Good Books
by Edgar Guest
The Poem:
"Good books are friendly things to own.
If you are busy they will wait.
They will not call you on the phone,
Or wake you if the hour is late.
They stand together row by row,
Upon the low shelf or the high.
But if you're lonely, this you know-
You have a friend or two nearby.
The friendship of books is real.
They're never noisy when you're still.
They wouldn't disturb you at your meal.
They'll comfort you when you are ill.
They'll help you pass the time away,
They'll give you advice if you need.
You have true friends for night and day,
If you have some good books to read."
Summary of the Poem:
Keeping books is a friendly thing to practice. Books wait for us if we are busy. They do not disturb us by calling again and again over phone. They do not make us awake when we are sleeping. They are kept in the upper and lower shelf row by row.
They are our friends with a real friendship. They do not disturb us by making noises. They do not even disturb us when we are ill. Rather we get comfort reading books in our illness. We can pass our time by reading books. We can get valuable advice from books. Books are our all time friends.
Comprehension
A. Answer the questions.
1. What kind of friends are they?
= They are real friends.
2. What would you do if you wanted their company?
= I would keep some books in my shelf and on the side table of my bedroom if I wanted their company.
3. Why is their friendship thought to be real?
= Their friendship is thought to be real as they do not make noise when we are still. They do not disturb us when we take our meal. We get some comfort reading some books while we become ill.
B. Read the lines and answer the questions.
1. "They will not call you on the phone,
Or wake you if the hour is late."
a. Who are they that the speaker is referring to in the lines above?
= Books are they that the speaker is referring to in the lines above.
b. Why won't they wake you late at night?
= They wouldn't wake us as they are our good friend. They do not want to disturb us at the time of taking rest. If we think rationally, we can know that books are non-living things and that is why they can not wake us while we sleep at late night.
2. "They'll comfort you when you are ill."
a. How would they comfort you when you are ill?
= If we read some good books when we are ill, we can get some comfort.
b. Name other things that can comfort you when you are ill.
= Other things that can comfort us when we are ill are - listening music, watching movies and playing some good video games.
3. "You have true friends for night and day,
If you have some good books to read."
a. Why do you think books are called true friends?
= Books help us to spend a good time reading them. Books provide us important advice when we are in need.
b. Think and list the similarities between a good book and a friend.
= The similarities between a good book and a friend are -
i) Both of them wait while we are busy.
ii) Both of them give us company when we are lonely.
iii) Both of them comfort us when we are ill.
iv) Both of them help us to pass a good time.
v) Both provide us advice at the time of our need.
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C. Think and answer.
1. What tells you that you can trust them completely?
= Books are not disturbing things when we are in hurry. They wait for us till we become free to read them. They are not annoying calling us on the phone. They stand still and silent on the shelves and give us company when we feel alone. These features tell us that we can trust them completely.
2. Books are patient and comforting. Explain how.
= The books do not make noise when we are still. They do not disturb us when we are taking our meal. We get pleasure and comfort by reading books when we are ill. These explain that books are patient and comforting.
3. What are the qualities that make a good book a good friend?
= Keeping books is a friendly thing to practice. Books wait for us if we are busy. They do not disturb us by calling again and again over phone. They do not make us awake when we are sleeping. They are kept in the upper and lower shelf row by row.
They are our friends with a real friendship. They do not disturb us by making noises. They do not even disturb us when we are ill. Rather we get comfort reading books in our illness. We can pass our time by reading books. We can get valuable advice from books. Books are our all time good friends.
About the Poet:
Edgar Guest was born in Birmingham, England, on 20 August 1881. He started working for a newspaper when he was 14 years old. He started writing rhymes. His brother printed his first two books, Home Rhymes and Just Glad Things, in small editions. He published more than 20 volumes of poetry and is thought to have written over 11,000 poems. He also appeared on radio and television.