There are many books on the market that teach about investing in the stock market. But which book is best? That’s a question most investors ask themselves when they are trying to learn more about this topic. To find out, we went through all of these books so you don’t have to! Here’s a roundup-style blog post where we have ranked and reviewed the 23 Best Stock Market Books for Investors in 2023.
Related: Check out our recommended books on day trading.
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Table of Contents
What Are The Best 15 Stock Market Books?
Here is our ranked and reviewed list of the best stock market books.
Overview:
This book is written by William O’Neil and shows you how to use the CANSLIM system. This system allows you to make money in stocks by buying shares that are lower priced, have higher volume, a good P/E ratio, high dividend yield, and low market capitalization. The author does warn against investing too much into one stock and also advises you to diversify your portfolio.
Pros:
- Best selling stock market book on the market in over 35 years.
- Written by a successful investor who has made millions of dollars with this system.
About the Author:
William O’Neil is an investment strategist and has written for The New York Times, Barron’s, and Forbes. He is the founder of Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) and the creator of the CANSLIM investing strategy that has been recognized by many as one of the best stock market strategies for investors to follow.
Overview:
This book is written by Benjamin Graham, and Warren Buffett has said that this was the best investment advice he had ever received. The author’s goal with this book is to help investors achieve long-term success in stock investing, which includes buying stocks at a low price, not being overly emotional about short-term fluctuations of share prices, and diversifying your investments.
The Intelligent Investor does not teach you how to buy stocks but instead teaches you what kind of stocks should be bought. This book is primarily geared towards an investor who is looking for a long-term strategy rather than a short-term one.
Pros:
- Great book for beginners to understand the stock market.
- Simply written for an easy read that anyone can understand.
About the Author:
Benjamin Graham was a professor at Columbia University. He is also known as not only one of the best investment advisors to Warren Buffett and his mentor but also for being called The Father of Financial Analysis by people like John Maynard Keynes and Paul Samuelson.
Overview:
This book is written by Burton Malkiel, and he teaches that the best way to invest in stocks for beginners is a strategy called “indexing.” This simply means buying an equal dollar amount of all stocks. The author warns readers against investing in individual companies because he believes this strategy leads to overconfidence and mistakes.
We would recommend this book to anyone who has never invested before but wants an easy read that will teach them some basics on how stocks and indexes work without having to wade through all of the complicated terminology.
Pros:
- Beginner-friendly.
- Great book for those who are looking to learn more about index funds rather than individual stocks.
About the Author:
Burton Malkiel is a Princeton economist and was the first chairman of the Council on Economic Advisors. He wrote this book to help readers learn about how stocks work without having to take an expensive class, or read 100+ pages because he wants everyone with an interest in investing to be able to understand it easily.
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Overview:
This book is a compilation of interviews with professional stock traders who have been in the industry for over 20 years. The author, Jack Schwager, doesn’t teach you about how to make money but instead shares his experiences and insights into what it takes to be successful when trading stocks. The traders interviewed are some of the most influential people in the industry.
The book is a must-read for anyone who wants to know what it takes to trade stocks successfully, and it’s perfect for beginners because there are no formulas or complicated math involved here – just simple stock trading advice from people that have been successful at it.
Pros:
- This book is full of anecdotes and insights from some of the most successful traders in the industry.
- Easily understandable for beginners because it doesn’t teach you about formulas or complicated math when trading stocks.
About the Author:
Jack Schwager is a retired stockbroker and he has been in the industry for over 20 years. He is also a best-selling author and he has won the Best Trading Book Award twice. Schwager’s intention with this book was to share his experience in the industry with readers who are interested in trading stocks but don’t know where to start or what it takes to be successful.
Overview:
This book is written by Peter Lynch, and he teaches the reader how to identify good companies in which to invest. He promotes “growth investing” as a strategy where you buy stocks when they are at their lowest point (to decrease your risk) because this means that they have been proven undervalued for some reason or another.
We would recommend this book for anyone who wants to read an easy-to-understand guide that teaches them how to invest without having to learn a lot of complicated math. This book also teaches the reader how to identify good stocks without having to spend a lot of time.
Pros:
- Clear, easy-to-understand writing style.
- Lays out the fundamentals of “growth investing” in an engaging way that’s easy and without having to learn a lot of complicated math – perfect for beginners!
About the Author:
Peter Lynch is a former head of the Fidelity Magellan Fund and has been in the industry for over 20 years. He was able to earn an annual return of 29% throughout his tenure at Fidelity by investing in stocks that had strong fundamentals like high-profit margins, low debt levels, etc. His intention with this book was to share how he was able to achieve this success and teach others how they can do the same, which is what makes it a must-read for beginners.
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Overview:
In this book, the author shares his wisdom on how to invest in stocks without having to take expensive classes or read 100+ pages because he wants everyone with an interest in investing to be able to understand it easily. “The Little Book of Common Sense Investing” teaches readers why they should always buy at least one index fund every time they invest so that their portfolio will automatically diversify risk – something many investors don’t do enough of when building their own portfolios.
This book is perfect for beginners because it doesn’t teach you about formulas or complicated math when trading stocks.
Pros:
- Great for beginners.
- Teaches readers how to automatically diversify their risk when building a portfolio without any formulas or complicated math.
About the Author:
John Bogle is the founder of Vanguard, one of the world’s largest investment management companies with over $15 trillion assets under management globally and has been in the industry for over 50 years. His intention when writing this book was to share his wisdom on how to invest as simply as possible, which is why it’s a must-read for beginners.
Overview:
This book explains the psychology behind why investors make irrational decisions when investing in stocks. The author analyzes how these mistakes can cause a bubble to form and what this means for people who are invested in that market at that time; as well as some of the possible consequences which may ensue from an economic downturn.
Pros:
- Excellent for beginners because it teaches them some of the consequences that may ensue from an economic downturn and how to protect themselves against “irrational exuberance” so they don’t fall into the trap of making irrational choices with their investment money.
- Lays out a few formulas and math problems that are easy to understand.
About the Author:
Robert Shiller is a professor at Yale University and he has won the Nobel Prize in Economics for his research on asset prices. He wrote this book to help people who are investing their money understand why some investors make irrational decisions about stocks and how these mistakes can cause bubbles to form that will affect anyone invested when they happen.
Overview:
This book teaches investors how to make money in the stock market by buying undervalued companies that are poised for growth. The author lays out some strategies and formulas that will help investors find these “gems” so they can take advantage of them before everyone else does.
Great for beginners who want a step-by-step guide on how to find undervalued companies that are poised for growth so they can make money in the stock market.
Pros:
- Teaches beginners how to find undervalued companies that are poised for growth so they can make money in the stock market with step-by-step instructions.
- Explains some formulas and math problems that are easy to understand.
About the Author:
Philip A. Fisher was a successful investor and business owner in the San Francisco Bay Area who wanted to share what he had learned with anyone willing to listen, which is why this book will be an excellent read for beginners looking for some step-by-step instructions on how they can make money in stocks.
Overview:
Written by Howard Marks, this book takes a deep dive into what “risk” really is and how to measure it so that investors can make informed decisions about where to put their money.
This book offers great insight for beginners who have already begun to build their own portfolios but are still trying to figure out how risk factors into the big picture.
It’s also a great fit for intermediate to advanced investors because it covers all aspects of “risk” and teaches readers what they need to consider before investing in anything so that they can make informed decisions about where they think there might be opportunities.
Pros:
- Teaches investors how to measure risk so they can avoid making careless mistakes with their money.
- Lays out complicated formulas and math problems in an easy-to-understand way.
- Written by Howard Marks, who is a successful investor and business owner with over 30 years of experience.
About the Author:
Howard Marks is a co-founder of Oaktree Capital Management, an investment firm that has $100 billion in assets under management. He wrote this book to help investors avoid making careless mistakes when investing so they can make informed decisions about where to put their money and manage risk more effectively.
Overview:
Written by Edwin Lefèvre, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator is a classic book on the stock market that is as relevant today as it was when first published in 1923.
This book will be great for readers who are interested in early 20th-century financial history and want to read some of the earliest literature about stock trading from one of its most successful investors.
It starts out with a fictionalized biography based on Lefèvre’s real-life friend Jesse Livermore, an American investor known for his successes and failures within Wall Street’s speculative markets during turbulent times like those experienced during The Great Depression.
Great for advanced investors looking to expand their knowledge base beyond what books have been written more recently so they can gain perspective into how things used to work compared to now.
Pros:
- Provides a historical perspective on the stock market that is still relevant today.
- Written by Edwin Lefèvre, who was a successful investor in the early 20th century.
- Focuses on Jesse Livermore, an American investor known for his successes and failures within Wall Street’s speculative markets during turbulent times.
About the Author:
Edwin Lefèvre was a successful American author and journalist who wrote this classic book on the stock market in order to help teach everyone about investing. He wanted to share what he had learned with anyone willing to listen, which is why this will be an excellent read for beginners looking for some step-by-step instructions on how they can make money in stocks.
INVESTING TIP: Our average net worth in our 30s is over $2M. It’s never too early or too late to start investing in the market.Â
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Overview:
Published in 1995, this book is a great resource for investors who want to learn more about Warren Buffett, one of the most successful American entrepreneurs ever known. This biography will take readers on a journey through his life from childhood to adulthood as he tries out different jobs before finally finding what truly makes him happy: investing and building businesses.
Pros:
- Great for investors who want to learn more about Warren Buffett, one of the most successful American entrepreneurs ever known.
- Focuses on the life of Warren Buffett, one of the most successful American entrepreneurs ever known.
About the Author:
Roger Lowenstein is a financial journalist whose work focuses on investments, personal finance, economic affairs, entrepreneurship and business management. He has published several books, including this biography on Warren Buffett.
Overview:
This is great for beginners looking to learn more about investing, gain some perspective on what it really takes to be successful and start learning the basics of making their own decisions when it comes to where they put their money.
It was originally published in 1999 but has since been updated with the latest information about the stock market, so this will be a great resource for anyone willing to read something that’s not too recent yet still relevant enough to offer valuable advice.
Pros:
- Written by an experienced financial analyst and psychologist.
- Teaches readers how to trade stocks effectively and make their own decisions.
- Originally published in 1999, but has been updated with the latest information about the stock market.
- Great for beginners looking to learn more about investing and gain some perspective on what it takes to be successful.
About the Author:
Van Tharp is an American financial analyst and psychologist who has over 40 years of experience working in the finance industry. He wrote this book to share his knowledge with everyone about how they can improve their trading skills when it comes to buying and selling stocks themselves.
Overview:
Joel Gleenblatt is a professor of finance at Princeton University who, along with his graduate student Jay Ritter, set out to research and write about the stock market as a whole. What they found was that most investors tend to make poor decisions when it comes to stocks due to emotional biases and not actual information or data. This book is designed to help readers learn how to make smarter decisions when it comes to their investments and rely on the numbers as opposed to feelings.
Pros:
- Written by a professor of finance at Princeton University.
- Bestselling book on the market today about how to invest for beginners and professionals alike who want to learn more about what it takes to be successful in this field.
- It’s broken down into three parts: fundamental analysis, technical analysis and portfolio management so readers can focus on what they need to learn more about in order to start making smarter decisions when it comes to investing.
About the Author:
Joel Greenblatt is a professor of finance at Princeton University and the founder of Gotham Capital, a hedge fund. He is also the co-author of this book along with his graduate student Jay Ritter.
Overview:
Michael Lewis was a bond trader on Wall Street in the 1980s who, after witnessing the effects of greed and recklessness first-hand, decided to write about it. This book is his personal account of what life was like as a young trader working in one of the most volatile markets at a time when money could be made or lost overnight. It’s a fascinating read that provides an inside look into what it was like during this decade.
The good news is, you can learn from his mistakes without having to make them all yourself (and lose everything). The bad news? You won’t be able to unsee the truth once you know what really goes on behind closed doors at some of America’s largest companies.
Pros:
- An easy-to-understand language that makes it accessible for anyone interested in learning about the stock market from someone who has been there.
- Written by a former bond trader on Wall Street who experienced firsthand what life was like during this decade and wants to share his personal account with readers today.
- Provides an inside look into what life was like on Wall Street during the 1980s when money could be made or lost overnight.
About the Author:
Michael Lewis is a former bond trader on Wall Street who has written several books about finance, including The Big Short and Flash Boys (both of which were adapted into movies). He lives in New York City with his wife and three children.
Overview:
This book is a collection of essays written by the world’s most successful investor, George Soros. In it, he discusses topics such as human psychology, financial theory, and his own personal experiences in the market. It’s an interesting read for anyone who wants to learn more about how Soros thinks and why he has been so successful over the years.
Pros:
- The world’s most successful investor, George Soros, discusses topics such as human psychology, financial theory, and his own personal experiences in the market.
- Provides an interesting perspective on how to think about the stock market and why some investors are more successful than others.
- Originally published in 1987, it is still a relevant read today for anyone interested in learning more about investing from a masterful investor.
- Inspirational quotes throughout will inspire you to take action and make changes in your life so that you too can be successful at whatever it is you want to do with your money.
About the Author:
George Soros is an American billionaire hedge fund manager who has made a fortune investing in the stock market. He is also known for his philanthropy work, political activism and support of democracy around the world. In this book he shares his thoughts on how to be successful at what ever it is you want to do with your money, while inspiring readers by sharing stories from throughout his career that have helped shape him into who he is today.
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8 More Stock Market Books That Are Worth Reading
16. Fooled by Randomness, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
17. Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques, by Steve Nison
18. When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management, by Roger Lowenstein
19. Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns, by Thomas N. Bulkowski
20. The Financial Diet: A Total Beginner’s Guide to Getting Good with Money, by Chelsea Fagan
21. The Little Book of Value Investing, by Christopher H. Browne
22. A Beginner’s Guide to the Stock Market: Everything You Need to Start Making Money Today, by Matthew R. Kratter
23. Cryptocurrency Investing for Dummies, by Kiana Danial
Wrap Up
Reading books about stocks might seem daunting at first, but there are plenty of beginner-friendly titles out there that will help you become better educated on investing without having to take expensive classes or spend too much time reading about it.
This post has ranked & reviewed the best stock market books for you based on the content and author so that you don’t have to do all the research yourself!
Also, check out our recommended books on day trading.