Reddit mentions of Market Wizards, Updated: Interviews with Top Traders

this one?
https://www.amazon.com/Market-Wizards-Updated-Interviews-Traders/dp/1118273052/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482538868&sr=8-1&keywords=market+wizards&refinements=p_72%3A2661618011

and "Profiting in Both Bull and Bear Markets" - do you mean this one?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1556236832/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3VXS3MWPH9PED

I'll give you some books to use as a starting point. You want to start out as generally as possible and then follow what interests you. Someone can give you a list of top books, but if they don't fascinate you enough to really dig in deep and reflect on them to sate your own curiosity, you'll just be scratching the surface. I don't care what it is, you can make money anywhere in the markets. So starting generally will help you find out what direction to go.

So, that said, these are the ones I'd recommend starting out with
https://www.amazon.com/Market-Wizards-Updated-Interviews-Traders/dp/1118273052
https://www.amazon.com/Reminiscences-Stock-Operator-Edwin-Lef%C3%A8vre/dp/0471770884
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400063515/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0684840073/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809045990/

Some less conventional ones I really liked
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1578645018/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1422121038/

Chaos theory describes some properties that pop up again and again in markets. I really liked this one.
https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Simplicity-Bringing-Order-Complexity/dp/140006256X

I also highly recommend finding a few good books on behavioral investing, just to get acquainted with the common mistakes investors make (how you can avoid them, and how you can exploit them). I don't have a lot here because the books I read are outdated and you can find better. So one example:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470067373/

But in general reading about psychology will help you understand the world better, and that's always a good thing.
https://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Perennial-Classics/dp/0061339202

> Is this really just a bullshit game of fluking the right pattern at the right time?

If you haven't read Market Wizards , you absolutely must. The point is not to be inspired by their towering successes, rather it is to realize that people can and do make it as traders. More importantly, it's realize that everyone does it differently. But it's important to work through the stories and see how hard it was for many people, it's not enough just to read what someone else says about it.

> Why are there so many?

Because humans are inventive and creative! The fact that there are so many ways of making trading work is something we traders should be grateful for, because it means there's likely something out there that suits each trader.

>How do you even begin picking a strategy or pattern or whatever to learn or study.

In some ways, I think you let it come to you.

Read about what other people do. Some of it you will automatically think is just BS, or recognize that your current life circumstances just don't let you test out that approach.

Some of other stuff will naturally appeal to you (and don't make the mistake of thinking because you want to do it, so does everyone else, so it can't be any good). Follow that up. Investigate it, learn a lot about it, throw away the stuff that doesn't work.

If someone, somewhere made an approach work, then you're in with a chance of making it work too, so long as it's a good fit for you. Your personality, your style of intelligence, your risk tolerance levels, your available time, your stress tolerance, your view on the market, your view on the way the world works in general. Don't worry about trying to find the best strategy, or the most profitable one, or the true strategy. You only need one that works for you.

Top books to get into Finance and trading. This first one is by far the most fundamental book. Most jobs you get you will be asked to read this, and even if you aren't its still an amazing read. Published in 1931, still very relevant today, you will read 10+ times over your Finance career

Reminiscences of a stock operator

Then the Market Wizards series by Jack Schwager

Market Wizards

Hedge Fund Market Wizards

The New Market Wizards

This is where I would start. GL

If you're looking for something more general then check out Market Wizards there's also a whole series with one of the books focused specifically on hedge funds.

I'm just about to start reading it myself so can't comment on it 100% but I recently listened to this podcast that features the author and he has some fascinating stories about various traders/managers so I can only imagine the book is similar in the quality of content.