This is a wonderful collection of short stories. Some are whimsical, some nostalgic, some have more depth but they are all one thing, smart. I would be angry at the amount of Tom Hank's talent if he didn't seem like such a nice guy. Even if you don't care for short stories, pick this book up and savor it.

Audiobook.....narrated by none other than Tom Hanks himself. I was looking forward to Tom Hanks debut unveiling for months....having pre-paid for the audiobook the ‘second’ I learned Tom Hanks was reading HIS STORIES.I was especially excited to ‘listen’ to Skyline High School celebrity classmate render imagery, illuminate and spotlight juicy details with a wide range of textures - feelings and thoughts. I wanted him to dramatize - flaunt - personify - exemplify all of his greatness.....and for m...

This great actor - who’s an INSPIRATION to us all - recently put the shadow of Coronavirus behind him, thank Heaven! And his similarly inspiring book of short stories deserves to be better known. If you’ve Loved his films and shows, and perchance marked this wonderful book as a TBR - hesitate no more.For now is the time to read it.I wrote this review at a moment when New Yorkers, like Tom is part of the time, were afflicted far more than any other state with this virus.And it was a Dark Moment w...

Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC.Overly sentimental review ahead. This short story collection is warm, surprising and engaging. Each story envelops the reader with its own unique sense of place, time and character; the most endearing characters of all may be the typewriters who find their way into every story. Tom Hanks' vast perspective and experience is relayed with wit and warmth, leaving one craving an audio book with the clacking of typewriters in the background. He manages to capture what t...

So turns out that Tom Hanks can spin a quirky little yarn quite well. The stories in this collection are all beautifully readable and some genuinely compelling. I liked the tone of them and the variety of themes, all though with the anchor of that typewriter.If you like short stories (I do because I can get through a whole one in my 10 minute coffee breaks) I'm fairly sure you'll find a few to love here. I was especially fond of "A Junket in the City of Light" myself but you'll find your own.I c...

"In her living room she opened the windows to get a bit of breeze. The sun had set, so the first fireflies of the evening would begin to flare in a bit. She sat on the windowsill and enjoyed the cold, shaped pineapple and watched as squirrels ran along the telephone wires, perfect sine waves with their bodies and tails. Sitting there, she had her second ice pop as well, until the fireflies began to float magically above the patches of grass and sidewalk." I'm not a Hollywood fan, nor I enjoy

These stories are aggressively competent and aggressively bland. There is a very old fashioned feel to them as if the author yearns for simpler times. The present day stories make sure to note things like iPhones and podcasts as if to remind us that he knows technology exists. The stories also portray a pleasant, multiethnic world where everything has gone the way of Benetton ads and all is well among all of us. But the stories have no teeth. They aren’t memorable. They are aggressively competen...

Tom Hanks clearly loves typewriters. He wrote this up on one, which is really quite cool if you think about it. He made me want to get one just for the sake of it, which, for me, demonstrates a large part of the effectiveness of his writing: “Make the machine part of your life. A part of your day. Do not use it a few times, then need room on the table and close it back into its case to sit on a shelf in the back of a closet. Do that and you may never write with it again.” The best story in h...

3.5 starsTom Hanks is an award-winning American actor and producer who has appeared in films, television, and on the stage. He's also an imaginative writer, as demonstrated in this book of short stories. Tom HanksThe collection includes a variety of vignettes that run the gamut from funny, to touching, to heartrending. In a nod to Hanks' well-known passion for vintage typewriters, these durable machines make an appearance in every story. *****The opening story, one of the funniest in the collect...

[A 2.5 stars, to be candid.]Anticipation was high, emotions were higher; and with bated breath, I opened the book titled ‘Uncommon Type’ penned by one of my favorite actors. An anthology. An eclectic mix. Many slices of life. A debutant’s spirit. What can possibly be lacking in such an endeavor? Storytelling, apparently. Almost all of the seventeen stories are set in the US, chronicling the lives of men and women from myriad walks of life – an actor on a film-promotion spree, a soldier hardened

When my husband picked this up from the library for me, he expressed skepticism that Tom Hanks could write; and I said that if Steve Martin can do it, so can Tom. The first story was clever, about a guy and girl, friends who decide to become more than friends. Their three week whirlwind relationship was very funny. Wishing my initial instincts had proven true, I told my husband, "This guy can write!"But from that point on, I couldn't find another story that I felt like finishing. I skimmed them

As a rule, I try to steer clear of books ghost written by celebrities. These books are not going to win awards for their literary prowess no matter how engaging the subject matter is. For the past few months I have seen goodreads friends reviewing a short story collection by Tom Hanks himself. Tom Hanks, the actor I have pretty much watched my whole life starting with Big and A League of Our Own and most recently as Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks. That this is a collection of fictional stories

a book by the man, the myth, the legend that is tom hanks sounds like a dream come true, right? yeah, i thought so too until i actually read this and was heartbroken that i didnt fall in love. im not a fan of short story collections to begin with, but i thought this would different. the writing was good, albeit a little old fashioned, but i just could not get into the stories. and i dont think that was tom hanks’ fault - it just takes a lot for me to connect with characters/plots and its difficu...

What an eclectic mix! I could feel Mr Hanks in these stories; his quirky humour (how do I know what he’s like, well I think I do now?!) shining through to his stories, his first work of fiction.A very different mix of stories, some related, some not. A group of young adults building a craft and entering space, that same group encouraging their amazing bowling player friend to appear on television to prove his amazing amount of strikes. This was a cool character that goes by the name of Steve Won...

**I received this book through a Goodreads Giveaway**Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I hate leaving books unfinished, but life is too short, and this collection is too long.I just...oh, man, I didn't care. I found almost every one of these stories as dull as the cover. Can Tom Hanks write? Definitely. The tone was warm and nostalgic and lovely, and I'd read more from him for sure. I especially liked Christmas Eve 1953. But I could. Not. Care. The endings were too abrupt, the characters fel...

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/I’ve made it very clear I’m not a big fan of fictional shorts in general, and I really struggle with collections of them. That being said, now that I’m attempting to dabble in audiobooks they really are the perfect fit for my short commute so I probably need to suck it up and start enjoying them more. All I can really say about Uncommon Type is it was completely adequate for my 15 minute, twice a day listening pleasure. I have been a f...

These stories were utterly charming! I listened to Uncommon Type on audio, performed by Tom Hanks himself, and I highly recommend it. From the very first story, about a laid-back guy who starts dating a go-getting gal, I was smiling and giggling and was excited to keep reading.Tom Hanks is such a likeable guy that I shouldn't be surprised for liking his writing. These stories are sweet and funny, clever and insightful. And part of the charm is that many of the stories (if not all, I wasn't count...

A collection of pleasant, though unremarkable, stories - all tethered to one another by typewriters. I believe most of them were written while Tom was out and about travelling for work, which would account for the vast array of locations and settings. Among my favorites were the stories that featured Anna (atta-baaaaby) and Steve Wong. At least, they were the most memorable for me. But who am I kidding. For the past two weeks, I got to listen to Tom Hanks read to me on my commute to and from wor...

I love short stories. And Tom Hanks. So, short stories by Tom Hanks? I was super happy to have won this book in a Goodreads giveaway! The stories were good. Not excellent, but fun enough. My favorite ones were by the end of the book:-The past is important to us-Stay with us-Go see Costas-Steve Wong is perfect

Thomas Jeffery Hanks it seems can do just about anything. He has won so many awards for his acting that he uses Golden Globe statues to tenderize the chicken breasts for his world famous, and yet nutritiously responsible Chicken Cordon Hanks dish. The hit at many Spielberg potlucks. He produces, writes, and directs films. He is always very funny and his David S. Pumpkins character is recognized internationally for it’s technical genius and it’s subtle and clever insights into the human condition...