Hobby Inspiration from an Unusual Place

It is weird where hobby inspiration comes from.  I get the itch to start a new hobby quite easily.  Often it is from talking to people.  When someone is passionate about something, then you can't help but be intrigued.  Often it is from television.  Exposing the masses to something will certainly catch some people's interest.  Most recently for me, it was from a book.
 

Looks pretty and organized.

I started reading Lawrence Block's Hit Me on a recommendation from a friend.  He had recommended another series by Block, but I couldn't find them in the library so I settled on this one.  The basic story was that of a contract killer who loves..... wait for it...not alcohol.  Not fast cars.  Not loose women......stamps.

 

The character (his name is Keller) had such passion for stamps.  He also had a lot of knowledge to impart on this impressionable reader.  He detailed the equipment and literature, as well as quite a lot of historical information about stamps.





When I was young I shared a stamp collecting hobby until that person took it over and became obsessed with it.  I don't even know what became of it afterward--probably someone benefited from it.  Either way, I do remember looking at the stamps and thinking of exotic places.  I loved the themes--trains, cars, paintings, space travel, .... the ideas were endless.  For some countries, it is really interesting to see what they value enough to put on stamps.  Of course, for some countries, they are hoping other people from foreign countries will value them enough to collect them--hence the Disney stamps produced by some countries--I guess some country has already produced a Frozen stamp.  I wonder if that is a big part of their GDP.  (note...I checked, and yes, a stamp already exists)







I would love to have this one.

As for me, yes, there is an itch....but I won't even scratch this one.  There is just too much out there.  Too many stamps from too many countries.  While the tool collector in me loves the idea of all those specialist tweezers, there is just too much involved.  On top of that, since I really am more interested in the pictures than the collecting aspect, I would be better off buying a full colour catalogue.  I could enjoy the hobby is a much more confined way.

As for the novel....I enjoyed its episodic nature and reading about stamps.  It was entertaining and certainly made my commute more enjoyable.