CHECK IT OUT:

Are you prepared for retirement? When your golden years arrive, will you be experiencing your dream life or working the night shift?

As baby boomers age, these questions become more urgent. Join us at the Central Library Thursday at 7 p.m. to learn the latest investment and common-sense advice for making your retirement dream reality.

Current topics and concerns include identity theft, investment risk assessments, “model” portfolios and even your relationship with your investment advisor.

UCLA finance professor Steven Yamshon, author of “Your Roadmap to Retirement Riches,” will answer your money-related questions, while bringing you up-to-date on 21st century retirement issues.

To assist with your retirement book selection, here are recent titles that reflect some “new” ways of thinking about the second part of your financial life. It’s not the way of the gold watch anymore.

“Your Roadmap to Retirement Riches (So You Don’t Have to Work in Your Old Age)” by Steven Yamshon: This useful title provides an overview of retirement options and a general understanding of the new components composing individual investment management.

“Standard and Poor’s Guide to Saving for Retirement” by Virginia B. Morris and Kenneth M. Morris: The Standard and Poor’s Corporation is a stalwart firm of impeccable reputation for personal financial savings and investment advice. This classic, updated text includes an index of terms and is a standard in investment knowledge.

“Women and Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny” by Suze Orman: Whether her fame has spread through her television programs, in personal appearances at her seminars or through reading her books, Orman has attained “guru” status among all sorts of investors. She has a knack for making complex situations understandable and addresses the psychological behaviors of handling money.

“The Sleuth Investor: Uncover the Best Stocks Before They Make Their Move” by Avner Mandelman: Mystery buffs will appreciate the literary connotations that mirror efficient market theory. Mandelman presents his case like a whodunit, giving the reader clues to confidently investigate companies on their own and keep retirement money safe.

“The Options Doctor: Option Strategies for Every Kind of Market” by Jeanette Schwarz Young: Technical analysis? Charting? Trends, momentum and other market indicators? Manage your funds intelligently using options in all sorts of markets.

“Investors and Markets: Portfolio Choices, Asset Prices, and Investment Advice” by William F. Sharpe: The Princeton University Press offers a scholarly and sober new analysis for the seasoned investor. Among other topics, capital asset pricing models, securities prices and portfolio management preferences give guidance for retirement-age investors.

“Stop Wasting Your Wealth in Mutual Funds; Separately Managed Accounts: The Smart Alternative” by Don F. Wilkinson: Wilkinson doesn’t like mutual funds, and he’ll tell you why. Take a new look at traditional investment analysis and the reasons mutual funds might not be the best for your retirement portfolio.

“Jim Cramer’s Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich” by Jim Cramer with Cliff Mason: Controversial, obnoxious, genius or just nuts, television and radio commentator Cramer offers his advice to you on how to act upon his buying and selling stock recommendations.

CHECK IT OUT is written by Newport Beach Public Library reference librarian Mary Ellen Bowman. Use your Newport Beach Public Library card to reserve these titles at www.newportbeachlibrary.org or call (949) 717-3800 and press 2.