Books

Some of my favorite books on investing and startups.

For Sarwa’s latest client meetup, we skipped the usual merch and picked books from Kinokuniya bookstore instead. Here’s the final list, with additions from my LinkedIn network’s best suggestions on investing, business, and life.

My List

Investing

• Thinking, Fast and Slow (Daniel Kahneman) – How two systems of thought shape financial and everyday decisions.

• A Random Walk Down Wall Street (Burton Malkiel) – A case for index funds and efficient markets.

• The Behavior Gap (Carl Richards) – Why we make bad financial decisions and how to fix them.

• Poor Charlie’s Almanack (ed. Peter Kaufman) – Charlie Munger’s wit and wisdom.

• Die With Zero (Bill Perkins) – Maximizing experiences instead of just wealth. (different approach to financial planning)

• Fooled by Randomness (Nassim Nicholas Taleb) – How luck and probability shape life and markets.

• The Black Swan (Nassim Nicholas Taleb) – The impact of rare, unpredictable events.

• The Bed of Procrustes (Nassim Nicholas Taleb) – Aphorisms on risk, life, and systems.

• Antifragile (Nassim Nicholas Taleb) – How things gain from disorder. (my favourite)

• The Changing World Order (Ray Dalio) – Cycles of empires and global power.

• Millionaire Teacher (Andrew Hallam) – How to achieve financial independence on a modest salary.

• The Psychology of Money (Morgan Housel) – How human behavior influences financial success. (great for beginners)

• The Essays of Warren Buffett (Lawrence Cunningham, comp.) – Shareholder wisdom distilled.

• Option Volatility and Pricing (Sheldon Natenberg) – Guide to option pricing and risk. (heavy textbook on options)

• Options as a Strategic Investment (Lawrence McMillan) – Advanced options strategies. (heavy textbook on options)

• Richer, Wiser, Happier (William Green) – Lessons from the world’s best investors on how to build wealth and live a more meaningful life.

Startups & Business

• Delivering Happiness (Tony Hsieh) – Culture and customer obsession at Zappos.

• Never Split the Difference (Chris Voss) – Negotiation techniques from the FBI to business.

• Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth (Gabriel Weinberg & Justin Mares) – A practical guide to finding growth through 19 different marketing channels.

• Zero to One (Peter Thiel & Blake Masters) – Building companies that create new value.

• The Lean Startup (Eric Ries) – Lean experimentation for entrepreneurs.

• Venture Deals (Brad Feld & Jason Mendelson) – A practical guide to venture capital.

• The Hard Thing About Hard Things (Ben Horowitz) – Lessons from building through struggle.

• Remote: Office Not Required (Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson) – Building distributed teams.

• Tools of Titans (Tim Ferriss) – Habits of high performers.

• The 4-Hour Workweek (Tim Ferriss) – Lifestyle design and outsourcing for freedom.

• Shoe Dog (Phil Knight) – Nike’s founder on building against all odds.

Life & Philosophy

• Meditations (Marcus Aurelius) – Stoic philosophy on resilience and virtue.

• The Prophet (Kahlil Gibran) – Poetic reflections on love, work, and life.

• Le Labyrinthe des Égarés (Amin Maalouf) – Explorations of myth and imagination.

• The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (J.R.R. Tolkien) – The most epic story (and movie)

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LinkedIn Suggestions (from my network)

Investing

• Richest Man in Babylon (George S. Clason) – Classic financial parables. (most recommended)

• Superforecasting (Philip Tetlock & Dan Gardner) – How elite forecasters think.

• The New Trading for a Living (Alexander Elder) – Trading psychology, discipline, and systems.

• Get Rich with Dividends (Marc Lichtenfeld) – Dividend-growth investing for income.

• The Joys of Compounding (Gautam Baid) – Compounding wisdom in investing and life.

• How to Make Money in Stocks (William O’Neil) – CAN SLIM framework for growth stocks.

• The Millionaire Next Door (Thomas J. Stanley & William D. Danko) – Habits of America’s wealthy.

• The Millionaire Fastlane (MJ DeMarco) – Entrepreneurial path to wealth.

• The Intelligent Investor (Benjamin Graham) – The foundation of value investing.

• The Art of Thinking Clearly (Rolf Dobelli) – Common cognitive biases explained.

Startups & Business

• Built to Last (Jim Collins & Jerry Porras) – Why visionary companies endure.

• Simplify (Richard Koch & Greg Lockwood) – Winning through simplification.

• Originals (Adam Grant) – How non-conformists drive change.

• Steve Jobs (Walter Isaacson) – Biography of Apple’s founder.

Life & Philosophy

• Designing Your Life (Bill Burnett & Dave Evans) – Designing a well-lived, joyful life.

• Designing the Mind (Ryan Bush) – Mental frameworks for intentional living.

• The Teachings of Don Juan (Carlos Castaneda) – Shamanic lessons and altered perception.

• The Doors of Perception (Aldous Huxley) – Exploration of consciousness through psychedelics.

• The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho) – A fable about pursuing your destiny.

• The Design of Everyday Things (Don Norman) – Principles of human-centered design.

• The Power of Your Subconscious Mind (Joseph Murphy) – Harnessing subconscious beliefs.

• The Architect’s Apprentice (Elif Shafak) – A novel of art, destiny, and love.

• The Obstacle Is the Way (Ryan Holiday) – Stoicism applied to obstacles.

• Atomic Habits (James Clear) – A framework for habit-building.

• Thinking in Bets (Annie Duke) – Probabilistic decision-making.

• How to Build a Car (Adrian Newey) – Memoir of Formula One’s greatest designer.