Reading for the improvement of style will involve various types of literature. In order to know what you should read, you need to know in which particular direction you are weakest. In the main, however, I find that all amateurs require to cultivate—
1. A simple, clear, direct mode of expression.
2. Modern language and idiom—in the best sense.
3. A wide vocabulary.
4. An ear for musical, rhythmic sentences.
And equally they need to avoid—
1. Other people's mannerisms.
2. Long paragraphs and involved sentences.
3. Pedantry and a display of personal learning.
4. Hackneyed phrases.