Person
Every book Clint Bentley recommended on podcasts
Key facts
- Clint Bentley has recommended or discussed 7 books on podcasts, as of February 24, 2026.
- Clint Bentley has talked about books on 2 podcasts, as of February 24, 2026.
- Those books came up in 2 episodes, as of February 24, 2026.
- The 3 books Clint Bentley has mentioned in the most episodes, as of February 24, 2026: Train dreams, Coltrane on Coltrane and Once in Europa.
- The latest episode with a book mention from Clint Bentley aired on February 24, 2026.
Updated
Across 2 podcasts. Every show Clint Bentley appears on, in one place — not just one.
Clint Bentley’s most recommended books
- Train dreams by Denis Johnson
- Coltrane on Coltrane by Chris DeVito
- Once in Europa by John Berger
- Sculpting in Time by Andrei Tarkovsky
- The Collected Works of Billy the Kid by Michael Ondaatje
- No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
- To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Clint Bentley is an American film director and screenwriter whose directorial credits include Jockey and Train Dreams, and who received Academy Award nominations for his adapted screenplays for Sing Sing and Train Dreams. On an episode of The Book Review, Bentley shared several book recommendations, starting with Michael Ondaatje's The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, which he described as a strange collection of short stories, photographs, and poetry. He also recommended John Berger's Once in Europa as a short story cycle sharing similar themes with Train Dreams about life leaving people behind, Andrei Tarkovsky's Sculpting in Time as a phenomenal work on filmmaking and artistic reflection, and Coltrane on Coltrane, a collection of John Coltrane interviews that he found deeply inspirational for artists. Additionally, Bentley referenced Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men as an adaptation exception, discussed character moments from Denis Johnson's novella Train Dreams, and mentioned picking up Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse.
Books recommended by Clint Bentley
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Train dreams
Train Dreams by Denis Johnson is a slender, poignant novella following the solitary life of Robert Grainier, a laborer in the American West during the early twentieth century.
Discussed“Claire Thompson is a character in the novella, but she is a widow that he's transporting. And there's not much that's said between them, but it's a really important moment in Grenier's life that culminates in her telling him in the book that the the lord needs a hermit in the woods as much as a preacher in the pulpit.”
Where to get it
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Coltrane on Coltrane
Coltrane on Coltrane by Chris DeVito and John Coltrane is a collection of interviews featuring the legendary jazz musician.
Recommended“It's called Coltrane on Coltrane. It's a collection of interviews with with John Coltrane. Mhm. That I I have learned so much as an artist and and and about life.”
Where to get it
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Once in Europa
Once in Europa by John Berger is a collection of interconnected short stories exploring rural life and societal transformation.
Recommended“The second one is the one that I started with and that I read called Once in Europa. But it's a collection of it's like a short story cycle and I think it for fans of Train Dreams might be fans of that as well because there's very similar themes about life kind of moving on and leaving people behind”
Where to get it
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Sculpting in Time
Sculpting in Time by Andrei Tarkovsky is a foundational treatise on the philosophy and art of filmmaking written by the legendary Russian director.
Recommended“Tarkovsky has one. Andrei Tarkovsky has one called Sculpting in Time that is a really phenomenal book. And he he was at the end of his life towards the end of his life when he wrote it and it's very much like not only him reflecting on his life, but him reflecting on the form.”
Where to get it
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The Collected Works of Billy the Kid
The Collected Works of Billy the Kid by Michael Ondaatje is an experimental hybrid work blending poetry, prose, and photography to explore the legendary outlaw's life.
Recommended“It's called The Collected Works of Billy the Kid. It's by Michael Ondaatje. Mhm. It's it's so much more than what it sounds like. It's this very strange book that is a collection of short stories, photographs, poetry.”
Where to get it
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No Country for Old Men
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy is a bleak, violent western thriller about a drug deal gone wrong and the relentless hunter pursuing the survivor.
Discussed“There or there are exceptions to that like No Country for Old Men is an adaptation that like that book kind of already feels like a movie and was written as a screenplay or stage play before that.”
Where to get it
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To the Lighthouse
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf is a modernist novel exploring themes of art, time, family, and the human condition through the experiences of the Ramsay family.
Discussed“One that I've got here that I just picked up that I sadly have never read to the lighthouse. Oh, wow. I've I've read like uh you know, I've read Virginia Woolf's prose, but I've never read a full book by her and so and so I just picked up have a copy there?”
Where to get it
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Director Clint Bentley on Adapting ‘Train Dreams’ for the Big Screen | The Book Review | 2026-02-24 | 7 |
| Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar: How Train Dreams Became a Film | How I Write | How I Write | 2026-01-28 | 1 |