The best investing books to read on Book Lovers Day.
Book Lovers Day can be an expensive holiday for readers. If ever there’s a free pass to splurge on all the books, this is it. For help getting back on the road to financial recovery, we’ve compiled a list of the best investing and finance books. Because while Book Lovers Day (Aug. 9) only comes once a year, the advice in these books can keep paying dividends for decades to come. Whether you’re a beginning investor or trading pro, there’s a book for you on this list of the 14 best investing books for beginners and experts alike.
“Invested: How Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger Taught Me to Master My Mind, My Emotions, and My Money (with a Little Help from My Dad)” by Danielle Town and Phil Town
Called Rich Dad, Poor Dad meets The Happiness Project, “Invested” is “a must if you’re new to investing and need help demystifying the seemingly complicated investing lingo,” says Shannah Compton Game, a Los Angeles-based certified financial planner and host of the “Millennial Money Podcast.” Danielle Town, host of the beloved InvestED podcast, recounts her 12-month journey from avoiding anything to do with finance to financial freedom — pitfalls and all — with the help of value investing lessons from her dad. “Danielle’s book is easy to read and packed full of actionable tips to get you started investing smartly,” Game says. It’s one of the best investing books for beginners.
Goodreads rating: 4.14 stars (from 222 ratings)
Amazon rating: 4.8 stars (from 67 ratings)
“One Up on Wall Street: How to Use What You Already Know to Make Money in the Market” by Peter Lynch
“One Up on Wall Street” is destined to make an appearance in every conversation about investing books. Hailed as one of the most successful money managers in American history, Peter Lynch shares the secrets to beating the investing pros in this New York Times best-selling book. The best part: You can do it using what you already know. Lynch shows stock investors how to find the important stuff in financial statements in a few easy steps. This book is “great for investors looking to develop practical ways to research investment ideas,” says Christina Cheng, president of the Central Ohio Chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute.
Goodreads: 4.15 (from 13,856 ratings)
Amazon: 4.4 stars (from 680 ratings)
“The Millennial Advantage: How Millennials Can (and Must) Be the Next Great Generation of Investors” by Jason Kirsch
Here is a finance book for anyone who can still feel the sting of the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Kirsh doesn’t sugarcoat reality — the financial crisis dealt investors a hard blow and may have psychologically scarred the entire millennial generation — but he does offer a ray of hope, and it’s a strong ray. Reading his book will empower any millennial to take charge of their finances and start building a retirement portfolio, says Anne Drougas, professor of finance and accounting at Dominican University. Although it’s geared toward millennials, investors of all ages can benefit from reading.
Goodreads: unrated
Amazon: 4.8 stars (from 49 ratings)
“The Intelligent Asset Allocator: How to Build Your Portfolio to Maximize Returns and Minimize Risk” by William J. Bernstein
Neurology meets investing in Bernstein’s easy-to-follow guide to building a diversified portfolio. A neurologist by trade and investor by sport, Bernstein has taken his self-taught investment knowledge and translated it into one of the least jargony books on investing available. He outlines a three-step process to determining the right asset allocation for you that any of us could follow. A great investing book for anyone who wants to take their investments into their own hands but would rather watch Netflix (ticker: NFLX) than CNBC.
Goodreads: 4.2 (from 1,137 ratings)
Amazon: 4.1 stars (from 131 ratings)
“The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America” edited by Lawrence A. Cunningham
To anyone who has ever said Warren Buffett’s letters to shareholders are the best investor education one can find, this finance book is for you. This is a compilation of Buffett’s seminal letters, arranged under investing themes like valuation and accounting, common stock, mergers and acquisitions, accounting shenanigans and taxation. It’s “candid perspectives on financial discipline, corporate governance and effective boards straight from the Oracle of Omaha,” Cheng says. Now on its fourth edition, the most recent publication takes us up to 2015 and Berkshire Hathaway’s 50th anniversary under Buffett’s leadership.
Goodreads: 4.42 stars (from 583 ratings)
Amazon: 4.7 stars (from 261 ratings)
“The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing” by Benjamin Graham
If Warren Buffett calls it “the best book about investing ever written,” you know it must be good. This book has risen above classic into the realm of stock market bible. You wouldn’t expect such a heavy book — and at 640 pages, this one is heavy — to be so easy to read, but Graham’s words have the conviction of the consummate master and the force of gospel. His expert guidance applies to both the beginning investor and the active investor. Newer editions come with helpful end-of-chapter summaries and even a preface by Buffett, who read the first edition of the book in 1950.
Goodreads: 4.24 stars (from 44,922 ratings)
Amazon: 4.5 stars (from 1,885 reviews)
“A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing” by Burton G. Malkiel
No list of the best investing books is complete without mention of Malkiel’s contribution. This best-seller has become an iconic guide to investing for beginners and experts alike. Malkiel teaches investors how the stock market works and to manage their investments with time-tested strategies. From stocks to bonds to gold to real estate investment trusts and even home ownership, this book can help you be a better investor in all areas of your life.
Goodreads: 4.07 stars (from 17,982 reviews)
Amazon: 4.6 stars (from 811 reviews)
“Savvy Investing: Strategies for Successful Investing” by Gary D. Lemon
Do you want to take ownership of your financial future while avoiding common investing pitfalls? Then this is the investing book for you, says Jeff Gropp, a professor of economics and management at DePauw University in Indiana. While intended for individual investors (including those of modest means), Gropp reports that “even some investing pros could benefit from [Lemon’s] straightforward advice” on everything from investing to college savings and Social Security. At just over 150 pages, it’s a “quick read,” made more so with a healthy sprinkling of humorous anecdotes throughout, he says.
Goodreads: 5 stars (from 7 reviews)
Amazon: 5 stars (from 6 reviews)
“The Undoing Project” by Michael Lewis
While not your typical finance book, The Undoing Project has the potential to “change the way we think about financial decision-making and decision-making in general,” says Diana Harrington, a finance professor at Babson College in Massachusetts. The book explores the relationship of two Israeli psychologists whose work grandfathered the field of behavioral economics and shed new light on why humans do what we do. Lewis, for his part, “is even more engaging than usual in this book,” Harrington says.
Goodreads rating: 3.97 stars (28,357 ratings)
Amazon: 4.2 stars (1,296 reviews)
“Reminiscences of a Stock Operator” by Edwin Lefèvre
Called “the most entertaining book written on investing” by The Seattle Times, “Reminiscences of a Stock Operator” has earned the mark of a Wiley investment classic with its enduring popularity. First published in 1923, this investing book is still widely read today, proving that while regulations may change, human motivations — and stock market manipulations — stay the same. Based on his interviews with the infamous trader Jesse Livermore, Lefèvre illuminates trading strategies still practiced today. Reminisces is a stock market book “for anyone who wants to understand the dynamics of capital markets from the point of view of a market maker,” Cheng says.
Goodreads rating: 4.17 stars (10,071 ratings)
Amazon: 4.4 stars (584 reviews)
“Investment Psychology Explained: Classic Strategies to Beat the Markets” by Martin J. Pring
Providing another glimpse inside the mind of a trader, Pring’s investing book “explains the temperament needed to be a successful trader,” says Tom Arnold, professor of finance at the University of Richmond. Drawing on Pring’s own experience as an investment advisor and the expertise of investors like Livermore and Bernard Baruch, the book provides “insights that seem to hold true no matter how the markets evolve,” Arnold says. This makes it one of the best investing books on the fundamentals of active trading.
Goodreads: 3.77 stars (from 81 reviews)
Amazon: 4.4 stars (from 23 reviews)
“Retire Inspired: It’s Not an Age It’s a Financial Number” by Chris Hogan
This best-selling finance book is for anyone who wants “to retire with dignity,” says Curt Harding, media relations manager for Ramsey Solutions. Hogan teaches us to redefine retirement as a financial number — as in how much you need to live your dream retirement — as opposed to an age, then provides the steps to achieving it. “Hogan accomplishes quite a feat writing about mutual funds, tax-favored plans and IRAs without boring the reader,” Harding says.
Goodreads rating: 4.07 stars (from 1,367 ratings)
Amazon: 4.5 stars (from 473 reviews)
“Winning the Loser’s Game: Timeless Strategies for Successful Investing” by Charles D. Ellis
A stock market book to win the heart of any active investor by one of the most well-known experts on stock investing. Ellis provides “solid advice and easy reading” on how to beat the market, says Mitch Conover, associate professor of finance at the University of Richmond. The seventh edition has even been updated to account for today’s low-rate environment.
Goodreads: 3.95 stars from 637 ratings
Amazon: 4.6 stars from 17 reviews
“Capital in the Twenty-First Century” by Thomas Piketty
Piketty’s investing book takes readers back to 18th-century Europe and the history of investing. But it also takes us back to the reason for investing. Most investing books delve into how to invest but before the chicken can hatch, you have to know why you’re keeping that egg warm. In his discourse on the growth and outlook for global inequality, Piketty “explains why it’s so important to invest,” says Kristoph Kleiner, assistant professor of finance at Indiana University. Albeit a “large and complicated book,” he says you only need to read to Chapter 3 to get the gist.
Goodreads: 4.03 stars from 17,309 ratings
Amazon: 4.4 stars from 1,848 reviews
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Celebrate National Book Lovers Day With the Best Investing Books originally appeared on usnews.com
