Expand Your Trading Knowledge through Constant Reading 

Over the last few years, trading on the world’s foreign exchange markets (or forex) has become a hot and trendy way to make (and lose!) a fortune. The professional who works for banks and investment firms takes many years to become a good trader.

Unfortunately, many people have also released information (usually at a high price too!) that make the average person think they too can trade forex with the “big boys” with only a few hours of training. The end result is normally the person loses their shirt (or car, or house, or…).

Today, there are so many online courses, expensive seminars given by flashy presenters and even one-on-one coaching devoted to helping people learn to trade forex. Despite these, most adults prefer to get their information using books. But, just like the others, there are hundreds of titles available (some cheap, some incredibly expensive!), so how do you know which is the best one? This post will examine how to choose a good title and how to identify which books are a waste of money.

Expand Your Trading Knowledge through Reading – Why Books are the best

The main reason books are best is because people can read and re-read any chapter or passage as many times as they need until they fully understand the concepts. Most expensive seminar speakers won’t be able to repeat themselves over and over just for you, so is it any wonder why books have this advantage? One of the cornerstones of adult education is that adults like to learn at their own pace. Books provide this for them, as other avenues may be on a timeline.

Which Books are the best?

Because forex trading is relatively new, the marketplace is full of liars and cheats who are more than ready to take the money of anyone willing to read their crap. The first thing you need to look at is the title. If it makes an outrageous claim, such as “One hour to forex MILLIONS!” or “Make MILLIONS trading forex for only 5 minutes a day!”, chances are it won’t tell you anything you couldn’t easily find for free on the Internet. It’s a case of “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is” and you should avoid it at all costs. These types of books usually don’t emphasize the huge risk that comes with trading forex enough, or even at all!

What you should be looking for in a book is an experienced author who presents information in a calm manner and gives practical and reasonable advice. An author who uses glitzy and showy language is usually trying to pull the wool over your eyes. The main thing you should be asking this kind of author is if it is SO easy to make a huge fortune trading forex, why would you waste time writing books and usually charging a fortune for them?

However, if an author uses straightforward and logical language, it can probably suggest that the author knows what he is talking about and is sharing what he has learned from his experience with trading forex. A successful trader who has made a fortune and has taken some time out to share his experiences doesn’t have to impress anyone!

Another thing to look at is how the book is presented. An e-book filled with spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes sold by someone on his website is probably another clue that the author makes more money from selling eBooks than actually trading. However, if the book looks like it was written and edited by professionals and is presented in a straightforward manner, it is highly likely this is a good book to read, as it will probably discuss the pros and cons of forex trading in a logical manner, including all the risk associated with forex trading.

The last thing you may want to do is a little bit of online research about the author him/herself. Have there been any reviews of the book? If so, are they online testimonials on the author’s website? Has the author been mentioned in any recent news stories, especially about trading forex? Can you find out the background of the author? How much actual trading experience does he/she have (as opposed to writing forex books)? All this information could be found out online is relatively little time. Also, there are numerous online forex forums where average people can probably give you their opinions on a certain book for free.

Finding the right books for learning about forex trading can be a daunting task. While there are some very reputable authors out there who have genuinely made a fortune trading forex, there are a lot of authors who try to pass themselves off as great traders but are merely interested in making money selling their books rather than actually trading. Forex trading is a great example of “Those who can do. Those who can’t, teach.” Do your research and you may make your fortune in this wonderful profession of trading.