Nine books every investor should read

This article is a list, in no particular order, of the best investing books I have read and the ones I think you will find the most helpful.

It is a list of books every investor should read.

Why nine books?

I looked at all the books on my book shelf and audio device and these were the ones I found the most valuable. I would have liked to make the list ten but could not find another that I thought would benefit you as much as the books I had already selected.

Besides, nine books to read does not sound as intimidating as ten.

Here is a picture of the books on my bookshelf.

For inclusion on the list a book must pass the “dog ear ” test. When I find something worthwhile in a book I fold the page and mark the text with a pencil. Thus the more folded pages a book has the more valuable it is.

For the best prices look for the books used at Amazon or if you commute or drive a lot, buy them from Audible (www.audible.com) so you can listen to them on your mobile device.

A word of warning. Audible uses its own software that has to be installed on your mobile device, so before buying make sure your device is supported.

(Click heading for Amazon page)

The Little Book that Still Beats the Market

by Joel Greenblatt

Hardcover: 183 pages

ISBN-10: 0471733067

ISBN-13: 978-0471733065

Dont let the title of this book fool you. Its written in an easy to understand way by an outstanding hedge fund manager, Joel Greenblatt, who is also an adjunct professor Columbia Business School.

You can easily finish it over a weekend and probably not think the same about investing thereafter.

• It will teach you a statistically tested investment strategy with an excellent track record
• It will explain it in easy to understand way
• It will show you how to implement it in easy to understand steps
• It even had a website where you can easily find the companies to invest in (unfortunately in the USA only)

You Can Be a Stock Market Genius: Uncover the Secret Hiding Places of Stock Market Profits

by Joel Greenblatt

Paperback: 304 pages

ISBN-10: 0684840073

ISBN-13: 978-0684840079

This is the first book by Joel Greenblatt.

Do not let the unusual title of the book fool you, it has a lot to offer.

It extensively covers often overlooked areas of the stock market where profitable investment opportunities can be found.

It is not such an easy read as The Little Book that Still Beats the Market but a worthwhile book for more advanced investors.

• You will be introduced to profitable investment areas such as, spin-offs, mergers, risk arbitrage, restructurings, rights offerings, bankruptcies, liquidations, and asset sales, which  are not usually considered by the average investor
• It will give you the best places to look for these ideas and also where you can find good ideas you can copy, but you still need to do your own homework

The Little Book of Value Investing

by Christopher H. Browne

Hardcover: 208 pages

ISBN-10: 0470055898

ISBN-13: 978-0470055892

This book also has a title that may let you overlook it, but dont.

It is written by the partner of probably the best value investment fund managers in the world Tweedy Browne (www.tweedy.com).

Its also a book that you can finishe over a weekend. It will teach you the ins and outs of value investing in an entertaining and easy to follow way.

What you will get from this book:

• The book is the distilled wisdom of an successful investor
• It will explain value investing, a method of buying undervalued stocks, in an easy to understand way.
• The book is written in an easy to understand way making it suitable for beginners and advanced investors
• It is an easy read that can be finished over a weekend. Implementing the principles will take a lifetime
• Ample use of examples and historical case studies is used to illustrate points

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