If you type "how to invest" into YouTube, you will get a million screaming faces telling you to buy the latest crypto coin or trade 0-day options.

It is exhausting. And it is usually wrong.

The best investing advice isn't found in a 60-second clip; it's found in books. The principles of wealth building are boring, slow, and haven't changed in fifty years.

If you are a new investor looking to build real wealth, you don't need a master's degree in finance. You just need to read these five books.

1. The Strategy: "The Simple Path to Wealth" by JL Collins

Best For: The specific "what to buy" instructions.

If you only read one book on this list, make it this one. JL Collins originally wrote this as a series of letters to his daughter, so the tone is fatherly, simple, and zero-nonsense.

  • The Core Lesson: You don't need complex portfolios. You need to spend less than you earn, avoid debt, and invest the surplus into a single fund: VTSAX (Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund).
  • Why It Wins: Most finance books scare you with jargon. Collins gives you a specific roadmap that you can set up in 15 minutes.

2. The Mindset: "The Psychology of Money" by Morgan Housel

Best For: Understanding why you make bad decisions.

Investing is not a math problem; it is a behavioral problem. Morgan Housel doesn't talk about stock charts. He talks about ego, greed, and envy.

  • The Core Lesson: Doing well with money isn't about how smart you are; it's about how you behave. The hardest part of investing isn't the math—it's keeping your cool when the market drops 30%.
  • Why It Wins: It reads like a collection of short stories. It will cure you of the urge to panic-sell or keep up with the Joneses.

3. The System: "I Will Teach You To Be Rich" by Ramit Sethi

Best For: Automating your financial life.

Ramit Sethi is aggressive, funny, and hates the "stop buying lattes" advice. He believes you should spend extravagantly on the things you love, as long as you cut costs mercilessly on the things you don't.

  • The Core Lesson: Automation. He teaches you how to set up a system where your paycheck hits your bank account and automatically flows to your bills, savings, and investments before you even wake up.
  • Why It Wins: It is a "how-to" manual. He gives you phone scripts to negotiate your credit card fees and step-by-step instructions for opening the right accounts.

4. The Logic: "The Little Book of Common Sense Investing" by John C. Bogle

Best For: Understanding why index funds beat experts.

John "Jack" Bogle is the founder of Vanguard and the inventor of the index fund. He is the patron saint of the everyday investor.

  • The Core Lesson: Don't look for the needle in the haystack; buy the haystack. Bogle proves, with decades of data, that trying to beat the market is a loser's game. The fees you pay to active managers destroy your returns.
  • Why It Wins: It gives you the conviction to ignore your friend who brags about his stock picks. You will know, mathematically, that you are winning by doing "average."

5. The Data: "Just Keep Buying" by Nick Maggiulli

Best For: The modern 2025 investor.

This is the newest book on the list (published in 2022). Nick Maggiulli is a data scientist, and he uses charts and historical data to answer the most common questions beginners have.

  • The Core Lesson: Should you "buy the dip"? No. Should you save cash and wait for a crash? No. The data proves that the best strategy is to Just Keep Buying—regardless of whether the market is at an all-time high or a crash.
  • Why It Wins: It settles the debates. It proves that your savings rate matters more than your investment returns when you are young.

The Verdict

  • Read "The Simple Path to Wealth" first to set up your portfolio.
  • Read "I Will Teach You To Be Rich" to set up your bank accounts.
  • Read "The Psychology of Money" to set up your brain.

Investing is 5% knowledge and 95% behavior. These books cover both.