The Engaging Reader is a thematic reader designed to reach both traditional and non-traditional college students with varying language skills. Featuring a diverse selection of readings, the text reflects recent trends in education, promoting multiculturalism and the empowerment of the student as writer and reader. The text introduces students to a wide range of genres, including essays, letters, short stories, poems, current news articles, and other types of writing they will encounter in college and at work. The book emphasizes the connections between reading and writing throughout, offering instruction on active reading and use of a reading journal.