One of the most common complaints about basic finance is that it is not practical. You do need to know something of the theory before being able to apply it to concrete situations. Typically, teachers don’t get too much time to explore these practical applications. As an antidote to the overly theoretical, have at look at Vijay Singal. Beyond the Random Walk: A Guide to Stock Market Anomalies and Low Risk Investing. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Hardcover 2004, Softcover 2006. Professor Singal reviews a number of financial theories (market efficiency, the January effect, home bias, etc.) and then discusses their practical application in finance.
