Chapter 5: What is a Good Book?

According to the essayist, the limitations of the good book of the hour are that these are merely newspapers or letters in good print and not true books. The good books of the hour are some pleasant or useful talk of a person whom one cannot converse with. These books are basically written for the purpose of communicating with a huge number of people. According to Ruskin, good books are only books of talk that are printed as the author cannot speak to a wide audience at once. It is only the conveyance of voice using printed words.

The criteria that Ruskin feels that readers should fulfil to make themselves fit for the company of the Dead are that one must remain open to merit and labour. The essayist feels that no name will overawe, no wealth will bribe, and no artifice will deceive the guardian of those Elysian gates. Ruskin says that one should rise to the level of their thoughts to be with their company.

Ruskin feels that reading the work of a good author is a painstaking task because it is difficult to understand the real meaning of words written by the author. He says that a person should work hard like an Australian miner in order to have a clear idea of a good book that is born of wisdom. According to the essayist, mining is a painstaking task which is similar to reading a good book. The author feels that one should go through the lines to get a complete awareness of the difficult words that are present in good books. One needs hard work and patience, similar to an Australian miner, to get a brief knowledge of the works of famous authors.

Ruskin emphasised accuracy by highlighting the difference between non-education and education, which is composed with accuracy. The essayist says that a well-educated gentleman may not know many languages— may not be able to speak any but his own—may have read very few books. Nevertheless, he knows the language precisely and pronounces the words correctly. The author highlights that a person may choose to read the entire books present in the British Museum and remain an uneducated and illiterate person, but if one reads about ten pages from a good book, letter by letter, with accuracy, that is rewarding.