People will oftentimes pick a movie or a video game over a book or a novel. Senior Emily Simone has spent most of her life reading. She enjoys exploring characters and worlds unknown and has managed to use these fables and fictions to shape her mind into something greater than before.

Aside from expanding her vocabulary, mastering sentence structure, and finding her voice in writing, she has a GPA of 3.9 because of her exposure to all types of literature.

“Reading has helped me look at situations from different perspectives, and helps when struggling in any class,” said Simone. “Reading has empowered my thoughts and has always been a massive contributor in my ability to understand.”

Simone has made her home here at the high school as member of vocal dimension and participated in some of the school’s musicals and plays. She now has appropriately made her new home at the Jackson Book Exchange downtown.

The Book Exchange is a bookstore lined wall to wall with a variety of novels, textbooks, movies, and audio books for sale at relatively cheap prices.

Her duties at the store are seemingly endless. Simone’s job, much like the books, is diverse. Some days she will work the register, others she will shelve and organize books.

More often than not, she can be seen helping people look for specific books. She especially loves helping the younger children who come by the store.

“My absolute favorite part of my job is the younger kids that come in,” said Simone. “It’s so refreshing to see younger age groups who are introduced to technology so soon cling to their books. Nothing is better than a kid coming up to the counter and telling me exactly what they want to read; it gives me hope.”

Simone firmly believes that there is an unrecognized value to the reading of books. As she has grown older, she has gained knowledge and wisdom that sets her apart from her peers. She hopes that she is not the only one to realize the true value of reading these old books. She believes that the younger generations will look at these books with wonder and sheer amazement at the power that they bestow upon them.