Recommended Books — Money, Investing, Thinking and Health

The best first book for an Indian reader. Built around EPF, PPF, Indian mutual funds and Indian insurance, so nothing needs translating.

Why people who know what to do still do not do it. The examples are American; the behaviour is universal.

Two hours, written in 1926, still the clearest statement of pay yourself first. Skip it if archaic language annoys you.

The case for index funds, made by the man who built the first one. Short, repetitive on purpose, and it has aged very well.

The friendliest introduction to thinking about a business rather than a ticker. Wildly optimistic about your edge, so read it with that in mind.

Indian companies, concrete screening rules, a ten-year holding period. Remember it is a stock-picking book, and stock picking is harder than it reads.

A history of the Indian market told through its scams and manias. The value is in recognising the pattern next time.

Low risk, high uncertainty, and the Patel motel story. Short and genuinely enjoyable.

The classic, and the one most often bought and least often finished. Read chapters 8 and 20 first.

How to judge the quality of a business rather than the cheapness of a share. Dense, and worth it if you have patience.

Mental models, incentives, and the discipline of avoiding stupidity. Pricey in hardback — look for the digital edition.

The most practical book on this list. Systems over goals, and why making a thing easier matters more than wanting it more.

How your mind actually makes decisions, including the ones about money. Heavy going in places; worth finishing anyway.

The six levers people use to persuade you. Read it and you will start spotting them in every sales pitch you hear.

A case for concentration as a competitive advantage. Slightly preachy, genuinely useful.

Short, quotable, and free online if you prefer. Good on leverage and on wealth as distinct from money.

A memoir of building Nike that is honest about the near-bankruptcies. The best business story on this shelf.

Contrarian, arrogant, and full of ideas worth arguing with. Read it as provocation, not instruction.

What separated companies that compounded from ones that did not. The research has aged unevenly, the questions have not.

Makes the case that sleep is the foundation everything else sits on. Some claims have been disputed — read it as a strong argument, not settled science.

Prevention over treatment, and planning for the last decade of your life rather than the next one. Long, and the best on this list.

How badly most of us breathe and what changes when you fix it. Reads like journalism; try the exercises before judging.

A SIP starter guide for Indians — how much a month actually reaches ₹10 lakh, ₹50 lakh or ₹1 crore, model portfolios by age, direct versus regular plans, and the tax rules for each instalment. Free on Kindle Unlimited. If you can only read one book and you are starting from zero, read Let’s Talk Money first.