How does your type affect your approach to books and reading?
ForumMyers-Briggs: All Types
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1citygirl
Do NFs like to read books about relationships of all kinds and do SPs even stop moving long enough to read? Enlighten me.
2inkdrinker
Other ways my Myers-Briggs type has likely made me into an obsessive reader;
Introverts
“Prefer one-to-one communication and relationships”
Well isn’t reading (in a sense) a one to one communication.
Intuitives
“Tend not to live in the now”
Once again reading is an escape from the moment.
Are good at “Using imagination”
This is an essential part of reading.
Are “Comfortable with ambiguous, fuzzy data and with guessing its meaning.”
These are also powerful tools for strong readers.
3TheresaWilliams
4citygirl
inkdrinker & TheresaW, do you do much nonfiction reading or reading purely for the info? Or is it more of an escapist or thought-provoking activity? (I hope that makes sense.)
5inkdrinker
6TheresaWilliams
I am an INFP. I like facts only so far as they ground my stories. I usually turn facts into metaphors very quickly. I will read about a certain kind of fish because it has the qualities I want it to have in order to convey a truth about my characters or a mood. In my non fiction reading, I enjoy memoirs and history and science; but my mind is always turning on how to use that information to the benefit of creating stories. My world is about "feeling." Not logic, not facts. Everything is about how I "feel." That is my truth.
I highly recommend PLEASE UNDERSTAND ME II. It has a literary component that you will appreciate, I think.
7citygirl
Thank you, TheresaW, I will let Amazon know that I need a copy of Please Understand Me ASAP. And I think your response about feeling is enlightening. When you say "feel," do you mean you "feel" the world outside of you or do you mean your world is about emotions? Or both?
When you have a decision to make, do you say, "how do I feel about that?" May I ask what place logic and facts do have in your world?
With the MB types, it's sometimes hard to remember that people aren't caricatures (all Feeling or all Thinking). So I am trying to imagine my world if logic wasn't my primary mode of decision-making. I have NO idea what I would do. (Geez, I hope this doesn't mean I'm emotionally stunted.)
8TheresaWilliams
You are right that it does no good if we only create caricatures by using the typing. This may be why some people resent the typing.
I can and do use strategy and logic in my academic and personal life. But my immediate response to any situation is through emotion, feeling. This has its ups and downs, as you can imagine. The up side for me is that I readily empathize with others; the down side is that I can get "hurt" even when people don't mean to hurt me.
Rationals have very deep feelings; it's just that their immediate response is to do as you are doing, to think through a thing logically and to ask questions so that you can get a clear picture. That wouldn't be my first response. But I usually get there, sooner or later. (smiles) By the same token, Rationals have all the emotions; they hurt, they cry, they love. It just runs more under the surface and their exterior can seem cool or aloof.
You remind me a lot of my INTP friend. Whenever we discuss things, she asks probing questions. Sometimes I feel a little like I'm on trial because of her intense concentration on me. Do you see what I said? I said I "feel"... I use that word constantly.
I can understand how relying on logic can feel very satisfying. It builds order; whereas feelings can be unpredictable. However, when I empathize, I feel very centered and grounded. It feels like my world is in "order" at such times.
9vpfluke
10vpfluke
11citygirl
#9 vpfluke, that novel sounds intriguing. Is it still in print?
#8 TheresaW, thanks for the compliment! Was it Mark Twain who said, "I could live on a compliment for two weeks"? And thanks too for the reminder that most people don't like to be cross-examined. I forget. I just get so focused on my quest.
You're right: I do have feelings, etc. It's just that I try to make them useful. E.g., I try to use disappointment as motivation to try again. I try to avoid anything that will lead to depression (which is the scariest thing to me. I know how destructive it can be.). When I feel happy I want to share it with others, find some way to be helpful. When I've been hurt I try to learn something profound. I even have strong feelings, I am extremely passionate on a number of issues and about certain people and works of art. But the one thing I resist is being controlled by my feelings. That's really scary territory.
12vpfluke
13TheresaWilliams
I have noticed that NTs can be quite philosophical about set backs. You are right; they want to learn something profound by the experience.
I can understand why uncontrolled feelings can be scary to you. I try to control my feelings, too. It may be harder for me than it is for you, but it is still necessary for me to do that. At their best, the feelings help to ground me, connect me, and help me to care genuinely about others. At their worst, they can draw me into a vortex of doubt and paralyze me. Fortunately, I experience more of the former than the latter!
14slywy Erste Nachricht
15citygirl
When I was younger, up until my mid-20s I guess, I had less control over my emotions. I was a lot more sensitive, meaning my feelings were more easily hurt and I was in a lot of emotional pain (for various reasons). There was a lot going on. Maturity (I think) has led me to this more comfortable place, where I live more on an even keel, and the actions of others have far less effect on my emotional well-being. I think that's a good evolution for an NT. It means that I can make decisions by looking at a bigger picture.
However, I am also highly intuitive and if a situation or a person doesn't "feel" right, I go the other way. I'm usually on point and part of my growth has been to learn when to listen to intuition even when there is no obvious basis in fact and not question it. Everytime I've gone against my intuition regarding a person, I've regretted it eventually.
What kind of reads on people do you guys get?
16CalicoGal
At this point in life, though, I am trying to recapture the love of fictional worlds that I knew as a child. An analytical streak can be ground into most anyone, while the root of faith -- which allows us to dream along with novelists -- stuggles to maintain its hold. Poets, on the other hand, get by a little easier in my reading ;)
17citygirl
18inkdrinker
I love history but only social history. I think ties in well with my INFPness. Social history has a large element of feeling.
19citygirl
20inkdrinker
21stevetempo
Let me try to catch up inthis discussion.
Message #2
inkdrinker, I like your list. I would expand it toaddress both INTX, INFX, as well. The list contains many styles that arecommon to those as well. The reading experience is great introverted/intuitivetime.
I'vebeen told on several occasions that INFP's are very auditory. I work forone and although she does read books visual she is a big fan of audiobooks. What do you think?
Message#7
Citygirl, sometimes I make a decision using all my logic tools and then my intuitive/internalvoice (sometimes I really think it's a voice...I don't think I'm crazy)suggests an alternative (usually better decision). In fact I've found ifI can stand drowning my self in the details (or at least what I think are the importantdetails) my intuitive/internal voice can put it all together. I just lovewhen that happens! Feelings can be important when I'm concerned about stability(I don't like emotion conflict...and yes it is not easy being ateacher...another story another time) of a situation. I have to gage them(feelings) and take preemptive actions to keep the harmony in a situation.
Message #8
TheresaWilliams,Absolutely...we are all the 16 profile types...we just have a center of gravity(a focus point of preference) that we are more comfortable with. I usethe analogy of left-handedness and right-handedness with my students. Even the XXTX’s of the world have feelingsthat come into play.
Sorry…I'll have to come back and finish inputs...got to take go take care ofsome things.
22inkdrinker
That's so funny you said that INFP's are auditory people. I had never heard that before. I am an auditory learner. However, I'm not that big on audio books. I like them, but it doesn't seem like reading. I probably only listen to about one maybe two a year.
23drsol
On the other hand, I do love science and will read about it on occasion, but mostly for work.
24CalicoGal
25CalicoGal
I am surprised to hear that INFP's are thought to be auditory learners. While I also am such a one according to type, I believe that I am more inclined to a visual intake of new information. Actually, I really just prefer a quiet setting in which to read, to ponder and to dream.
26citygirl
The book is somewhere in a box :-(, which is too bad because I'd love to take another look at it and try to make some inferences about typing and learning styles.
I learned in some book, maybe The Open Mind or possibly The Gifted Adult, that because I'm such a strongly visual learner that I can find people's faces distracting when they're talking to me. If talking to someone I know pretty well and they're telling me something important, I often look away and tell them, "I'm paying more attention to what you're saying this way." It's trickier when I have to speak to someone in a business context and can't do that. I have to concentrate really hard.
27chainedwind
If you dissect my choices, it's something like fantasy, sci-fi, science, philosophy, biography. My actual personal "library" is mostly the first two.
But regarding reading styles: does anyone read, then later re-read, and so forth? It may just hold true for me because my automatic reading mode is at a speed best classified as "skim"; though I don't lose as much information as if I had truly skimmed through the book, it's not quite as good as slow, meticulous reading for catching bits of information.
28citygirl
It depends on what it is:
Fiction - If I've taken notes in a book because I'm studying the writing, I'll go back and read selected passages with a critical eye. I'll reread Harry Potter and Lemony Snicket. Otherwise, no. Maybe if it's years later I'll reread a favorite. But so many books.... How fast I read depends on the whether the book's a page-turner. If a novel has a lot of discussion of ideas in it, e.g. Mating by Norman Rush, City of God byE.L. Doctorow, or I'm unfamiliar with some aspect of the novel (type of language used, a time period or geographic setting that is very distinct from what I'm familiar with) I'll read it more slowly, especially at the beginning.
Non-Fiction - Usually I skim for the most relevant parts first and then go back for needed information. A book like Please Understand Me II is something that I go back to frequently as questions arise or if I've forgotten something.
29villandry
Im an INFP too, BTW. TW - reading your posts gave me goosebumps! It seems we have a very similar way of looking at things. Very interesting.
I love to read all kinds of books - in fiction my preference is between fantasy, scifi, and classic lit. I read a lot of non-fiction of all kinds, history, natural science (animals), physics, philosophy, psychology...
On the auditory learning comments - I like listening to non-fiction better and prefer reading fiction. If I have already read the book, listening to it is really very enjoyable, for instance listening to the classics like Jane Austin.
30villandry
I have a client who is a brilliant medical researcher, she is an older woman and drives my co-workers nuts because she will look anywhere and everywhere but at them when they are talking with her. I can relate, so it doesn't bother me. I find that if I stand or sit beside her, she is much more comfortable than if we are facing each other.
31chainedwind
32JoseBuendia
33varielle
34vpfluke
I'm currently reading The Christmas Train by David Baldacci, and this book has a fair amount of adventure on it, but it is set on a train, so it isn't really fast paced in the rip roaring sense. I did just finish The Shadow Speaker, a Nigerian science fiction and that was an adventure also, but not necessariy geared for a male audience. The shadow speaker herself in the novel had a very heightened intuitive sense, and that's what I related to, although the heroine was also extraverted and needed other people for her own fulfilling.
Being called away. Maybe will post later.