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Introduction Guide to Investment Strategy is an investment book. This book aims to address the concerns of retail investor. I would like to learn about the recommendations of two economists on investing. Author Peter Stanyer is an economist and strategist at a London-based private wealth manager. He was previously chief investment officer of a US-based investment firm, a managing director at Merrill Lynch and investment director of the UK’s Railways Rail Pension Fund. He has also worked as an economist for the Bank of England and the IMF. He won the Adam Smith prize for economics when he was at Cambridge University. Stephen Satchell is Economics Fellow at Trinity College Cambridge, and is a Professor at the University of Sydney. He is The Reader in Financial Econometrics (Emeritus) at Cambridge University, and is an Honorary Member of the Institute of Actuaries. He is an academic advisor to numerous financial institutions. Contents Guide to Investment Strategy has a total of 11 chapters which are divided into 2 parts. It also has an introduction (Back to basics, again) and 2 appendices. Part 1 is The Big Picture. There are 6 chapters here. These chapters are 1) Setting the scene: What is risk…

Introduction Flour Water Salt Yeast is a book about baking. The author wants to address the techniques used in a good artisan bakery and how they could be adopted for home kitchen. This book is supposed to be read by my wife but she did not have to time to read it yet. So I decided to read it for her first and see if it is worth her time. Author Ken Forkish was working in the high-tech industry before becoming a baker. He is the owner of Ken’s Artisan Bakery and Ken’s Artisan Pizza. Contents Flour Water Salt Yeast contains an introduction, 14 chapters which are divided into 4 parts, and a Lagniappe (Oregon Hazelnut Butter Cookies). Part 1 is The Principles of Artisan Bread. The 3 chapters here are The Backstory, Eight Details for Great Bread and Pizza, and Equipment and Ingredients. It ends with an essay: Where Does Our Flour Come From? Part 2 is Basic Bread Recipes and contains 3 chapters. They are Basic Bread Method, Straight Doughs, and Doughs Made with Pre-Ferments. This part also ends with an essay: The Early Morning Bread Baker’s Routine. Part 3 is Levain Bread Recipes. There are 5 chapters…

Introduction The Smart Money Method is a book about investment strategy. The author presents his investment process from finding the original idea to buying, monitoring and selling. He would like to improve the readers’ investment performance with this book. I would like to know how hedge fund managers choose the stocks to be included in their portfolios and see if I could implement some methods to improve my returns. Author Stephen Clapham is the founder of Behind the Balance Sheet. He spent some 20 years as an equity analyst at different investment banks, covering various sectors, and was consistently rated in the top 10 in his sector. He moved to the buy-side in 2005 and was a partner and head of research at 2 multi-billion dollar hedge funds; he specialised in using a deep dive research approach to identify special situation opportunities. Contents The Smart Money Method has a preface, an introduction, and 14 chapters. The chapters are 1) What Makes A Good Investment?, 2) Finding Ideas, 3) Testing the Hypothesis, 4) Understanding the Industry, 5) Quality, 6) Analysis of Company Quality, 7) Management, 8) Company Financials, 9) Valuation, 10) Communicating the Idea, 11) Maintaining the Portfolio, 12) Macro-Economic Analysis,…

Introduction The Fourth Trimester is about the three months after delivery of the baby. The author wants to let the readers understand how to protect and nurture an infant during the first 3 months of life. This book was recommended to me by my wife. Authors Susan Brink is a freelance medical reporter. Her regular clients include NPR, National Geographic, and U.S. News & World Report. She has covered health and medicine for 35 years at newspapers and news magazines including the Los Angeles Times and U.S. News & World Report. Contents The Fourth Trimester contains a preface, an introduction, and 10 chapters. The chapters are 1) Evolution and the Primitive Brain of a Newborn: Why Infants Arrive Unfinished, 2) Crying: The Wakeup Call That Says Everything Has Changed, 3) Sleeping: Irregular and Sporadic Sleep Is Normal in the Fourth Trimester, 4) Feeding: Breast Milk and Formula, 5) Sound: Laying the Foundation for Speech, 6) Sight: From Forms to Faces, 7) Touch: Pain and Pleasure, 8) Physical Development: Getting Ready to Crawl, Walk, and Run, 9) Stimulation: Keep It Real, Keep It Simple, and 10) Mom and Dad: The Parents’ Fourth Trimester. Review The Fourth Trimester discusses about the baby’s first…

Introduction How I Invest My Money is a personal finance book rather than an investment book. It is a collection of personal stories of financial experts. The editors hope that the readers could learn from this book and feel more confident in managing own money. I found this book being recommended in an investment blog and would like to see if my guess of their using mostly low-cost investment vehicles is true or not. Authors Joshua Brown is an American author, columnist, blogger (The Reformed Broker), commentator on CNBC, and CEO of New York City-based Ritholtz Wealth Management. He is also a contributing columnist to Yahoo! Finance, Business Insider, and serves on the board of advisors for Brightscope and Upside. Brian Portnoy is the founder of Shaping Wealth, a financial wellness platform. He has served as keynote speaker, seminar leader, and coach to thousands of investors on topics ranging from portfolio strategy to the connection between money and happiness. For more than 20 years, he has worked in the hedge fund and mutual fund industries as portfolio manager and educator.  They are both editors and authors of their own chapter in this book. Contents How I Invest My Money consists of an introduction, 24 chapters, and a conclusion. Each chapter corresponds to a…

Introduction Simplicity Parenting is about simplification in the parenting process. This book aims to help the readers strip away many unnecessary, distracting, and overwhelming elements that are scattering our children’s attention and burdening their spirits. I am interested to see how I could create a simple environment for my kid. Authors Kim John Payne has been a school counsellor, adult educator, consultant, researcher, educator and a private family counsellor for 27 years. He has also consulted for educational associations in South Africa, Hungary, Israel, Russia, Switzerland, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, Thailand and China. He has been helping children, adolescents and families explore issues such as social difficulties with siblings and classmates, attention and behavioral issues at home and school, emotional issues such as defiance, aggression, addiction and self-esteem and the vital role living a balanced and simple life brings.  Lisa M. Ross has been an editor, literary agent and ghostwriter. She currently works exclusively as a writer. Contents Simplicity Parenting consists of an introduction, 6 chapters, and an epilogue (Simplicity Parenting to Go). The chapters are 1) Why Simplify?, 2) Soul Fever, 3) Environment, 4) Rhythm, 5) Schedules, and 6) Filtering Out the Adult World. Review Simplicity Parenting…

Introduction How Spies Think is about how to apply the intelligence analysts’ way of thinking in day-to-day life. He aims to empower people to make better decisions by learning how intelligence analysts think and make people more resilient to manipulation. I am attracted by the title and would like to see if I could improve my decision making skills with this book. Authors David Omand is a British former senior civil servant. He was the first UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator. He served for 7 years on the Joint Intelligence Committee. Other positions that he held include Permanent Secreatary of the Home Office (1997 to 2000) and Director of the Government Communications Headquarters (1996 to 1997). Contents How Spies Think has a total of 11 chapters and an introduction (Why we need these lessons in seeking independence of mind, honesty and integrity). The 11 chapters are divided into 3 parts. Part One is An Analyst Sees: Four Lessons in Ordering Our Thoughts. The 4 chapters here are Lesson 1: Situational awareness. Our knowledge of the world is always fragmentary and incomplete, and is sometimes wrong, Lesson 2: Explanation. Facts need explaining, Lesson 3: Estimations. Predictions need an explanatory model as…

Introduction The Psychology of Money is about the soft skill of managing money. It aims to convince the readers that soft skills are more important than the technical side of money. I saw this book being recommended in an investment blog, so I was interested to know how it relates to investing. Author Morgan Housel is a partner at The Collaborative Fund and a former columnist at The Motley Fool and The Wall Street Journal. He is a two-time winner of the Best in Business Award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, winner of the New York Times Sidney Award, and a two-time finalist for the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism. Contents The Psychology of Money consists of an introduction, 20 chapters and a postscript (A Brief History of Why the U.S. Consumer Thinks the Way They Do). The chapters are 1) No One’s Crazy, 2) Luck & Risk, 3) Never Enough, 4) Confounding Compounding, 5) Getting Wealthy vs. Staying Wealthy , 6) Tails, You Win, 7) Freedom, 8) Man in the Car Paradox, 9) Wealth is What You Don’t See, 10) Save Money, 11) Reasonable > Rational, 12) Surprise!, 13) Room for…

Introduction 100 Baggers is a book about how to find stocks that will give us 100-to-1 returns. This book wants to teach the readers how such returns happened and what investors need to do to find them. I was attracted by the title and also want to see what are the common themes among the 100 baggers in the book. Author Christopher Mayer is an author, newsletter writer, and investor. He is the portfolio manager and co-founder of Woodlock House Family Capital. Prior to that, he worked with Bonner & Partners and the Bonner family office. He was the editor of Capital & Crisis, published by Agora Financial from 2004-2015. He was a corporate banker from 1994-2004. Content 100 Baggers has 15 chapters and an appendix. The 15 chapters are 1) Introducing 100-Baggers, 2) Anybody Can Do This: True Stories, 3) The Coffee-Can Portfolio, 4) 4 Studies of 100-Baggers, 5) The 100-Baggers of the Last 50 Years, 6)The Key to 100-Baggers, 7) Owner-Operators: Skin in the Game, 8) The Outsiders: The Best CEOs, 9) Secrets of an 18,000-Bagger, 10) Kelly’s Heroes: Bet Big, 11) Stock Buybacks: Accelerate Returns, 12) Keep Competitors Out, 13) Miscellaneous Mentation on 100-Baggers, 14) In Case…

Introduction Blockchain Revolution is a book about the power and potential of blockchain technology. The authors aim to interest the readers in this technology, understand this next wave of innovation, and take action to ensure its potential for prosperity and a better world is realized. I have been wanting to read about blockchain and this is my first blockchain book. I hope that it will help me to understand this technology better. Author Don Tapscott is a Canadian business executive, author, consultant and speaker, specializing in the the impact of technology on business and society. He is currently Co-Founder & Executive Chairman of the Blockchain Research Institute, an Adjunct Professor at INSEAD, recently a two-term Chancellor of Trent University in Ontario and Member of The Order of Canada. Alex Tapscott is a Canadian business author and advisor. His main field is blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies. He is the Co-Founder of the Blockchain Research Institute. Don Tapscott is his father. Contents Blockchain Revolution has 11 chapters which are grouped into 3 parts. Part I is Say You Want a Revolution. It has 2 chapters. The chapters are The Trust Protocol, and Bootstrapping the Future: Seven Design Principles of the Blockchain Economy….