Bookish Products

No book review today, but I have a not-secret to share with you instead: I love bookish products.

There’s something irresistible about things inspired by my favorite characters and stories and crafted to capture the essence of the story or character.

I am also a collector at heart, amassing collections of books and nicknacks that make me smile – and bookish things are a particular weakness of mine.

Funko Pop!s, shirts, and other products that visually or physically represent my favorites are of course easy favorites, but I’ve also become drawn to more abstract representations. My current obsessions are candles/wax melts and nail polish – especially when there’s a Harry Potter theme.

There is a myriad of bookish candle and wax companies producing scents inspired by different characters and series and I just can’t help myself! But scent is a tricky thing. Some characters have scent notes that must be present or they just don’t make sense. (Don’t try to sell me a Hermione candle that doesn’t have a paper or old-book note in it. It just won’t be right.) I always find it interesting to see how a person interprets and associates scents with a character. Why did that character get a strawberry note or a bright mossy note?

Some of the candle and wax companies I’ve been feverishly stalking are The Melting Library, Canterbury Road Co, and Super Tarts.

Nail polish is another of my favorite places to look for abstract interpretations of books and characters. There’s a thriving handmade “indie” nail polish community and there are many, many brands making polish inspired by books and stories, but no one does it like Literary Lacquers does it*. The entire brand is inspired by literature. Some of the interpretations are right on the nose – the Felix Felicis polish is, appropriately, a bright gold polish. However, the polish representation of Avada Kedavra is sinister feeling without being obvious:  green and black and gold glitters in a variety of sizes in a matte black base.

*I am biased – I love the brand so much that I now support Literary Lacquers in their marketing and social media efforts.

What about you, Reader? Do you enjoy bookish products? If so, what kinds and companies?