.07 What I'm Reading
I have quite a variety of books for you this week. A book on investing, a book on habits and addictions, and a food memoir. The good news? There is no bad news. I loved each book.
Book: The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns, John C. Bogle (old-fashioned book)
Background
John C. Bogle graduated magna cum laude in Economics from Princeton University in 1951. Immediately following his graduation, he went to work for Walter L. Morgan (founder of the Wellington Fund). He eventually replaced Morgan as the chairman of Wellington but was quickly fired for a shoddy merger he approved.
After his firing, Bogle founded the Vanguard Company. In 1976, Bogle created the first index mutual fund (eventually named the Vanguard 500 Index Fund).
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing is an argument for investing in index funds. This book is also highly endorsed and recommended by Warren Buffet. In case you are unfamiliar with investing terms, index funds are mutual funds that track a market index such as the S & P 500. These types of funds are passive and usually have lower fees than actively managed funds.
Bogle's main argument is that even if a manager can "beat the market," the fees from investing in such funds negates any benefit from the high rate of return. In addition to that, very, very few managers can beat the market, yet still, charge their clients large fees. This means that most investors get an overall smaller return on their investments than if they had just placed their money in an index fund and held it over their career.
My Thoughts on the Book
This book speaks my language. Bogle is easy to read, even if you are unfamiliar with investment terms. I think his argument is solid (though he may beat his argument to death). To be transparent, I, along with my husband, invest in an index fund already, and that has served us well over the last decade, so I am not a hard audience to convince.
Even if you ultimately decide to invest your money differently, I think it is important to understand why you are investing it in the funds you are.
Additionally, I want to be clear that I am not against one using a financial planner or a wealth manager. I am against you giving your money over to someone to manage, without your full understanding of the types of investments your money is in and the types of fees that you are charged. Ultimately, it is your money, and you should know where your money is going and why it is or is not in various funds.
Either way, read this book.
Book: The Craving Mind: From Cigarettes to Smartphones to Love— Why We Get Hooked and How We Can Break Bad Habits, Judson Brewer (audio)
Background
Judson A Brewer, M.D., Ph.D., is a neuroscientist and psychiatrist. He earned his M.D. and Ph.D. in immunology from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. In 2009, Brewer also received his board certification in psychiatry from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
The Craving Mind examines addictive behaviors, the cause of those behaviors, and how we can break cycles of addiction through mindfulness. Though Brewer walks through many different types of addiction, most of his focus is on cigarette addiction. This is mainly because he found, in his studies, that people were able to break addictive cycles from hard drugs but were largely unable to break their addiction to cigarettes.
Thus, he has spent much of his time studying why some addictions are harder to break than others and how meditation can help people achieve freedom from their hard-to-break addictions.
My Thoughts on the Book
I have continued to read books on habits and addictions even since the family lived with us because I was overwhelmed with the realization that even when someone is given a stable environment with virtually no costs, it was their daily habits and addictions that stopped them from being able to make progress. It wasn't until those daily habits and addictions were addressed that they were able to find permanent housing. (Note that I said, addressed, not healed. Acknowledgment of bad habits and addictions, with small steps taken forward, seemed to be enough of a catalyst for change with the family.)
The more I read about and study addictions, I have also found overwhelming evidence that habit is almost always the precursor to addiction. This challenges some currently held beliefs about disease and addiction. After all, we can't choose whether or not we have cancer, but we can decide to change our habits. Or can we?
It is hard, but books like The Craving Mind (along with The Age of Addiction) continue to give me hope that there is a path out of addictive behavior — if only we can recognize it. Perhaps the compound interest we receive on our habits are addictions, both good and bad.
Conclusively, I thought that this was a well-written book that, for the most part, agreed with other books and studies that I have read on habits and addiction. Though I do not follow the Buddhist teachings on meditation, Christianity (which is the religion I practice) also uses meditation practices. I will admit that my background with meditation from a Christian perspective does make me more likely to accept and agree with the theories Brewer presents.
If you are interested in setting good habits, breaking bad habits, or finding a way out of addictive behavior, I would recommend this book. (Only after reading The Age of Addiction, though.)
Book: The Language of Baklava: A Memoir, Diana Abu-Jaber (digital)
Background
The Language of Baklava, written by Diana Abu-Jaber, is about her life between two cultures. Her father is a Jordanian who immigrated to America, and her mother is an American. Abu-Jaber splits her childhood between these two countries, and through her descriptions of food and life around the table, unfolds her story and understanding of her immigrant father.
My Thoughts on the Book
Food memoir is, by far, my favorite genre. I picked this book for my book club and was not one bit disappointed. In fact, it was one of those books that ended too soon.
Abu-Jaber immediately draws you into her story and beautifully paints her surrounding landscapes, friends and relatives, and emotions. She accurately captures the feelings that arise in each period of life. I don't know how else to put it, other than to say, Abu-Jaber describes feelings and scenes that are known and unknown all at once.
I absolutely adored this book. I bought the digital version on my iPad (I couldn't find it through my library) but will be adding this book to my actual bookshelf as well. This book was utterly delectable, and you will want to savor every last bit of it.
Next week I am going to discuss The Promise and Solitude: A Return to the Self.
And finally, don't forget to tell me what you are reading in the comments!!