5 must-read books to elevate your financial knowledge

There’s nothing like curling up with a good book on a chilly autumn day. Romance and crime novels are popular fireside reads, but a book that boosts your financial know-how can be both fascinating and inspiring. We’ve rounded up five titles to help increase your productivity and financial savvy, from understanding venture capital to developing better work habits. Here’s what to consider reading while sipping your pumpkin-spiced latte this season:

The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life, Sahil Bloom, 2025

There’s more to life than money. That’s the simple message behind Sahil Bloom’s book about finding true fulfillment. The writer, speaker and entrepreneur contends that you need five types of riches – time, social, mental, physical and financial – and shows you how to acquire them.

Backed by three years of research, thousands of interviews and personal experience, Bloom offers advice to help you live better no matter where you are in life. For example, his first section on time wealth shows you how to use an energy calendar to give you more time in the day. Unlocking more time gives you the freedom to choose the types of wealth you want to build.

Even billionaires are learning from Bloom. As hedge fund manager and activist investor Bill Ackman wrote: “I like asymmetric investments and I don’t know of a better return than this book. Read it. You will thank me and Sahil.”

The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Art of Disruption, Sebastian Mallaby, 2022

If you’re in the mood for a page-turner, Sebastian Mallaby’s bestseller will deliver. The English journalist speaks to the biggest names in venture capital to reveal how Silicon Valley has influenced our economy and society. Named a Best Book of 2022 by The Economist, it reveals some of the greatest triumphs and notorious disasters in Valley history, from the birth of Apple to the downfall of WeWork. You’ll also learn about the different approaches of firms like Accel, Sequoia and Benchmark.

The Power Law is not without its critics. One review argued that it overemphasizes America’s global influence, glosses over the role of the state and ignores relevant economic theory on innovation.

However, if you want to understand VC better, this book illuminates a poorly understood but important—and increasingly global—economic sector.

The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness, Morgan Housel, 2020

We all want to make money, but how we spend, save and invest it depends on our behavior. In The Psychology of Money, Morgan Housel shares 19 short stories that examine the strange ways people relate to money – and how our mindset can make a difference. For one personal finance expert, the book shifted her mindset from anxiety and scarcity to “enoughness,” helping her invest more than ever.

From the power of compounding to the role of luck and risk, Housel underscores common truths about financial success. But he also explores why it’s important to be reasonable—rather than rational—with money. While a rational approach may seem like it should work in theory, a reasonable plan is one you’re more likely to stick to in the long term.

The book’s message is that financial decisions are not made on spreadsheets, and monetary success doesn’t depend on how good you are at math. As humans, our personal history, views, motivations and other incentives drive our choices. People “want the strategy that maximizes how well they sleep at night,” Housel writes.

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, Cal Newport, 2016

In a world where our attention is a hot commodity, Cal Newport’s Deep Work argues that the ability to focus on intellectually demanding tasks is a superpower. It lets you quickly grasp complex information and produce better outcomes in less time.

Newport presents four rules as part of a training regimen to activate this superpower, including embracing boredom and quitting social media. The author and computer science professor also suggests concrete tactics to help you get the job done, such as creating a visual scorecard that shows the time you spend on focused work, responding to fewer emails and scheduling periods of internet use.

Although the book is nearly 10 years old, Newport’s advice applies today. Many of us struggle to put our phones down while still worrying about productivity. If that sounds like you, Deep Work might help.

The End of the World Is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization, Peter Zeihan, 2022

Much has been written about the changing world order with President Trump’s return to the White House, but author Peter Zeihan predicted our current circumstances a few years ago. In The End of the World Is Just the Beginning, the author and geopolitical strategist maps out a future world order where countries are forced to be self-sufficient while their populations decline and age.

Zeihan examines upcoming changes to sectors like finance, transport, manufacturing, and agriculture and predicts a world mired in conflict, famine, flailing economic growth, energy crises, and death. However, he suggests the U.S. is well-positioned to succeed.

This book may be a tough sell in a bad news environment, but it’s honest and witty. And if one economic commentator is right, most of Zeihan’s predictions won’t come true. Still, it never hurts to prepare.

 

Disclaimer:

BMO Private Wealth does not have any promotional or other commercial relationship with the authors and publishers of the books selected for review in this article. The views expressed in this article are intended as a general source of information and not intended to provide legal, investment, accounting or tax advice, and should not be relied upon in that regard. If legal or investment advice or other professional assistance is needed, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. BMO Private Wealth is not responsible for the information contained in the books reviewed and disclaims all liability with regards to the same. 

 

 

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