The Curious Reader is the first composition reader that bridges the gap between personal and academic writing, while introducing students to the unique reading strategies of writers who research. Beginning with essays and creative nonfiction articles that most students will be surprised to discover are research-based, chapter by chapter The Curious Reader leads students to see the many connections between all fact-based writing, whether it's a personal essay or an article from a scholarly journal. The text also highlights some of the unique reading strategies students should practice when they read as researchers. The Curious Reader makes reading strategies a main topic throughout the text, and devotes an entire chapter to how students might adjust their reading habits when tackling a scholarly article for a research paper. The text features an entirely new way of looking at reading-how to read ethnographicallywhich draws on the basic idea that academic writing is a kind of culture that students must first observe as outsiders, much the way a sociologist studies an urban neighborhood or an anthropologist studies a Central American village. Written in a lively, accessible style, The Curious Reader challenges student expectations of what textbooks are like as well. Numerous exercises scattered throughout the book invite students to explore their own angles on the topics presented as well as reflect on what they're learning about reading and research. All of the chapters feature projects and assignments inspired students can pursue, and most chapters include assignments the entire class can pursue for a week or more. While The Curious Reader is particularly well suited to the composition course that emphasizes research, it can be successful in nearly any course where instructors want to demonstrate the connections between personal and academic writing.