Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

anne bogel

An unsurprising confession: Review of I’d Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel

The title of Anne Bogel’s new book, I’d Rather Be Reading, could be a tagline for my life. Anyone who’s known me for more than a day probably knows this about me. It’s no offense to the human interactions in my life, but I’m drawn to books and characters and words in an almost irresistible way.

This won’t be a long review because the book is short and also it’s aimed at a very specific audience–those who are unashamed bibliophiles.

Reading this book, I felt so understood as a lover of books, and this book felt like a conversation with a like-minded book lover. Bogel addresses such topics as to-be-read piles and library visits, the books that have changed us and how we change as readers.

After reading this book, I realized I talk a lot about books I love but not as much about my life and journey as a reader. Bogel gave me a lot to consider about the books that have accompanied me on my life’s journey.

This is a must-read for anyone who can’t leave the library empty-handed and thinks wandering through a bookstore is the perfect way to spend free time.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of the book from the publisher. Review reflects my honest opinion.

Getting to know me: Review of Reading People by Anne Bogel

I’ve been aware of personality inventories for almost two decades now and I’m recently obsessed with the Enneagram, so I wasn’t sure if I would fully enjoy this book by Anne Bogel (known online as Modern Mrs. Darcy) that provides an overview of seven inventories/factors that influence personality. (Spoiler alert: I loved it!)

Reading People: How Seeing the World Through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything is a challenging book to read straight through because it seems like it would best be used as a guide to dig in to one aspect of personality at a time. Even after reading the whole thing, I know I need to go back and focus on the Myers-Briggs because I think I’ve mistyped myself all these years.

Even with a working knowledge of some of the aspects Bogel talks about, I learned about some new ones and some new ways to use them in my actual everyday life.

This book came highly recommended by many online friends, and I would pass on the recommendation to you, especially if you want to know more about yourself. (Note: Not everyone is ready or willing to do this work. It’s worth it, but it’s not easy.)

Side note: I’m trying a new thing with my reading goals this year. Each quarter, I’m focusing on a different topic primarily for my nonfiction reading. In the first quarter, I read three books on racial justice and reconciliation. This quarter, I’m reading books about relationships. Reading People was first on the list because knowing more about my personality helps me understand other people better. (If you want to keep up with my quarterly reading, I talk about my progress every month in the reading newsletter I send via email. You can sign up here. No spam, I promise!)

And if personality stuff isn’t your thing, but reading is, I suggest you check out Bogel’s website where she offers reading challenge resources and recommendation lists. She also has a podcast that sounds interesting.

(I should also note that I received a complimentary copy of this book for blogging purposes. Review reflects my honest opinion.)