Emily Baldo '24

by Emily Baldo '24 on November 12, 2023
Editor-in-Chief

Even as an English Literature major and a co-Editor-in-Chief of this paper, writing topics do not always come easily to me. I’ve written so much, either for fun or for school, and sometimes inspiration is nowhere to be found. So, this week, as I was sitting around trying to brainstorm ed column topics for this issue, I asked myself: what is something that’s important to me, that I’d like to talk about? That is the whole point of these columns— to give Emma and I the space to talk about things that are important or interesting to us, and see if any of you agree. 

So, what is important to me? Lots of things, but this week, I settled on words. Actual, printed words on pages that turn, not words in Instagram captions or on a screen, but books that you can carry with you and write in if you please and swap with your friends if you don’t mind not seeing a book for a few weeks. With the huge presence of screens in our everyday lives (thanks to Emma’s previous column for helping to inspire this), I think it’s easy to forget that we have so many possibilities in books to escape from reality. 

Even as someone who loves to read, it’s easy to forget after a long day of reading for school and staring at a laptop screen (and combing through Cowl articles) that I can pick up a book to unwind. The problem is just that: how easy it is to fall into scrolling for hours. 

Anyone who knows me knows that books have always held a special place in my heart, and for me, nothing can replace that. I’d like to be clear that I’m not including ebooks or audiobooks in this mild criticism of technology—I love the accessibility of it all, and whichever format works best for someone is the way they should read. I am, however, calling attention to the fact that they exist. There’s something special about getting lost in a book, and I know that I am not the only one who feels that way. I’ve made some great friendships at PC based on a shared love for reading, and I love getting to spread it to more people. So the next time you find yourself with a headache from scrolling on a screen, consider a book the next time you have a few free hours.