Surrounded by Idiots
by Thomas Erikson
A guide to four communication styles, color-coded, meant to help you understand why people clash. Light, popular, and best taken as a conversation starter. Read the full description
Best for: Anyone frustrated with how others communicate
Surrounded by Idiots is #89 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 51 out of 100.
Surrounded by Idiots: reading interest over the past 12 months
Sources: Open Library’s public reading-log and ratings data (dump of 2026-08-31), Wikipedia page views and Wikidata. Monthly counts are exact; they show relative interest among readers of these public sources, not total readership.
Ranked against the other books on this list, Surrounded by Idiots’s reading interest has run from #56 to #99 over these 12 months. Interest rank blends shelf adds, Wikipedia page views and rating activity, each compared with the other 99 books that month.
Shelf adds by month
Surrounded by Idiots was added to Open Library readers’ shelves 612 times in the past 12 months, peaking in October 2025 with 110 (116% above its monthly average of 51). Over the latest three months (Jun 2026 to Aug 2026) shelf adds were down 22% on the three months before. 93% of the adds were “want to read”, 5% “currently reading” and 2% “already read”.
Want to read Currently reading Already read
Wikipedia page views
Its Wikipedia article was viewed 47,767 times in the past 12 months, peaking in June 2026 with 6,971 views. The latest three months were up 16% on the three before.
Source: Wikimedia monthly page views for the article Surrounded by Idiots.
What the data says about Surrounded by Idiots
- Moderate swings. Monthly shelf adds averaged 51 with some ups and downs.
- Busiest and quietest months. October 2025 was its busiest month (110 adds), about 7.9 times its quietest, August 2026 (14).
- A book people save for later. 93% of its shelf adds are “want to read”, against 86% across the Top 100, so more of its interest is about future reading than finished reading.
- Attention and shelf adds move independently. Its Wikipedia views and its shelf adds did not rise and fall together over these 12 months (correlation -0.82).
- Against its genre. It had 30% fewer shelf adds than the average Psychology book on this list.
- Share of the list. It accounts for 0.6% of all shelf adds recorded for the Top 100 over these 12 months, #57 of 100.
- Its age. First published in 2014 (12 years ago), it is older than 32% of the books on the list.
Each finding is computed from the public data above and shown only when the numbers support it.
Surrounded by Idiots on the Top 100: rank history
First charted in September 2026. The chart gains a point with every monthly update, so its peak, climbs and falls will show here as they happen.
| Month | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | #89 | 51 |
Is Surrounded by Idiots rising or falling?
Cooling It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level.
On Open Library, Surrounded by Idiots ranks #95 this week, #148 this month, and #89 over the past year. A longer bar means a higher position. Comparing the three windows shows whether readers are arriving faster than the book's long-term pace. Readings as of 2026-09-30.
Why Surrounded by Idiots made the Top 100
Surrounded by Idiots made the list mainly on momentum (+20.1 points) and reader love (+11 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+0). The BookWard Score blends five public signals, each scored from 0 to 100 and weighted as shown.
The reading-now, rating and rank signals come from Open Library’s public data, not from BookWard’s own readers. The score measures reading interest, not quality or sales. How the score works.
Open Library reader stats for Surrounded by Idiots
Source: Open Library public reading logs, as of 2026-09-30. BookWard’s own monthly snapshots are added to the picture, and anonymous BookWard reader data will be layered in as the community grows.
More readers have Surrounded by Idiots open right now than 9% of the other books on this list. These counts come from one public source, so they show relative interest rather than total readership.
Where it sits among Psychology books
It is #6 of the 6 Psychology books on this month’s list.
About Surrounded by Idiots
A guide to four communication styles, color-coded, meant to help you understand why people clash. Light, popular, and best taken as a conversation starter.
Why it’s here: It gives readers an easy vocabulary for difficult coworkers and relatives.
Best for: Anyone frustrated with how others communicate
At a glance
- First published
- 2014
- Genre
- Psychology
- Length
- about 304 pages (the median across its editions)
- Languages
- editions in 2 languages listed on Open Library
- Editions
- 10 on Open Library
From Open Library and Wikidata public records. Missing rows mean the records do not list that fact.
Themes
- Four personality types
- Communication
- Color-coded behavior
What reading it is like
Light and anecdotal.
At about 304 pages it is a longer read: roughly 6 hours at an average reading pace (about 250 words a minute, 300 words a page). Audiobook and edition lengths vary.
Good to know
Uses a four-color personality model, which is not established by psychological research.
The premise
Thomas Erikson describes four color-coded communication styles and how to understand people who think differently from you.
What you’ll get
- An easy framework for personalities
- Relatable workplace examples
- A quick read
You might skip it if you find personality typing oversimplified.
Pairs well with: How to Talk to Anyone · The Laws of Human Nature
Keep exploring the chart
Also on the chart at #88 and #90
Questions about Surrounded by Idiots
What rank is Surrounded by Idiots on the Top 100 books?
Surrounded by Idiots is #89 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 51 out of 100.
Is Surrounded by Idiots rising or falling?
Cooling. It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level. On Open Library, Surrounded by Idiots ranks #95 this week, #148 this month, and #89 over the past year.
Why is Surrounded by Idiots on the Top 100?
Surrounded by Idiots made the list mainly on momentum (+20.1 points) and reader love (+11 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+0).
How many people are reading Surrounded by Idiots right now?
Open Library's reading logs show 133 readers currently reading Surrounded by Idiots, 2,378 who want to read it and 49 who have logged it as read (as of 2026-09-30). These are counts from one public source, not all readers.
How much interest has Surrounded by Idiots had over the past year?
612 Open Library shelf adds in the past 12 months (peak October 2025, 110); latest three months down 22% on the prior three; 47,767 Wikipedia views in the past 12 months (up 16% over the latest three months). Figures come from Open Library and Wikipedia public data.
Who is Surrounded by Idiots best for?
Anyone frustrated with how others communicate.
Ask a question about Surrounded by Idiots
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How we know
This page is built from public data: Open Library’s dated reading-log and ratings dumps, Wikipedia page views, Wikidata, and BookWard’s own monthly Top 100 snapshots. The interest rank blends shelf adds (45%), Wikipedia page views (30%), rating activity (10%) and, for months where a snapshot exists, BookWard’s own score (15%), each as a percentile among the Top 100 books. Every month shown is real data; nothing is estimated. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Last updated September 2026. Read the full methodology.
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