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It should come as no surprise that bookish people would own a lot of books. And if you're thinking bookmarks might be the next best thing, let me break down some of the things I buy that stack up.

Bookshelves In Every Room

This is kind of a given, but I've never lived in a house with less than 4 bookshelves. We even had a small wire shelf in the bathroom which held old magazines and small paperbacks. I grew up in a family of readers and our reading accessories would overflow into the rest of the home. Now, I have all my books in one place, in my family room. My kids have their own bookshelf too. Furniture is bought and placed with the intention of more bookshelves in the future. So besides books, my next biggest purchases are shelves.

Coffee Mugs

This absolutely is a collecting item for me. After husband and I got married, I DECIDED that coffee mugs would be "our thing." I wanted to collect something that was useful and fun, making mugs a safe bet. Seven years, a few moves, two kids, and one yard-sale later, I still have a nice sized collection. I think I have about 35 coffee cups, some bought and some given. Most of them are from places we have visited; now I'm looking to expand to mugs with cute or funny sayings.

Illumination of All Sorts

You can't read if you can't see, so my home has some great natural lighting and quite a few lamps. Mood lighting is a favorite of my husband, but I'm all for big, bright, blinding lights to read by. This includes one floor lamp, two wall sconces, two book lights, two desk lamps, all available bulbs in my ceiling fans (4), and one small pink lamp that my daughter owns. This wouldn't seem excessive if you have a huge home, but we live in about 800 sq ft.

School Supplies

I was convinced that I wouldn't have to buy any more school supplies after college graduation. But, proven wrong, I still shop for pens, pencils, highlighters, and notepads. I would write book lists, notes and thoughts with all these supplies. I have pages upon pages of book lists, in addition to digital lists in Goodreads, LibraryThing, Litsy, iPhone Notes, and Airtable. Recently, I have added post-it tabs for marking book pages to my growing list of things I buy in bulk. Not wanting to leave marks, tabs seemed like a good choice- until every page has a little, colored strip attached to it. It's a give and take.

Pop Vinyls

Having no other purpose but to be adorable, I fell in love with these pop culture character replicas. Ranging anywhere from $7-$10, I've seen lots of "shelfies" that include movie and tv personas. Some cross over into the book world and it's no surprise that A LOT of us like them. You can nerd-up any room with a Vinyl or two.

I DON'T BUY BOOKMARKS

Any real bookish person will tell you that ANYTHING can double as a page marker. Recites, notes, even tissue or toilet paper when in a hurry.

What are some of the bookish things you collect? Did I miss any?

A Collector of Sorts: Books Aren't the Only Bookish Things I Buy