Blogger Babble: Emily Gould

By Felicity Loughrey
May 13, 2010

Emily Gould, 28, came to national attention two years ago with a personal essay that made the cover of the New York Times Magazine. The no-holds-barred confessional about her life on- and offline spurred heated internet chatter and a book deal that led to the memoir And The Heart Says Whatever, released last week. Her collection of essays is about life as a twenty-something in New York City in the digital age. On the page, Gould falls in and out of love with a boy in a band and skips between jobs working in a bar, at a book publisher and at the Gawker Media empire, where she was an editor of the flagship site. “If one 23-year-old who has a Tumblr and lives in an outer-borough of New York likes my book, well, I’m satisfied,” she says.

Gould still refers to the internet as her “home country”: She has a blog, Emily Magazine, a Tumblr, Things That I Ate That I Love and an online cooking show, Cooking the Books with Emily Gould, hosted on The Awls’ Vimeo channel. In that role, Gould interviews authors while crafting dishes related to their books. Friend Marisa Meltzer baked vegan cupcakes to celebrate her tome Girl Power: the Nineties Revolution in Music. “You could just tell that we have good chemistry," Gould says. "It’s the funniest episode.” She’s also had novelist Sam Lipsyte on the show. “Not to be overly dramatic but his book The Ask is one of the most exciting novels to have been published in my lifetime. That was definitely a highlight for me.”

Each cooking segment is about five-minutes long and is filmed in Gould’s Brooklyn apartment. She has posted 13 webisodes to date. “We started using three cameras—almost professional,” she laughs. “Now there’s a lot more footage to edit and no one is being paid to work on it, so it’s kind of a miracle that it comes together.” In a special broadcast, Bennett Madison (The Blonde of the Joke) interviewed Gould and they prepared a fried egg sandwich, the only dish featured in And The Heart Says Whatever.

The title of Gould's book is borrowed from the Stevie Nicks song “Think About It,” and to say Gould is a fan is an understatement. She's currently searching eBay for old Fleetwood Mac memorabilia. “I would love a Rumours concert tee, really faded and worn out,” she says. When not cooking, writing or blogging, Gould is often trolling the online marketplace. “EBay is like a procrastination thing for me. I make my way through my usual list of websites and Cute Boys With Cats on Tumblr and I think, what am I craving? What really specific thing do I need right now?” Usually, her searches boil down to “vintage clothes and shoes,” she says. Her favorite eBay score: “I had a really excellent pair of Frye boots, a specific type that is hand-tooled and the heels have been weighted for horseback riding. I had them resoled and repaired and then they just completely bit the dust. I spent an obsessive few months on eBay and found a new pair. I think they were $60 and they usually resell for more than $200.” Score!

**Emily Gould images provided by the feature subject.**

Emily Gould combines her love for cooking and all things Fleetwood Mac and gave us these eBay picks:

Roll over items for details

Stevie Nicks Fleetwood Mac Tour T-shirt 1986

“This is not really my favorite era of Stevie Nicks' hairstyles, but that seems like a minor quibble with this gorgeous item.”

(buy it now price, $75)

Stevie Nicks Wild Heart Tour T-shirt 1983

“Dear sweet Lord, this t-shirt is ideal—so perfectly faded. ‘Hey, what a great t-shirt!’ ‘Thanks, I bought it on eBay for $100.’ ‘You WHAT?’ ‘Don't blame it on me, blame it on my wild heart."

(buy it now price, $100)