I don't have a bedside nightstand, but for the purposes of this light hearted thread let's assume that the floor next to my bed is a nightstand.
Sunglasses
Earplugs
Headphones connected to ipod
Earphones connected to nothing
Various computer magazines
Various chargers and adapters
Lots of wires
A bottle of water
My alarm clock (which is also a cellular telephone apparently but I never use it for that)
Insecticide
A pen
A permanent marker
A highlighter
Various medications
A broken hard drive
mmm... my list isn't looking very impressive... I'll go put some books on my "nightstand"...
The Tao of Photography
The Diary of Franz Kafka
The Gospel of Buddha
Ivanhoe
A Short History of the World by H.G. Wells
I'll stop there.
Ender's Game is excellent, as is Angels & Demons.
I have a lamp, alarm clock (and I follow Sunburnt's pattented time management systems), tealight candle holder with 3 pretty white candles, and 2 books: Food for Thought and Sudoku puzzles with pen. The last put me to sleep every night, no matter how much $hit is in my head.
The really interesting stuff is in the art deco box under the night stand. Not sharing that 😛