My sister thought a list of book club suggestions would be great for summer. She said, “List ones that make you think and have things to discuss.” So I was looking through my posts of favorite books and ran across my Personality/Cognition list, which is thankfully much shorter than the almost-200 personality/behavior books I have listed as “read” on Goodreads. Reading about personality and behavior always makes ME think about myself, others, and the world. Maybe it will do the same for you.
This time, let’s go over the Personality books, and maybe another time I’ll cover some of the Cognition ones.
Personality Types: Using the Enneagram for Self-Discovery, by Don Richard Riso
The Enneagram splits personalities into nine categories. One of the unique things about this system is that it discusses the difference between healthy and unhealthy versions of each type, and what traits you should aspire to gain (based on type). It took me a long time to figure out my type under this system, but I learned a lot about myself when I did.
The Color Code: A New Way to See Yourself, Your Relationships, and Life, by Taylor Hartman
The Color Code sorts people by motivation: power, intimacy, peace, fun (or a combination). It also helpfully discusses how to deal with people of other “colors” in more productive and less frustrating ways. For instance, red and blue are the most controlling colors, but for completely different reasons. If you don’t understand WHY they are trying to control you, you might fight the battle on the wrong front entirely.
The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better, by Gretch Ruben
The Four Tendencies sorts people by how they respond to external or internal expectations. If you’ve ever wondered why some people can set and follow goals all by themselves and others can’t, this is for you. This one also gives tips on how to deal with people of other types. If you have a rebellious (by nature, not stress) teen in your life, you can learn tips here.
The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate, by Gary Chapman
Love Languages has a narrow focus on how to feel/share appreciation, but in that field, it’s a gem. If you’ve ever lavished extra loving care on your significant other, only to have him/her complain that you never appreciate them, you probably have a disconnect in your love languages. This book can tell you how to identify and fix that. My significant other and I have very different primary languages but the same secondary. We use our secondary a lot…
Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything, by Anne Bogel
Reading People is the “sampler” book of personality discussion. It dips into the Meyers-Briggs (16 Personalities), the Enneagram, StrengthsFinder, Highly Sensitive People, and more. It doesn’t discuss any of them in “enough” detail, but if you’re looking for variety or want to figure out where to go next, this might be the book for you.
So, do any of these sound like something your book club would like to read and discuss?
Happy reading and personality-analyzing,
M. C. Lee
© 2019 M. C. Lee LLC. All rights reserved.
