So apparently you all are not that into music, or at least writing about it.  What about books??  Some of my favorites:  A Confederacy of Dunces.  War and Peace (Tolstoy is listed as an ENFP by some).  Love in the Time of Cholera.  Most anything by Louise Erdrich. 

Yours??

Tsung Tsu- Art of war, Musashi Miyamoto-5 Rings, Machiavelli- The Prince,and other works, A container load of How To guides, Alexander Dumas- The Count of Monte Cristo, J.J.R Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings,............ wow   I just realised that I am the "life" of the party.

So apparently you all are not that into music, or at least writing about it

I love both!!  How do other ENFPs feel about books?

On my shelves you will find MANY character driven novels, poetry, travel books (especially off the beaten path types) history books, books about herbs, meditation, social theory, psychology. Not big on the how to books (I'll just wing it thank you).

AHHHHH!!!! NO WAY!!!  She is way too naive (and forgive me for saying it) "people incompetent", to be ENFP.. She may be sociable, but she isn't people smart.. ENFPs understand people more than that.. For starters, she can't manipulate people (even when she tried).. Matchmaking is a secret speciality for the ENFP.. .. Emma from Jane Austen doesn't seem to be Intuitive at all -- with all the socially awkward mistakes she's made.. lol  .. It just goes to show how little Ne she actually has..

Sorry Purplegiraffe.. I read the book EMMA, and found myself disappointed (and sometimes frustrated -- pulling my hair out, etc.) in the main character quite often -- as she could not seem to connect the dots with the way people thought, felt and the ways their relationships effected each other.. She was also not very self aware.. The main character did everything WRONG!!  Not a reflection of the intuitive ENFP-type at all.. So I just had to ramble on about it.. lol

My reading material is almost always non-fiction. I love sci-fi, fantasy, and historical fiction. My favorites are: Lord of the Rings, anything by Orson Scott Card, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, the Chronicles of Narnia, Contact, Sherlock Holmes books, and the last Harry Potter ( The movie was so good! It was the first movie I had ever seen that lived up to my vision of the books, and that includes the superb Lord of the Rings movies.)
I do enjoy reading books about war though. I've read Sun Tzu's Art of War and researched every major American war to a ridiculous extent. I have some kind of weird fascination with warfare,therefore I want to be a military historian. I'll drown in books about warfare and love it lol.

Emma is, in fact, either an ENFP or an ENFJ

Interesting..
You know, it's hilarious.. I know a few ENFJ women, and I could imagine them acting out EMMA quite naturally..  So from the choice of either ENFP or ENFJ, Emma would fit into the latter category much better. But Emma definitely does not show the characteristics of any ENFP I know.. She is not tactful enough.. She doesn't seem to use Ne properly as an ENFP would.. I could imagine her as an ESFP though. I get frustrated reading about her just like I sometimes get frustrated with the untactful behavior of some ESFPs I Know..

I can also see how Emma might be an ENFJ, but one thing is for certain, she definitely does not display Ne as her dominant personality trait..

I'm inclined to agree with Justin here. Emma seems to have very little intuition, and seems more concerned with match making as a means to raise social status than as a means to true love / deep connections, and is completely oblivious when this is happening organically.

I could see Elizabeth Bennett as ENFP though. Nothing can make me flip my switch more than seemingly arrogant, mean-spirited judgements.  But if I realized I got it wrong, spoke too quickly and hurt someone's feelings.

I'm inclined to agree with Justin here. Emma seems to have very little intuition, and seems more concerned with match making as a means to raise social status than as a means to true love / deep connections, and is completely oblivious when this is happening organically.

I think it's interesting how quickly a general topic: Books??? can turn into a conversation about Jane Austin characters on an ENFP forum.  The "good" women are always NFs (in my mind anyways), while the petty or nasty ones are always SJs. Many stand out NT guys as well. I love Jane Austin. She pioneered the romantic comedy.

It got me thinking about my favorite books / characters, and how they are pretty much always written by Ns or are Ns. A simple observation, but one that I hadn't really made until now. I listed a couple of favs on my first post. Has anyone else read Anna Karenina or War and Peace. I'm sure the sheer volume of pages seems daunting to some ENFP's who have MUCH to do. But when I'm in a more introverted phase there is little that's as pleasurable as curling up with a well written, character driven novel. It's almost the same as getting to know real people - but without any of the exhaustion. And Tolstoy's work is so perceptive and engrossing that it reads fast and DOES NOT seem like 800 - 1000+ pages. It's in fact so sad to have it end. I think Pierre, and perhaps Natasha in W&P are ENFPs.

And if you have not read Confederacy of Dunces, DO!!! It isthe most hilarious book I've read to date!!!  Funnier than Vonnegut, seriously. The main character seems to me to be INTJ, and is a ONE OF A KIND!!! Loads of quirky characters though, and crazy, bizarre misshaps. It's so much fun.... Also a Pulitzer Prize winner post-humously (he committed suicide and his mom shlepped his box of pages around for years until someone finally read>published).

If anyone has any enthusiastic recommendations, I would love to hear them!! I have more, but these are at the top of my list.

Yes, Ignatius is definately all of those things!!!  But c'mon. If you saw him waddling around in piratate regalia pushing a weinie cart it would make your day!!  It's a full out parody of types. I suppose you have to be in the mood.

Bella, Catcher in the Rye is another great one.

The "good" women are always NFs (in my mind anyways),

I love all of the books purplegiraffe listed except anything by John Steinbeck (depressing!)

I liked the movie Fight Club. I would guess the book was better, and would be interested to read more from this author. Thanks for the recommendation!! 

Yeah, I definately mix it up with my book reading as well, even with some juvenile fiction. I really liked the Absolute True Life Diary of a Part Time Indian. But I'm overall a fan of Sherman Alexie. And I don't really mind depressing authors - if it's well written and sheds some light on the human experience. I like Steinbeck. But some EXTREMELY depressing books, like Last Exit to Brooklyn, can really mess me up for awhile.

Posted By caprice on 21 Dec 2010 11:14 PM
To Malkavia: I posted Lisbeth and Mikael (to others, main characters in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series) on a different thread as regards to possible types. INTJ, ENFP??? What do you think they are??

Also, just read Children of the Arbat by Rybakov and would highly recommend it as literature and history.

There is a very good chance Lisbeth is INTJ. She is either INTJ or INTP.

I dont really know about Mikael. ENFP? Maybe. 

Posted By BirdsallSa on 15 Dec 2010 02:15 AM

Frankly, I hated Confederacy of Dunces. The reason for this is that Ignatius (the main character) is such a completely emotionless, uncaring, judgemental, backward- looking, cowardly, pathetic, simplistic, insidious (at times), ungrateful, gluttonous, callous, cruel douchebag. The characters were very well done, and the writing was superb, but Ignatius was somebody that deserved to be locked in prison alone for the rest of his life to write (in his opinion) brilliant critiques of the society he hated, which he would then (in a sense) be free from.

OMG i couldnt agree more, i just wanted to reach into the book and slap the crap out of him!!! But to provoke that kind of reaction means it the writing is brilliant even though i have no intention of reading it again.

Two of my favourites are Atlas Shrugged and Count of Monte Cristo. I havent been reading much fiction lately, its been more psychology type books and other non-fiction (in that part of my life where i really want to understand myself as much as possible).

The Fountainhead is next on my list of fiction, as well as one or two from Dostoyevsky which come highly recommended.

Seems that there is a lot of agreement on favourite books though!

I agree lindz marie. I think many people mistake ENFPs for INFPs and have even thought of this as a thread topic. Take Elizabeth. Is she more Fi or Fe? Yes, she would prefer that everyone got along, but she'll not subvert her convictions to please anyone. She's not driven by societal values of the time, and can be quite sarcastic (in a witty and sly sort of way) when confronted with an apparent jerk, bully, or mindless conformer. She seems more concerned with a person's character than their feelings, and only feels bad about her words and treatment towards Darcy after she realizes she may have misjudged him. As to the confrontation with his aunt... that is all Fi.

I think many people mistake ENFPs for INFPs and have even thought of this as a thread topic.

08 Mar 2011 06:54 PMQuote Reply Alert
For anyone into historical fiction --- Nadette, I know you just mentioned you're on a WWI kick ---- read Fall of Giants by Ken Follett. It's the first in what will be his "century trilogy" taking the same 5 families as they experience the 20th century. Fall of Giants is about WWI and the Russian Revolution and is excellent.

Another Sci-Fi/Historical Fiction book (on WWII) is Connie Willis' two-part novel Blackout/All Clear. I think I learned more about WWII, especially the London Blitz, reading these two books than I did even in AP History!!

@Nadette. Recommending books you haven't read? Interesting... Sneaky indeed. It means you can't be held liable if I read some of the books and don't like them, because it is not your recommendation...I see...

I'm not quite sure how this can so easily be done. Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is from my understanding a much more valid representation of an INFP than Elizabeth Bennett. Elizabeth Bennett often finds herself drawn into other social scenarios, whereas Jane Eyre would greatly rather spend time reflecting upon her own feelings and living inside her head. I find myself often secretly hoping that Elizabeth Bennett is an INTJ because I can relate to her in many regards, but I realize she is definitely much more of an ENFP.

I must confess, Jane Eyre was probably one of the only books I've started and never actually finished!  Not on my own accord necessarily -- my AP Lit class started a mutiny after beginning Jane Eyre (we all threw our books on the floor in unison and told our teacher we refused to read it).  So of course he made us take on a much bigger and complex challenge...Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury.  Though, the interesting thing is TSATF has become one of my favorite books and I've read it at least a half-dozen times since high school!

I think what Caprice and I were referring to is that to the outsider ENFPs tend to be quite a bit more reserved than other extroverts (unless that silly switch is flipped!), thus making the false assumption that they are INFPs.  It also probably depends on how extraverted the ENFP is.  I don't think anyone could ever see me as an introvert (I score over 90% on E), unless I was in a very bad depressed place where I would retreat into myself.......or, if I'm engrossed in a book!

I think we all secretly hope our favorite literary or other hero(ine) is of the same type as us, because we want to see our own characteristics in that character - or vise versa.  But I do not think for one bit that Lizzy is an INTJ....sorry PG!!

On a positive note, Darcy is most definitely an INTJ and despite his harsh judgements early on (it seems that in this respect Austen may have taken some liberties of exaggeration on the archetypal INTJ - if that's possible since there was no MBTI in 1813), he proves himself in the end to be kind, compassionate, and in general the #1 literary heartthrob for the past 2 centuries (and Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy is just icing on the cake!!!).  

I think perhaps maybe, INTJs may take some of Mr Darcy's early less-redeeming behaviors too personally and therefore that is why subconsciously they wish that Lizzy Bennett were a better example of an INTJ.  It's not so like an INTJ to accept ones one misjudgments like an ENFP!

PG, Mr. Darcy is sexy. You should take that as a compliment!

Boork, I googled your book recommendations and they sound right up my alley!! I've made a list and will head to Half Price Bookstore immediately. Well, within the next couple of days unlless I forget.

@Purple Giraffe: I read your post earlier today (as to promising caprice that you would finish War and Peace), and it kind of bubbled up as a possible indicator that you're not really enjoying it. If you aren't, then abort. It's a really long book, and life's too short to force yourself through it if it's not you thing. It's very expansive and very Ne. I should have thought of that in making a recommendation.

Anybody here a fan of Jim Butcher?  Dresden Files, anybody? 

How did I not see this thread?!

Okay, you can see a list of some of my favorite books here. And now, I shall share some of my favorites that I read over Spring Break.

I finished reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, and I recommend it to everyone. Not because I'm interested in deconversion, but because it's just so incredibly smart. xD If everyone were required to read it, I think the population's IQ would increase.

I'm currently reading Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. It's a really great read. It's the type of book that's overwhelming and sweeping and grandiose. It's kind of hard to get into, because it's really thick and you have to be kind of alert to comprehend the allusions he makes--the narrator keeps referring back and forth to things that have happened and things that will happen and can get confusing if you just pick it up as a light read.

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss was also quite good. She's married to Jonathan Safran Foer; I can see some similarities in their writing style, but that probably was because I knew she was married to him. I think I liked it best for the voice, not necessarily the plot--and it has some really beautiful language.

Perfume by Patrick Suskind was excellent. Very dark, very calculated, and it's got fantastic descriptions about smell. It's about a man in France who has an excellent sense of smell--I kind of tied it to Midnight's Children, in a way, because the narrator shares that ability to a certain extent--and his quest for the perfect scent. I won't say any more, but I think it's really good. I liked the book because it kind of played with my aspirations as a reader--usually, when I read, I hope the character gets a happy ending, but for this one, all I could wish for the protagonist was that he got some peace. It was quite interesting. And it's definitely enhanced my sensory experience.

I also liked The Kite Runner. A comment on history and family and convoluted secrets and whatnot. It has a cultural resonance, I think.

Anyway, I'll pop back in later when I get my hands on more books. [I also read Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger, the author of The Time Traveler's Wife {which you should read} but it was kind of disappointing. So meh.]

Perfume is excellent....I was recommended to read that book some time ago. I agree, it's a bit darker than what I am traditionally interested in, but I found it strangely captivating.

As for The Kite Runner, I actually enjoyed A Thousand Splendid Suns better.  I liked how it dealt with women in the Afghan culture.  I'd strongly recommend it.

Another book along the same lines was Three Cups of Tea, by and about Greg Mortenson who built schools for children in rural Pakistan as a way to fight Islamic extremism through education.

More books added on second thought:

- Dracula. Bram Stoker's writing style is awesome. It's formal, but not dense, and it kind of draws you in with its winding passages and images...I have this thing where, when I read a book, the author's voice starts droning in my head and shaping the way I think. I would definitely read Bram Stoker before I have to write essays. xD
- The Picture of Dorian Gray--it's really witty and has some really good images. Sometimes when Wilde waxes poetic on jewelry and decadence and whatever, it gets a bit tiring, but the images themselves are lovely. Also, Lord Henry is so incredibly witty, I want to smack him for making me feel bad about myself.
- War of the Worlds--Wells created science fiction. How can you not enjoy it? xD Also The Time Machine.
- Around the World in 80 Days--yesss, Jules Verne. The resourcefulness of the character puts me in mind of Edmond Dantes from The Count of Monte Cristo, albeit less driven with revenge...I didn't like Journey to the Center of the Earth quite as much, though--Jules Verne does a good job with explanations and description, but the emotional resonance of the characters appears to be lacking. Then again, that might just be me.
- The Phantom of the Opera--the movie left out some things, namely, the history of the Phantom. Good read.
- Heart of Darkness--I don't care what my fellow high school students say, I liked this book. It's a bit hard to get through, what with all these dense sentences and kind of stodgy imagery, but there were particular lines and insights I really liked, so ehh, whatever. However, if I had to write an essay on it, I probably wouldn't have the same opinion, so.

Annnd with that, I'm going to refrain from posting in this thread until I have read at least three more books. xD So expect me back next week.

Sakari: "How did I not see this thread?!"

I'm with you on that one

I go through about 3-5 books a week. I just finished all of Tim Dorsey books, well all but the newest one. His books are good for a laugh and a half. I am curantly reading all of William Burroughs works( Naked Lunch and Junkie are great) In a week or two I will move on to kerouac or maybe Faulkner.

Ooh yeah! Stripes, good picks, good picks! I love the art of war and the 5 rings but I found Machiavelli to be a bit too kiss ass for my taste.

Chuck Palahniuk, the writer of fight club is a real card worth looking into. I've only read two of his works so far: Rant and Invisible Moster. Invisible Moster is written in the of style fight club, and its very warped. Who could ask for more

I know some of these have been mentioned before but these are my favs of all time.



The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. DONT YOU DARE read the abridged version! Get the real deal.

Fight Club by Chuck Palahnuik. Amazing book. Amazing movie, because it closely follows the book. 'nough said.

Pigmy by Chuck Palahnuik. A lot of my friends who are also Chuck P fans hated this book. I absolutely loved it. Thought it was witty, funny and the ending was the best ending EVER.
Anything else by Chuck Palahnuik. Choke, Invisible Monsters, Rant, Diary, Survivor - all damn good books.

The Alienist / Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr. Amazing detective/mystery/thriller books. Angel of Darkness has a special place in my heart because it taught me a lot about psychology. I reference it all of the time now when talking about personality disorders.

Best served Cold by Joe Ambercrombie. When I was a kid, I loved the fantasy genre like Raymond E. Feist, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Joe Ambercrombie seems to still hit the spot with a more mature theme.
 

The Great Train Robbery by Michael Chricton. My favorite book by this legend. Other good titles by Chricton: Prey, Eaters of the Dead, Timeline.
 

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. I wasn't a fan of Slaughterhouse five. But this one was definitely my cup of tea.

Non Fiction.

Touched with Fire by Kay Redfield Jameson. Non fiction. Psychology related. I am a psychology buff. Love the stuff. This book explores the accompishments of historical figures who were afflicted with a mental illness, particularly bipolar disorder. In her book she poses the question: "would they have accomplished these great achievements without their mental illnesses?"

Stop walking on Eggshells by Randy Kregor. This book literally saved my life. I have personally spoken to Randy Kregor. She has done so much for the world of psychology as far as exposing Borderline Personality Disorder for what it really is, while being an advocate for the "Nons" or people who have had some sort of relationship with a borderline.

Gladiator: The True Story Of Roids, Rage, and Redemption by Dan Clark, AKA "Nitro" from the hit TV series "American Gladiators." It is more about recovering from a chaotic childhood and interpersonal problems than it is about steriods. Great read.

The Book of Mormon by ..... just kidding, had to go there....

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. DONT YOU DARE read the abridged version! Get the real deal.

Slaughterhouse five rather boring. I thought it was a good book, don't get me wrong, but not nearly as exciting as Cat's Cradle. Sorry. I think the material he used in SH5 was already sensitive enough that he didn't push the envelope like he does in his other books.

Counte of  Monte Cristo has it's depressing parts, but it is packed full of adventure and is the ultimate revenge book ever. Besides, it is so beautifully written, it deserves all the praise it gets. My friend recommended it to me, and I am always skeptical of popular things - many things that are popular or considered "classics" often end up being overhyped, this is not one of them.

Nicodemus: Ah HA! yes I've been on a Terry Pratchett kick. A fast read and a good laugh

Mobocracy: Oooh, The Count of Monte Cristo is a book I need brain eat!

JerseyCityENFP: Yeah, yeah! I thought the style of The Sound & The Fury was very beautifully written, though it made me depressed. I get a hard on when I find a writer whom is not afraid to break out of the traditional structure or narrative of a book. I got the impression that John Grisham's The Painted House was trying to capture some of that tragedy of the rural farm lands of yesteryear. I could be wrong, I read the Painted House some time ago.

 You may want to take a look at the quirky little book called "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" after you devour the original.

Sorry, I consider "Ender's Game" one of the worst books ever written. I hated it THAT much.....

Posted By Stripes on 12 Dec 2010 02:39 AM

 wow   I just realised that I am the "life" of the party.

 

This made me lol.

At least you haven't sunk to a bookshelf full of Biology and Ecology titles as thick as Sarah Palin. Like muggins here xD

I really *wanted* to get into LOTR, but my ENFP concentration span couldn't hack the wordiness ;n;

"I really *wanted* to get into LOTR, but my ENFP concentration span couldn't hack the wordiness ;n;"



Same Here... To much of a chore to read Tolkien.

As for Ender's Game. It was awful. I consider Orson Scott Card a "lazy writer" meaning that instead of showing us example of character's behaviors and having us decide how we feel about them, he flat out TELLS us about attributes of the characters and how we should feel about them.

For example, "Ender is smart, Ender is Brave, Ender won the tournament" This is extremely lazy writing. A good author would have let us come to that conclusion on our own, based upon the events in the book. There is so much assumptions and just plain labeling characters that this book really got to me. I think Card and Tolkien are polar opposites when it comes to writing styles, and are both burdensome in their own ways. Tolkien is much TOO descriptive, he wrote a whole language for the characters in his book for Christ's sake... Card is much too vague. He never really gives the details of the battles, just says "a battle took place and ender won." Here ender is supposed to be some savant or mensa type intellect but the book never really gives you examples of his intellect. Saying "Ender solved the puzzle" doesn't show us any intellect, it just TELLS us he has intellect. Card also isn't very descriptive. Don't get me wrong, I like to use my own interpretive imagination when reading books, and find it just as annoying when author's don't give you much freedom to do so, but damn, Card uses no descriptive substance whatsoever.
 

I really don't see the appeal in this book. It was boring, predictable, and and lackluster in all the necessary attributes that make a book great. It does not deserve nearly the recognition it gets....

Besides, the Baha Men won a Grammy for "who let the dogs out".... please don't try and convince me that was a good song because it won a grammy....

My favourite author is Hermann Hesse. When reading his books i see reflected my thoughts, my feelings and my soul. I have a sense of self expression, as if i was the creator of those stories as well as the character in the stories. The book that captured me was "Narcissus and Goldmouth". I would suggest it to everyone, but especially to those who, like myself, see the world with both eyes, as the union of opposites.

Let's see. I love classics, especially anything by Jane Austen and the book, 'Jane Eyre.' I also love fantasy, primarily Piers Anthony's Xanth series and Mercedes Lackey's Five Hundred Kingdoms series. In non-fiction I read mostly books about Christianity, Psychology, and Special Education.

Currently obsessed with 'The Host.'

I'm reading some of the Shakespeare plays right now. The language can be difficult, but I enjoy them very much. Just because they're plays, meant to be acted out, I like watching the films first. With novels, I hate to watch the films first, but with plays I find it helps me.

Mel Gibson was a good Hamlet, IMO.