A few years ago, I started pulling together my favorite Trading Rules & Aphorisms. It turned out to be a popular post, and so we added “Rules” as a new category. Since then, I have taken to updating this sporadically (see this).

We are overdue for an update. What follows are the smartest and most insightful perspectives from traders, analysts, economists and investors on what to do — and what not to do — when it comes to markets that have been previously published on TBP.

Here is the latest update:

These are more general rules, not necessarily about investing:

If you have any suggestions for any good lists of rules I may have missed, please link to them in comments. If they are worthy, they will get added to the list.

My own trading rules and favorite Trading Books are after the jump

My (Ritholtz) own rules

All of the books ever mentioned on The Big Picture can be found by clicking the Bookshelf link. But you can see our major overviews on investing related books in these lists:

Newbies: Anyone who is interested in finance as a career, I suggest these two books as a starter — they cover trading and markets generally:

• Bull: A History of the Boom and Bust, 1982-2004, What drove the Breakneck Market — and What Every Investor Needs to Know About Financial Cycles by Maggie Mahar The best book about the 1982-2000 market, bar none. There are a surprising number of lessons buried in these pages that will reward the careful reader. I found it both fascinating and informative. • Stock Market Wizards : Interviews with America’s Top Stock Traders by Jack D. Schwager Schwager interviewed market legends at the height of their success. What makes the book so worthwhile are the consistent themes that evolve from currency traders, mutual fund managers, commodities traders, hedge fund managers. Regardless of what is being traded, there are related motifs that run throughout. What results is not a “How to trade” book; instead, it is a book about “How to think about trading.”

If you want some book ideas for Technicals, have a go at these:

Don’t think you need a full reference library; any pair of these books should do.

I am working on a few new book lists, and they will get published over time.