Nancy’s Reviews > THE NEW GILDED AGE > Status Update

Read essay (33/33) !! “Restoration Hardware” (18.01.1999) .…delightful profile of the owner and the store: ransacked his childhood memories and turned them into nostalgic inventory. He sells the old classic Boston Ranger pencil sharpener (see Google images) , which you probably haven’t seen in decades. He sells vintage gyroscopes and the classic plaid thermoses. Loved this walk down memory lane!

Read essay (32/33) " Who Speaks for the Lazy?" In these essays, Arthur Krystal (1947) finally reveals his cantankerous persona, and engages in an impassioned defense of the work he does...and doesn';t do! Very good read...loved his writing style and kept reading waiting for the next great turn of phrase.

There I go again...forgetting to alter page count!

Read essay (31/37) "Our Money, Ourselves" (19.04.1999) by D. Merkin. It was a frank autobiographical article covering family dynamics and wealth on Park Avenue. Very enjoyable reading and impressed with Ms Merkin's vocabulary...really good!

Read essay (30/33) "Conspicuous Consumption" by David Brooks. Who knew Canadians had such a great sense of humour? David Brooks is an exceptional writer and of all 30 essays...I enjoyed this one the most. It was short and laugh-out-loud funny! You can find essay/articles/opinion pieces by Brooks at The NY Times and The Atlantic.

I keep forgetting to update the page number!

Read essay (29/33) "A Party for Brooke (Astor)" (21.03.1997) by Brendan Gil. Having a lot of difficulty reading the last few essays. There is so much happening in the world that I cannot get excited about another puff piece about the 95th birthday of a “grande dame” of New York society.

Read essay (28/33)...almost finished!! "High-Heel Heaven" by M. Specter. It was a wonderfully informative and entertaining profile of the shoe designer Manolo Blahnik (1942). "What will happen to your brand when you stop? They’re just shoes. I’ll make as many as I can, and when I die I suspect the world will survive."

Read essay (26/33) "A Hazard of No Fortune" by Adam Gopnik. Good writer but the essay is about looking for an apartment in NYC. Not smth that interests me. Lightweight, boring and difficult to enjoy after a night w/ just 5 hrs sleep. I guess the wrong essay at the wrong time but Gopnik remains one of my favourite New Yorker 's staff writers.

Read: essay (25/33) "My Misspent Youth" by Meghan Daum. She is a young struggling freelance writer and describes her total financial mayhem trying to keep her head about water. Very entertaining and good news....Meghan is thriving in the literary world 2026.