The Man Who Reads Books For a Living (One Every Two Days)
Clarke Speicher is a professional book reader who evaluates literature for screen adaptations. He provides detailed synopses and insights on how books can translate to film, balancing his love for literature with the practicalities of the film industry. Despite the importance of his work, he remains humble about his role in the adaptation process.
- ▪Clarke Speicher reads books to evaluate their potential for screen adaptation.
- ▪He writes detailed reports that help executives decide whether to pursue a project.
- ▪Clarke's work involves balancing literary appreciation with the practicalities of filmmaking.
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When Clarke Speicher (spike-er) asked how I liked the screen adaptation of Train Dreams, Denis Johnson’s novella following the solitary logger Robert Granier in the early 20th-century American West, he was actually asking whether it measured up to its source material. That is, after all, the question about adaptations. Still, it felt loaded. If it had been anyone else, I would’ve felt at liberty to prattle without worrying whether I’d arrived at any kind of thesis. That I love the book was beside the point. I felt caught out because it was Clarke doing the asking. But he isn’t an author, screenwriter, director, producer, critic, agent, or editor. He isn’t a journalist or influencer.
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