What are you reading currently?

[bookie71]

The book by David McCullough on Harry Truman.

[rkbabang]

A lot of frivolous and light reading here. I just read the new Stephen King, Doctor Sleep. It's a sequel to The Shining. I've waited 30+ years to find out what happened to Danny Torrance. Redrum!

 

I read that a few weeks ago.  Not as good as the Shining, but I enjoyed it.

[rkbabang]

As suspected, you're all a bunch of atheist-libertarians ;)

 

Not everyone here, but some of us are Dawkins and Rothbard fans.

 

[Liberty]

The book by David McCullough on Harry Truman.

 

How do you like it?

[phil_Buffett]

i recently finished The Outsiders - William N. Thorndike

 

great book. nice summary about amazing Managers.

 

i now starting to read Distant Force a Memoir of the Teledyne Corporation and the Man who created it - Dr George A. Roberts

[Liberty]

i now starting to read Distant Force a Memoir of the Teledyne Corporation and the Man who created it - Dr George A. Roberts

 

That was interesting, though not always the best-written book. For those who want most of the ideas in a different format, there's this great podcast by the Manual of Ideas:

 

http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/315877-the-manual-of-ideas/30189-the-manual-of-ideas-on-business-leader-henry-singleton-founder-of-teledyne-audio

[Guest deepValue]

I've just added a few to my to-read list: http://www.businessinsider.com/5-books-to-read-before-your-30th-birthday-2013-12

 

1. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (started to read this my sophomore year of college but never finished it. I hear it's a must-read)

2. Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger (don't know anything about it but have heard of it)

3. Letters from a Stoic (already on my to-read list -- everyone who has read it has great things to say about it)

4. The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, A Roman Soldier (not sure about this one -- can anyone recommend it?)

5. The Essays of Warren Buffett (I have a heavily-marked-up version and refer to it often; I would hope all of you have read this or the actual letters)

[phil_Buffett]

i now starting to read Distant Force a Memoir of the Teledyne Corporation and the Man who created it - Dr George A. Roberts

 

That was interesting, though not always the best-written book. For those who want most of the ideas in a different format, there's this great podcast by the Manual of Ideas:

 

http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/315877-the-manual-of-ideas/30189-the-manual-of-ideas-on-business-leader-henry-singleton-founder-of-teledyne-audio

 

thanks for the link, liberty.  :) i will check it out  :)

[SharperDingaan]

Look at this months CFA magazine; read the articles on demographics/deflation, & time management.

The underlying theme is disconnects: markets & people.

 

The more old folks you have (spending), the more migration (productivity), & the more women leaving the workforce (too small a net take-home pay), the more structural deflation you have to overcome. Demand, not supply, is the dominant velocity of money driver; therefore you can print what you want .... without inflating ... as you still have to overcome structural deflation drag (the dominating money demand).

 

So ... if you are in ageing Europe & importing workers - deflation risk is high, & you can run QE flat-out with little risk.

But do it where the workforce is mostly <35 (EM countries), & you will get inflation/hyper-inflation (Zimbabwe)

 

Do you know what your top 3 objectives are? ... so why are you not spending at least 50% of your time on them?

 

SD

 

[prunes]

I've just added a few to my to-read list: http://www.businessinsider.com/5-books-to-read-before-your-30th-birthday-2013-12

 

1. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (started to read this my sophomore year of college but never finished it. I hear it's a must-read)

2. Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger (don't know anything about it but have heard of it)

3. Letters from a Stoic (already on my to-read list -- everyone who has read it has great things to say about it)

4. The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, A Roman Soldier (not sure about this one -- can anyone recommend it?)

5. The Essays of Warren Buffett (I have a heavily-marked-up version and refer to it often; I would hope all of you have read this or the actual letters)

 

Influence is great. Didn't care for Seeking Wisdom. If you're interested in stoic philosophy, also check out Marcus Aurelius's Meditations.

 

Currently 200 pages into Bleak House by Dickens. Not sure how I feel about it yet.

[ERICOPOLY]

The Success Equation: Untangling Skill and Luck in Business, Sports, and Investing, Michael J. Mauboussin

 

http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/1422184234#_

 

Saw this on top of Buffetts' desk while he was giving an interview to a reporter.

 

I'm partway through this book.  Somebody (a member of the board) mailed it to me unsolicited.  It is dragging up some old memories of statistics and probability from my college years (math major).  I switched to math after a stint in psychology and business.

 

I'm only a third of the way through the book so far.  Mauboussin likes sports analogies.  I think I am more a wide receiver than a punter.  Mauboussin says it's easier to trade for a punter than a wide receiver because the success of the wide receiver depends more on the team attributes/dynamics, whereas the punter is more or less a lone wolf.  So in the world of investing, all of my success came from ideas and discussions originated on this great message board that Sanjeev started.  Therefore, I am not a punter.  Take away my supporting team players, and I have no demonstrable skill.

[LC]

Eric, I think the various threads and posts with questions about your trading methods are evidence that you do in fact have a discernible skill. The fact that you can take an undervalued mega cap and turn a 30% return into 100+%...as well as constructing your frankenstein portfolios by trading upside for downside...I think that is skillful.

[ERICOPOLY]

Eric, I think the various threads and posts with questions about your trading methods are evidence that you do in fact have a discernible skill. The fact that you can take an undervalued mega cap and turn a 30% return into 100+%...as well as constructing your frankenstein portfolios by trading upside for downside...I think that is skillful.

 

It is a skill that is useful if there is an actionable investment idea brought to my attention.  Somebody needs to throw the ball in the air for me to catch it.  Somebody needs to put in some good blocks for me to get open.  I can't work in isolation like the punter.

[nikhil25]

Recently finished reading One up on Wall Street - Peter Lynch.

Currently reading Overbooked: the exploding business of travel and tourism - Elizabeth Becker.

[crastogi]

Currently - the upside of irrationality by Dan Ariely.  Great book!

[netnet]

I've just added a few to my to-read list: http://www.businessinsider.com/5-books-to-read-before-your-30th-birthday-2013-12

 

1. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (started to read this my sophomore year of college but never finished it. I hear it's a must-read)

2. Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger (don't know anything about it but have heard of it)

3. Letters from a Stoic (already on my to-read list -- everyone who has read it has great things to say about it)

4. The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, A Roman Soldier (not sure about this one -- can anyone recommend it?)

5. The Essays of Warren Buffett (I have a heavily-marked-up version and refer to it often; I would hope all of you have read this or the actual letters)

 

Influence is great. Didn't care for Seeking Wisdom. If you're interested in stoic philosophy, also check out Marcus Aurelius's Meditations.

 

Currently 200 pages into Bleak House by Dickens. Not sure how I feel about it yet.

 

I love Seeking Wisdom.  For the diligent it is a fabulous, but it basically it is way too dense to absorb it all at once.  It is encyclopedic, but there are no pictures  ;).  Kidding aside, it requires reading and re-reading to get it.

 

 

I just finished Plateau, which is good.  I picked up a couple of models out if it.  (One basically is an enrichment of the decreasing marginal returns that turn into increasing negative marginal returns.  Think an occasional drinking versus alcoholism.  It's funny I know this model from medicine, but had not generalized it.)

 

I am reading Social: Why our Brains are Wired to Connect, by Lieberman, it is excellent.  It is by a social neuroscientist. So far it is brilliant.

 

 

 

[serendibz]

The everything store

[augustabound]

Moonwalking with Einstein currently, about half way though.

 

Just finished Chris Hadfield's An Astronaut's Guide to Life.  I loved it.  It was part motivational and part biography.

I think I finished it in 2 days.

 

Since my wife bought my a Kobo for Christmas, I'm reading a ton more.

Manual of Ideas is next up.

[Palantir]

I am reading the Song of Ice and Fire series. I got tired of waiting for the tv show to air in April, so may as well bite the bullet and read the books.

 

Reading book 2 now, I think the show is better btw. (Or maybe I'm just a bad reader)

[rayfinkle]

I am reading the Song of Ice and Fire series. I got tired of waiting for the tv show to air in April, so may as well bite the bullet and read the books.

 

Reading book 2 now, I think the show is better btw. (Or maybe I'm just a bad reader)

 

What a great series! Stick with it...

[rayfinkle]

Read this a while back... Fantastic http://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-World-Survival-Resilience-Redemption/dp/1400064163

[kmukul]

Eric, I think the various threads and posts with questions about your trading methods are evidence that you do in fact have a discernible skill. The fact that you can take an undervalued mega cap and turn a 30% return into 100+%...as well as constructing your frankenstein portfolios by trading upside for downside...I think that is skillful.

 

It is a skill that is useful if there is an actionable investment idea brought to my attention.  Somebody needs to throw the ball in the air for me to catch it.  Somebody needs to put in some good blocks for me to get open.  I can't work in isolation like the punter.

come on Eric, I though you werent serious when you were posting all this, you are undoubtedly a much better investor then average and you will improve with time and make even more money. (like in perf reviews they say everyone has areas of improvement) but you are definately a 1 in stack ranks. you also exemplify some of the quotes of buffet with your style of investing “I’m no genius, but I’m smart in spots, and I stay around those spots.” :) you know your area and you have been doing excellent staying around those. And you also exemplify the 20 punch card quote opportunity look where you have got with 3-4  punches once you have 20 in next 40-50 years you might be on forbes list. its otherwise difficult for me to get what buffet is saying unless there is an example I can understand

[ERICOPOLY]

Eric, I think the various threads and posts with questions about your trading methods are evidence that you do in fact have a discernible skill. The fact that you can take an undervalued mega cap and turn a 30% return into 100+%...as well as constructing your frankenstein portfolios by trading upside for downside...I think that is skillful.

 

It is a skill that is useful if there is an actionable investment idea brought to my attention.  Somebody needs to throw the ball in the air for me to catch it.  Somebody needs to put in some good blocks for me to get open.  I can't work in isolation like the punter.

come on Eric, I though you werent serious when you were posting all this, you are undoubtedly a much better investor then average and you will improve with time and make even more money. (like in perf reviews they say everyone has areas of improvement) but you are definately a 1 in stack ranks. you also exemplify some of the quotes of buffet with your style of investing “I’m no genius, but I’m smart in spots, and I stay around those spots.” :) you know your area and you have been doing excellent staying around those. And you also exemplify the 20 punch card quote opportunity look where you have got with 3-4  punches once you have 20 in next 40-50 years you might be on forbes list. its otherwise difficult for me to get what buffet is saying unless there is an example I can understand

 

I got by with a few picks after having posters here spoon feed the basics about the business and the upside to me.  It has to be a really simple idea for me to understand it -- which is probably the real reason why I don't have a diverse portfolio.  Anything more complicated than completely basic and I'm lost.

 

Really I admire Kraven's approach with 100 items -- I certainly don't think I can even manage that intellectually.  And Packer really understands the businesses well, and lots of them. 

 

I just hope the board keeps turning over good simple ideas every now and then.

[kmukul]

They have their own spots and you have your own and this is all as of today, I think you will easily get 15-20 easy ideas in next 40 years, this board or buffet will guide you or something else might happen in future

[mbharadwaj]

I started reading "Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy" by Kip Thorne and Stephen Hawking. Other than an interest in the topic (first started after reading Prof Hawking's "Brief History of Time", I am looking forward to Chris Nolan's movie "Interstellar" which is out this November and is based on Kip Thorne theories.