Alternative Investor

Investing In Digital Books

There are many digital book readers starting to show up in the marketplace and many people are happy with this. Digital books are environmentally friendly, easy to store and never get drawn on by your nephews and nieces.

Newly released books are supplied in digital format on release but what about all of the old books?
There is a price involved in digitising and the investment in the digitisation process is based on the potential digital market for the particular work.
But now there is an opportunity to invest in the digitisation of a book and to benefit from that investment.

Invest in Knowledge is a new, innovative (patent pending) initiative introduced by Kirtas in conjunction with the company’s Digitise on Demand program and retail Website, www.kirtasbooks.com. The program allows anyone to subsidise the digitisation of the world’s knowledge one book at a time.
Kirstabooks handle all of the legal frameworks checking that there has been no previous digital translation, arranging royalty fee's with the author/publisher adding your royalty fee to the books listing to ensure that your fee is paid and submitting the new digital book to the digital book library.

Anyone who purchases a book to be digitised, through the Invest in Knowledge initiative, from Kirtasbooks.com will receive a reprint of that book, as well as 5% of all future sales of that book through that website. Cost is dependent on the size of the book so a quote is given for each digitisation. Consumers can invest in as many books as they would like.

“This is such a tremendous opportunity for the average consumer to help support and fund the digitization of some amazing collections of books,” noted Tom DeMay, Vice President, Business Development. “So not only are consumers doing the right thing, but if they want to ask ‘what’s in it for me?’ We can give you a great answer. Several titles or one popular book could provide a nice return on investment over time, creating a true lifelong investment in knowledge.”

“This is the first mass digitization program that will make unique collections available to the public in a way that increases access, achieves preservation, and benefits at the same time the library, its patrons and the general consumer,” said Kirtas Founder and CEO Lotfi Belkhir. “And it does so without compromising quality or the ownership rights of the libraries to their digitised content.” To learn more about Invest in Knowledge, invest in a book or set up an account, visit www.kirtasbooks.com.

Everything you need to know?

Everything You Need To Know………
All investments whether classical or alternative involve a degree of due diligence and understanding. But do you know what to look for?

This week Alternative Investor looks at the Top 10 books that are suggested as required reading for every investor.

1) The Intelligent Investor
This is perhaps the most important and influential book ever written about value investing. Originally published in 1934 by Ben Graham, this work has been heralded by such notable investors as Warren Buffett as "the best investing book ever written". In it, Graham presents two types of investing styles - one for every day people who don't want to think about their portfolios ("defensive") and one for the business man or woman who wants to enjoy maximum returns ("enterprising").

2) One Up on Wall Street
It has been said that One Up on Wall Street should be the first or second book any new investor should read. In it, famed mutual fund manager Peter Lynch teaches you how to use what you already know to make money in the market.

3) The Essays of Warren Buffett
Anyone who is worth their salt as an investor has read the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letters, written by Buffett. In this book, Professor Lawrence Cunningham selects and arranges these corporate "essays" by topic and relevance. It is a great tool to have handy and can teach you a lot about management, business valuation, investing philosophy, the use of stock options, economic and accounting goodwill and more.

4) Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits & Other Writings
Philip Fisher is one of the most prominent and important financial thinkers in history. In this book, he examines the fifteen qualities of an excellent business. When this approach is coupled with Graham's "value" method, it can be a very powerful thing.

5) Security Analysis
Security Analysis was originally written by Professor Benjamin Graham in 1934. Five editions and a million copies later, the seven hundred page investing treatise will teach you how to analyse and value almost any investment. If you take more than a casual interest in building your net worth, this book will change your life.

6) How to be a Billionaire
In this 250+ page book, the author takes you through the strategies of many of America's billionaires, going back more than 100 years to such names as Getty and Rockefeller, and ending with such modern-day titans as Bill Gates. It examines each of their strengths in an easy-to-digest format. This book is a fun and informative read.

7) The Interpretation of Financial Statements
Do you want to learn to read and understand financial statements? This classic investment book makes it simple. No matter how experienced an investor, the Interpretation of Financial Statements is a wonderful reference guide for those who want to understand published financial statements and reports. Although some of the information is slightly out of date, you can be sure this book will still be useful in twenty years.

8) 9 Steps to Financial Freedom
Renowned expert Suze Orman discusses nine steps each person can take to put themselves on the road to financial independence. Not just limited to investment, this book covers everything from retirement to life insurance. It is an excellent companion if you are looking for a well-rounded approach to bring fiscal responsibility and discipline to your life.

9) Use the News
This guide to the stock market from CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo, discusses how an investor can separate the "news" from the "noise", allowing them to focus on what is truly important to their investments.

10) Financial Shenanigans: How to Detect Accounting Gimmicks and Fraud
The second edition of Howard Schilit's book teaches investors to detect financial fraud and aggressive accounting in annual reports, financial statements, and SEC filings. There are dozens of real-life examples ranging from film to tech companies. If you take more than a casual interest in your investments, you should consider owning this book.