[friedmana27]

i collected bottle caps and had about 450 different. the best part was i probably only spent maybe $50 on it all the rest i found or people gave me. i remember going on vacation outside of the U.S. and comming home with international caps. in the end i sold just about all of them and started collecting cards.

[gotopes]

i started studying the history, and as it turns out, there were a lot of parallels between african-american history and irish history

Interesting! Studying Chicano history is how I got into studying Irish-American history. Lot's of parallels there too, particularly where religion and culture are concerned. Long story short, minoring in Chicano Studies led me to discover that my mother's maiden name, Obregon, is a Spanish evolution of "O'Brien", and that I have an ancestor who was part of Saint Patrick's Battalion in the Mexican-American war.

I really like post-colonial literature - can you give me some recommendations for African-American works or writers?

Anyway, to mitigate my threadjacking, I also collect:
- first edition books; these can be pricey, so I only have a few, but I think this is one collection I'll always be working on

- autographed books: I generally only get them signed at festivals or signings, which is why I have an odd collection, everyone from David Sedaris to Jeff Garlin.

- magnets from places I've visited. I'm not sure how I got started on this one; I guess it seems like a souvenir that doesn't take up too much space/can be useful.

[jacobystealshome]

I really like post-colonial literature - can you give me some recommendations for African-American works or writers?

fiction:
chinua achebe - things fall apart
cheikn hamidou kane - ambiguous adventure
shimmer chinodya - harvest of thorns
Bessie Head - a question of power
Death and the King's Horseman by Wole Soyinka

non-fiction:
frantz fannon - wretched of the earth
albert memmi - the colonized and the colonizer

that's a starting point :p

[mcflysportscards]

Besides collecting anything that has to do with LOST, I also collect movie memorabilia such as signed movie posters and 8x10's. As well as movies on blu-ray.

[swilliams]

I collect autographs. Thru the mail and in person as I can. At it for over 25 years. I've just started making my own cards too. Anyone else?