked out her blog on occasion.  I assumed her book had to do with books and authors she recommends reading, given the title, “Reading People.”

What I never noticed was the subtitle of the book: “How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything.”  Ummmm, HUGE delight when I realized this is a book about personality types!  I love me a good read on personality frameworks.  The basic premise of the book is a brief overview of the many different personality analyses available, and how to learn from them and grow based on what they tell you about yourself.

The Verdict:

I mostly enjoyed this book. “Reading People” is a great introduction to personality frameworks.   As I’ve hinted at above, I love anything related to personality typing.  I’m not above taking an online quiz to see what Star Wars character I’m most similar to.

Through leadership courses I’ve taken in the past and books I’ve read, I’m pretty familiar with most of the frameworks mentioned in the book.  I did do a fair amount of skimming in the chapters that covered the frameworks I’m familiar with (i.e. Myers-Briggs, Enneagram, the Five Love Languages).

I loved the wide range of resources included at the end of the book; I wouldn’t mind reading many of the books she referenced in order to get a deeper view of some of the frameworks. (Side note: I was SUPER pumped to find a copy of Strengthsfinder 2.0 in a used bookstore with an unused code the exact same day I read that chapter in the book.  Score!)

All in all, I can easily recommend this book.  And I’m not sad that my five year old bought it for me.

What are you reading?