The best books for first-time investors in the stock market

Why am I passionate about this?

Investing in the share market appears to be a bewildering, constantly shifting, extremely noisy, and busy world – one best left to the experts. Fortunes can be made but, equally, fortunes can be lost – with devastating results for those on the receiving end. And yet there are a few, simple, timeless principles to investing in the market successfully – and, ironically, those principles – known collectively as index or passive investing – will be more successful than all the noisy, busy stuff put out by the industry. In writing our book, this is what we would like as many people as possible to know. It’s not about being smart.  


I wrote...

It's Not about How Smart You Can Be. It's about How Wealthy You Can Be.: Make the Most of the Market

By Mark Varder,

Book cover of It's Not about How Smart You Can Be. It's about How Wealthy You Can Be.: Make the Most of the Market

What is my book about?

This visually entertaining, one-hour read will convince you that low-cost, buy-and-hold index investing is not only the easiest way to participate in the stock market but also the way to make the most of it. 

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Elements of Investing: Easy Lessons for Every Investor

Mark Varder Why did I love this book?

This is a slim, to-the-point, easily understood book based on the same principles as the well-known book on writing, The Elements of Style. With its five chapters, it is the opposite of the highly complex, bewildering, we-know-more-than-you communication put out on a daily basis by the investment industry. Its wisdom is timeless. It’s all that a first-time investor needs to know.

By Burton G. Malkiel, Charles D. Ellis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Elements of Investing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Seize control of your financial future with rock-solid advice from two of the world's leading investment experts

Investors today are bombarded with conflicting advice about how to handle the increasingly volatile stock market. From pronouncements of the "death of diversification" to the supposed virtues of crypto, investors can be forgiven for being thoroughly confused.

It's time to return to the basics. In the 10th Anniversary Edition of The Elements of Investing: Easy Lessons for Every Investor, investment legends Burton G. Malkiel and Charles D. Ellis deliver straightforward, digestible lessons in the investment rules and principles you need to follow to…


Book cover of The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns

Mark Varder Why did I love this book?

John Bogle is the man who invented index investing. He understood that a low-cost investment in the index representing the top 40, 100, or 500 companies listed on a stock market would outperform stock picking, timing the market, broker recommendations, and fund manager picks – which all come with their attendant costs. 

By John C. Bogle,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked The Little Book of Common Sense Investing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The best-selling index investing "bible" offers new information and is updated to reflect the latest market data The Little Book of Common Sense Investing is the classic guide to getting smart about the market. Legendary mutual fund veteran John C. Bogle reveals his key to getting more out of investing: low-cost index funds. Bogle describes the simplest and most effective investment strategy for building wealth over the long term: buy and hold, at very low cost, a mutual fund that tracks the S&P 500 Stock Index. Such an index portfolio is the only investment that guarantees your fair share of…


Book cover of The Power of Passive Investing: More Wealth with Less Work

Mark Varder Why did I love this book?

A book that espouses the same principles as John Bogle – namely that ‘low-cost, passively managed index funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs) will outperform the active management’ of speculators, brokers, and fund managers with their higher costs. And, as the sub-title says, these principles require less work. Passive investing also requires less anxiety and less expertise. What’s not to love?

By Richard A. Ferri,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Power of Passive Investing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A practical guide to passive investing Time and again, individual investors discover, all too late, that actively picking stocks is a loser's game. The alternative lies with index funds. This passive form of investing allows you to participate in the markets relatively cheaply while prospering all the more because the money saved on investment expenses stays in your pocket. In his latest book, investment expert Richard Ferri shows you how easy and accessible index investing is. Along the way, he highlights how successful you can be by using this passive approach to allocate funds to stocks, bonds, and other prudent…


Book cover of Winning the Loser's Game: Timeless Strategies for Successful Investing

Mark Varder Why did I love this book?

This book is a classic. It starts with the observation that only a handful of tennis players in the world have the talent and expertise to play to win. For everyone else, tennis is a loser’s game – they simply don’t have the talent to play an attacking game. Instead, they must avoid losing. The same applies to investing. Only a few truly gifted and experienced investors can play to win at investing – picking stocks, timing the market, etc. Everyone else, including the majority of advisors, fund managers, and stockbrokers should be defensive – they should invest to avoid losing at this game.

By Charles Ellis,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Winning the Loser's Game as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The definitive guide to long-term investing success-fully updated to address the realities of today's markets

Technology, information overload, and increasing market dominance by expert investors and computers make it harder than ever to produce investing results that overcome operating costs and fees. Winning the Loser's Game reveals everything you need to know to reduce costs, fees, and taxes, and focus on long-term policies that are right for you.

Candid, short, and super easy to read, Winning the Loser's Game walks you through the process of developing and implementing a powerful investing strategy that generates solid profits year after year. In…


Book cover of Whatever Happened to Thrift? Why Americans Don't Save and What to Do about It

Mark Varder Why did I love this book?

We all know we should save – and yet we don’t. Even the people living in the world’s richest nation – the USA – don’t save enough. Why? Plenty of research, plenty of anecdotes, and then some solid insights and recommendations by Ronal Wilcox make this book useful for individuals, employees, employers, and policymakers.  

By Ronald T. Wilcox,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Whatever Happened to Thrift? Why Americans Don't Save and What to Do about It as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Not saving is more than just a problem that affects individual Americans and their families--it's a national problem

It is no secret that Americans save very little: every economic index confirms as much. But to solve the real myster


You might also like...

Grand Old Unraveling: The Republican Party, Donald Trump, and the Rise of Authoritarianism

By John Kenneth White,

Book cover of Grand Old Unraveling: The Republican Party, Donald Trump, and the Rise of Authoritarianism

John Kenneth White Author Of Grand Old Unraveling: The Republican Party, Donald Trump, and the Rise of Authoritarianism

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Reading was a childhood passion of mine. My mother was a librarian and got me interested in reading early in life. When John F. Kennedy was running for president and after his assassination, I became intensely interested in politics. In addition to reading history and political biographies, I consumed newspapers and television news. It is this background that I have drawn upon over the decades that has added value to my research.

John's book list on who we are, how we’ve changed, and what gives us hope

What is my book about?

It didn’t begin with Donald Trump. When the Republican Party lost five straight presidential elections during the 1930s and 1940s, three things happened: (1) Republicans came to believe that presidential elections are rigged; (2) Conspiracy theories arose and were believed; and (3) The presidency was elevated to cult-like status.

Long before Trump, each of these phenomena grew in importance. The John Birch Society and McCarthyism became powerful forces; Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first “personal president” to rise above the party; and the development of what Harry Truman called “the big lie,” where outrageous falsehoods came to be believed. Trump…

Grand Old Unraveling: The Republican Party, Donald Trump, and the Rise of Authoritarianism

By John Kenneth White,

What is this book about?

It didn't begin with Donald Trump. The unraveling of the Grand Old Party has been decades in the making. Since the time of FDR, the Republican Party has been home to conspiracy thinking, including a belief that lost elections were rigged. And when Republicans later won the White House, the party elevated their presidents to heroic status-a predisposition that eventually posed a threat to democracy. Building on his esteemed 2016 book, What Happened to the Republican Party?, John Kenneth White proposes to explain why this happened-not just the election of Trump but the authoritarian shift in the party as a…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in investment management, personal finance, and stock market?

11,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about investment management, personal finance, and stock market.

Investment Management Explore 20 books about investment management
Personal Finance Explore 88 books about personal finance
Stock Market Explore 41 books about stock market