Bedside Table Philosophy

A fabulously creative friend of mine did this a few weeks ago and I'd been meaning to join the fun, if just to have an excuse to finally straighten and dust my bedside mess. In so doing, I realized that the stuff collecting on my bedside table is part who I am and part who I'd like to be. And that the state of said table is mostly who I am, and not so much who I'd like to be. Someone could do a Ph.D. thesis on what collects at people's bedside and what it says about them.

Here are the reads collecting on my bedside table (straightened for the purpose of the photo).

First, the table itself is a garage sale find that I love. I got it with the intention of refinishing it right away. I still intend to, right away, 10 years later. It's the prefect size, with a little drawer and a shelf that allows me three tiers of books. The little drawer is perfect for holding bookmarks since I always lose the one I'm using. I've thought many times of replacing it with something more matchy with our other furniture, but I can't part with it.

Tier 1: Books I am intending on starting/finishing as soon as I'm in the mood to pick them up again.

1. "Projects for Community Knitting" pub. by Cottage Creations
2. "The Lathe of Heaven" by Ursula K. le Guin
3. "The Creative Family" by Amanda Blake Soule
4. "The Best American Essays - 2001" edited by Kathleen Norris (yes, 2001, I know)
5. "Why We Garden" by Jim Nollman
6. The September 2007 issue of "Smithsonian" (again, I know, but there it is)

Tier 2: Crosswords and other fun things I do when I don't want to read

1. Sudoku puzzles
2." The New York Times Crossword Omnibus, Vol. 10" edited by Eugene T. Maleska
3. "The New York Times Big Book of Holiday Crosswords" edited by Will Shortz
4. My fabulous crossword puzzle dictionary
5. "The Daring Book for Girls" by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz

Tier 3: Books I'm actually reading because it's easier to set them on the floor as I'm falling asleep

1. "What to Expect: The Toddler Years" by Eisenberg, Murkoff, and Hathaway
2. "Complete Book of Women's Running" by Dagny Scott Barrios
3. "Mother Nurture" by Hanson, Hanson, and Pollycove
4. Barnes and Noble's "The Complete Book of Woodworking" (I'm not actually reading this)

Some of these books have been sitting on my table untouched for well over a year, that also probably says something about me.

I thought I'd do this for my husband, too, since he's a better reader than I am and he always has an interesting collection going. I did not straighten his side.

1. An issue of "The Planetary Report"
2. An issue of "Cooks Illustrated"
3. A journal
4. "Bloom County: Babylon" by Berke Breathed
5. "The Rough Guide to Climate Change" by Robert Henson
6. "The Blind Watchmaker" by Richard Dawkins
7. "The Dangerous Book for Boys" by Iggulden and Iggulden
8. "Dark Sun" by Richard Rhodes
9. "Tales from the Brother's Grimm" compiled by Cooper Edens
10. "Rolling Stone Album Guide"
11. An issue of "Newsweek"
12. "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien (always has one of these going)

See? A Ph.D. thesis in the making.