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jenkepesh 's review for:
I am a big fan of the author, Anne Bogel, through her What Shall I Read Next? Podcast, the Modern Mrs. Darcy blog, and the MMD Book Club. When AB was ready to release this book, she put out a quiz--"What's your reading personality?"--and the book club had a discussion about the different personalities. So I had it in my head that Reading People would be about one's reading personality, even though the blurb did not say this. It took me about 1/4 of the book to realize: Nope, this is actually about personality.
Bogel does a quick tour of the best-known personality models from her laywoman's--and user's--perspective. Critically, she does not discuss anything about academic research on personality, and her approach to these theories is very much that of a non-academic. There is no critique of methods of development, no look at research (other than what the developers or vendors of the various theories provide in their own work, which is definitely not academic). Whether it's a personality quirk or a learned orientation from graduate school, for me, this is the one aspect of the book that gives me an eye twitch.
On the other hand, Bogel is very good at providing a short and lively summary of each of the various frameworks, explaining where to get more information (such as where to run through an assessment, which assessments are better, which books are useful, etc.) and giving a good idea of what insights you'll get from further exploration with each of these models. What I learned is that several of the frameworks that I'd lumped together are actually different in interesting and useful ways.
Bogel also explains how each of these can be used to help one better understand one's co-workers, friends, and family. She's careful to explain that through reading about and accepting differences from one's own personality type, one will be able to communicate and cooperate better. What she does not claim is that by reading these books, you'll be able to "type" others, and I think that's a worthwhile distinction. She does not gloss over the hard work of doing the assessments correctly and then following through with what you learn. Because of this, I have a great deal more respect for these systems than I have had in the past, and I'm more willing to give them consideration than I've been wont to do.
Bogel balances several aspects of writing this introductory guide well; she provides a few personal anecdotes as illustrations but doesn't go overboard; she uses endnotes to keep from getting bogged down on points; she provides a lot of references; she explains what a system is, where to assess, and how to use the information, and she does a small amount of comparison so that you understand which framework attends to which aspect of personality. She also points out that there is a difference between personality and character (the latter is learned) and that a growth mindset that takes personality as a starting point rather than a cage allows one to grow.
Nicely done, Anne Bogel!
Bogel does a quick tour of the best-known personality models from her laywoman's--and user's--perspective. Critically, she does not discuss anything about academic research on personality, and her approach to these theories is very much that of a non-academic. There is no critique of methods of development, no look at research (other than what the developers or vendors of the various theories provide in their own work, which is definitely not academic). Whether it's a personality quirk or a learned orientation from graduate school, for me, this is the one aspect of the book that gives me an eye twitch.
On the other hand, Bogel is very good at providing a short and lively summary of each of the various frameworks, explaining where to get more information (such as where to run through an assessment, which assessments are better, which books are useful, etc.) and giving a good idea of what insights you'll get from further exploration with each of these models. What I learned is that several of the frameworks that I'd lumped together are actually different in interesting and useful ways.
Bogel also explains how each of these can be used to help one better understand one's co-workers, friends, and family. She's careful to explain that through reading about and accepting differences from one's own personality type, one will be able to communicate and cooperate better. What she does not claim is that by reading these books, you'll be able to "type" others, and I think that's a worthwhile distinction. She does not gloss over the hard work of doing the assessments correctly and then following through with what you learn. Because of this, I have a great deal more respect for these systems than I have had in the past, and I'm more willing to give them consideration than I've been wont to do.
Bogel balances several aspects of writing this introductory guide well; she provides a few personal anecdotes as illustrations but doesn't go overboard; she uses endnotes to keep from getting bogged down on points; she provides a lot of references; she explains what a system is, where to assess, and how to use the information, and she does a small amount of comparison so that you understand which framework attends to which aspect of personality. She also points out that there is a difference between personality and character (the latter is learned) and that a growth mindset that takes personality as a starting point rather than a cage allows one to grow.
Nicely done, Anne Bogel!