Same as Ever, A Guide to What Never Changes - by Morgan Housel

[nafregnum]

I'm really liking this book.  All about things that just don't change about human nature, and lots of anecdotes that investors will enjoy (about stocks, markets, economies, etc)

 

Each chapter is about 11 minutes long (he says "You're welcome" for that, and I do appreciate it)

 

I'm just 2/5 through it so far.  It starts off with a new anecdote about Warren Buffett, and there are some good Charlie Munger quotes in here too.  The opening story about Buffett:

 

Quote

“I once had lunch with a guy who’s close to Warren Buffett.

 

This guy—we’ll call him Jim (not his real name)—was driving around Omaha, Nebraska, with Buffett in late 2009. The global economy was crippled at this point, and Omaha was no exception. Stores were closed, businesses were boarded up.

 

Jim said to Warren, “It’s so bad right now. How does the economy ever bounce back from this?”

 

Warren said, “Jim, do you know what the bestselling candy bar was in 1962?”

 

“No,” Jim said.

 

“Snickers,” said Warren. “And do you know what the bestselling candy bar is today?”

 

“No,” said Jim.

 

“Snickers,” Warren said.

 

Then silence. That was the end of the conversation.

 

This is a book of short stories about what never changes in a changing world.”

 

And, a quote I really enjoyed, by another investor Jim Grant:

 

Quote

“To suppose that the value of a common stock is determined purely by a corporation’s earnings discounted by the relevant interest rates and adjusted for the marginal tax rate is to forget that people have burned witches, gone to war on a whim, risen to the defense of Joseph Stalin and believed Orson Welles when he told them over the radio that the Martians had landed.” -- Jim Grant

 

Morgan Housel wrote another book here in the forum, "The Psychology of Money", which I haven't read yet.  

 

Anybody else reading this one?  

 

[nafregnum]

By the way, two side thoughts:

 

(1) It'd be nice for TheCOBF to have an Amazon affiliate code, so that links to the books could generate a little extra $$ for the forum.

https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/resource-center/how-to-build-amazon-affiliate-links?ac-ms-src=rc-home-card

 

(2) Maybe we could have members submit favorite books for 2023 and vote/rank them?  

 

 

 

[cofabmd]

Mr. Housel, having written The Psychology of Money, a book that has sold around three million copies worldwide so far, invests all his money in a Vanguard total market ETF. He says he lets compounding do all the work.

[bargainman]

On 12/18/2023 at 5:41 PM, cofabmd said:

Mr. Housel, having written The Psychology of Money, a book that has sold around three million copies worldwide so far, invests all his money in a Vanguard total market ETF. He says he lets compounding do all the work.

 that's kind of amusing considering he used to work for the Fool,  a stock picking service.   But I always did enjoy his articles.