Books I recommend
Good books do not replace experience at the chart, but they give you the foundation. Here you will find the titles I recommend myself, each with a short assessment. The links lead to the German editions; all books are also available in English.
Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets
The standard work on chart analysis. Murphy explains technical analysis from the ground up: trends, support and resistance, chart patterns, candlestick charts, indicators and the relationships between markets.
This book was the basis for my exam as a Certified Financial Technician (CFTe).
Who it is for: Anyone who wants to learn technical analysis systematically. The book is good to work through at the start and later as a reference.
Best Loser Wins
A book about the mind, not the chart. Day trader Tom Hougaard describes why most traders do not fail because of their analysis but because of how they deal with losses, and how to learn to think differently from the majority.
Who it is for: Anyone who already knows the technique and is still not consistently profitable. It is not a strategy book but a book about discipline, limiting losses and your own psyche.
The ONE Thing
Not a trading book, but one that helps with trading. The core idea: extraordinary results come from focusing on the one thing that makes everything else easier or unnecessary, instead of doing many things at once.
Who it is for: Anyone who spreads themselves too thin: too many markets, too many strategies, too many indicators. The book helps you set priorities and stick with one thing.
The Disciplined Trader
One of the classics of trading psychology. Mark Douglas shows why the rules that work in everyday life often do harm in the markets, and how fear, hope and greed lead to the typical mistakes. His approach: sort out your own attitude first, then trade.
Who it is for: Anyone who knows their rules and still breaks them at the decisive moment. The book is a good introduction to the subject before you pick up “Best Loser Wins”.
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator
First published in 1923. The book tells the life of the speculator Jesse Livermore in the form of a novel, with his big wins and his bankruptcies. Its lessons about trend, patience, limiting losses and your own psyche are as relevant today as they were a hundred years ago.
Who it is for: Anyone who wants to understand that markets change but the people behind them do not. It reads like a novel and is a good introduction to market literature.
The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind
A classic from 1895 and not a book about the markets. Le Bon describes how people think and act in a crowd: driven by emotion, easily influenced and often against their own reason. Exactly this behaviour shows up in the markets in euphoria and panic.
Who it is for: Anyone who wants to understand why prices overshoot and why the majority is often wrong at turning points.
The links lead to Amazon, an external website. I do not receive any commission. You can also get the books in any bookshop.