This post originally appeared a couple of weeks ago at the new Amazon Money & Markets blog which also includes content from the likes of John Bogle and Ken Fisher. I hope you enjoy this take on some must-read investment books. My plan is to write another post (or two) on the topic. Please leave a comment with some additional investment books (and categories) you think are worth covering.

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In the introduction to my recently published book, Abnormal Returns: Winning Strategies from the Frontlines of the Investment Blogosphere I write: “Investing is hard.” In my day-to-day job as a blogger I have written this not altogether grammatically correct phrase any number of times. Now after having written a book on investing I should probably also note that: “Writing a book on investing is really hard.” That is why the vast majority of books on investing simply aren’t all that good.

Therefore investors, both novice and experienced, should be selective in their consumption of financial media, including finance and investing books. As much as well all need a continuing education in the ever-evolving world finance we also need to be sure that we don’t get sidetracked into strategies and tactics that do not help us meet our ultimate financial goals. Hopefully this list will help readers of the Amazon Money & Markets blog pick and choose among the many available finance books.

This list was inspired by an e-mail from an Abnormal Returns reader who was looking for a list of books that went above and beyond what was contained in my book. Many of these books appear in the bibliography to my book, but others, especially the recently published do not. So without any further here are some books that I think can help round out an investor’s education.

Finance: a first stop for investors should be an understanding of financial theory and practice.

Value investing: the world’s greatest investors are often best categorized as value investors, so an understanding of value investing is a must.

Psychology: the hardest part of investing isn’t the markets, but understanding our own often irrational actions.

Narrative finance: the best way to learn about a topic is often through an interesting story, well told. These books take the reader on a journey through three recent, crucial periods in the markets.

Recently published: here are some new (and forthcoming) books also worth noting.

This list is by no means exhaustive, because I have left off entire categories, like hedge funds and portfolio management, that are worth further study. Nor should this list be static. The financial markets, and our relationship to them, are constantly changing. That is why so many of us are fascinated by the investing game and keep looking for a deeper understanding of finance in books and online.