--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He loved books; books are cold but safe…" description: "\"He loved books; books are cold but safe friends.\" — Victor Hugo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/victor-hugo-32_book_he-loved-books-books-are-cold-but-safe-f_2986768.jpg" --- # He loved books; books are cold but safe friends. ![“He loved books; books are cold but safe friends.” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/victor-hugo-32_book_he-loved-books-books-are-cold-but-safe-f_2986768.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/victor-hugo-32_book_he-loved-books-books-are-cold-but-safe-f_2986768.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/victor-hugo-32_book_he-loved-books-books-are-cold-but-safe-f_2986768.jpg) > “He loved books; books are cold but safe friends.” [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Books provide companionship that is emotionally cold yet reliable, offering safety without judgment. **In simple terms:** Books are safe, cool friends. Key Takeaway Turn to reading for steady comfort. Themes comfort solitude literature Mood calm thoughtful Type inspirational reflective When to use this quote - loneliness - stress relief - nighttime routine - travel Key Concepts Companionate reading emotional safety Questions to Reflect On - What book feels like a friend? - When do you seek comfort in reading? A Different Perspective Books cannot replace human interaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“Books are cold but safe friends”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/books-are-cold-but-safe-friends/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Luckily for me, I loved books. Books can enlighten but can also benight, but at least one can play one off against another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ng-g-wa-thiong-o/luckily-for-me-i-loved-books-books-can-enlighten-but-can-also-benight/) [Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ng-g-wa-thiong-o/) > [“Books are cold but sure friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/books-are-cold-but-sure-friends/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Books are cold, but sure friends indeed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/books-are-cold-but-sure-friends-indeed/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [We're extremely excited to see more than 500,000 friends around the globe be added within the first 12 hours of launching Friends on Poptropica.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/we-re-extremely-excited-to-see-more-than-500-000-friends-around-the/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [To be without sure and safe friends in the world makes life not worth having; and whom can we be so sure of as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cobbett/to-be-without-sure-and-safe-friends-in-the-world-makes-life-not-worth/) [William Cobbett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cobbett/) > [As u grow older ur secrets are safe with your friends because they cant remember them either](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-matshaba/as-u-grow-older-ur-secrets-are-safe-with-your-friends-because-they/) [Alex Matshaba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-matshaba/) > [Many a fervid man writes books as cold and flat as graveyard stones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/many-a-fervid-man-writes-books-as-cold-and-flat-as-graveyard-stones/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [“But the room is cold, the words in the books are cold; And the question of whether we get what we ask for Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/weldon-kees/but-the-room-is-cold-the-words-in-the-books-are-cold-and-the-question/) Weldon Kees > [“He had a small but well stocked library. He loved books; books are a remote but reliable friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-had-a-small-but-well-stocked-library-he-loved-books-books-are-a/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [My books are the books that I am, the confused man, the negligent man, the reckless man, the lusty, obscene, boisterous, scrupulous, lying, diabolically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/my-books-are-the-books-that-i-am-the-confused-man-the-negligent-man/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [There was a time when the world acted on books; now books act on the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/there-was-a-time-when-the-world-acted-on-books-now-books-act-on-the/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [The truly great books are the few books that are over everybody's head all of the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truly-great-books-are-the-few-books-that-are-over-everybody-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You're not allowed to say anything about books because they're books, and books are, you know, God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/you-re-not-allowed-to-say-anything-about-books-because-they-re-books/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [Keep away from books and from men who get their ideas from books, and your own books will always be fresh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/keep-away-from-books-and-from-men-who-get-their-ideas-from-books-and/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More by Victor Hugo > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“There is still a certain grace in a dead festival. It has been happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/there-is-still-a-certain-grace-in-a-dead-festival-it-has-been-happy/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“First I loved women, then animals, and now I love stones. They're just as amusing as women and animals and they're much less trecherous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/first-i-loved-women-then-animals-and-now-i-love-stones-they-re-just/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Nature is pitiless; she never withdraws her flowers, her music, her fragrance, and her sunlight from before human cruelty or suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/nature-is-pitiless-she-never-withdraws-her-flowers-her-music-her/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones. 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She did not know whether it was good or evil, beneficent or dangerous, necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/loving-in-ignorance-she-loved-with-all-the-more-passion-she-did-not/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/laughter-is-the-sun-that-drives-winter-from-the-human-face/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Our joys have shadows. The perfect smile belongs to God alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/our-joys-have-shadows-the-perfect-smile-belongs-to-god-alone/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“When those we love are in question, our prudence invents every sort of madness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/when-those-we-love-are-in-question-our-prudence-invents-every-sort-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Love is a fault; so be it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/love-is-a-fault-so-be-it/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) [Explore all 2,181 Victor Hugo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He loved books; books are cold but safe friends.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Victor Hugo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-loved-books-books-are-cold-but-safe-friends/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-loved-books-books-are-cold-but-safe-friends/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/victor-hugo-32_book_he-loved-books-books-are-cold-but-safe-f_2986768.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/victor-hugo-32_book_he-loved-books-books-are-cold-but-safe-f_2986768.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/victor-hugo-32_book_he-loved-books-books-are-cold-but-safe-f_2986768.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He loved books; books are cold but safe friends.” — Victor Hugo", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Victor Hugo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "He loved books; books are cold...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-loved-books-books-are-cold-but-safe-friends/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-loved-books-books-are-cold-but-safe-friends/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```