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Chamber Plots
by Henry Alford, New York Times
What prompts people to place books in the loo? Are the books we keep there a reflection of our deepest selves?

The Last Witness
by David Brown, Washington Post
Lillian Gertrud Asplund was 5 1/2 years old when her family booked third-class passage and went aboard a ship called the RMS Titanic in Southampton, England, returning to America.

For Tom Hanks, Just Another Day At The Office
by Lorne Manly, New York Times
Tom Hanks isn't just a movie star. He has also been quietly building an extremely prolific filmmaking operation.

How The New York Times Makes Local Papers Dumber
by Jack Shafer, Slate
That's only a slight exaggeration.

What Can I Bring?
by Stephanie Witt Sedgwick, Washington Post
Everything short of the main course, it seems. Like it or not, potlucks have become a way of life.

The Taco Joint In Your Kitchen
by Mark Bittman, New York Times
The good news is that without too much effort you can, believe it or not, create an admirable taco at home.

High Colonic
by Melissa Holbrook Pierson, Salon
No matter how many books I publish, I can't kick my addiction to my other occupation, the scorned one that offers me succor and sanity: Proofreading.

The Day The Music Dies Will Be A Blessing
by James Alan Fox, Boston Herald
Loud and unnecessary music is everywhere.

Don't Supersize Me
by Matthew Gilbert, Boston Globe
Or: Why one discerning viewer refuses to part with his small but beloved television.

"I Make $1.45 A Week And I Love It"
by Katharine Mieszkowski, Salon
On Amazon Mechnical Turk, thousands of people are happily being paid pennies to do mind-numbing work. Is it a boon for the bored or a virtual sweatshop?

Fear Of Flying
by Seth Clark Walker, Seattle Times
As air-rage incidents ascend, Fear Of Flying takes on new meaning.

The Haunting
by John Hodgman, New York Times
Though the wave has subsided somewhat, the aftereffects of the Asian ghost boom are still being felt.

Soldiers' Words May test PBS Language Rules
by Elizabeth Jensen, New York Times
What viewers will see and hear when the series is broadcast in September 2007 is an open question.

Touched For The Very First Time
by Rebecca Traister, Salon
I've waited 22 years to see Madonna live in concert. But would seeing the Material Girl, lithe and gyrating at 47, make me feel like an old fogy?

Give Me Swelter
by Jura Koncius, Washington Post
Believe it or not, some people don't like air conditioning.

It's My Funeral And I'll Serve Ice Cream If I Want To
by John Leland, New York Times
At a time when Americans hire coaches to guide their careers and retirements, tutors for their children, personal shoppers for their wardrobes, trainers for their abs, whisperers for their pets and — oh, yes — wedding planners for their nuptials, it makes sense that some funerals are also starting to benefit from the personal touch.

Is There Anything Left That We Can Eat?
by Candy Sagon, Washington Post
With all the conflicting headlines, no wonder we can't decide what to buy.

Greenmarket At 30, Searching For Itself
by Kim Severson, New York Times
From Borough Hall in the Bronx to Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, the new Greenmarkets are disappointing some shoppers and stretching thin both staff and farmers.

How We Know
by Jonah Lehrer, Seed
What do an algebra teacher, Toyota and a classical musician have in common?

They Called Me A Child Pornographer
by Jody Jenkins, Salon
I took some photos of my kids naked on a camping trip. A drugstore employee called the police — and my family's life became a living hell.

Goodbye, Mr Keating
by Thomas H. Benton, Chronicle Of Higher Education
To succeed as a Ph.D in English, you have to give up all of the things that attracted you to the subject in the first place.

Views From The Viaduct
by Gary Sutto, Seattle Times
I've been drawn back, captivated by the size of the thing, its presence in the way it hides the sky, divides the city and, of course, carries on its business.

Confident Crisis
by Ann Hulbert, New York Times
Before rushing to conclude that Americans have simply gotten lonelier and more insular, why not consider another possibility? Perhaps, we've also gotten better at demarcating what constitutes truly intimate cmmuning — expecting more of our confidants, we have, ineffect, defined intimacy up.

In Alaska, Strange Light And Ancient Ice
by Bonnie Tsui, New York Times
Alaska in summer is the Land of Everything Midnight Sun, from microbrews to marathons. Most uses of the phrase are lighthearted marketing gimmicks dreamed up to draw visitors to the state during the long daylight season. But the midnight sun glacier hikes like the one I experienced actually take hikers out into the wild during the late-night light.

On A Wink And A Prayer
by Natasha Walter, The Guardian
They don't believe. And vicars often know they don't Yet more and more middle-class parents are going to church in order to get their children into church schools, where they think they will get a better education. The result is divided communities — so why is the church allowing it to happen?

Some Dark Thoughts On Happiness
by Jennifer Senior, New York
More annd more psychologists and researchers believe they know what makes people happy. But the question is, does a New Yorker want to be happy?

Why We're Fatter
by Sydney Spiesel, Slate
Five reasons you haven't thought of.

But 'He's Been Making Omelets Since He Was 3...'
by Candy Sagon, Washington Post
And other tales from teen cooking camps.

Riding The Train In Bombay
by Manish Vij, Salon
A New Yorker explains why he loves riding the rails in the Indian city, and why they're so vulnerable to attack.

The Ultimate Crossword Smackdown
by Matt Gaffney, Slate
Who writes better puzzles, humans or computers?

Flowering Of Cool New Gins
by Charles Perry, Los Angeles Times
I blame James Bond. Everything started going downhill, cocktail-wise, when he insisted on vodka martinis, shaken, not stirred.

Music Matters Too Much To Be Made Easy
by Frank Furedi, Telegraph
Today, the policy of inclusion makes no attempt to cultivate and elevate the public taste. On the contrary, it regards the taste of the public as something to flatter and celebrate.

Bargain Price For Spring Chickens
by Frank Bruni, New York Times
At the Park Avenue Cafe, they're doing the opposite of an early-bird special, which has long been a trick for luring older diners. They're lowering prices later in the evening, in a way that rewards — and is obviously meant to attract — younger diners. And they may be ruffling some feathers in the process.

Is Wieght The New Race?
by Rachel Cooke, The Observer
Do we demonise the obese purely on health grounds, or is it a gut reaction based on prejudice?

For Joey Hot Dog, A World On The Wane
by Jeff Vandam, New York Times
To all the sock vendors, insurance executives, transit employees, exotic dancers, commuters, cabdrivers and chicken fryers who move through Queens Plaza each day, Joey Hot Dog is the mayor.

Your Film Is Banned. There's Not Enough Violence.
by Dennis Lim, New York Times
"I think this is the first time a film has been banned for not being violent enough."

Eat Drink Make Movie: Hollywood's Next Course
by steve Chagollan, New York Times
In the coming year, a wave of ambitious studio films will try to capitalize on American's growing appreciation of all things epicurean.

Coming Soon
by Van Smith, Baltimore City Paper
The box-office battle betwen Baltimore's independent movie theaters turns on imminent arrival of new national player.

Flush With Success, And Looking To Spend
by Stephanie McCrummen, Washington Post
It began, innocently enough, with plumbing issues.

A Roving Appetite
by Stephen G. Henderson, Baltimore Sun
Taking Manhattan, savoring one street-food delicacy at a time.

Fun With Gravity
by Anita Huslin, Washington Post
A wooden roller coaster designer doesn't go for the cheap thrills of steel giants.

Authors Take A New Approach To Audio Books: Do It Yourself
by Motoko Rich, New York Times
Some authors are takking a pro-active role in developing audio versions of their books, recruiting talented friends to add a sense of show biz.

A Dissident's Holiday
by E. J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post
Have you ever noticed a certain hesitant quality to the experssions of patriotism by progressives or left-wingers?

In Queens, It's The Glorious 4th, And 6th, And 16th, And 25th...
by Michelle O'Donnell, New York Times
Independence Day is celebrated once a year in most of America. In Queens, the most ethnically diverse county in the nation, where an estimated 44 percent of the 2.2 million residents are foreign born, it is celebrated again and again and again.

Train To The Roof Of The World
by David Wolman, Wired News
China's new 1,200-mile railway crosses some of the harshest terrain on the planet. Plug in your oxygen supply. All aboard the Tibet express.

The Lonely American Just Got A Bit Lonelier
by Henry Fountain, New York Times
There is a new installment in the anals of loneliness. Americans are not only lacking in bolwing partners, now they're lacking in people to tell their deepest, darkest secrets.

Dining Amid The Din
by Nicholas Lander, Financial Times
Why are so many modern restaurants so noisy?

Yearning To Put Papers Back In Local Hands
by Laura M. Holson, New York Times
Increasingly, businesspeople and civic leaders are showing interest in owning their local papers again.

Flooded And Forgotten
by Susan Straight, Salon
Louisiana is still devastated, and its people — black and white, rich and poor — feel like the rest of the country doesn't care.

Copycat
by Tim Wu, Slate
Can China create its own Hollywood?