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Can reading too many books be bad?

Quoting spank
Hi,

Just wondering, can reading all kind of different trading books be actually bad for you? I mean each book can gives you different tactics, strategy and ideas, but some contradict each other and might even confuse you...

I hope I'm worng as I am new in FOREX and am really enjoying reading different books on trading...

anyone agree or dis-agree? and why?
Here's a tip. When you read books, don't take each system as being right or wrong in relation to the other systems out there. Think about WHY the system works. When you get down to it, the vast majority of systems are simply expressing the same market behaviors in different ways.

A good way to think about it is this: Say you wrote Green Eggs and Ham in English, French, German, and Italian. The different languages all tell the same story different ways. It seems like they are all unique, but they aren't. They are all telling the SAME story. It's just a matter of which languages you can read.
  •  Rumi
  • | Joined Mar 2006 | Status: Student of forex trading | 44 Posts
To be the best photographer, musician, computer programmer, etc reading/studying everything in the world will not make me the best at those endeavors. Find the best and focus your attention on that vs spreading your attention on everywhere and never really mastering something. Find just a few things that are powerful and focus on those until you are proficient. Read boks like Overachievement and books by Gene Lundrum to learn more about the studies on real achieivers and how they come about. 80 percent of the stuff out there is fluff and the same garbage. find the powerful 20 percent that can help you transform into a better trader. Usually there are 3-5 great books/courses that can and do blow everyone else out there, are often against the grain (which most successful people do),remarkable and often unassuming. Focus your efforts on finding the top 20% ( and then putting in the practice), so you can rise to the top. I would keep in mind that even if I gave you the holy grail, or the equivalent in let's say in the sport of golf, play like texactly like Tiger Woods, you would still need to practice long and hard to get as good as what is offered you.

My two cents.
Hey, thanks for posting about Overachievemnt. I'm looking at the website and thinking about buying it.
How you act is more important than how you feel.
man you guys dumping on reading books must be reading the wrong stuff. the knowlege to be gained from books is invaluable. read Fred Gehm's MM book and tell it doesnt open your eyes. read bernanke's inflation targeting and tell me you dont see a whole new perspective. read all 3 market wizards books and tell me every single chapter didnt teach you something. read Wheels of Fortune and tell me you dont have a better apriciation for the art of speculation. read Remenicences of Stock Operator and tell me your not inspired! i could go on forever....
Relax and be happy.
Quoting spank
Hi,

Just wondering, can reading all kind of different trading books be actually bad for you? I mean each book can gives you different tactics, strategy and ideas, but some contradict each other and might even confuse you...

I hope I'm worng as I am new in FOREX and am really enjoying reading different books on trading...

anyone agree or dis-agree? and why?

Good question!

If you are starting out in 4X it is good to remember that it is a journey. It is a journey that begins with a question and then the journey continues by asking more and more questions.

Reading alot of 4X is good because it is the other side of the "4X Conversation" - you have a question then you read to get answers and you trade to see what works.

Emerse thyself and thou shalt be filled.
Quoting spank
Hi,

Just wondering, can reading all kind of different trading books be actually bad for you? I mean each book can gives you different tactics, strategy and ideas, but some contradict each other and might even confuse you...

I hope I'm worng as I am new in FOREX and am really enjoying reading different books on trading...

anyone agree or dis-agree? and why?
It is definitely bad. If you have myopia like I do and you read too much you will need more powerful spectacles, then you will need a magnifying glass, then you will need a microscope.
yes, it can, if in the process, you lost your ability to think ...
answer Yes/no


knoledge = income, but most important is u. i read many books myself and it has helped me alot but what help me most is that i need to do a check sign on my rules to aplly them, (check list )but thats just me lol


revoke
A wise man once said...the learning of many things does not teach understanding
encyclopedia of chart patterns by bulkowsky would never ever hurt you.


it is one of those books that are a must for your reference, and not necessarily as a trading method.

just my 2 pips lol
With a break always expect a pullback, otherwise, you're dead meat/
reading books can never be bad
different thing is are u able to analyse what u read and
was it worth the time or not. Lot's of books are full of crap
anyway
...and speaking of reading... since Pertti bumped this thread into the new posts i re-read it just for old time's sake.

I'm still a beliver in reading as much as you can on as many varied topics. Your brain is great at filtering out, and utilizing that which it believes it needs at a given moment in a given situation. The more input the merrier in my "book". pun.

Cheers,
Thom

...my latest fx read? a very interesting take on things by Igrok called "Beat the Odds in Forex Trading". . . and in the other topics? "Theories For Everything", "The Secret", "Birds of Prey", and one my wife is reading for herself that looked interesting..."Women and Money". And yes i'm reading them concurrently. It's that grey-matter-mush theory...mush'em all together and see what crazy ideas you might have in those "Aha" moments i mentioned in my prior post.
This is a great thread. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has spent a Saturday afternoon browsing all the trading books in my local Barnes & Nobles.

One thing that has struck me is that the most valuable books (in terms of content and potential to improve your game) are often reasonably priced paperbacks (e.g. the Market Wizards books). Whenever I see an overpriced trading book (upwards of $60 for a thin hardback), my alarm bells go off. I know the authors will justify the price by saying that using their 'secrets' will cover the cost of the book on a single trade, but I think this is a bogus way to sell people on educational products.

Another thing I've noticed is how many similar books there are on getting started in Forex trading, which give you a little information about a lot of topics, none of it in enough depth to really be of use. These books are often padded with the history of the international exchange rate mechanisms and topics like that, which are of limited use for traders who want to succeed in today's marketplace.
Never stop reading. Sometimes you can read something and not understand it then, as time goes by you go "Oh' I get it! thats what so and so was saying in his book. Never stop building your library, everyone should have one. Another thing you need to reread your books a couple of times. Alot of times you will say "I didn't see that the first time", alot of books pay for themselves with just one idea from the author,even if the rest of the book is trash or that is what you might think at the time you are reading it.
Quoting spank
Hi,

Just wondering, can reading all kind of different trading books be actually bad for you? I mean each book can gives you different tactics, strategy and ideas, but some contradict each other and might even confuse you...

I hope I'm worng as I am new in FOREX and am really enjoying reading different books on trading...

anyone agree or dis-agree? and why?
If you do not have Full Comprehension of the environment you are in, then adding other views will certainly assist.
When you feel that you already know it all, then judicial placement will humble you.

Point.
Traded for longer than most members here have been alive and my method today resembles my method from 25 years ago in the 5-10% range.

Changing environments require adaptation. { ask the Dodo }
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  • Last Post: Apr 11, 2007 1:13am Apr 11, 2007 1:13am
Reading is not bad, but when you trade you must stick to your objective.
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