It’s time for another quarterly reading update (these updates are mostly for my own accountability, but if you find something that interests you, great). Several projects ate into reading time, which meant fewer books over the past three months. The plan is to get back into it in 2019.
Here’s what I’ve been reading over the past quarter:
- Mastering The Market Cycle – The latest from Howard Marks on the different cycles. I wanted to like it, but I set it down halfway through and haven’t picked it up since. Blasphemy, right? What I did read was informative but repetitive (it’s cycles!) and I’m a little burned out on finance books. I’ll finish the book at some point this year.
- The Fifth Risk – Michael Lewis tells the story of the transition and the potential risks when the government is run in a myopic, self-serving, inefficient (less than usual) way. What stood out is the inside look at the important functions of the different Departments he covers.
- Dear Fellow Shareholders… – The book is a collection of excerpts on different topics from 30 years of Marty Whitman’s shareholder letters. It got me looking and reading letters not included in the book. The downside is it has to be read in a browser. A downloadable or physical version would have been nice. Also, I wish more fund companies would do the same with old letters from certain managers.
- Killers of the Flower Moon – David Grann tells the 1920s story of greed, murder, fear, injustice, and how the newly created FBI started investigating 24 Osage Indian deaths. Great book!
- Confusion de Confusiones – Written in 1688, Josef de la Vega tells a story about the Amsterdam stock exchange, trading psychology, human nature, and a few basic investing rules. Not much has changed in over 300 years.
- Educated: A Memoir – Came highly recommended and started it a few days ago.
Want other book ideas? Here are a few lists I came across:
- Best Behavioral Finance Books – L. Swedroe
- The Best Books of 2018 – Bloomberg
- NPR’s Guide to 2018’s Great Reads – NPR
- What’s the last book you rated 5 stars and why should I read it? – Reddit
Last Call
- Can More Information Lead to Worse Investment Decisions? – Behavioral Investment
- Robert Shiller on Bubbles, Reflexivity, and Narrative Economics – Enterprising Investor
- January 2019 Data Update 2: The Message from Bond Markets! – Musings on Markets
- January 2019 Data Update 3: Playing the Numbers Game! – Musings on Markets
- The Perplexing Co-Movement of the Dollar and Oil Prices – Liberty Street Economics
- In Search of Temperament II: Contrarianism – Market Fox
- Things I’m Pretty Sure About – M. Housel
- 30 Principles from “Pre-Suasion” – S. Woods
- Distinguished Speaker Series: Joel Greenblatt (video) – CFA Chicago
- Strong and Weak Technologies – C. Dixon
- The French Burglar Who Pulled Off His Generation’s Biggest Art Heist – New Yorker