<![CDATA[MacroDozer: Reading List]]>https://www.macrodozer.com/s/reading-listhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!pSj3!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F931fb787-8921-4cbd-826e-0e7b9ead28e3_216x216.pngMacroDozer: Reading Listhttps://www.macrodozer.com/s/reading-listSubstackSat, 31 Oct 2026 20:21:50 GMT<![CDATA[The Reading List]]>https://www.macrodozer.com/p/reading-listhttps://www.macrodozer.com/p/reading-listSat, 31 Oct 2026 17:56:22 GMT
Cartoon: on a library ladder the mentor hands a red book down to a student in a study full of books, titled Reading List, Eleven Books.

Students keep asking me which options books to buy. Here is my answer, in the order I would read them. Eleven books, three levels, and for every one the chapters we use, the chapters you can skip, and the module it prepares you for.

The summaries are written for the trading we do: credit spreads, iron condors, calendars, with a macro view. Not a chapter-by-chapter retelling. Each page tells you what stayed with me and where it shows up on our boards. If you only have one weekend, start with the three below.

If you only read three: 1. The Options Playbook by Brian Overby, Beginner, About 8 hours: If options are new. One weekend, every structure once. 2. Option Volatility and Pricing by Sheldon Natenberg, Intermediate, About 25 hours: The edge itself: what is priced against what happens. 3. Positional Option Trading by Euan Sinclair, Intermediate, About 10 hours: Why it works, with the evidence, and how big to trade.

👉 The Options Playbook │ Option Volatility and Pricing │ Positional Option Trading

Start Here, Three Books

If you have bought a call once and wondered why it lost money while the stock went up, start here. Three books, no formulas, and after them every card on our site reads like plain English.

Beginner: Start Here, Three Books. 1. The Options Playbook by Brian Overby, About 8 hours: Every basic trade on one page, with the break-evens, the sweet spot and the max loss. Read it before module 1. 2. Options as a Strategic Investment by Lawrence G. McMillan, 40 hours: The reference. One thousand pages, every structure, every follow-up action. You read chapters, not the book. Read it before module 5. 3. Trading Options Greeks by Dan Passarelli, About 12 hours: The Greeks in plain words, then applied to every spread we trade. Read it before module 4.

👉 The Options Playbook │ Options as a Strategic Investment │ Trading Options Greeks

The Working Trader's Shelf

This is where the edge lives. Volatility is priced, and it is priced wrong often enough to make a living from it. Four books that teach you to see it.

Intermediate: The Working Trader's Shelf. 4. Option Volatility and Pricing by Sheldon Natenberg, About 25 hours: The book every options desk hands to the new hire. Volatility, pricing, spreads, risk. Read it before module 3. 5. Positional Option Trading by Euan Sinclair, About 10 hours: Where the edge in selling options comes from, and how to trade it without being a market maker. Read it before module 9. 6. Options Trading: The Hidden Reality by Charles M. Cottle, About 14 hours: Every position is several other positions in disguise. Dissect yours, and repairs become obvious. Read it before module 7. 7. Trading Volatility by Colin Bennett, About 12 hours: The bank desk's handbook on volatility, term structure and skew. Free to download. Read it before module 8.

👉 Option Volatility and Pricing │ Positional Option Trading │ The Hidden Reality │ Trading Volatility

When You Run a Book

Nobody needs these to pass a module. They are for the day you run a book of positions and want to know what the professionals worry about. Read them slowly and skip the mathematics.

Advanced: When You Run a Book. 8. Volatility Trading by Euan Sinclair, About 12 hours: How to measure volatility, forecast it a little, and size a trade so the edge survives. Read it before module 2. 9. The Second Leg Down by Hari P. Krishnan, About 7 hours: What to do once the market has already fallen, when hedges are dear and the next leg is the one that hurts. Read it before module 6. 10. The Volatility Smile by Emanuel Derman and Michael B. Miller, About 30 hours: Why puts cost more than calls at the same distance, and what that says about the market. Read it before module 3. 11. Dynamic Hedging by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, About 25 hours: The trader's book on managing a book of options. Opinionated, dense, right about the things that hurt. Read it before module 10.

👉 Volatility Trading │ The Second Leg Down │ The Volatility Smile │ Dynamic Hedging

Which Book Before Which Module

Every module in the Elite Trader program has one book to read before the session. Beginners read the beginner one; if you are past that, pick the deeper book for the same module.

Which book before which module: Module 1 The Edge and the Charter: The Options Playbook. Module 2 Size Like a Survivor: Volatility Trading. Module 3 Read the Volatility: Option Volatility and Pricing, The Volatility Smile. Module 4 Credit Spreads on Extended Moves: Trading Options Greeks. Module 5 Iron Condors Our Way: Options as a Strategic Investment. Module 6 Catalysts and Binary Risk: The Second Leg Down. Module 7 Repairs, Exits and Assignment: The Hidden Reality. Module 8 Calendars and the Time Machine: Trading Volatility. Module 9 Direction Without the Drama: Positional Option Trading. Module 10 Command the Book: Dynamic Hedging.

👉 The Elite Trader Program │ How the Boards Work │ Start Here, for members

How a Book Becomes a Module

Reading alone gets you to the edge of the pool. The Elite Trader program is the part where you swim: every module starts with one book from this list and ends with you running the trade on your own account, with me on the call. Ten modules, ten private sessions, one book before each.

How a book becomes a module, Elite Trader, ten modules, ten sessions: Read: The book before the module. Its page tells you which chapters, and which to skip. Do: A one-on-one session with me, on your own positions and your own screen. Pass: A short Skip Check closes the module. Pass it up front and we skip ahead. Keep: My written notes and the recording, every time.
See the Elite Trader Program

👉 Compare the plans │ Already a member? Start Here

How the Summaries Work

The index is free. Each book's full summary, the chapters we use, the five ideas, the chapters to skip and the module link, is for paid readers. Pro and Elite Trader members read all eleven.

👉 Compare the plans │ Tuesday Target, the free letter

Amazon links on this page are affiliate links. We earn a small commission, the price is the same for you.

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Educational content only. Not financial advice.

]]><![CDATA[Dynamic Hedging]]>https://www.macrodozer.com/p/dynamic-hedging-talebhttps://www.macrodozer.com/p/dynamic-hedging-talebSat, 31 Oct 2026 17:56:20 GMT
Cartoon: indoors at the office the mentor stands in a raincoat under an open umbrella, entirely serious, while a student at the desk with a red book looks up amused, titled Taleb, Dynamic Hedging.

Before the Black Swan books, Taleb wrote this one for traders. It is about running a book of options, not a single trade: how the Greeks of a whole portfolio shift, where the liquidity disappears, what expiration does to you. Hard going in places, and the chapters we use are the ones every professional remembers.

Who it is for: Dynamic Hedging by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, 1997. Level Advanced, The last book on the list, for the day you run ten positions.. Time to read About 25 hours, Parts one and two. Part three and the modules are for desks.. Math: Heavy in places, The formal mathematics is pushed into seven modules at the back. Read around it.. Best for Managing a book, You want to know what a professional worries about at 4 pm..

👉 Buy the Hardcover │ Back to the Reading List │ The Elite Trader Program

Below the line, for Pro and Elite Trader members: the chapters we use, the five ideas I took from it, the chapters to skip, and the module it prepares. Elite Traders read the book, then work that module with me one-on-one, on their own positions.

See the Elite Trader Program

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]]><![CDATA[The Volatility Smile]]>https://www.macrodozer.com/p/the-volatility-smile-dermanhttps://www.macrodozer.com/p/the-volatility-smile-dermanSat, 31 Oct 2026 17:56:17 GMT
Cartoon: the mentor has drawn one smile-shaped curve on a blackboard and turns to a student who holds a red book, titled Derman, The Smile.

Emanuel Derman ran the quant group at Goldman Sachs when the smile first appeared after 1987, and this is the textbook he wrote about it with Michael Miller. It is a university book, with problems at the end of each chapter. You do not need the mathematics; the first page of every chapter says the idea in words, and that is where the value is for us.

Who it is for: The Volatility Smile by Emanuel Derman and Michael B. Miller, 2016. Level Advanced, A textbook. Read the first eight chapters and the last two.. Time to read About 30 hours, For the whole book. About 8 for the eight chapters we use.. Math: Calculus in places, The ideas are in words at the start of every chapter. The proofs follow; skip them.. Best for Understanding skew, You want to know why puts cost more than calls, from the people who named it..

👉 Buy the Hardcover │ Back to the Reading List │ The Elite Trader Program

Below the line, for Pro and Elite Trader members: the chapters we use, the five ideas I took from it, the chapters to skip, and the module it prepares. Elite Traders read the book, then work that module with me one-on-one, on their own positions.

See the Elite Trader Program

Read more

]]><![CDATA[The Second Leg Down]]>https://www.macrodozer.com/p/the-second-leg-down-krishnanhttps://www.macrodozer.com/p/the-second-leg-down-krishnanSat, 31 Oct 2026 17:56:15 GMT
Cartoon: on a staircase landing the mentor points down the next flight of stairs holding a red book while a student holds the handrail, titled Krishnan, Second Leg Down.

Most hedging books tell you to buy insurance while it is cheap. This one starts after the first drop, when it is not. Krishnan runs through what still protects a portfolio when volatility is already high: which spreads, which expiries, which markets. It is the book for the week everyone else is panicking.

Who it is for: The Second Leg Down by Hari P. Krishnan, 2017. Level Advanced, For the week after the market has already fallen.. Time to read About 7 hours, Eight chapters, written as a story with charts.. Math: Statistics, Back-tests and charts, no derivations. The easiest advanced book here.. Best for Hedging late, You hold positions into a sell-off and want to know what still works..

👉 Buy the Hardcover │ Back to the Reading List │ The Elite Trader Program

Below the line, for Pro and Elite Trader members: the chapters we use, the five ideas I took from it, the chapters to skip, and the module it prepares. Elite Traders read the book, then work that module with me one-on-one, on their own positions.

See the Elite Trader Program

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Volatility Trading]]>https://www.macrodozer.com/p/volatility-trading-sinclairhttps://www.macrodozer.com/p/volatility-trading-sinclairSat, 31 Oct 2026 17:56:12 GMT
Cartoon: the mentor taps the glass of a large wall barometer while a student beside him holds a closed umbrella and a red book, titled Sinclair, Size It Right.

Sinclair's first book, and the one professionals quote. It answers three questions we face every week: how do you measure the volatility you are about to sell, how much can you trust a forecast of it, and how big should the trade be so that a bad month does not end the year. The money management chapter alone is worth the price of the book.

Who it is for: Volatility Trading by Euan Sinclair, second edition, 2013. Level Advanced, The sizing chapter alone is worth the book.. Time to read About 12 hours, Fifteen chapters, seven are ours.. Math: Statistics and formulas, Estimators, a Kelly derivation, some calculus. Skip the proofs, keep the tables.. Best for Sizing and measuring, You want to know how big to trade and how to measure what you sell..

👉 Buy the Hardcover │ Back to the Reading List │ The Elite Trader Program

Below the line, for Pro and Elite Trader members: the chapters we use, the five ideas I took from it, the chapters to skip, and the module it prepares. Elite Traders read the book, then work that module with me one-on-one, on their own positions.

See the Elite Trader Program

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Trading Volatility]]>https://www.macrodozer.com/p/trading-volatility-bennetthttps://www.macrodozer.com/p/trading-volatility-bennettSat, 31 Oct 2026 17:56:10 GMT
Cartoon: a student lifts a tall stack of printed pages from an office printer while the mentor holds a red ring binder, titled Bennett, Free Handbook.

Colin Bennett ran equity derivatives research at a large bank and wrote the handbook his clients kept asking for. Then he put it online for free. It is the clearest thing in print on term structure and skew, the two things a calendar trader needs to understand. The printed copy is on Amazon if you want it on the desk.

Who it is for: Trading Volatility by Colin Bennett, 2014, free PDF from the author. Level Intermediate, After Natenberg. It assumes you know what vega is.. Time to read About 12 hours, For the four chapters we use. The whole book is twice that.. Math: Algebra, Charts and rules of thumb in the chapters, the proofs in the appendix.. Best for Calendars and skew, You want to understand term structure before you trade the Time Machine..

👉 Download the Free PDF │ Back to the Reading List │ The Elite Trader Program

Below the line, for Pro and Elite Trader members: the chapters we use, the five ideas I took from it, the chapters to skip, and the module it prepares. Elite Traders read the book, then work that module with me one-on-one, on their own positions.

See the Elite Trader Program

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Options Trading: The Hidden Reality]]>https://www.macrodozer.com/p/options-trading-the-hidden-reality-cottlehttps://www.macrodozer.com/p/options-trading-the-hidden-reality-cottleSat, 31 Oct 2026 17:56:07 GMT
Cartoon: the mentor inspects an open red book through a large magnifying glass while a student points at the page, titled Cottle, Hidden Reality.

Cottle was a floor trader, and this is how the floor sees a position: not as the legs you bought, but as the simplest set of pieces they add up to. An iron condor is also two credit spreads, or a strangle with wings, or a butterfly plus a vertical. See all three, and you know which piece to fix.

Who it is for: Options Trading: The Hidden Reality by Charles M. Cottle, 2006. Level Intermediate, After you have held a few spreads that went wrong.. Time to read About 14 hours, Eleven chapters, mostly pictures. Slow pictures.. Math: Arithmetic, No formulas at all. Position tables and risk graphs instead.. Best for Repairs, You want to see what your position really is before you touch it..

👉 Get It on Kindle │ Back to the Reading List │ The Elite Trader Program

Below the line, for Pro and Elite Trader members: the chapters we use, the five ideas I took from it, the chapters to skip, and the module it prepares. Elite Traders read the book, then work that module with me one-on-one, on their own positions.

See the Elite Trader Program

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Positional Option Trading]]>https://www.macrodozer.com/p/positional-option-trading-sinclairhttps://www.macrodozer.com/p/positional-option-trading-sinclairSat, 31 Oct 2026 17:56:05 GMT
Cartoon: the mentor ponders a chessboard with his chin in his hand while a student watches with a red book under her arm, titled Sinclair, Where the Edge Is.

Most options books tell you how a spread works. This one tells you why it should make money, and when it will not. Sinclair traded as a market maker, then wrote for the rest of us: people who put on a position and hold it for weeks. It is the evidence behind our whole approach.

Who it is for: Positional Option Trading by Euan Sinclair, 2020. Level Intermediate, For the trader who holds positions for weeks, not minutes. That is us.. Time to read About 10 hours, Ten short chapters and three appendices.. Math: Statistics, Averages, distributions, a Kelly formula. Readable without a degree.. Best for Knowing why it works, You sell premium and want the evidence that it pays..

👉 Buy the Hardcover │ Back to the Reading List │ The Elite Trader Program

Below the line, for Pro and Elite Trader members: the chapters we use, the five ideas I took from it, the chapters to skip, and the module it prepares. Elite Traders read the book, then work that module with me one-on-one, on their own positions.

See the Elite Trader Program

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Option Volatility and Pricing]]>https://www.macrodozer.com/p/option-volatility-and-pricing-natenberghttps://www.macrodozer.com/p/option-volatility-and-pricing-natenbergSat, 31 Oct 2026 17:56:02 GMT
Cartoon: a student reads a thick red book under a desk lamp in the evening while the mentor brings two cups of coffee on a tray, titled Natenberg, The Vol Bible.

The book every options desk hands to the new hire, and for good reason: it explains why an option has a theoretical price, why the market pays a different one, and how to trade the difference. Everything on our Boiler Room board is in here. It earned its place because the edge we sell is defined in these pages.

Who it is for: Option Volatility and Pricing by Sheldon Natenberg, second edition, 2015. Level Intermediate, The book every options desk hands to the new hire.. Time to read About 25 hours, Twenty-five chapters. Thirteen are ours.. Math: Some algebra, Formulas appear, derivations do not. You can skip every one.. Best for Finding the edge, You want to know when an option is overpriced, and by how much..

👉 Buy the Hardcover │ Back to the Reading List │ The Elite Trader Program

Below the line, for Pro and Elite Trader members: the chapters we use, the five ideas I took from it, the chapters to skip, and the module it prepares. Elite Traders read the book, then work that module with me one-on-one, on their own positions.

See the Elite Trader Program

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Trading Options Greeks]]>https://www.macrodozer.com/p/trading-options-greeks-passarellihttps://www.macrodozer.com/p/trading-options-greeks-passarelliSat, 31 Oct 2026 17:56:00 GMT
Cartoon: the mentor sets a small weight on a balance scale at the desk while a student watches it level out, a red book beside it, titled The Greeks, In Plain Words.

Four numbers decide what an option does tomorrow: delta, gamma, theta, vega. Passarelli explains each one in words and tables, then shows how they add up inside a vertical spread, a condor and a calendar. After this book you can read any position on your broker screen.

Who it is for: Trading Options Greeks by Dan Passarelli, second edition, 2012. Level Beginner, After the playbook, before anything with a formula.. Time to read About 12 hours, Seventeen chapters, read the first eleven slowly.. Math: Arithmetic, a little algebra, Tables and percentages. No derivations.. Best for Reading a position, You want to look at a chain and know what moves the price..

👉 Buy the Paperback │ Back to the Reading List │ The Elite Trader Program

Below the line, for Pro and Elite Trader members: the chapters we use, the five ideas I took from it, the chapters to skip, and the module it prepares. Elite Traders read the book, then work that module with me one-on-one, on their own positions.

See the Elite Trader Program

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Options as a Strategic Investment]]>https://www.macrodozer.com/p/options-as-a-strategic-investment-mcmillanhttps://www.macrodozer.com/p/options-as-a-strategic-investment-mcmillanSat, 31 Oct 2026 17:55:57 GMT
Cartoon: a student carries one enormous red book in both arms while the mentor holds the office door open, titled McMillan, The Reference.

Every options desk has this book, and nobody has read all of it. It is the reference: forty-three chapters, one per structure, each with the arithmetic and the follow-up action when the trade goes against you. Buy it, keep it on the desk, and open the chapter of the trade you are in.

Who it is for: Options as a Strategic Investment by Lawrence G. McMillan, fifth edition, 2012. Level Beginner, A reference, not a read. You open the chapter of the trade you are in.. Time to read 40 hours, Cover to cover. About 6 hours for the chapters we use.. Math: Arithmetic, Percentages and break-evens. Two math chapters you skip.. Best for The desk shelf, One thousand pages, every structure, every follow-up action..

👉 Buy the Hardcover │ Back to the Reading List │ The Elite Trader Program

Below the line, for Pro and Elite Trader members: the chapters we use, the five ideas I took from it, the chapters to skip, and the module it prepares. Elite Traders read the book, then work that module with me one-on-one, on their own positions.

See the Elite Trader Program

Read more

]]><![CDATA[The Options Playbook]]>https://www.macrodozer.com/p/options-playbook-overbyhttps://www.macrodozer.com/p/options-playbook-overbySat, 31 Oct 2026 17:55:54 GMT
Cartoon: the mentor explains a play from a red book at his desk with a football beside it, a student listens with folded arms, titled The Playbook, Start Here.

The book for anyone who says options are complicated. Every trade sits on one page with the same boxes: the setup, who it is for, when to run it, the break-even, the sweet spot, the most you can make, the most you can lose. Our cards use the same discipline, so after this book our site reads like home.

Who it is for: The Options Playbook by Brian Overby, second edition, 2024. Level Beginner, Your first options book, or the one that finally makes it click.. Time to read About 8 hours, Short pages, one play per spread, read the ones you trade.. Math: Arithmetic, Strike plus premium, that is all the math there is.. Best for Stock investors, You know stocks and want options explained without a formula..

👉 Buy the Paperback │ Back to the Reading List │ The Elite Trader Program

Below the line, for Pro and Elite Trader members: the chapters we use, the five ideas I took from it, the chapters to skip, and the module it prepares. Elite Traders read the book, then work that module with me one-on-one, on their own positions.

See the Elite Trader Program

Read more

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