Get Your Summer Reading List in Order: 3 Books That Will Make You a Better Investor

Summer is the perfect time to recharge and maybe rethink how you’re approaching your finances. Whether you’re poolside, lakeside, or just looking for something more meaningful than market headlines, here are three books that belong on every investor’s summer reading list. They won’t give you hot stock tips (that in fact rarely work). But they will help you build a mindset that’s calm, confident, and built for the long haul.

1. The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

This book is a masterclass in understanding why we do what we do with money. Housel blends storytelling with behavioral finance to show how emotion, upbringing, and personality all play a bigger role in our financial outcomes than spreadsheets ever could. It’s a quick read, but the lessons, like why patience and humility matter more than intelligence, stick with you.

2. Think, Act, and Invest Like Warren Buffett by Larry Swedroe

If you’re tired of all the noise and opinions in the financial media, this one’s for you. Swedroe distills Buffett’s philosophy into simple, evidence-based advice for everyday investors. He champions indexing, diversification, building an efficient portfolio, and ignoring short-term market swings. It’s a practical guide to staying the course when everything around you says otherwise. Remember, media companies are all looking for “clicks”, and doom and gloom generates clicks.  If they told you the “right” way to invest, no one would listen to them because it’d be the same messaging over and over again.

3. Simple Wealth, Inevitable Wealth by Nick Murray

This is the one I come back to again and again. Murray’s message is clear: long-term equity investing, paired with emotional discipline, is the most reliable path to real wealth. He’s direct, sometimes blunt, but always reassuring, especially when markets feel shaky. If you’ve ever second-guessed your plan during a downturn, this book will remind you why you started investing in the first place.  Stock ownership is the one asset class proven to outpace inflation and the erosion of purchasing power over the long-term.  This is critical for retirees with a 30-year retirement horizon or anyone wanting to pass wealth to future generations.

Final Thought

These books don’t try to predict the future. Instead, they help you build confidence in your plan, trust in long-term investing, and a better understanding of your own behavior. That might not sound exciting but it’s exactly what most investors need, especially when the world feels uncertain.

Happy reading!  And if you want to talk through your own plan before diving into the next chapter, I’m here.