<p>To become “literate” in Economics requires more that one can think in a certain way than knowing a load of jargon (although that helps as well).
Some books that might open you up to that mode of thinking are:
- Steven Levitt’s Freakonomics
- Jeffery Sach’s The End of Poverty (this would be an especially good read if you’re interested in the state of the Third World).
- Milton Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom (this one isn’t as light of a read as the others; therefore, I would read it later in the cycle.)
- Political Economy for Beginners by Millicent Garrett Fawcett (helps you better understand the concept of wealth after a you read some of the more formal introductions to economics).
- For mathematical economics (if you would ever need to know about it) I suggest Michael Klein’s Mathematical Methods for Economics.
- If you can find it, the Oxford Dictionary of Economics does a really thorough job of covering a number of terms in economics (in case you need to decipher the jargon).
Greg Mankiw (Harvard Economics Professor) also makes a few suggestions: </p>
<h1>Robert Heilbroner, The Worldly Philosophers</h1>
<h1>Paul Krugman, Peddling Prosperity</h1>
<h1>Steven Landsburg, The Armchair Economist</h1>
<h1>P.J. O’Rourke, Eat the Rich</h1>
<h1>Burton Malkiel, A Random Walk Down Wall Street</h1>
<h1>Avinash Dixit and Barry Nalebuff, Thinking Strategically</h1>
<h1>John McMillan, Reinventing the Bazaar</h1>
<h1>William Breit and Barry T. Hirsch, Lives of the Laureates</h1>
<p>As for Finance,
I personally have enjoyed
James Cramer’s Confessions of a Street Addict
The Little Blue Book that Beats the Market would help you learn some terms as well (and the advice is mostly good if you plan on becoming a “long-term” investor).
I have also heard that Liar’s Poker is another solid read. </p>
<p>Honestly, one of the best ways to find books worth reading is to go to your local big-box bookstore and grab a handful of seemingly interesting books in the economics/finance section. Read through them a little, and see which ones are actually entertaining to read. Hope this helps.</p>