My wife tells me that I have way too many books at home. She is absolutely right. But for me, there is nothing quite like the feeling of digging into a good book, the sense of accomplishment for reaching the final page, the inspiration that comes from getting inside an author’s head for a short while.
I’ve written often about the value of reading and I usually have 3-5 books going at any one time. This time, instead of sharing some of the books I’ve read recently, I asked my LinkedIn followers for their suggestions for books to dig into through the end of the year.
The specific question I asked was, “What book have you read recently that you wish you would have read much earlier in life?” Here’s the complete list of titles I was given, grouped by general category. Many thanks to all that responded!
I’ve indicated the ones I’ve read and provided some additional color. Otherwise, I simply provide a link to the book* and encourage you to peruse the list and explore them on your own.
Financial Markets
Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manipulation and Deception
George A. Akerlof, Robert J. Shiller
While I have not read this particular book, I’m a huge fan of Animal Spirits and Irrational Exuberance.
Expected Returns: An Investor's Guide to Harvesting Market Rewards
Antti Ilmanen, Clifford Asness
Bracing myself for a quantity discussion of factors, but looks interesting.
The (Mis)behavior of Markets
Benoit Mandlebrot, Richard L. Hudson
Read it! Honestly, I don’t tend to enjoy financial books written by mathematicians (even ones with a name so similar to Market Misbehavior), but this book certainly made me think about price action and become more comfortable in my own approach.
A Random Walk Down Wall Street
Burton Malkiel
Read it! This was one of the first books I read which completely refuted my area of focus, technical analysis. Disagree with many of his conclusions, even more so as I’ve continued my career. But it made me think, and for that I’m thankful.
Paul Wilmott Introduces Quantitative Finance
Paul Wilmott
This book may be a sign that I have one too many university students in my LinkedIn contacts! But I’ll check it out.
Big Debt Crises
Ray Dalio
Regardless of Dalio’s investment performance, he’s an innovative thinker and worth consuming as much as you can of his insights.
Anatomy of the Bear
Russell Napier
Read it! Younger investors can benefit a great deal from reading what life was like during previous market cycles. Anyone that started investing in the last ten years has never experienced a bear market! Buckle up.
The Black Swan
Nassim Taleb
Embarrassed to say I have not read this yet. But I’ve referred to it often because the concepts have come so much since then. Financial markets are all about fat tails, and this book covers the idea well.
When Genius Failed
Roger Lowenstein
Read it! One of the first books I read on market history actually. A quick read on a pivotal moment for the financial markets with ripple effects even today.
Why Stock Markets Crash: Critical Events in Complex Financial Systems
Didier Sornette
I often tell people that the financial markets are not a simple system, but a complex system. That means that making simple conclusions based on the relationship of two assets (stocks vs. bonds, gold vs. stocks, etc.) can often be misleading. Interested to read this one.
The good news is that is just the beginning of the list. The books ended up being mainly in the “financial markets” or “personal development” buckets, which feels right to me as those are essentially my main areas of focus.
I’ll follow up with the rest of the books that were recommended.
In the meantime, happy reading! And remember Byron Wien’s suggestion: “Don’t just do it because you’re curious about something, read actively. Have a point of view before you start a book or article and see if what you think is confirmed or refuted by the author. If you do that, you will read faster and comprehend more.”
RR#6,
Dave
Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. Please see the Disclaimer page for full details.
* Full disclosure: the links provided are affiliate links as part of the Amazon Affiliates Program. Yes, I would receive an affiliate commission if you bought the book. That is one of the many things that hopefully allows me to keep Market Misbehavior awesome!