A periodic nod to object typologies both obscure and ubiquitous, featuring five of our favorite recent examples.  Today, our subject is the bookend — a.k.a. five new ways to make your killer design library look even cooler.

1. In the past, our taste in bookends has run from zigzags to Memphis-style laminate to scrap-stuffed stone, but this week we were feeling the sculptural metal vibes. These polished, geometric brass bookends by Swedish designers Folkform are sophisticated without being stuffy ($185 for one, suiteny.com).

2. Saturday we introduced you to the new Belgian housewares brand Hausmerk, and we’d be remiss if we didn’t include the studio’s architectural, lacquered metal Elements trio here. Each shape is available as a set of 2, but we’re partial to this set of three different bookends — which comes in handy if the other side of your book stack rests against a case ($55 for a set of 3, hausmerk.com).3. Majorly minimalist brass bookend set by Monocle in the UK puts the emphasis on the coolness of your titles and the aesthetics of your spines — time to stock up on that Apartamento archive! ($70 for a pair, needsupply.com)
4. A perennial Sight Unseen favorite, these geometric bookends by Daniel Emma for Field are machined from a single piece of granite, making them heavy-duty enough to hold up even the thickest tomes ($180 for a pair, stevenalan.com).5. We were tempted to choose these mismatched, mixed-metal beauties from Mjolk, but the clutch copper version appears to be permanently out of stock! Until then, we’re recommending these anonymous but kind of great totemic book stops, available in white or black marble ($128.50 for one, amazon.com).