Book · 2007
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
by John C. Bogle
John Bogle spends one short book making the case that owning the entire stock market beats trying to pick the winners in it.
What does Reddit think of The Little Book of Common Sense Investing?
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing doesn't win these threads on its own; it wins them by proxy, inside bigger lists about The Intelligent Investor, The Millionaire Next Door, and A Random Walk Down Wall Street. When it does get discussed directly, r/Bogleheads (↑227) brings actual receipts against it: Bogle predicted a 4-5% average annual equity return for 2007 to 2017 inside this book, and 'we all know how that turned out,' since the S&P did meaningfully better. That's a specific, sourced complaint about the book's own forecasting, not general index-fund skepticism. Elsewhere the book gets quoted for its actual thesis rather than argued with: r/investing (↑199) lifts the intro almost verbatim, 'successful investing is all about common sense,' as a stand-in for the whole argument. r/financialindependence cites its full subtitle the way you'd cite scripture. Scored sentiment splits along subreddit lines: r/investing lands positive, r/Bogleheads and r/financialindependence both land mixed, which tracks with a book people quote reverently but don't always fact-check.
Evidence, not a rating
Recommendation receipt
A compact, source-linked answer derived from the same Reddit sample and editorial synthesis as this page.
Editorial summary
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing doesn't win these threads on its own; it wins them by proxy, inside bigger lists about The Intelligent Investor, The Millionaire Next Door, and A Random Walk Down Wall Street.
Read if
The index-fund argument in about as few pages as Bogle ever gave it: that's what r/Bogleheads means by calling this one 'a quick read,' and it's meant as praise. Trust the philosophy more than the specific forecasts; Bogle's own predicted return for 2007 to 2017 missed, and r/Bogleheads says so plainly even while still recommending the book around it.
Skip or borrow first if
r/Bogleheads' own top-voted excerpt about the book (↑227) points out that Bogle's forecast inside it, a 4-5% average annual equity return for 2007 to 2017, didn't hold up, and says so bluntly: 'we all know how that turned out.'
Strongest published evidence
“I agree fully. The Intelligent Investor is not a book I'd recommend to new investors unless they are seriously interested. I see it get recommended to parents looking for financial books for their 16yo kids. IMO, although full of good content, the way this book is written I found it to be pretty de…”r/investing source · score 361 ↗
Dissent & strongest caveat
r/Bogleheads' own top-voted excerpt about the book (↑227) points out that Bogle's forecast inside it, a 4-5% average annual equity return for 2007 to 2017, didn't hold up, and says so bluntly: 'we all know how that turned out.'
Negative source excerpt
“Meanwhile Vanguard has literally been making this same forecast since 2007. I remember sitting up attentively while reading John C. Bogle's The Little Book of Common Sense Investing where he predicted a 4%-5% average annual return in equites for the decade of 2007-2017. We all know how that turned o…”r/Bogleheads source · score 227 ↗
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Bogle's own investing philosophy stress-tested against his own predictions
- · Index funds as the 'common sense' baseline
- · A recurring name inside bigger personal-finance reading lists
- · The gap between a book's thesis and its author's specific forecasts
Common praise
- + r/investing (↑199) quotes its introduction almost word for word, 'successful investing is all about common sense,' treating the line as the whole argument in miniature.
- + r/financialindependence cites its full subtitle directly when making a point about not trusting a financial manager over yourself.
- + Gets called 'a quick read too' on r/Bogleheads (↑224), a specific point in its favor for a subreddit that reads a lot of finance books.
Common criticism
- − r/Bogleheads' own top-voted excerpt about the book (↑227) points out that Bogle's forecast inside it, a 4-5% average annual equity return for 2007 to 2017, didn't hold up, and says so bluntly: 'we all know how that turned out.'
- − Most of its displayed appearances are riding inside recommendation lists headlined by The Intelligent Investor or The Millionaire Next Door, rather than getting its own dedicated thread.
- − r/Bogleheads and r/financialindependence both land mixed on scored sentiment where r/investing runs positive, so the warmest reception concentrates in one subreddit, not all three.
Who it's for
The index-fund argument in about as few pages as Bogle ever gave it: that's what r/Bogleheads means by calling this one 'a quick read,' and it's meant as praise. Trust the philosophy more than the specific forecasts; Bogle's own predicted return for 2007 to 2017 missed, and r/Bogleheads says so plainly even while still recommending the book around it. If you want scripture-level quotability rather than a new argument, r/financialindependence keeps citing this exact subtitle for that reason. Not much reason to bother if you've already got Bogle's thesis memorized from one of his other books; nothing here suggests this version adds much beyond restating it clearly.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for The Little Book of Common Sense Investing?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“I agree fully. The Intelligent Investor is not a book I'd recommend to new investors unless they are seriously interested. I see it get recommended to parents looking for financial books for their 16yo kids. IMO, although full of good content, the way this book is written I found it to be pretty de…
“I’m pretty sure you wrote this sarcastically but fwiw: - 70% lose generational wealth by the 2nd generation - 90% lose generational wealth by the 3rd generation - 80% of millionaires today are self made It’s actually a lot harder than it sounds to instill discipline into people who haven’t earned …
“Meanwhile Vanguard has literally been making this same forecast since 2007. I remember sitting up attentively while reading John C. Bogle's The Little Book of Common Sense Investing where he predicted a 4%-5% average annual return in equites for the decade of 2007-2017. We all know how that turned o…
“The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns. It's a quick read too.
“I'm just going to leave this snippet of the first two paragraphs of the introduction to The Little Book of Common Sense Investing here: "Successful investing is all about common sense.... Simple arithmetic suggests, and history confirms, that the winning strategy for investing in stocks is to own…
“$2.5 million is a lot of money. Ain't nobody ever gonna love your money like you love your money, no matter how good your "financial manager" is. *The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns* by John C. Bogle *Th…
“Read the "Little book of common sense investing". It explains everything. My big takeaway from it is that no mutual fund will beat the total market long term so why pay someone(high expense ratio) to even try. It was a real eye opener.
“Thank you for contacting the Bogleheads helpline. How may we direct your call? If you are contemplating market timing, hang up and read *The Little Book of Common Sense Investing* Press 1 to be told to keep down payment in HYSA Press 2 for a link to approximating VTSAX Press 3 to debate US vs …
“Thank you! Biggest tip would be to read The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John Bogle before investing. I thought I was on to something by betting on quarterly earnings cause I was up $5k, started putting more money down and bought FitBit IPO, lost $15k at 20. Second, if you are going to …
“Emergency fund of 3-6 months of living expenses is top priority. Then I'd read Simple Path to Wealth, Little Book of Common Sense Investing, and Bogleheads Guide to Investing in that order. This might seem like a lot of reading but the books aren't very long and worth their weight in gold with the k…
“> In terms of good books for new investors, something like *Little Book of Common Sense Investing*, *Millionaire Teacher*, *Automatic Millionaire*, *Bogle heads*..., *Millionaire Next Door* are all significantly better options. Thanks for the recommendations
“I’m very sorry for your loss. It’s smart to be cautious for awhile. I am pushing 70 and I am actually putting more money into S&P 500 zero/low fee index funds, after reading John Bogle’s book. He created the first index fund and was the founder of Vanguard. He came from humble beginnings and reall…
“He wrote "The Little Book of Common Sense Investing" that I highly recommend reading. I have shared the audiobook with >5 people who have all really appreciated the book. Personally I have 99.5% of my investments in S&P 500 index funds/passive income funds with 0.5% that I use as "for fun" money. Ba…
“I believe that it’s 85% of active managers fail to beat the S&P 500 over a ten year period. If you want two quick reads on the subject, check out John Bogle book “The Little Book of Common Sense Investing “, or “The Incredible Shrinking Alpha “ by Larry Sedroe. Both are inexpensive and easy to under…
“Great! Then I can't possibly make be emphatic enough in recommending you read Bogle's Little Book of Common Sense Investing! Let's face it the political climate on Reddit is very anti business. People don't like big business and they don't like billionaires here which is all fair, plenty of valid r…
Convinced? Pick up The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
Readers also mention
Books that share discussion threads with The Little Book of Common Sense Investing — counted from the comments, not curated.
Guides featuring The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
Ranked best-of lists and editorial guides where this book's tracked mentions place it.
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing — frequently asked
Was Bogle's own prediction in The Little Book of Common Sense Investing accurate?+
No, per the one displayed excerpt that checks: r/Bogleheads (↑227) points out Bogle forecast a 4-5% average annual equity return for the 2007-2017 decade inside this book, and the commenter notes flatly that 'we all know how that turned out,' implying actual returns ran well ahead of that.
Is The Little Book of Common Sense Investing worth reading if you already know index funds work?+
Maybe not, based on what's shown here. r/Bogleheads calls it 'a quick read,' which cuts both ways: fast to get through, but also a sign it isn't covering unfamiliar ground for anyone who already knows the thesis.
Does Reddit recommend The Little Book of Common Sense Investing on its own, or only in lists?+
Mostly in lists, per this sample. Several top-voted mentions are riding alongside The Intelligent Investor or The Millionaire Next Door rather than getting their own dedicated recommendation thread. The clearest standalone citation is r/investing (↑199) quoting its introduction directly.
What's the actual argument in The Little Book of Common Sense Investing?+
Per the r/investing excerpt that quotes it directly (↑199): 'successful investing is all about common sense... the winning strategy for investing in stocks is to own' the whole market rather than pick individual winners. That's the thesis Reddit quotes when it quotes the book at all.