The long-promised SpoutBlog book is finally here!

An anthology of the posts that various SpoutBlog readers, trusted advisors and I consider to be my “greatest hits” as editor of this blog, The Portable SpoutBlog contains 41 previously published pieces, a new introductory essay (intended as a recap and a look forward; you can consider this a substitute for a sentimental final post by me on this blog), and notes and addendums contextualizing the included blog posts — dated and ephemeral by their very nature — for their new life in print.

The content is divided into four sections: RESPONSES, being the most bloggy of blog posts — that is, those inspired by other writings, usually other blog posts; DISPATCHES, being reports from film festivals and New York film events; CONVERSATIONS, being interviews and reports from intimate public discussions; and finally, REVIEWS, of festival films, theatrical releases, and DVDs.

Major topics discussed in the selected pieces include: Judd Apatow, mumblecore, The Hills and Michelangelo Antonioni, There Will Be Blood, Sex and the City, Woody Allen, the state of film criticism, the state of documentary film criticism, Jonathan Demme and liberal guilt, Che, Goodbye Solo and “neo-neo-realism”, CineVegas,Troma, Comic-Con, The Hurt Locker, Antichrist, Abel Ferrara, Whit Stillman, Alejandro Adams, Kelly Reichardt, Todd Sklar, Ti West, Southland Tales, Medicine for Melancholy, Synecdoche NY, and Inglorious Basterds (twice).

This was a low-budget, DIY, labor of love-type endeavor, and production was somewhat rushed so that the book could be ready for purchase by the time my employment with Spout came to an end. I’ve seen the finished product, and though it’s not perfectly polished, I think it’s an accurate survey of what I tried to do here.

You can buy The Portable SpoutBlog at Amazon. If you have any questions about the book, please leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them. Happy reading!