Special interests are too expensive

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I have lots of books but not enough bookcases, so I have stacks of books and many are in boxes. If I get a three bedroom place, maybe I’ll turn a room into a library.

Victoria, BC got a fine new library when I lived there, with wide, spacious aisles. The stacks had to be spaced out, because the floors were not designed for any more weight. Somebody had not read their books enough.

You mean the structure could not support the weight of all the book shelves and their contents? That sounds like a major mess-up. Probably the structural engineer and the architect took turns throwing crap at each other, trying to dodge responsibility.

^ My college had a 4 story library, but only the first floor was built to hold the weight of books.

We had to wait days when requesting books, most of which were stored in another building.

It's probably a good thing I live on the ground floor, then...

^ Me, too!

I joined a ukulele forum recently, but I feel a bit of a misfit there because I'm more interested in playing ukuleles than buying them.

There's a definite trajectory many forum members follow of "get interested in ukuleles, buy three ukuleles, develop a manic interest in the details of ukulele manufacture, learn 3 chords, buy a £2500 ukulele made of rare hardwood for your 3-month ukulele-playing anniversary, buy 10 more ukuleles of 5 different types, learn a 4th chord....."

Meanwhile here's me, playing uke for the past 15 years, writing dozens of songs with it, owning just 4 instruments of different sizes (total cost under £250), and finding that "true ukulele fanatics" don't have a lot to say to me. Oh well.

A friend of mine returned from Africa in the 70s and wanted to keep in touch with local events there, so he bought a Ham radio and got a licence. Then he found that the only thing people wanted to talk about was their radios. There is also a strong divide between the people who like building boats, and those who like using them. There are probably other groups for Ukulele players, as with builders and sailors.

No point comparing your collection to others, there will ALWAYS be larger collections out there.
I've been collecting Nintendo stuff for 20 years, and lost some over the years too.
My advice, just collect things you like and can reasonably afford. And hold them! Who knows what they will be worth decades from now. Maybe nothing, but if I kept my 1st ed pokemon cards from high school, I'd have millions now.