There are many things to like about this book. Not only does it present important instructional guidelines, it describes ways to achieve them. In each chapter experienced reading teachers will find some activities to expand their repertoire, and new teachers will discover activities which they can experiment with and build upon in developing their instructional approaches. Second Language Reading provides substantive help for the reading teacher, it falls short in some areas. It gives many suggestions consisting of activities and guidelines, but there is a lack of detailed guidance for accomplishing them in the classroom.
Critical reading gets little more than a mention.
Also, the book contains no index, which makes it less reader-friendly than expected from the content and tone. Finally, the role of the writer in texts is not explored. The weaknesses do point to considerations for supplementing the book for any course in which it is used. In conclusion, Anderson has written a concise and very useful book for teachers in training and practicing teachers. It fills a rather empty niche, a book which supports teachers in thinking about their teaching while learning about it in the classroom as students and teachers.