Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

reading

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.)

Feast your mind on these 5 tasty books

By the time you read this, I will have spent a couple of days preparing food and cooking food and eating food. You, too? Marriage to my husband turned me into a foodie. I’m not sorry, except when my grocery budget takes a hit or my kitchen ends up in disaster mode because of my experiments with new recipes.

My other favorite thing to do is read, and if I can do both at the same time, I do. (While waiting for water to boil or a soup to simmer, I’ll often stand near the stove with a book or Kindle in hand to pass the time.) And lately, I’ve read some really great stories that focus on food or cooking or baking, so I can enjoy a novel and be inspired to cook at the same time!

So, if you’re at the point of the weekend where you can kick back and stop cooking or baking (and you love to read!), check out these five tasty books that will leave your mouth watering while providing an inspiring story.

1. Under the Cajun Moon by Mindy Starns Clark. This isn’t a new book, but I only read it last year. It’s a mystery set in Lousiana around a family restaurant. I went through a phase where I read several of Clark’s mysteries and I remember liking this one the best because of its ties to the food business.

when i fall in love2. When I Fall in Love by Susan May Warren. This is the third in a series about a family, but it takes place mostly in Hawaii when the main character, Grace, is sent by her family on a surprise cooking retreat. Grace is then paired with a hockey player for a cooking competition and well, let’s just say the food isn’t the only thing that cooks in the kitchen. Reminded me a lot of some of the Food Network shows I love.

3. Five Days in Skye by Carla Laureano. Setting sold this one because the Isle of Skye, Scotland, is magnificent, but this story features a hospitality consultant aiming for a promotion and a celebrity chef with dreams of restoring the family hotel. Another mouth-watering read.

4. All’s Fair in Love and Cupcakes by Betsy St. Amant. Another one with a cooking competition element, only this one love and cupcakesfeatures cupcakes. Summary: Best friends who want to be more can’t admit it to each other and don’t want the other person to have to give up their dreams for a chance at happiness. A sweet story and one that you’ll wish came with a cupcake!

5. A Table by the Window by Hillary Manton Lodge. Not necessarily my favorite among the foodie books I’ve listed, but still, it’s centered around a family in the food business–running a restaurant and writing about food. This one comes with recipes which might inspire readers to get off the couch and get cooking!

I feel like there might be others I’ve read recently but those are the first five that come to mind!

Do you have any book recommendations for readers who also love to cook (and eat!)?