WHAT I'VE LEARNED... Find cookbooks that will remind you of a scent. I was overcome by the Tabasco-saturated air on Avery Island, La.—there's a Tabasco factory in town—so I got The Tabasco Cookbook and mini bottles of the stuff to keep in my travel bag.

I also buy restaurant cookbooks. In Budapest, I had a revelation when I first tasted smoked liver at Gundel. The next day, I bought a copy of Gundel's Hungarian Cookbook and picked up some smoked paprika.

Paula Morgan of Nashville, Tenn., collects mortar and pestles (Courtesy Paula Morgan) [enlarge photo]

Don't be afraid of books with recipes you'll never cook. I'll never prepare pickled lampreys from Russian Cuisine, but the recipe is fun to read. The instructions say to "remove the head and mucus, which is sometimes poisonous."

Sue Morgan, Huntsville, Ala.

WHAT I COLLECT My mom gave me my first piggy bank when I turned 9, and I now have almost 500—maybe that's because I grew up in an era of save, save, save.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED... Piggy banks come in all shapes, sizes, and materials: cast iron, rubber, resin, coconut shells, and even cloth. I once bought a pig made of red mud in a village just outside Caracas, Venezuela. You won't find that in the U.S.!

Amateur collectors may not know this, but coin slots can be anywhere. One of my favorite banks is a Miss Piggy with a slot between her breasts. (I found her in Snohomish, Wash., on my first antiquing trip to the town.)

When your collection gets too big to remember what you do have, think about what you don't have. Musical and talking piggy banks, for example, add a new dimension. One of mine says, "A little change is good, but a lot of change is wonderful!" That pig definitely has attitude.