The New York Times spins off its human-interest stories just as its rival, the Wall Street Journal, recycled its offbeat profiles in Floating Off the Page (2002). Here are articles about a teenager riding the entire New York City subway system, street dentistry in Pakistan, a 10-year-old physics prodigy, twins separated at birth, a thief who steals coins from the outdoor fountains in Rome, and a chicken roosting in the backyard of the Times' restaurant critic. The 60 articles included resist categorization, except that, editor Belkin writes, Times reporters read their children to sleep with them. In this shared experience lies the origin of Belkin's collection, which she divides into such categories as "School" and "Sports." None of the featured people (except for cyclist Lance Armstrong) is famous, but appearing in the gray lady confers some fame, of course: follow-ups to various articles testify to their, and hence this volume's, popularity with Times' readers.