Genuinely Non-Boring Reads in the Exhilarating Genre of Financial Literature

In this digital age, I still value a good book. Not on a Kindle or e-reader of any kind, an actual book that you can physically hold in your hands on the dock at the cottage. One that, if it’s any good, will inevitably end up with frayed pages and a little warping from water damage.

Non-fiction titles ranging from biographies to self-help books appear in my pile of science fiction and comic books from time to time. But a topic I almost never read about is finance.

Why not? Money impacts our lives in an incredible way and the way we negotiate finance paves the road to our future.

So I asked the two finance nerds I work with to give me recommendations that suit someone who didn’t go to school for math or finance and who needs a book to be genuinely interesting to be able to keep reading.

Here is what they recommended:

Bill Bell

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra

This book may not appear to fit in Leah’s description of “financial literature,” but I assure you that it does.  Chopra admits in the preface that the book should be called The Seven Spiritual Laws of Life, because the principles taught apply to everything in the material world – like money. 

Most people see money as an exercise in math – at times admittedly a complicated one.  But in fact, the more important aspect of understanding money and attaining wealth is in understanding what we believe about money and in the end, changing those beliefs.  You won’t find this topic in very many books that deal directly with finance.  But in Chopra’s The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success you won’t find anything else. 

Read this book first.  Then go on to reading something about finance, economics or wealth creation and then what you learn from those books will take on a new and much more powerful perspective.    

Jonathan Earle

Think like a Freak by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Think Like a Freak by the Freakonomics guys is a moderately intellectual but highly entertaining read for anyone with some inner-nerd.   Through countless cerebrally-scintillating studies, examples, and analysis, they challenge the reader’s intuitive thinking on all fronts.  Although few references relate directly to finance, the book brings light to just how many ways our brain can trick us into thinking irrationally or blindly, and so it’s of course highly relevant to any investor. 

Leah Earle (Me)

Simple Money by William Bell

There is one finance book I have read and I bet you can all guess why. I would be remised if I didn’t mention Bill Bell’s Simple Money. If you are looking for a simple and clear way to see inside the mind of a 20-year veteran in Financial Planning there’s no better book. It’s filled with practical real-world ways to save money and plan for your future. His philosophies are uncomplicated and easy to follow. It’s an easy read that can jump start your foray into financial wisdom.

I can’t pretend I’ll become an expert on finance overnight (I mean I probably will…) but when endeavoring to learn about something new, in my opinion, there’s no better way than with a book.

Got a recommendation for us? We’d love to hear it!