Bookshelves: Then and Now

James at Grognardia has stared something that a few other Bloggers have taken up and as you'll probably have guessed by now I'm loath to ignore a good meme. James wrote; "What I'd love to see are more photos like this, with people showing off the shelves to which they most frequently turn in their writing and (especially) gaming". I had actually done this way back in May 2009 when I wrote The Sourcebook Treadmill so I pulled up those old photos to reuse here. But it soon became apparent that my bookshelves have changed (and expanded) a bit in the intervening years. So I grabbed the camera and shot some new photo's to show my 'work area' as it looks today:

There be dragons!

My Fantasy corner. A collection of RPG rulebooks and campaign settings all overseen by faithful dragons and my trusty Axe.... There's also the model tank my kids made me for my Birthday earlier this year and (on the far right at the end of the books) my drinking horn. And yes, it has been used, on more than one occasion!

The old core rulebooks are still there (I'll never part with these) but most of the D&D sourcebooks have been sold or given away. This reflects my changing needs as a gamer and the fact that with 4th edition D&D any real possibility of my running a game as GM pretty much faded away. My focus has also changed a bit since then with much more wargaming and historical material moving onto my shelves.

The Wargaming section

On the other side of the room some of my Wargaming rulebooks and historical reference works are kept. I don't actually have space for everything so increasingly books are being boxed up and stored around the house. I have already 'bagsied' my daughters bedroom when she leaves home. That may be a decade from now, but I'm patient. I also have a pitifully small number of my painted models on display, but as you have probably guessed by now free space is at a premium in our house.

Painters corner

A wider shot showing my painting desk and the bookshelves beyond. Don't be fooled though, most of those are actually the wife's cookery books. Her book collection makes mine look tiny!

My tiny painting desk as it looks today

My work desk, where I do most of my painting, is actually a small writing bureau in the corner of our family room. Its not nearly big enough for my collection of paints or the multiple projects I always seem to have on the go at any one time. Here you can see some 15mm figures and vehicles, a 1/72 plastic Jagpanther, two platoons of 1/300 tanks (Panzer III J's and Panzer IV F's) and 30 bases which I am painting for later use. I would like a much bigger desk but and at the moment there just isn't any space.

I'll only get the bigger work space I crave when my wife gets rid of her Piano - or hell freezes over. Having said that we are planing on re-decorating next year (so I am told) and this may be my chance to make some changes. Hmmm maybe that bigger desk isn't a pipe dream after all...