The Brief Bedford Reader 10th Edition

Editors: XJ Kennedy, Dorothy M Kennedy, Jane E Aaron

First line: "A writer," says Saul Bellow, "is a reader moved to emulate."

Why you should read this book: This book, full of essays, stories, and advice from a diverse group of authors--Dave Barry, Maya Angelou, Martin Luther King, Sandra Cisneros, among many, many others--seeks to instruct the college student in how to communicate in print. The collection places great emphasis on achieving purpose, the "why" of writing along with the "how", and provide many exercises and suggestions for understanding the selections and moving forward with ones own writing. A perfectly suitable and useful resource for the freshman composition set, or anyone looking to improve their writing in short lessons.

Why you shouldn't read this book: If your attention span is longer than the average college freshman's, you may prefer to read some of these works in their larger context.