It's funny how things change over time. I remember in grade school and throughout college how much I disliked reading books. Occasionally I would read an entire book, but it was rare. I seldom enjoyed the subject matter I was forced to read, and it never felt challenging. The best part about books in college was that I knew that at the end of the semester I could sell them back and get a nice paycheck.
When I began to gain more interest in trading and investing, my dislike for reading vanished. It felt like I couldn't read enough. I would fly through one book and would immediately be onto the next. Every now and then I get asked if there are any interesting books regarding trading or investing that I have enjoyed and would recommend.
When I first began searching for books on the subject, I had a hard time knowing where to start. There are many great books out there, but below is a list, not in any specific order, of a few I've read and really enjoyed:
Evidence-Based Technical Analysis: Applying the Scientific Method and Statistical Inference to Trading Signals ─ David Aronson
Market Wizards: Interviews with Top Traders ─ Jack D. Schwager
Black Edge: Inside Information, Dirty Money, and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street ─ Sheelah Kolhatkar
The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing ─ Benjamin Graham
Survival of the Fittest for Investors: Using Darwin's Laws of Evolution to Build a Winning Portfolio ─ Dick Stoken
Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt ─ Michael Lewis
The Buy Side: A Wall Street Trader's Tale of Spectacular Excess ─ Turney Duff
Principles ─ Ray Dalio
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator ─ Edwin Lefevre
Momo Traders: Tips, Tricks, and Strategies from Ten Top Traders ─ Brady Dahl
How to Make Money in Stocks: A Winning System in Good Times or Bad ─ William J. O'Neil
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable ─ Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The Little Book of Common-Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns ─ John C. Bogle
What Works On Wall Street: A Guide to the Best Performing Investment Strategies of All Time ─ James P. O'Shaughnessy
Inside the Black Box (Second Edition): A Simple Guide to Quantitative and High-Frequency Trading ─ Rishi K. Narang
Way of the Turtle: The Secret Methods that Turned Ordinary People into Legendary Traders ─ Curtis M. Faith
The Daily Trading Coach: 101 Lessons for Becoming Your Own Trading Psychologist ─ Brett N. Steenbarger
And reading books is not the only way to familiarize yourself with tested ideas from respected writers. For those who don't have time to read the print version, there are always alternatives such as Audible and other online book-streaming services. Likewise, podcasts cover a lot of these topics.
If you enjoy these subjects as much as I do, I'm sure you will enjoy reading some of the above-listed books, if you haven't already. I'm always searching for other good books to add to my reading list. So, if you have any books that you have found good and would recommend, let me know. If you would like to discuss what my takeaways from some of these books were, click here.