Collectors Items Light

Do you collect anything?
I have friends who collect keyring, pandora charms, concert tickets, postcards, baseball caps, stamps.... nearly everyone I know collects something. I too collect stuff, my favourite books, euro coins from different countries, china tea mugs and probably a few other bits and pieces that I can't recall. Why do we collect things, mementos  Is it that we think they will gain value over time, is it that we like looking at them, Are we holding on to things that remind up of happy experiences, do we want to have something special that others don't, do we want to share our collections with others?
I collect books because I love them, I love the pages, the font, the intrigue which lies inside. I keep books I've really enjoyed, perhaps thinking I'll read them again, or will pass them on to someone else who will enjoy them, others I'm intending to read and others I dip in and out of now and again.
The euro coins from different countries was a collection I started when the Euro was introduced and it's interesting to look at the different symbols on the coins. I also think I'm afraid of forgetting what was on the coins and want to keep them as a reference, I guess I also get a sense of accomplishment from adding to the collection and also from the discovery of a coin which I haven't yet come across.
China tea mugs is a new collection which I started when I was looking for new mugs for the house. I became a muggosieur of sorts. I spent ages looking at mugs in shops, the design, the weight, the shape of the handle, the shape of the mug. You see I believe that tea and coffee are nicer depending on the mug you drink it from! In the course of this search I came across a beautiful ornate set of Wedgewood mugs in beautiful colours and I decided I'd start a collection of them and display them in my room. I love looking at them, I'm not planning on drinking from them, not unless the president himself pops around for a cuppa, there's some I don't particularly like , but I intend getting them, why? I want to complete the collection I guess.
This post was inspired by a book collection I've started, I must admit I laughed at myself on Monday morning when I put the latest addition to the classic book collection that's coming free with the saturday newspaper on the shelf. Why was I laughing , I realised that I, a single female who has rarely even considered having children was collecting these books to read to my children!