The 15 Books That Will Make You a Better Investor
The best books to sharpen your thinking and improve your investing (with all the links)...
Hi, Investor 👋
I’m Jimmy, and welcome to another free edition 🔓 of our newsletter. If you want to become a smarter, more consistent investor, this edition is your roadmap.
Here are 15 essential books (plus 2 bonuses), divided by experience level, to help you build judgment and invest with confidence.
Each comes with a quick, no-fluff summary. Let’s dive in…
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📍 Start Here: A Beginner’s Guide to Investing
The Psychology of Money – Morgan Housel (2020)
Start with the basics - not of math, but of mindset. This book lays the emotional foundation every investor needs. Housel shows that success in investing isn’t about being the smartest - it’s about managing your behavior, expectations, and relationship with risk.The Most Important Thing – Howard Marks (2018)
A guide to thinking like a contrarian. Marks breaks down concepts like risk, cycles, and market inefficiency with humility and precision.Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman (2013)
Understand how your brain tricks you - especially under uncertainty. This book is foundational for anyone serious about decision-making in investing and beyond.The Little Book of Common Sense Investing – John C. Bogle (2017)
Bogle's timeless advice? Own the whole market at low cost. It’s simple, powerful, and backed by decades of data. A must-read for long-term, no-nonsense investing.The Interpretation of Financial Statements – Benjamin Graham & Spencer B. Meredith (1998)
A short and accessible guide to decoding the language of business. Graham breaks down how to read financial statements in a way that complements deeper strategic thinking - perfect for grounding your growing investment knowledge in financial reality.
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🧠 Level Two: Build Depth & Perspective
One Up on Wall Street – Peter Lynch (2000)
Lynch believes that individual investors can beat the pros - if they stick to what they know. This book shows how to spot opportunities in everyday life.Fooled by Randomness – Nassim Nicholas Taleb (2005)
We tend to mistake luck for skill. Taleb shows how randomness rules markets far more than we think - and why humility is a powerful edge.Competition Demystified – Bruce Greenwald & Judd Kahn (2007)
A practical guide to understanding moats, barriers to entry, and business strategy. It strips down competitive analysis to what really matters - cash flow and durable advantage.The Long Good Buy – Peter Oppenheimer (2020)
A macro take on how markets move through cycles. Useful for understanding where we are in the broader economic environment - and what it means for long-term positioning.Inside the Ultimate Money Mind – Robert G. Hagstrom (2023)
A deep dive into how Warren Buffett thinks. Hagstrom explores the emotional and intellectual traits that drive Buffett’s decision-making - and how you can adopt the same frameworks.
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🏆 Level Three: Mastery & Reflection
Poor Charlie’s Almanack – Charlie Munger (2023)
A collection of Munger’s speeches, quotes, and wisdom. It’s not just about investing - it’s about life, rationality, and long-term thinking. Pure gold.Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk – Peter L. Bernstein (1998)
A sweeping history of how humans learned to understand and manage risk. If you want to know where modern finance really came from, this is the story.When Genius Failed – Roger Lowenstein (2001)
The rise and fall of Long-Term Capital Management - and how even the smartest minds on Wall Street can blow up. A gripping cautionary tale about leverage, ego, and overconfidence.Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits – Philip Fisher (2003)
Fisher pioneered the idea of analyzing quality of business and management. His 15-point checklist is still followed by many top investors today, including Buffett.Investment Valuation: Tools and Techniques for Determining the Value of Any Asset – Aswath Damodaran (2012)
Damodaran is the definitive voice on valuation. This book bridges theory and practice, walking you through DCF, multiples, and how to assess what a business is truly worth - beyond the market noise. It’s rigorous, comprehensive, and incredibly useful for anyone who wants to go deep into asset valuation.
🎁 Bonus: Broader Wisdom That Sticks
The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life – Alice Schroeder
A beautifully written biography that blends Buffett’s investing story with his personal values, failures, and philosophy. You’ll walk away inspired - and with a much deeper understanding of what makes him tick.Why Nations Fail – Daron Acemoglu & James A. Robinson
Not exactly about investing - but essential for anyone thinking long term. This book explains how institutions, incentives, and power shape prosperity. Understanding macro risk begins with understanding how countries succeed (or collapse).
These books won’t make you rich overnight…
But they will make you smarter, calmer, and better prepared.
The best investors aren’t chasing hot tips. They’re building frameworks. Such as Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch and Howard Marks…
If any of these books changed the way you think, let me know.
And if this list helped you, pass it on - your friends (and their portfolios) will thank you.
Until next time,
Jimmy
Disclaimer
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You are missing the most important one, my book, “The Most Boring Stock Investment Book You’ll Ever Read”
One Up on Wall Street is my fav