The Daily Reader
366 Selections of Great Prose and Poetry to Inspire a Productive and Meaningful Writing Life
By Fred White
Writer's Digest Books, 2009
ISBN 978-1-58297-589-4
$17.99 paperback, 384 pages
Read an Excerpt
Read the introduction and two daily reflections from The Daily Reader. Read and reflect on an excerpt from Male and Female: A Study of Sexes in a Changing World by Margaret Mead and “Of Water, as Painted by Turner” from Modern Painters by John Ruskin.
Read a Q&A with Fred White author of The Daily Reader and The Daily Writer.
About the Book
Let great reading fuel your writing! Great writers read—voraciously and across many topics and genres. They read to learn, to research, to study the style of others, and to improve their own work. They read because they love the written word. But becoming well read takes time, dedication, and patience. The thought can be daunting—especially when you’re eager to get to your own writing.
Fred White, author of The Daily Writer, helps you sort through the plethora of reading material available by providing you with 366 engaging excerpts from ancient poetry to modern science, on topics from allegory to food to writer’s block. Each thoughtfully chosen excerpt is followed by a brief reflection and a prompt that allows you to integrate elements from each piece into your own writing.
The Daily Reader makes broad reading accessible, invigorates your thirst for the written word, and equips you to put the power of the pros behind your writing.
About the Author
Fred White is a professor of English at Santa Clara University in Northern California. He is the author of four textbooks on writing, the latest of which, The Well-Crafted Argument, co-authored with Simone Billings, will print its fourth edition in 2010. Other recent books include The Daily Writer: 366 Meditations to Cultivate a Productive and Meaningful Writing Life, LifeWriting: Drawing from Personal Experience to Create Features You Can Publish, Essential Muir: A Selection of John Muir’s Best Writings, and Approaching Emily Dickinson: Critical Currents and Crosscurrents Since 1960.
Topics for Each Month
1. Anthropology and Sociology
2. Art and Architecture
3. Astronomy and Space Exploration
4. Biology and Chemistry
5. Books, Reading, and Education
6. Food and Agriculture
7. Geology, Paleontology, and Archaeology
8. History, Ancient
9. History, Medieval and Renaissance
10. History, Modern
11. Literature, Ancient
12. Literature, Medieval and Renaissance
13. Literature, Late 17th and 18th Centuries
14. Literature, 19th Century
15. Literature, 20th and 21st Centuries
16. Medicine and Health
17. Memoir and Biography
18. Mystery and Thriller Fiction
19. Nature and Environment
20. Philosophy
21. Physics and Mathematics
22. Popular Culture, Politics, and Public Affairs
23. Psychology
24. Recreation and Travel
25. Religion and Mythology
26. Satire and Humor
27. Science Fiction and Fantasy
28. Supernatural and Horror Fiction
29. Technology
30. Theater, Film, and Music
31. Writing
