This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
We're in Ashburton in the beautiful West Country today, where Laura Bambrey, book blogger at Chick Lit Love, has offered to show us what's on her tardis-like nightstand. We'll leave you to have a look around while we nip off in search of a good cream tea. Over to you, Laura.
My bedside table isn’t a table – it’s a violently green chest of drawers that I found in a furniture recycling centre for just £3 when I was a student. I fell in love with it, shoe-horned it into the back of my Nissan Micra and it has been with me ever since.
This is pretty much the only place of relative calm in my room. The books on my bedside table are all there for a reason and once I’m done with them, they quickly get swapped for something else. In fact, the only one that is always present next to my bed is my old copy of Pride and Prejudice that my Granddad gave to me. I like to dip into it before bed and read a page or two at random. My Kindle is always there too (in my view it doesn’t count as a book, but does mean that my bedside table has developed tardis-like qualities. I think there are around 400 novels on there at the moment).
The book that’s currently sprawled open is The Love Detective by Alexandra Potter. I was lucky enough to be sent this uncorrected proof copy for review, and all I can say is wow! I’m loving it so far – great for escaping the January blues. As you can see, I’m a book-face-down girl, either that or I turn down the corners (except on borrowed or antique books!). In my view, my books are a permanent part of my life – once I’ve bought them they’re mine forever – so I’m not very gentle with them, and I do love to read in the bath so several have ended up a tad soggy! 
The other books at large on my bedside table are pretty typical of this time of year. January always sees a return of the writing books so there’s my outdated copy of The Writers And Artists Yearbook (from rummaging through the agent list the other night – note to self *must buy new version*). There’s also See Jane Write by Mlynowski and Jacobs and Will Write For Shoes by Cathy Yardley – both fun for jump-starting the writing gene early in the year.
Next up is Beautiful Day by Kate Anthony, which was sent to me for review just a couple of days ago by Penguin and next up after The Love Detective. Right on the top of the pile is a fab find from my local second hand book shop, Incredible Collectors, Weird Antiques and Odd Hobbies by Bill Carmichael. I'm using this for a bit of research for the aforementioned writing; my main character is getting weirder every time I open that book!
And that’s it for the books. The other bits? Well there’s the elephant my Granddad carved for me, my favourite tea-cup sent to me by my lovely penpal from America, full of smokey lapsang (what can I say, I like drinking a bonfire before bed). Then there’s the old bottles I dug up at Lyme Regis last summer (yes, I am one of those odd collectors I’m reading about), and in the background is one of my paintings from a children’s project from years ago.
And that’s it really – my January psyche on a bedside table. Night night!
Thanks, Laura!
If you would like to be featured in in the My Bedside Table feature, you can email kerry@writingtipsoasis.com