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What’s your reading personality?

Something new, something fun: In anticipation of the September release of my book Reading People: How Seeing the World Through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything, we’ve created a quiz that combines two of my favorite things: bookish enthusiasm and personality geekery.

For the past few years, I’ve been reading A TON about personality. This is nothing new: I’ve always been a total personality geek, purely for my own sake. But in recent years, I’ve also been researching all the personality literature for my book.

When you spend so long immersed in various personality frameworks, your self-awareness meter gets turned up REALLY HIGH, and you notice things about yourself and the people around you you didn’t see before.

So of course I started to notice the difference my own personality made in my reading life, and in the reading lives of people around me—whether I was chatting over coffee with a good friend or overhearing strangers’ conversations in bookstores. I’d hear a conversation about a book, and I’d think, “your comment says way more about you than it does about the book.”

I thought this merited further exploration. If we as readers could gain more self-awareness about what and why we read, and how we approach that part of our lives, we could get more out of our reading lives, and I think the rest of our lives as well. That self-awareness is hard to come by, but when we get it, it pays off big.

I’m a big believer in the power of reading, and the power of personality frameworks as a useful tool for self-awareness, so when you marry the two it’s a pretty fantastic combination.

Our quiz (and corresponding class) presents nine distinct reading personalities. Readers, this isn’t a rigorous scientific tool. But having spent so long over the past few year years wading through more than a dozen personality frameworks, I’ve found the most powerful thing about a good framework is it gives you fresh eyes to see yourself, and to see the people around you.

I hope this quiz—and especially, the class—does that for you.

Click here to take the quiz.

Have fun, and feel free to share!

51 comments

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  1. Marisa says:

    Haha–that’s fun! I was nonplussed by some of the questions because none of the answers fit me at all, but I chose what I thought was the intention behind the question, and the end result was pretty good!

    I got “The English Major.” In college, I was a Communications major simply because everyone said English majors couldn’t find jobs. It’s a pretty accurate description of how I read, and amused me because of the question about how you define good writing/book. I thought, “Duh, if it meets the qualifications of good composition, naturally. Clearness of thought, packaging and presentation of ideas, tightly-edited word-smithing, and so forth.” (My rule of thumb is that good art effaces its technique. Poor acting makes you think, “Wow, there’s a lot of acting going on here.” Poor writing makes you think, “Wow, there’s a lot of writing going on here.”) Only there was no option for that sort of answer! All the answers had to do with things more closely related to how much you or someone else enjoyed the book, rather than the quality itself.

    Anyway, not complaining–obviously you know what you’re doing with quizzes. It was just sort of interesting to me. 🙂 I’d be interested in seeing what the other types are!

  2. I got “social reader” which is funny because I am a total introvert! But – I love talking about books with others. I frequently ask people what they are reading, I’m in 3 books clubs (only 1 is monthly, another is every other month, another is a 2 person quarterly one), and I post book recommendations on social media quite a bit. So despite my introvert ways, the social reader seems to fit! I would also like to see the other classifications!!

  3. Susan says:

    I got the Escapist which is completely and totally on point. Reading is fun and I enjoy it. I don’t read the latest and greatest top 10 books just because everyone else is. In fact, I’ve been disappointed every time I do. I read what intrigues me and keeps me turning the pages.

  4. Missy G. says:

    I loved this! I took the quiz yesterday (I’m assuming I clicked from your newsletter?) and told 2 people about how spot-on the result was for me. I got the Escapist! Two of the book recommendations already have 5-star reviews from me, and one other was up next on my TBR list but my library doesn’t have it for some crazy reason.

  5. I’m a social reader. I’m social…. and a social reader with the book club read and anything I can’t stop talking about (Marie Kondo 🙂 but then again I’m like this about anything I feel passionately about), but I don’t think it’s mostly true for me because mostly, I couldn’t care less what people think of my reading choices.

  6. M.E. Bond says:

    I got Insider, which didn’t really resonate with me, so I tried again and got English Major. Perfect fit. I was an English (and History) major and then did my Masters in Library and Information Science. Many of the questions had two or three appropriate answers for me, so I find this type of quiz tricky!

    • Candace H says:

      Me too! I often get different results, even on Personality tests (yikes, right?) My result was “Insider” but I suspect I could take it again and get a different answer. But I still love the quizzes-tests and can’t wait for Anne’s new book!

  7. Catherine says:

    I’m quite disappointed that in order to see results you must enter your email and there was no warning in the blog post. I really don’t like having to get results via email. I am always skeptical that more emails I don’t want will follow.

      • Hue says:

        There doesn’t seem to be any little boxes for me. I only see a box that says first name and the other that says email address. I can’t click without filling those in.

  8. Lisa Z says:

    I got Escapist, which is totally true. Even though I’m actually an English major too! I have always read books to explore new worlds both inner and outer, and it’s character development that most appeals to me. Also, I don’t need to talk about books to enjoy them. I just need to read–anywhere and everywhere and just about everything. 🙂

  9. Denise says:

    Well, I think your quiz is spot on. If asked to name what kind of reader I am I would definitely say “Escapist”!

  10. Sherrylynne says:

    These categories are going to change over time perhaps. For example, I homeschool and pre-read or read along with my boys. This IS reading but out of being a responsible teacher. AND I read for my vocation as a teacher, a wife, and lots of non-fiction to support that. But I didn’t answer the quiz based on these roles. Is that wrong? I see that as reading that blesses my ability and mojo to carry on. Then my fiction writing is a relief from all that. So I imagine when this season of life changes, so will my profile.

  11. Anki says:

    I got “The Devotee” and the description is very accurate and fitting. Some of the questions were challenging for me to answer, with either multiple possible answers or no responses that really fit. I had a lot of fun taking the quiz!

  12. Leira says:

    I took the quiz 3 times, changing a few answers I wasn’t married to, and got 3 different answers (which is something, because I often get the same result even with changing the ones I wasn’t sure of!): Discoverer, Student, and Escapist. But then, I feel like I do read lots of different things for different reasons.

    Is there any way we could see all of the possible results? I always love knowing what all the options are!

  13. Jess says:

    I got social which is about the farthest thing from the truth I could ever get. Bummer. Also agree with the person who said they didn’t like to have to enter email to get results.

  14. Corby says:

    I got English Major. I guess it fits as I have a very eclectic TBR. I’m a lawyer so I guess that it fits that too. Fun little quiz.

  15. Stefanie says:

    At first I got the English Major. After getting the note from Anne that most are Yellow/Guardians on Keirsey I realized I might need to retake being a blue/green Keirsey… This is common for me as an INTP that I need to take and retake personality quizzes. It’s like I need to study the quiz before getting right results – LOL. This time got it right! The Student – I am an Enniegram 5 and Strengths Finder Achiever, Strategy, Ideation, Input and Learner. So this retake is much better fit. I am a History major and a study of people/culture and impact on historical events leads me to read a lot more of the classics – might be why I got English Major at first! So fun!

  16. Terry says:

    Is it possible to add Indigo or even Amazon.ca for your Canadian readers?
    P.S. I would buy your book just for the cover!

  17. Jes says:

    I do agree with a few quizzers who said there was no answer on some of the questions that actually fit me. I guess I read one way for pleasure, and another way when I need to learn something, which did make me pause to figure out which me I wanted to use for that question. Maybe I should retake as a learner, and then I would see both styles that fit me. I have already read one of my suggested readings, so that was accurate. 🙂 Thanks for the quiz! I’m considering using it with my students this year.

  18. Sabrina says:

    I agree that many of the answers were “least wrong” selections for me — and, perhaps I missed it, but I kept looking for the “reads the end to select the book” answer. I know I’m in a minority but I can think of only one book in my life that I did not read the end of to select or at least after the first chapter (and that one my English teacher confiscated after each class and kept an eye on me during class to keep me from cheating).

  19. Samantha says:

    Oooohhh I got The Explorer! Which I really like, I am thoughtful of what I read next. I may have my next three books planned out but then something else catches my eye or sounds more interesting. Variety is key for me as well.

  20. Evamarie says:

    This was really interesting and I thought my result seemed pretty accurate. I did wish that the question about what makes a really good book had had an option along the lines of “by the end of the book, I feel like the characters are my best friends.” I’ve found that the books I love the most are those where I’m sad to finish reading because I feel like I’ve lost a friend when there’s no more of that book to read.

  21. Liza says:

    That was the hardest quiz. So many questions had multiple answers that fit me! The final result was that I’m an escapist. Which is true. I definitely disconnect from real life when I’m reading a book. And my favorite books are the ones that when I finish, I feel like I’m waking from a dream. I’m really looking forward to your book. I love reading about personalities and putting it in the framework of reading styles is an interesting concept.

  22. Barbara H. says:

    The Reading Quiz said I was a “Discoverer.” True in that I like to discover all sorts of things while reading, but wrong in that it says “You love to choose what to read next, and you think planning takes away the fun.” Nope – I do a lot of planning about what to read next, though just occasionally I’ll choose something nowhere near the plan.

    I was surprised I got most of the pronunciations right. The one I had trouble accepting is conch.

  23. Sarah Dunstall says:

    I have pre-ordered the book through a Canadian retailer. I tried to access the free online course with my pre-order number, and it’s not accepted. I ordered through Chapters/Indigo. I realize I can’t order from your online shop for delivery to Canada, but it didn’t occur to me that I couldn’t purchase through a large retailer here for digital products. Is there a way to access the course with my Indigo invoice number?

    • Anne says:

      Thanks so much for the pre-order! We love our Canadian readers. 🙂

      Enter your Indigo number with no dashes or spaces at readingpeoplebook.com and it should work like a charm. IF you have any trouble, email [email protected] and we’ll get you sorted.

  24. Maggie Holmes says:

    Just watched the Reading Personality video (or at least most of it.) After taking the quiz I’m supposedly an Explorer. Listening to the video, I found that I am like many a mixture. I’ve read all of the books on the social reader list (but then I lead a book discussion group.) I’ve given 5 stars to two of the choices on Inspiration seeker and 4 stars to 3 books on Discoverer list. I’ve only read 2 books on Explorer and I didn’t really like Wild. (I’ll have to read the Frankel book.) And I loved 2 books on the Devotee list. I think I’m a student, but my books tend to be on social justice issues or the Supreme Court. Despite being an English major, I’m not that type any more. All in all, I’m looking forward to your Reading People book. Thank you.

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