Which books would you recommend for a beginning investor interested in the stock market? I’ve already read The Motley Fool’s Investment Guide For Teens, One Up on Wall Street, and I recently bought Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits. I’ve also considered getting The Intelligent Investor. Any other suggestions would be great.
Keep your distance from any book that promises to teach you how to make millions. No honest book can. Indeed, I’d stay away from any book that talks about beating Wall Street or doing anything else remarkable. The only exception would be Peter Lynch’s books (which you’ve already mentioned).
The classic introduction to value investing is The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham. I’d recommend this and Lynch’s books and any college textbooks. Textbooks may be dry, but they won’t lie to you or give you unrealistic expectations. If you’re serious about investing, it’s worth dealing with a bit of dryness.
I might add that these books won’t really define the basic operations of the stock market. So if you’re a total beginner, I’d start with reading all the articles in Investopedia.com.
Hope this helps. 