Amy Sohn & Emily Gould...The Next Iron Chefs

Ok, follow along bitches cause it doesn't really get much more meta than this:

Park Slope author (and BR-ALLER) Amy Sohn, whose book Prospect Park West deliciously satirizes the nabe, makes malfatti (from a recipe by Anna Klinger from Al Di La)--a restaurant that is also mentioned in PPW--in Emily Gould's kitchen. Emily Gould used to be the editor of Gawker, a blog that previously dug making fun of Park Slope a whole hell of a lot before they got quite so big-n-important (Gawker is *also* mentioned in PPW).

Emily Gould used to dig making fun of people a lot too, until she realized that, whoops, she sorta didn't anymore. So then she quit Gawker, and wrote a controversial NYT Magazine tell all about what its like to live your life in the public eye. After that, everyone kinda hated the shit out of her for awhile, but she wasn't sweatin it, b/c she got a whopper of a book deal.

Right.

So now Emily Gould lives nearish to Park Slope--the neighborhood that, just as a reminder, is the very one Amy Sohn makes fun of in HER book PPW. And Emily kinda makes fun of people who make fun of Park Slope in her post for This Recording entitled: "In Which Emily Gould is Bored to Death of Brooklyn Cliches." And some people are kinda hating the shit out of Amy Sohn now, for further reinforcing the idea of of these Park Slope cliches by making fun of them all in her book, but she's not sweatin it because Sarah Jessica Parker optioned her book for an HBO series, AND she's already working on the sequel.

Fuckin A.

Pretty trippy, huh?

Sidenote: my fave Emily Gould memory is that pic of her (scroll down), flipping us all off in her red bathing suit. I remember seeing it on the day it was published on Gawker and being utterly fascinated/impressed/jealous of the self confidence required to not only pose for a pic like that, but to come up with the fucking idea in the first place.

So, anyway, now Amy Sohn and Emily Gould are making pasta together in Emily's kitchen and I, for one, can't look away.

If you want to cook more books with Gould, head on over to Emily Magazine.

This Week in Amy Sohn

I mean, are we at the point where we should just start a fucking "this week in Amy Sohn" column?  Peut-être.

Anyway.

• Sohn did a great interview with Gothamist, in which we learn that despite the fact that she gives great BJ's, she considers herself an "uncool mom" (unless, of course, that's part of the whole "I think you have an act; and that not having an act is your act" thing--I'm bad with quotes, but I've met her and she *does* seem kinda cool). Also, she talks a bit about Smartmom.
• Momasphere is hosting Sohn for another reading of her book slash BREEDER party at the Richard Meir on Prospect Park West building on Oct. 8 from 7-9pm. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door (a portion of the money raised will go toward Children of the City). OH, and there will be booze (from Sip Fine Wine)-n-eats from Melt. I'm kindof dyyying to actually get a peek inside this building, so I might be hittin it up.
• The Secrets of Publishing Panel is going down on October 7th at the Learning Annex, and guess who's gonna be on the panel?

Amy Sohn Does NOT, in fact, Have a Bugaboo: The FIPS Q & A

Hodgman doesn't return our tweets, and though we briefly considered that we *might* have been having an exchange with the REALSTEVEBUSCEMI, as it turned out, it was the FAKESTEVEBUSCEMI. Anyway, it ain't no thang, cause we've moved on and nailed ourselves an interview with our new fave BR-ALLER, Amy Sohn!

As you may recall, I loved the shit out of Sohn's latest novel about four Park Slope SAHM's, Prospect Park West. And so I was psyched to dive in deep and get to the bottom of things with some of our most burning questions.

So, yeah...Sohn indulged us and answered some of our Q's. We laughed, we cried, we ate fritatas.

Click to read more ...

Amy Sohn Controversh, Part Deux: 'Don't Hate the Player, Smartmom, Hate The Game'

Just to recap: Park Slope rez and former sex columnist Amy Sohn wrote a book called Prospect Park West that satirizes the stroller mafia, SAHM lifestyle that's so prevalent in our neighborhood. The whole book takes place in Park Slope, and all of the typical Park Slope stereotypes (helicopter moms, sexless marriages, crazies at the Coop, etc) are served up on a silver platter like a warm plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies. And yes people, it really is that delicious. I loved the shit out of this book, but others (like Smartmom, Louise Crawford) seem to hate the living crap out of it.

In fact, Smartmom hates the book so much, she recently wrote a scathing review published in the Brooklyn Paper: "Another Slope Swipe From Amy Sohn." Mind you, this was after she published a lengthy takedown of the novel on her own blog, written in a bizarre Q&A style that made it seem like she was being interviewed for the post...only she was interviewing herself. I guess she forgot that one usually tends to get interviewed after WRITING a book...not simply reading one.

Anyway.

Click to read more ...

Who's Down For A Smartmom v. Amy Sohn Jello Wrestling Match?

image via Gothamist

Glad you said it first, Gothamist, because truth be told, we had the same reaction you did upon reading Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn's review of Amy Sohn's Prospect Park West.

This line, in particular, gave us quite a chuckle:

"Is [the book] truthful? The book is filled with cliches about the Bugaboo culture in Park Slope and the parents that live there. And you know what they say about cliches...

In my Smartmom columns, I have written about just about everything Sohn covers in the novel..."

Oh, snap! Man, why did you even b-o-t-h-e-r, Amy? It's ALL been covered already!

Anyway.

Rather than bore you with our querulous take on the matter, I thought the whole thing could easily be summed up with a few choice lines from one of my favorite movies: Heathers.

Veronica Sawyer: Don't talk to me like that, ok.

Heather Duke: Jealous much??

Veronica Sawyer: Why can't you just be a friend? Why do you have to be such a mega-bitch?

Heather Duke: Cuz I can be....

REVIEW: PROSPECT PARK WEST BY AMY SOHN

Amy Sohn is a BREEDER who gets it. Like really fucking gets it.

She's a Park Slope mom, who you may have even seen breastfeeding at the "Teat Lounge" (her brilliance, not mine), or sitting amongst the Coopretards at the monthly Park Slope Food Coop meeting. She can enumerate the subtle nuances between each neighborhood playground, and has likely put in her required mommy hours at both Dizzy's and Two Boots. For all I know, she may have even thrown her kid an elaborate bday party at Kidville with clowns and that annoying guitar player dude from the Wednesday sing-a-longs. But here's the thing: she can also laugh her ass off about it all.

Self-awareness, folks--it ain't just a concept to revisit every so often in your shrink's office.  

Luckily for all of us, Sohn seems to be the most self-aware Park Slope BREEDER in the history of BREEDERS. And she's turned it all into a hilarious, dishy, tell-all of a book about  my fave nabe and yours: Prospect Park West.

I loved the shit out of this book--I really did.

Click to read more ...

Can't Wait To Read It: Prospect Park West

Park Slope rez and former sex columnist Amy Sohn has a juicy little nugget of a book hitting the stands in September that delves deep into the lives of four Park Slope mothers: Prospect Park West. Food Coop shifts, mommy-n-me classes, boring/sexless marriages, playground dramz--its apparently all in there. Shit's so good, Sarah Jessica Parker already optioned it to turn into a TV series.

Needless to say, everyone is already talking about it (and if someone can send me ANY relevant, whiny Park Slope Parents threads, I will give you cold hard cash).

Here's the blurb from Publisher's Weekly:

Lizzie, whose lesbian proclivities mask her loneliness; Rebecca, whose libidoless spouse prefers his role as dad over husband; Karen, a social-climbing conniver; and Melora, a former Manhattanite whose psychiatric maladies are as pathetic as they are numerous. The gals in this comedy of bad manners are burned out, bitchy and beyond salvation as they maneuver to be noticed and loved.

So, yeah. I'm pretty much predicting that this is going to be my new fave book on the planet. And guess who's got themselves a MOTHERFUCKING ADVANCE COPY on the way??

Yes. We. Can.

Stay tuned for our first (and likely only) official FIPS Book Review.

(via Gawker)