Night Stand Gone Wild

OK, so I said that a picture of my night stand and all the accumulated stuff on it would be funny. Some might agree. My bedside table tends to be a magnet for magazines, books, gaming rules and supplements and all manner of other things. This picture, taken moments ago shows its current state, which is about as bad as it gets before I put about half the stuff back where it belongs and then begin the cycle again. I know that it needs cleaning when the front pile grows to a height that starts to block the light from the lamp and makes reading difficult (it's almost there), and the piles on the right become tall enough that they are in danger of toppling over from their own weight (definitely true).

This mess (and I use the term lovingly) is comprised of:

• 9 or 10 wargaming rule books and supplements, including a bunch of Saga rules, War of the Ring rules by Games Workshop, and Day of Battle III by Chris Parker.
• 1 Model Railroader magazine.
• 7 or 8 White Dwarf magazines (fantasy and sci fi gaming - I read it primarily for the painting inspiration and the Lord of the Rings material).
• 1 National Geographic magazine.
• 1 National Geographic Traveller magazine.
• 1 Backpacker magazine.
• 1 Appalachian trail guide (of Pennsylvania circuit hikes).
• 1 Canoe and Kayak magazine.
• 1 Mad River Canoe company catalog.
• 2 James Lee Burke novels in the Dave Robicheaux series (mystery/detective stuff - the one "page turner" author I read with any regularity).
• 6 history books, including the Guilford Courthouse book mentioned in my last book post.
• 3 journal books for note taking, capturing stray thoughts, gaming ideas, etc...
• 2 legal pads.
• 3 catalogs from miniatures companies.
• 18 novels and short story collections, including the Coetzee book I am currently reading. A good selection of stuff here. I see Hilary Mantel, Maile Meloy, John Updike, Michael Chabon, TC Boyle, Jay McInerney, Paul Harding, Alice Munro, Paul Auster and Thomas Pynchon just in the visible stuff.
• 1 coaster for a glass of water.
• 3 pens.
• 1 lamp.
• 1 alarm clock.
• 1 TV remote. It doesn't actually run the TV, but does turn off the close captioning that the ghost in the machine periodically turns on...

Maybe I should just get a bigger night stand.