[MBTI General] What book should every S read?

[Colors]

S's read, right?

 

[King sns]

Cosmo

 

[ajblaise]

I don't care what book it is, as long as it gets them reading.

They could start with sensor friendly books and ones with lots of pictures, like the Guinness Book of World Records or The Big Book of Freaks.

 

[Colors]

Hmm...ajblaise and shortnsweet, I haven't heard of any of those. :rolli:

The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman- historically detailed but also modernly relevant commentary on class and scientific progress
Rosencrantz and Guidenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard (does this count?)- the only high school English characters I could ever relate to. This is probably a sad reflection upon me seeing how they're characterized and such

ST:
Notes from Underground by Fyodor Doevstoevsky
The Sands of the Kalahari by William Mulvihill
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka- been a long time since I read this one, but I think it sort of plays with the fear of being an alien machine in the world

SF:
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli- covers big issues in a small way

SJ:
Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: I think the detailedness in describing the town population and the focus on ideas of personal responsibility and duty would be especially appealing.
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM by Robert C. O'Brien: This was mentioned on the NF thread as well, but I kind of think of Mrs. Frisby sentimentially as a very ISFJ heroine.

SP:
About a Boy by Nick Hornby
Alanna series by Tamora Pierce: Another NF thread mention. I just felt Alanna was a quintessential admirable ES_P (proactive! determined! yay) Alanna taught me being an unapologetically assertive, strong, and sexy woman was a-ok.

IS:
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

STJ:
Sherlock Holmes novels: I just know these would be perfect for my STJ friends. Logical and clever and... solvable.

This exercise is a lot harder than I thought it would be, especially attempting to think out why I think so.

 

[Jeffster]

American Top 40: The Countdown of the Century by Rob Durkee
The Simpsons - Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family (Volumes 1-4) by Matt Groening
And Nobody Got Hurt!: The World's Weirdest, Wackiest True Sports Stories by Len Berman and Kent Gamble
Ride 'Em Cowgirl! Sex Position Secrets For Better Bucking by Dr. Sadie Allison and Steve Lee

 

[EJCC]

I'm having a hard time with this one. It seems like Sensors have very diverse literary tastes. I'll list the favorite books of some of my Sensor friends, based on type:

ESFP: Pride and Prejudice, Fight Club, The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby
ISFP: The Real Frank Zappa Book, Brave New World, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol, One Hundred Years of Solitude
ISFJ: Pride and Prejudice, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the Harry Potter books, Persepolis
ESFJ: Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz
ISTJ: Sabriel, the Harry Potter books
ESTJ (cough ME cough): The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Harry Potter books, any/all Sherlock Holmes stories, Blankets (the graphic novel), Good Omens

I could also see STPs liking Fight Club... but not SJs.

I think if you had to generalize, and give one particular book that all Sensors had to read, it would probably be a nonfiction book - perhaps a biography? Maybe... "Fun Home", by Alison Bechdel. Perhaps "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela. Or maybe something funny, like "America: The Book". I dunno.

 

[bananafish]

I like alot of Haruki Murakami's stuff... like Hard Boiled Wonderland and The End Of The World, and The Wind Up Bird Chronicle. His stuff has alot of fantasy and stuff your mind can chew on. [:

Also, I used to be in love with Neil Gaiman's work... like Coraline and Stardust. The books are so much better than the movies, in my opinion. Neverwhere is another good book of his.

The Rising and it's part two, City Of The Dead by Briane Keene are awesome zombie books. I higgghhly reccomend it to any gore hound/zombie fan.

The Book Of Lost Things by John Connolly is another good read.. I love it because they effed up and twisted so many children's fairytales... like Little Red Riding Hood.

I'm also a fan of the Harry Potter series, haha. ;D

Echo by Francesca Lia is another good book. Very dark and beautifully written. Poetic in a way.

Ionno, I like reading alot. I also had this habit of collecting encyclopedias and books on birds when I was younger because I was so fascinated by them. Haha. I'm a big fan of horror and fantasy. Esp. fiction. I grew up reading alot of fairytale books... heehee.

 

[Snow Turtle]

Hm. I'm a little rusty on my reading but I do still think I love books on the rare occasions I stick one out. I don't think they are must reads but I found them interestingly none the less. Note: Most of them are childrens books. ^^

Marianne Dreams - I haven't read this in a long time but I loved this as a child, it's one of the books that I still remember.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Interesting story about some autistic child and how he views things, travelling around to solve this mystery.

The little prince - Sure most people have heard of this book.

 

[Colors]

I'm having a hard time with this one. It seems like Sensors have very diverse literary tastes. I'll list the favorite books of some of my Sensor friends, based on type:

ESFP: Pride and Prejudice, Fight Club, The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby
ISFP: The Real Frank Zappa Book, Brave New World, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol, One Hundred Years of Solitude
ISFJ: Pride and Prejudice, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the Harry Potter books, Persepolis
ESFJ: Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz
ISTJ: Sabriel, the Harry Potter books
ESTJ (cough ME cough): The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Harry Potter books, any/all Sherlock Holmes stories, Blankets (the graphic novel), Good Omens

I could also see STPs liking Fight Club... but not SJs.

I think if you had to generalize, and give one particular book that all Sensors had to read, it would probably be a nonfiction book - perhaps a biography? Maybe... "Fun Home", by Alison Bechdel. Perhaps "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela. Or maybe something funny, like "America: The Book". I dunno.

Ha! I got Sherlock Holmes right!

Well of course everyone has variety of tastes that have nothing to do with type... which makes me sort of wonder what criteria was being used in the NF and NT threads, but *shrug*... I tried to think of what sort of thematic issues which might have special resonance with certain types, or of characters which would really reflect the experience of a certain type really well. And I tried really hard not to just list my favorite books, but that's sort of counter-intuitive, isn't it? Why shouldn't a list of favorites fulfill the topic in the most direct way? (I overthink.)

Ha, EJCC, you make me miss my STJ friends a lot! They love that sort of clever dry humor like Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. My ESTJ friend in particular loves anything with puns and anything with science. And my ISTJ friend loves anything surprisingly random. (I think I prefer stuff with more emotional manipulation though, I'm not afraid to admit it!)

I can't believe I didn't think of The Great Gatsby . That's a totally S book! The moment and the fashion and the materialism and the clash of characters, it's a very alive novel.

I love Brave New World and Fight Club, though it's been a long time since I've read either. I think Fight Club is meant to appeal to everyone... but I also think the narrator is an ISFJ (maybe an ISTJ?) so I don't think there's any reason SJs shouldn't like it.

 

[Colors]

Does everyone love Harry Potter except me?

Also, I used to be in love with Neil Gaiman's work... like Coraline and Stardust. The books are so much better than the movies, in my opinion. Neverwhere is another good book of his.

Echo by Francesca Lia is another good book. Very dark and beautifully written. Poetic in a way.

Ionno, I like reading alot. I also had this habit of collecting encyclopedias and books on birds when I was younger because I was so fascinated by them. Haha. I'm a big fan of horror and fantasy. Esp. fiction. I grew up reading alot of fairytale books... heehee.

I *love* Francesca Lia Block! Stylistic she really rides the line well between poetry and prose, I think- being able to call up such a strong sensory impression using very few details and an "aura" of the situation in the flow of her words. A real fantasy, so to speak. It's been a really long time since I read Echo, but I have read her Weetzie Bat series more recently (I think Witch Baby is my favorite book of hers).

blush: I only got about halfway through Stardust.)

I was pretty much a fantasy whore as a kid. I don't know, I think it's a genre that is often uplifting and focused on... accomplishment and positive people and stuff! (The people usually suceed! They are usually emotionally healthy! They often find a group which they can identify with, if not several! They have successful romantic entanglements! They become good at something and exercise this skill!)

I also liked to escape, I think. And I found the relationships more relatable (I guess to ground the fantastical elements, you have to have something very recognizable in the interpersonal stuff?).

Hm. I'm a little rusty on my reading but I do still think I love books on the rare occasions I stick one out. I don't think they are must reads but I found them interestingly none the less. Note: Most of them are childrens books. ^^

Marianne Dreams - I haven't read this in a long time but I loved this as a child, it's one of the books that I still remember.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Interesting story about some autistic child and how he views things, travelling around to solve this mystery.

The little prince - Sure most people have heard of this book.

I love children's books. I think good ones are more often direct rather than contrived, as I feel a lot of adult novels are. Where is the universality? My favorite author is Diana Wynne Jones and she often says that she writes for children because...(paraphrased, cause I'm lazy to look it up) they understand the systems/how things work sort of immediately in context rather... they're not simple, just different- adults more often need explanations for things.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is another one of my favorite books, Kai. Very affecting and relatable (even though I've never been autistic, I don't think).

Y'all make me jealous I don't read more. I'll definitely be checking some of the books you all have mentioned.

 

[Halla74]

Guess what?

In the real world, life is about BULLET POINTS.

I've NEVER been asked to write a novel by anyone who has paid me money to do productive work.

All that aside, I'm busy. Here's what I read:

(1) Anything that provides me with information about a given endeavor that I Want/Need/Have to do.

(2) Anything that provides me with information that I feel will allow me to make MONEY.

(3) Magazines on occasion so as to keep "current with " (more like connected to) the world that's been eating my dust for the past 15 years that I've been full on ESTP me.

(4) Newspapers to ID local scandals and of course the classified ads in case someone is selling shit I want.

That is all.

Continue.

 

[Colors]

I think that's why I'm not often drawn to nonfiction books, Halla74. I just often think there's a more efficient (aka FAST) way to get at the information than in thick volume form. Of course, that is, if you know exactly what you're looking for and where to find it.

Nonfiction books are great for general knowledge- being introduced to a new realm and getting a consistent framework/vision of this part of the world. Or hearing about an opinion/interpretation in greater detail.

My favorite books that I haven't mentioned yet:

Diana Wynne Jones (umm, pretty much everything she's ever written, ever, but in particular Dark Lord of Derkholm, Hexwood, Witch Week, and The Spellcoats)- Everything she writes is just so alive and real and funny, and her worlds are always fleshed out. And hectic and her last-minute game-changers almost always drive me crazy with how much I didn't see that coming even though I should have.

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip- Sybil, another crazy strong, independent woman. Who's true to her feelings (except when she can't figure them out) and learns how to live in the world of people. (Probably an INTj?)

Dragon Sword and Wind Child by Noriko Ogiwara- buys into my love of mythology- this one's based on Japanese mythology (some Shintoism and some Buddhism)

A Fabulous Creature by Zilpha Keatley Snyder- discovering nature as one of my favorite themes again

Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoko Mori- Ah, the sick tangles we call family. I admit I'm into some weepy books, speaking of which...

Briar Rose by Jane Yolen- I'm a sucker for fairy tale retellings
& Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire

I think I'm starting to see a general S pattern emerge from the woodwork but I'll save my opinions until more forum members weigh in. So weigh in people! Even if it is to say you don't read. Or even if you're an N.

 

[Halla74]

I think that's why I'm not often drawn to nonfiction books, Halla74. I just often think there's a more efficient (aka FAST) way to get at the information than in thick volume form. Of course, that is, if you know exactly what you're looking for and where to find it.

Nonfiction books are great for general knowledge- being introduced to a new realm and getting a consistent framework/vision of this part of the world. Or hearing about an opinion/interpretation in greater detail.

Agreed. I have basically written off fiction. If I read anything I am going through "The Harvard Classics" (a "five foot shelf of books" that purportedly give one a well rounded liberal education if they are all read) a few passages at a time. Even I am not so bold as to say that Socrates, Voltaire, and other great minds have nothing to offer mine. My Dad gave me these books a few years ago and their old school leather binding feels nice in my hands. Plus, I need any help I can get as far as refining my overly blunt self, and maybe the classics can help with that.

 

[Sidewinder]

I think that Hemingway is awesome for all SPs. "On The Road" is also great. For SFPs in particular, character-based novels with lots of color and incident are good. Post-modernist, anti-novels are definitely not recommended.

 

[Jeffster]

Does everyone love Harry Potter except me?

Nope.

 

[Thalassa]

I don't mean to sound presumptious, but I think SPs generally might prefer different books than SJs. The idea that every S would like the same book amuses me. I'm thinking of a very special ISFP when I say this...

 

[EJCC]

I don't mean to sound presumptious, but I think SPs generally might prefer different books than SJs. The idea that every S would like the same book amuses me. I'm thinking of a very special ISFP when I say this...

You're exactly right! Couldn't agree more. Hemingway and Fitzgerald have been mentioned so far, but I can't see STs liking them much. I don't, really. I read The Sun Also Rises and The Great Gatsby, and had serious problems with them. I like books where most of the action is ACTION, and not just emotional tumult in the heads of the characters. I still think that biographies work for Sensors - it just depends on whether or not you get something personal out of it. So, impersonal biographies don't work, but personal autobiographies, with a distinctive narrative style (e.g. "Fun Home", "Persepolis", "Born Standing Up", etc. etc), do work. For me, anyways.

Also, one of my favorite books of all time (speaking of Douglas Adams-esque humor): "The Pirates! in an Adventure with Communists", by Gideon Defoe. SO funny!!! Laughed out loud through the whole thing.

 

[NewEra]

ISTJ: Sabriel, the Harry Potter books

I disagree with ISTJ and Harry Potter books. Although I do think Introverts prefer them, but doubtful about the STJ preference.

 

[Thalassa]

You're exactly right! Couldn't agree more. Hemingway and Fitzgerald have been mentioned so far, but I can't see STs liking them much. I don't, really. I read The Sun Also Rises and The Great Gatsby, and had serious problems with them. I like books where most of the action is ACTION, and not just emotional tumult in the heads of the characters. I still think that biographies work for Sensors - it just depends on whether or not you get something personal out of it. So, impersonal biographies don't work, but personal autobiographies, with a distinctive narrative style (e.g. "Fun Home", "Persepolis", "Born Standing Up", etc. etc), do work. For me, anyways.

Also, one of my favorite books of all time (speaking of Douglas Adams-esque humor): "The Pirates! in an Adventure with Communists", by Gideon Defoe. SO funny!!! Laughed out loud through the whole thing.

I know my ISFP likes biographies about artists and musicians and interesting characters from "scenes" from the past. He also likes gritty prison stories, horror magazines, and stuff about street life.

Although I will say that I'm an NFP and I like biographies about artists, writers, and musicians too.

 

[Colors]

Nope.

Good. I don't know, I just didn't feel a "message" out of the books- it was just ... diverting. (Especially since Harry was always "chosen" and such but was so ... empty. I felt like stuff tended to happen to him a lot just because he was deemed special rather than act special in any way.)

Post-modernist, anti-novels are definitely not recommended.

What would be a post-modernist anti-novel, exactly? Haven't heard of those. (I once read a story about a man in a box where a lot of the "action" was imaginary dreaming of possibilities, would that count?)

I don't mean to sound presumptious, but I think SPs generally might prefer different books than SJs. The idea that every S would like the same book amuses me. I'm thinking of a very special ISFP when I say this...

You're exactly right! Couldn't agree more.

I don't think individuals of all the same type would even like the same books! Let alone all SPs or SJs or IS or SFs or STs. I think the *reasons* for reading or liking certain books over others (what they liked about them) might be more similar in style by type, however- so I guess this was my roundabout way of sussing this out. (Indirectness, for the win.)

(And splitting SP/SJ would prevent perhaps more useful splits- like ST/SF. And there's not really a lot of S-interested people around here anyway- I surprised there weren't more typical blah comments on the first page, but hopefully the uninterested people have become SO uninterested they can't even be bothered to make cheap jokes anymore.)