My Reading Spot

Just the other day I was having a discussion with my kids about school.  One of them was counting down the days until he could be “DONE” with school….he included college in his count, which made me proud.  But I pointed out that we are truly never done learning.  I might have graduated from college 15 years ago, but I am constantly learning new things.  My kids were kinda disappointing in this discovery.  It just made me giggle.  Personal development and non fiction books are AWESOME!

This month I’ve finally hit my reading groove and been able to read through SO many good books…fiction, non fiction, personal development, spiritual. I’ve loved learning new things! Today I am going to share four books that I’ve read from this month.

Reading People, by Anne Bogel.  I pre-ordered this book because I was super excited for it!  I love Anne Bogel’s blog and her podcast, What Should I Read Next.  She always has fascinating posts and she is always talking about personality types!I’m a big sucker for those personality quizzes that I see all over facebook – so how could I go wrong with this book, right?  How exactly can knowing your personality type help you?  This book will tell you!

“My personality doesn’t prescribe my actions, but it does help me thoughtfully consider them in a way that I couldn’t before….Far from taking away my agency, understanding personality has helped me make smart informed decisions about my life.”

In Reading People, Bogel gives you an overview of some of the most popular personality type tests; Myers-Briggs, StrengthsFinder, Enneagram, and others.  Some were easy for me to read and find my type – others I am still thinking and researching about.  I’ve taken a few Myers-Briggs online tests and always come up with two answers each time, but the more I read and ponder I think I’m EFFJ.  I’m extrovert for sure, that much I know about myself.  I was discussing this book with my husband and kids and they asked me “what does extrovert mean?”  I said “someone who enjoys talking to new people” and then I asked them, “when you come home from a party, or a youth event church, do you feel drained, or do you feel excited?  My kids all agreed – MOM is totally the one who comes away from events like that excited!  She LOVES that stuff, and MOM you are always talking to people – like in the grocery store or anywhere we go!”

I guess my kids are right.  But I still like quiet time.  And I don’t think I’m crazy outgoing…I just enjoy talking to people.

Reading People was a fun book to read and I marked a few pages that I really have already come back to a couple times.  It’s fascinating stuff to me – and to figure out my husband and kids too.  To see how they work and how they think..and how I can use that to really understand them.

One of my sisters had actually posted about this book just a few days before I read Reading People, so combined with her recommendation and my interest already peaked, I knew I would have to read The Four Tendencies too.  Thank goodness we had a super lazy weekend, and I could finish both books, right?  The Four Tendencies is a book by Gretchen Rubin, that basically categories people in – you guessed it – four tendencies.  You can take her free quiz here. It really isn’t a surprise, I am an obliger.  I like to make people happy.  I worry more about outside expectations than inside expectations.  Accountability totally works or me – that is one of the reasons that I blog, that I post about running, that I share my goals online!  Those dreams and goals that I don’t share, I have a hard time sticking too.  If it’s something that just makes me happy, not anyone else, I have a hard time doing it.  I also really get that obliger rebellion thing sometimes…when I get so mad/annoyed about what people expect from that that I just won’t do anything at all.  This book hit the nail on the head for me.

What I loved about this book, similar to Reading People, was trying to figure out what the rest of my family would fit under.  I had my own ideas, but then had a few of them take the quiz and was surprised by their answers.  My husband got obliger, but I’m still not convinced that he isn’t somewhere in between that and upholder.

Both of these books were super easy to read and set up in easy to follow formats.  You can mark and skip around, or read right through.

On a competently different note, I also read More than Just Making It by Erin Odem this last month.  I’ve been a follower of her blog, The Humbled Homemaker for a while and love her honestly and transparency.  I was super excited to read her book!  I sat down and flipped thought it the second I opened the package and was instantly drawn into her story.  In More than Just Making It Odem share her own personal experience about  being  a middle class, college graduates family to struggling financially, facing bankruptcy, food stamps, hardships and finding their way out.  I appreciated her open honestly and about the struggles that they faced and her feelings of guilt and embarrassment, and pride and how she overcame them.  My husband and I have gone from starving students to open our own small business so we are no stranger to some of the same hardships and struggles that Odem faced.  It was refreshing to read and hear that we are not alone.  I loved that this book is Christian based, although it wasn’t overbearing and I was able to find hope in it’s message.  I felt that she offered suggestions and ideas about saving money that were realistic, practical and do-able.  As a busy mom, I don’t need pinterest ideas, I just need something that will work….and I felt Odem delivered just that.

I thought I would enjoy this book, but I was surprised how much I really related and loved this book.  It really was uplifting and helpful to me and I think everyone could find something in this book, no matter if you are struggling financially or not.  The principles apply to everyone.

The same weekend that I finished Erin Odem’s book, More than Just Making It, I picked up a copy of Grace Not Perfection from our local library.  I am completely going to admit I was drawn to the pretty cover of this book.  No shame.  This book was super pretty and well designed.  I did like that. But reading it right after Erin Odem’s book, I felt it was like night and day.  Obviously these two books are for two different readers.  I think Ley had some good messages that she shared in this book.  It just teetered on the edge of really hitting some meat in the chapters.  YES, we should slow down and allow for more peace and quiet time in our life.  When we’re still, when we’re right where we need to be, God speaks loud and clear.  Do what works best, forget the rest.  And remember that you are enough.  I agree with all of these takeaways and points.  I loved them.  I just needed more as a reader – how do we do these things?  How do we realistically incorporate them into our lives.  That is what I was looking for. This book wasn’t my favorite, but it wasn’t bad either. I loved the format and design.  It had pages for thoughts and journaling, which I loved.  It just wasn’t a five star hit for me.

Now that I’ve shared some of my picks from this month, share yours in the comments!  Do you enjoy non fiction books?  What have you been reading?  I would love to know!