NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Woven Words Essay Chapter 5:What is a Good Book

John Ruskin was a very prominent critic and thinker in the nineteenth century. He has written the essay "What is a good book", where the writer has explored the concept of a good book and what makes a good book. The writer has said that a newspaper may seem very good during the time of breakfast. However, you would not prefer to read it for the entire day; the same is the case with a letter where you may like a letter’s contents. However, it may hold value for one day, two days, a month, a year, and after that, you will not read it. The writer says that a book is not written with the concept of communication but with the feel and idea of permanence. A good book is never a communication thing, it is a written thing, and the books written on the communicative matter are written because the writer could not reach thousands of people to hear him speak.

The writer also explores the difference between an educated and an uneducated person where he said that a person might read all the books and remain uneducated, and he might just read the 10 pages of a good book with accuracy and be considered educated. The writer felt that all the difference lay in the accuracy part.

Ruskin further explores a good reader’s concept where he feels that a good reader is very hardworking and has an inherent love for reading. He felt that nothing could buy the dedication and love that they have for books. Furthermore, a good author can only be understood by a good reader as a good author never keeps his thoughts and ideas surficial and to explore the text to get to the well-hidden idea is a capability that lies with a good reader.