Text Don’t Call

*** (3 out of 5)

Text Don’t Call by INFJoe

Before I get into my review I want to give you some background knowledge on the Author’s name.  INFJ is one of 16 personalities as defined by the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

If you don’t know your type there are tons of free tests you can take online to figure it out.  Personally I like this one: https://www.16personalities.com. The free online tests are usually shorter than the real test, but I get the same results everywhere I take it (including the official MBTI test I did in school)

I am not going to go into detail about all the types.  If you want more information most free test sites have info, you can visit the wiki page, or you can google it yourself.

Here is the full list of personality types in order of frequency:

My personality type is INFJ, so this book especially appealed to me because the author is INFJ too.  If you are not INFJ, don’t worry, this book is about introverts in general, not specifically INFJs.  So, if you are an introvert, or if you are an extrovert wanting to learn more about introverts, then this is the book for you!

One issue I had with the book, is that it is hella short.  It only took me 30 minutes to read. It cost me $8.50 on Amazon, but the cover price is $14.  There is no way I would ever pay full price for this.  Its just not worth it.  There are a lot of comics, and I knew it would be a quick read, but I still wasn’t expecting it to be THAT short.

The comics themselves are awesome.  The drawings are crude, but that just adds to their charm. For the most part the content is spot on.  I had a lot of “Hey! That sounds like me” moments.

All my life I have had trouble explaining how I felt and this book was able to pinpoint exactly what its like:

(This is a comic from the book, but you can also see it on INFJoe’s blog.)

I always want to be included and I hate feeling left out, but at the same time I don’t want to go do anything.  It sounds super contradictory and most people don’t get it, but this comic sums it up perfectly.  Its nice to know I am not the only one that feels this way!

While I related to most of the book, there were still some points that didn’t apply to me. This is a book of generalizations about Introverts, so it won’t describe any one person perfectly.

For example, introverts tend to be quiet.  INFJoe says this is because we prefer to listen and observe, and because we process what we want to say and only speak when we feel we have something worth saying.

(This is a comic from the book, but you can also see it on INFJoe’s blog.)

This one doesn’t quite apply to me.  I love to talk and ramble on, but I rarely feel comfortable enough to do so.  Talking to certain people I won’t shut up, but talking to strangers I am often really quiet.  I also do better in one-on-one situations.  When I am in a group I can’t process the conversation fast enough.  Usually by the time I figure out what to say the conversation has moved on and my thought is no longer relevant.

Overall I liked this book.  For the most part the content was accurate with respect to me.  It would have been nice if it was a little cheaper or a little longer.  The author could have gone into more detail about how two different introverts might appear the same on the outside, but their inner struggles could be completely different.  Instead he generalized with the most common struggles.

If you are interested in buying the book you can get it from Amazon.

(That is an affiliate link.  If you purchase the book through my link I will get a small commission! All the thoughts/opinions in this post are mine and in no way influenced by Amazon.)