Must-Read Books for Every Enneagram Type to Start 2023
Simplify Life counselors share their book recommendations for each enneagram type (even you enneagram 5’s who doubt your type - *wink).
Yes, each and every person is unique but the root of enneagram typing helps us identify some of our core desires and tendencies we struggle with. Not to say growth for each enneagram type isn’t broad, but the book recommendations below pair each type with a tool to help them continue their journey of growth.
If you don’t know enneagram types, the enneagram is one way to learn about our differences in strengths and weaknesses through a personality assessment. Tools like the Enneagram, Myers Briggs, Strengths Finder or others can help us identify our strengths, personalities, and areas of growth that we could focus on.
So, are you ready to grow?
Scroll below to find the book our counseling team would most recommend based on your enneagram type.
Click your enneagram type and see your next great read toward a healthier you.
The Reformer - Type 1
We Recommend Atomic Habits
by James Clear
No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving—every day.
James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.
The Helper - Type 2
We Recommend
Try Softer
by Aundi Kolber
How else will things get done? How else will we survive?
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Aundi Kolber believes that we don’t have to white-knuckle our way through life. In her debut book, Try Softer, she’ll show us how God specifically designed our bodies and minds to work together to process our stories and work through obstacles. Through the latest psychology, practical clinical exercises, and her own personal story, Aundi equips and empowers us to connect to our truest selves and truly live. This is the “try softer” life.
The Achiever - Type 3
We Recommend
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry
by John Mark Comer
"Who am I becoming?" That was the question nagging pastor and author John Mark Comer. Outwardly, he appeared successful. But inwardly, things weren't pretty. So he turned to a trusted mentor for guidance and heard these words:
"Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. Hurry is the great enemy of the spiritual life."
Within the pages of this book, you'll find a fascinating roadmap to staying emotionally healthy and spiritually alive in the chaos of the modern world.
The Individualist - Type 4
We Recommend
Adorning the Dark
by Andrew Peterson
Over the last twenty years, Andrew Peterson has performed thousands of concerts, published four novels, released ten albums, taught college and seminary classes on writing, founded a nonprofit ministry for Christians in the arts, and executive-produced a film.
While there are many books about writing, none deal first-hand with the intersection of songwriting, storytelling, and vocation, along with a nuts-and-bolts exploration of the great mystery of creativity. In Adorning the Dark, Andrew describes six principles for the writing life.
The Investigator - Type 5
We Recommend
Anatomy of the Soul
by Curt Thompson
Do you want to improve your relationships and experience lasting personal change? Join Curt Thompson, M.D., on an amazing journey to discover the surprising pathways for transformation hidden inside your own mind. Integrating new findings in neuroscience and attachment with Christian spirituality, Dr. Thompson reveals how it is possible to rewire your mind, altering your brain patterns and literally making you more like the person God intended you to be.
The Loyalist - Type 6
We Recommend
Rhythms of Renewal
by Rebekah Lyons
Daily struggles with anxiety and stress make it difficult to receive God's peace. Rhythms of Renewal will help you trade your anxiety for the vibrant life you were meant to live through four profound rhythms: rest, restore, connect, and create.
With encouraging stories and practical steps, Rebekah Lyons will help you begin an intentional, lifelong journey toward sustained emotional, relational, and spiritual health.
The Enthusiast - Type 7
We Recommend
The Power of Now
by Eckhart
Tolle
To make the journey into the Now we will need to leave our analytical mind and its falsely created self, the ego, behind. From the very first page of Eckhart Tolle's extraordinary book, we move rapidly into a significantly higher altitude where we breathe a lighter air.
We become connected to the indestructible essence of our Being, “The eternal, ever-present One Life beyond the myriad forms of life that are subject to birth and death.” Although the journey is challenging, Eckhart Tolle uses simple language and an easy question-and-answer format to guide us.
The Challenge - Type 8
We Recommend
Daring Greatly
by Brene Brown
Every day we experience the uncertainty, risks, and emotional exposure that define what it means to be vulnerable or to dare greatly. Whether the arena is a new relationship, an important meeting, our creative process, or a difficult family conversation, we must find the courage to walk into vulnerability and engage with our whole hearts.
Researcher and thought leader Dr. Brené Brown offers a powerful new vision that encourages us to dare greatly: to embrace vulnerability and imperfection, to live wholeheartedly, and to courageously engage in our lives.
The Peacemaker - Type 9
We Recommend
The Next Right Thing
by Emily P.
Freeman
Nothing gets our attention like an unmade decision: Should I accept the new position? Which schooling choice is best for my kids? How can I support my aging parents? When we have the decision to make and the answer isn't clear, what we want more than anything is peace, clarity, and a nudge in the right direction
If you have trouble making decisions, because of either chronic hesitation you've always lived with or a more recent onset of decision fatigue, Emily P. Freeman offers a fresh way of practicing familiar but often forgotten advice: simply do the next right thing.
A Good Place to Start for Everyone.
Each of these books is a great way to begin your personal journey to reaching your goals emotionally, relationally, and in your health, the value of someone to walk alongside you.
Do you agree with the book we recommended for your enneagram type? There are endless more recommendations we have for balancing life, parenting, anxiety or other obstacles you feel are keeping you from your goals.
We love helping create plans to help you live a life you love. Sometimes it’s as easy as a book recommendation, and sometimes it’s through more - relational counseling. At Simplify Life we work with you to focus on and build upon your strengths to equip you for your future.
Now, get reading and continue to pursue a healthier you.
