The art of collecting

As a 30 year old, I have a few things that I collect. The most obvious would be books, though I really only consider it “collecting” when I have multiple copies of the same book.

I’ve been collecting copies of “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley for many years. I call it my favorite classic novel, but I think the biggest thing it is to me is a surprise favorite. I had to read “Frankenstein” and “The Great Gatsby” the summer before AP Literature in high school, and I expected to hate the former.

I decided to read “Frankenstein” first to get it out of the way, and I was forever changed. To this day, I can’t stand “The Great Gatsby” because their problems all seem so man-made and mundane compared to what the monster endures in his novel.

For people wanting to collect book, I always recommend finding a classic to collect. There are so many great ones and you can find hundreds of different editions. I have about 10 copies of “Frankenstein.”

I recently decided to start collecting another one of my favorites, though it’s hard to say if it’s a “classic” or not. I would consider it one, but it’s not widely accepted in that category. I first read the Treasury of Illustrated Classics version of “Anne of Green Gables” as a child. I’m not sure if the novel is adapted for younger readers or if it simply adds pictures, but I read that book so many times.

I really identified with the young protagonist who had a flare for the dramatic, no problem being the center of attention and really longed to be Anne with an ‘e’ rather than plain old Ann.

There’s one modern series I also collect — “Crescent City” by Sarah J. Maas. This started on my 2022 trip to Ireland and a visit to a bookstore where all the books had the U.K. covers instead of the American ones I’m used to. I was overwhelmed with choices, and my husband told me to pick one book that meant something to me and get that one.

At the time, only “A House of Earth and Blood” had been released, so I picked up the U.K. paperback to go with my U.S. hardcover. The next year, I bought the U.S. hardcover sequel, and we ended up back in Ireland, so I picked up the U.K. paperback of the sequel. Later that year, Barnes and Noble released both books in a special edition paperback, so I had to grab those too. I also own the standard U.S. paperback for the first two, the U.S. hardcover for book three and I’m waiting on the Barnes and Noble paperback special edition for book three. Another trip to Ireland will be in order for the U.K. version. The series should be completed with book four.

Those are my only current collections, and they are successful ones, but I’ve tried and failed to collect things all throughout my life.

The first thing I can remember thinking I was going to collect was travel brochures. I know what you’re thinking — travel brochures? For what reason? Honestly the reason was that they were free. Every time we vacationed at the Wisconsin Dells, all the places had brochures just inside the door, free for the taking! I immediately lost them.

When I went to the zoo with my class, I wanted to buy a stuffed animal. I decided to get an elephant for my sister, informing her that from now on, we would be collecting elephants for each other when we traveled. We would try to find one from every state.

There were maybe four elephants exchanged, but in a very special moment, for my wedding, my sister gave me “something borrowed,” an elephant necklace to wrap around my bouquet.

I did successfully collect Webkinz in my middle school years. If you’re not familiar, the little stuffed animals became all the rage because they came with a code that you could use to play games with them online. I made it to nine, and I still remember all their names: Angel, Biscuit, Lasha, Lavender, Blossom, Jade, Ash, Layla and Chewy. Angel, a white poodle, was my first, and I still have her in a drawer at my parents’ house.

When my husband and I began to travel, visiting national sites like the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore and the Hoover Dam, I wanted a way to remember our travels. I bought a National Parks Passport Book, and it’s one of my favorite things I’ve bought. At most national parks, they will have a date stamp at the visitor’s center for you to stamp your passport book. For a one-time purchase, it’s a great collection. My favorite is the “bottom of the Grand Canyon” stamp.

A silly thing we started doing ended up becoming a great collection for a friend. When we took our first trip, a roadtrip to South Dakota and Wyoming as 22 year olds in 2017, we asked our roommate what he wanted us to bring back for him.

He told us he wanted a ridiculously priced key chain. So on every trip, we look for the most fun, outrageous keychain and we bring it back for him. He hangs them with push pins on a cork board. It’s the weirdest thing to see the story of our travels through key chains he has on display in his home.

That would probably be my advise to young travelers. Collect the dinky keychains! For less than $10 a trip, you can end up with a whole memory board of your travels.