I typed the post title above and it made me feel all sort of Regency/Georgian. I’ve seen it on other peoples’ blogs and I’m not sure if people in the US really still call it a nightstand nor do I know when people in Britain started calling it their bedside table. In my case that’s a misnomer anyway as I actually have a small chest of drawers by my bedside.
At the moment my pile consists of:
Lavinia by Ursula Le Guin
The Early Stories by John Updike
School for Love by Olivia Manning
The King’s General by Daphne du Maurier
The Harsh Voice by Rebecca West
Selected Stories by Anton Chekov
No Wind of Blame by Georgette Heyer
Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Choderlos de Laclos
Blooding Mister Naylor by Chris Boyce
The Oxford Illustrated Literary Guide to Great Britain
AA Illustrated Guide to Britain
At the moment I’m reading and enjoying Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg.
Will the next one be taken from my bedside pile?
Mebbe aye or mebbe naw – as they say. It could be taken from the many other piles around the house. We’ve run out of bookcase space and wall space. We’ve got to the stage where our fairly large (7 rooms) Edwardian house is stuffed to the gunwhales, which is what happens when you live in the same house for over 22 years.
Can someone tell me if the “nightstand” name is for real or is it jokey. I’m interested in how language develops or doesn’t over the years.
Katrina,
The table beside the bed is one of the most important pieces of furniture in the house. I come from New England, and we always called it the “bedside table.” No nightstand business for us!
My bedside table is small and is an antique inherited from my Aunt Margery. The wood is supposedly cherry, but I don’t think it really is. The top has enough room for a bedside lamp, an alarm clock, and that’s about it. I pile by bedside books on the rug next to the bed.
I loved the list of titles on your bedside table. Very interesting–. The title in the U.S. is Smilla’s Sense of Snow. I hate to say that I saw the movie a long time ago but have never read the book. I’ll be interested to hear what you think!
Judith
Judith,
Thank you for answering my question, and so quickly.
My bedside chest of drawers is supposedly cherry too! Now I’m wondering if your bedside rug is sheepskin, like mine. My books are actually piled on one of those folding out cantilevered sewing boxes which is next to my bedside table. I couldn’t sleep with a tower of books right beside me.
We didn’t inherit anything from Jack’s Aunt Margery as she had children but we did inherit things from her mother, Granny Margery, which is nice. I’m about 90 pages from the end of Smilla.
Katrina
Okay – my bedside table is oak – top just big enough to fit lamp, water glass, clock and room for one book!
Underneath there is quite a bit of space for more…books, namely-
Restoration Rose Tremain
Palace of Strange Girls Sallie Day
Man and Wife Tony Parsons
Time Travellers Guide to Medieval England Ian Mortimer
Wolf Hall Hilary Mantel
Six Wives of Henry 8th Alison Weir
The True Deceiver Tove Jansson
A Hatful of Sky Terry Pratchett (my husband took one peek at the back of this one and said ‘What on earth are you reading??’ Well you know each to their own!)
I told you there is quite a bit of space…….
Ontop is The Winter Ghosts Kate Mosse which I am currently reading.
Strange to read about winter in the middle of August!
Michelle, That’s quite an eclectic gathering of books. I haven’t read any of them! My husband isn’t keen on Terry Pratchett either, although he is a huge S.F. fan. We rarely read the same books.
I’m reading about Denmark and Greenland in winter at the moment, but it doesn’t seem strange. I’m saying to myself- minus 11 – mere bagatelle!
Thanks for the comment. I enjoyed reading about your book pile.