Hard back books. You would think paper back, being small and flexible would be easier to read, but it's not so. And the heft of such books are reassuring feeling. And then there is the ego factor... You see a bunch of paper backed books on a shelf and they look, cheap, worn, and don't particularly look intellectual. The first thing that comes to mind when I see them are bad sci-fi and romance novels. But you see a bunch of hard bound books on a book shelf and you instantly think the owner must be literate. They could have the "See Spot Run" collection, and if you just see the green, brown, or black leather or cloth binding and you you assume it must be Shakespeare, Marlow, or Dante.
Now that I've confessed one of my needless indulgences, and why, what are yours?