Plus some good reads from around the Web.
I still give books for Christmas, even if the rest of the world has decided it’s better to try to move all the tat in China here piecemeal via the medium of Beijing-factory-to-UK-landfill [1].
Surprisingly, I’ve found books about investing and money are presents that tend to be more remembered and mentioned again in the years to come.
Unlike most Christmas presents, financial books can make a positive impact on someone’s life. I’ve seen people changed through the judicious deployment of a money tome, like the old Motley Fool books [2] or the curate’s egg that is 
And while they’re certainly not the sexiest present anyone will receive this Christmas, I’ve noticed people can be strangely gratified when given the right book – even before their financial makeover is underway.
I’d guess it’s because they think you’re taking them seriously in a way that a six-pack of Bart Simpson socks [4]
Great books for Christmas gifts
Here are some ideas if you want to bask in the kind of quixotic gratefulness that comes my way every December.
They’re not necessarily the very newest books – though none bar Merryn Somerset-Webb’s much-loved one for women is more than a couple of years old – but they’re all very good.
Note: With these various gender-based suggestions, I’m merely following the traditional schtick of Yuletide scribblers down the ages. Obviously anyone is free to read anything they like, and good luck to you.
Best for mothers
Love Is Not Enough: A Smart Woman’s Guide to Money [6]
Best for fathers
The Long and the Short of it: A Guide for Normally Intelligent People [7]
Best for grandparents
FT Guide to Pensions and Wealth in Retirement [8]
Best for daughters
Mrs Moneypenny’s Careers Advice for Ambitious Women [9]
Best for sons
You Say Tomayto: Contrarian Investing in Bitesize Pieces [10]
Best for tiny kids
The Little Prince [11]
Best for whiz kid 20-somethings
More Money Than God: Hedge Funds and the Making of the New Elite [12]
Best for passive investors
Smarter Investing: Simpler Decisions for Better Results [13]
Best for value investors
The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor [14]
Best for traders
The Naked Trader: How Anyone Can Make Money Trading Shares [15]
Best for wannabee Warren Buffetts
The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life [16]
Best for would-be entrepreneurs
How to Get Rich [17]
Best for cash-strapped cousins
Your Money or Your Life: A Practical Guide [18]
Best for cynics
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine [19]
What a treat it’d be to receive that little library for Christmas!
I think I’ll console myself by hitting the Kindle [20]
From the blogs
Making good use of the things that we find…
Passive investing
- Should I own any sector funds? – Oblivious Investor [21]
- A-Z of Objective Wealth: Index Funds – Objective Wealth [22]
Active investing
- Lockup expiration and stock prices – Musings on Markets [23]
- Dart: Growing but not priced for growth – Richard Beddard [24]
Other articles
- Twinkie investing: Sweet but unhealthy – Investing Caffeine [25]
- A deeper look at UK inflation – Retirement Investing Today [26]
- Bayesian unreason in the modern world – The Psi-Fi blog [27]
- Potential dangers of investing for income – Wade Pfau [28]
- 12 lessons Steve Jobs taught Guy Kawasaki – mcturra2000 [29]
Product of the week: The Co-Operative Bank has added a 2.79% five-year fixed rate mortgage to its product range [30]. ThisIsMoney says [31] it’s a record low rate. You’ll need a 40% deposit and there’s a £999 fee.
Mainstream media money
Note: Some links are to Google search results – these enable you to click through to read without you being a paid subscriber of the site in question.
Passive investing
- Swedroe: Zero expense ratio ETFs are inevitable – Index Universe [32]
- Swedroe: Excuses pile up for active managers’ failures – Moneywatch [33]
Active investing
- Recent big director buys – The Motley Fool [34]
- Greece’s stock market is beating China’s – The Atlantic [35]
- 10 new money purchases by canny stock pickers – Morningstar [36]
- How to invest in silver [Google result: Click the FT link] – FT [37]
- Merryn: Never forget the elephants don’t gallop [Google result] – FT [38]
Other stuff worth reading
- Learning to love volatility: Nassim Taleb – Wall Street Journal [39]
- 10 things you won’t hear mutual fund companies say – Marketwatch [40]
- Ferri: 3 keys to successful investing [Video] – Morningstar [41]
- The risks of retail bonds – The Guardian [42]
- The population conundrum [Google results: Click FT link] – FT [43]
Book of the week: How about a good investing book [44] to give at Christmas?
Like these links? Subscribe [45] to get them every week!