Hey Reader,

Happy harvest week festivities ! Everywhere the days get shorter ; its time to hurry home for Diwali celebrations & pick up a book or a book box en route!

As you light candles on your doorsteps for Lakshmi the goddess of wealth, here are some reading recommendations for you. Books that proffer paths to plenty and prosperity, stories and investment primers that the Goddess will approve of.

Fiction book of the Fortnight

First off, a happy story. An orphan girl grows up in the marshes, in a rags to riches thriller that is a huge hit with readers worldwide, in Where the Crawdads Sing. We don’t want to give the plot away, but one thing’s for sure - it’s hard work and love for nature that bring prosperity to our young protagonist. With this, there is a bonus - the backstory of author Delia Owens, a wildlife biologist turned novelist. 70 years old when this book was published, Owens hit fame and fortune jackpot with this debut novel.

Non Fiction of the Fortnight

What better time than Diwali to read this erudite primer on investing ?

The Joys of Compounding by Gautam Vaid packs in piles of pertinent advice, beginning with how to invest in yourself, going onto the how’s of positions & portfolios. The book is well laid out - the sections nicely subtitled - making it easy to dip in and out and gain some insights every time. It’s also peppered with sparkly quotations from the great gurus of life and investing - Confucius, Voltaire, Charlie Munger & Warren Buffett. And if you’re hooked enough to study investment, here’s Baid’s 4 week course on investing starting Nov 1.

Audio book of the Fortnight

The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel - 20 chapters narrated by Chris Hill. With chapter lengths of approx 20 minutes, each chapter is like a short podcast episode. You can hear them in serial order or skip around moving from Getting Wealthy vs Staying Wealthy to Wealth is What You Don’t See to The Man in the Car Paradox. Housel is interesting and insightful, and true to the books title, explores human nature and money. If you like it and want more, he has a popular blog as well.

And now for the prizes for our money stories writing competition…

We’ve had a wealth of wonderful entries !

Vivina, Salonee & I gave points for insights on the workings of money, insights on life & human nature as well as writing style - and here are the winners !

And now for the prizes …

We’re also super excited to announce that we will be publishing winning and notable entries in a Money Matters anthology - more details of the book to follow soon!

And in the meantime, if you are scrabbling for a last minute gift to family, a friend or colleague, how about a gift of reading ? There’s a discount of 10% till Nov 5, use WX0J1M8NKFWK at checkout.

If you have enjoyed reading this, and haven’t yet subscribed, do subscribe - we promise you practical & fun book recommendations every fortnight.

Till next fortnight then, Happy Reading !

Warm regards & happy Diwali week,

Sonya

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