Key Word: "Much"

It's ironic that much of the expanded coverage of both the Times (Thursday Styles, House & Home, Real Estate) and the Journal (the Friday weekend section, the Saturday edition) is dedicated to the sort of high-end consumption that reporters can't really afford. As a result, there's a nose-pressed-to-the-glass quality to much of the coverage. --Daniel Gross, Slate, Dec. 19

I tried on a shearling coat in chocolate suede. Again, it was so unlike the shearling coat I owned that it does not even belong in the same category. There were no bulky pockets; the inside was cut so that I didn't look like a sack of potatoes. It was my birthday. I bought it. (It was $5,000, and all I can say is that I'm glad I spent the last year paying off my credit cards.) --Alex Kuczynski, New York Times Thursday Styles, Dec. 15