I’m busting my backlist books.
This is another I didn’t get to on time.

I saw Tom Hanks on Graham Norton show that’s when I got eager to read this book not realising it’s short stories- not, that it’s too much of a problem but the same thing has happened again within my short story collection. I liked some more than others. I really didn’t like others and when that happened I didn’t want to continue listening.

I picked it up again where I’d left off while sitting in the car.

I’ve read it now. I’m happy I’ve read it, got through it however, some of it was an ordeal.

Advanced Reader copy - Enjoyed this book, really opened my eyes and made me seek out other similar books to read.

I really enjoyed this book when I read it, however I did not get to submit full review in time as unfortunately I lost my devices when my house was burgled and it took me a long time to replace my belongings and just get back on track. I have an ereader again (and a laptop, although I am not reactivating my blog and have started a bookstagram instead) and I hope to review again in the future.

Reviewed on Goodreads

I powered through this, and skipped some of it in the end.

Although these stories are not objectively bad they are unashamed, and fairly bland, slices of nostalgic Americana. The typewriter is the common thread, but it doesn’t really fit in all of the stories - the story about the divorcee buying a typewriter was the most memorable one for me, but otherwise I can’t think that this collection would have been published had it not been written by Tom Hanks.

I was just disappointed in it…

I've had this book a while now on my kindle, and it's one of those books if you have a spare couple of hours and don't want to start a 'big' book, then easy to dive into one of the short stories. Though I didn't realise it's been on my kindle for so long!

I enjoyed Tom's literary prose, quite old school and succinct, . I like to think of this book as a little collection of typewriter reads and has me a bit nostalgic back to the days of me learning pitman all those years ago.. Ah those were the days!

I first heard about Uncommon Type when Tom Hanks was a guest on The Graham Norton Show. When I first started reading the book, I didn't realise it was a collection of short stories and I wasn't immediately take in. I thought it was going to be a slog to get through to the end. But, as with many short story collections, others later on appealed to me more. The style of writing was too dense and literary for my liking, and it didn't really engage me or make me connect with the characters, but I can appreciate the story telling skills.

Went through a phase of getting "read now" books that sounded vaguely interesting. Never got around to reading this one.

There's no denying that Tom Hanks is a talented writer. These short stories all have a nostalgic/homely feel to them but sadly not much substance.

Uncommon Type is my second short story collection in a row. This book is a series of 17 stories from the mind of Oscar-winning silver screen legend Tom Hanks. Each in some way, shape or form connects to the common theme of typewriters. In some cases these wonderful mechanical devices from the heart of the story, in others they appear as a cameo. I’ll be reviewing this book in a different way to my normal reviews, reviewing each story to rate the book overall.

Three exhausting weeks
I really enjoyed this as an opener to the collection. When two old friends with very different perspectives on life enter into a relationship built almost entirely on lust, something has to give. Hanks builds relatable and likeable leading characters. The clash of polar-opposite personalities is well crafted, showing the issues when a relationship forsakes the important elements of the people within. An enjoyable opening gambit to the collection.

Christmas Eve 1953
This tale opens with a family man returning home on Christmas Eve. Family traditions unfold around him: the placing of family gifts under the tree, sharing dinner, enjoying Christmas records together before leaving notes to Santa alongside a glass of milk and a plate of cookies. As a massive Christmas lover the depictions of this most wonderful time of year left me with a warm and fuzzy feeling. The story takes a deeper, more emotional twist when our protagonist takes his annual phone call from an old friend, a fellow ex-soldier where they catch up. Throughout the call we here an internal monologue of sorts, a recounting of the man’s personal, dark experiences of the war. This story was a real thinker, one I felt was deep and wonderful at once.

A Junket in the City of Light
This story follows the less-than-famous co-star in the latest in a franchise of international blockbusters. It follows his tours around the globe to promote the film, the hectic schedule of a secondary character always in the shadow of his far more desirable leading lady. I found this story a bit more drab, sluggish and less entertaining than the previous two, but still something of an insight into the life of an up and coming actor.

Our Town Today with Hank Fiset - An Elephant in the Pressroom
I quite enjoyed this story. It felt like a wistful look at the industry of newsroom publishing. A discussion on the future of news media moving in to online or digital outlets, the medium of print dying out. It recounts the tale of the narrator’s old colleague and his old habits even as modernisation reigns around him. A warm, cozy story looking back to days gone by in the face of progress.

Welcome to Mars
Another warming story, at least in the most part. Welcome to Mars sees a father in an unhappy marriage want to take his son surfing on his 19th birthday. Memories are recounted about some of the troubles the family unit have seen, so this seems a positive, heart warming event. When the father has to go and make some business calls however, the son injures himself out on the water. In seeking out his dad to help, he discovers an unsavoury secret about his father’s relationship adding a sour twist that made this an intriguing story.

A Month on Greene Street
A single mother of three moves in to a new street after the collapse of her marriage. She seems to have a special talent, the ability to see a brief flash of events in the immediate moments surrounding them. As her husband arrived home late from work one evening, she saw that he had been seeing another woman. In her first month she sees a few other pops relating the creepy neighbour who turns out to be a decent guy trying to make a better life for himself. The story ends with a happy final flash, possibly of her future here on Greene Street.

Alan Bean Plus Four
This was a bit different. I couldn’t make up my mind if it was the product of overactive imaginations on the part of the characters or actual events, but was entertaining nonetheless. It follows the four lead characters from Three Exhausting Weeks as they work to build their own spacecraft to travel around the moon. The story charts their journey to construct the vessel, along with their trip through space and around the moon. It’s a fun tale, though just seemed a little random compared to others in the book.

Our Town Today with Hank Fiset - At Loose in The Big Apple
While his wife visits New York for a college reunion, her husband tags along to take in the sights and sounds of the big city. He takes in all the big hitters, but finds himself homesick, comparing everything to his home town and realising bigger isn’t necessarily better. It makes for a warm tale of the joys and comforts of home.

Who’s Who?
Sue is an aspiring actress who has up and moved her life to New York to chase her dream of starring on Broadway. Hanks paints a picture of shattered dreams, how she started out as a young actress back home in Arizona, and her pursuit of the dream. A chance encounter from an old face from her past leads to a change in her fortunes.

A Special Weekend
This one was a bit less entertaining than some of Hanks’ other short stories here. It follows a boy heading out for a surprise weekend for his upcoming birthday with his mother. The trip involved a big surprise for the birthday boy. Sadly, his mother had to work so the surprise got put off and pushed back, while she avoided mentioning her new boyfriend to her son. He finally gets his treat right at the end of his weekend.

These Are The Meditations of My Heart
I think this is my favourite story in the book. A romantic ode to the typewriter. After purchasing a cheap typewriter at a swap meet, a young lady takes it off to be repaired back to a working order. The proprietor of the repair shop refuses to repair what he says is essentially a toy, stating it is not a true typewriter. The man digs in to the motivations for owning a typewriter, going through some of his restored vintage machines, waxing lyrical about each and their romantic virtues. Given I would love to own a typewriter myself, I found this story to be beautifully written - a wistful look back to simpler times.

Our Town Today With Hank Fiset-Back From Back in Time
Our now good friend Hank Fiset returns. Sat at the table with his trusty old typewriter, Hank takes us on a meander down memory lane - recounting just some of the key events in his life that he has shared with his typewriter. Another warm, wistful look back at simpler times.

The Past is Important to Us
An elderly, eccentric billionaire spends his fortune on a procedure allowing him to hop back to June 1939, New York so he can experience World’s Fair. Initially he visits with his young wife, though she loses interest pretty soon in time travelling to the same date over and over. On a solo visit the old man spots an attractive young lady that catches his eye and he becomes infatuated. This leads to repeat visits until he is told his health only permits one final visit to a nostalgic past.

Stay With Us
I struggled with this story. It seemed to be written in the style of a screenplay complete with stage directions. It follows a wealthy man and his assistant as they take a trip to the heart of nowhere USA, under the premise of buying up land. Masquerading in his view of the common man, he ends up at an old, struggling motel on a now-silent highway. The owners recount their memories of their establishment back when the highway was thriving and the rooms were always full.

Go See Costas
A meek immigrant from Eastern Europe makes the journey from Greece to New York. Having lost everything - his family, his life, he hopes America offers a new start for him. This story is a tale of multiculturalism and the strife those less well off face - something of a timely tale in today’s world.

Our Town Today With Hank Fiset-Your Evangelista, Esperanza
This is our final visit with Tri-Cities roving reporter Hank Fiset. Here he extols the virtues of the priceless black liquid - no, not oil, coffee. He regales us of the best coffee outlets in the area, but one seems to take the cake. It also acts as an office space for Esperanza, a bank worker who has forsaken all smart technology, the trivialities of social media too, in lieu of a good old typewriter. Here she can type up her bank papers, as well as love letters, notes and all other manner of documentation for coffee shop clients for the small price of the occasional mug of coffee.

Steve Wong is Perfect
The final story in this collection sees a return to the crazy characters we met in Three Exhausting Weeks and Alan Bean Plus Four. This time the gang head out for some light-hearted ten pin bowling. Steve Wong manages to bowl the perfect game. Then repeats this feat on the following two visits. This sets off a chain reaction leading to an appearance on ESPN with $100,000 at stake if he could achieve this feat once more on TV.


I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. Tom Hanks is clearly a man with a love for the simple things in life, and this book demonstrates that not only is he a fantastic actor, but a pretty good wordsmith to boot!

I enjoyed a few of these short stories, which were whimsically written. But the short story is a hard genre to keep interest in, and I found that it never grabbed me enough from the first paragraphs to keep me reading. What I read I liked, however.

Charming, though I did enjoy the first couple of stories the most, and the collection as a whole lost my interest before the end.

3.5 stars. I love typewriters. So does Tom Hanks, so this book seemed like something right up my alley. Starting out, though, I wasn't so sure. I really didn't like the first couple of tales, but it did get better as it went along. Some stories had only a tenuous connection to typewriters, but the ones that mentioned them a lot were my favourites and reminded me of the old ones I used in my journalism career and at home. Hanks uses his experiences in film to flavour the stories with astronauts, WW2 soldiers, pilots, and of course actors, but the overall feel is one of nostalgia. The best of the collection are "A Special Weekend", "Welcome to Mars", "The Past is Important to Us" and "Steve Wong is Perfect." This collection makes me want to get the old portable out and bang out a letter.

***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***

With recurring references to the typewriter, Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks is a collection of 17 short stories set in the US. These stories are taken from his life and there is an ancient feel to it, even when there’s the reference to technology.

“In New York City real estate parlors took your money and lied to you, drug addicts relieved themselves in plain sight, and the Public Library was closed on Mondays.”

The stories are from different spheres of life- growing up as a survivor, relationship and children, battles, survival in general, each story is different and what’s not expected of us readers is to expect a definite outcome. The stories are random, the author has put words together and told us about aspects that are important to him. There is a touch of humor all along, and that’s what kept me going. A lot was unnecessary, especially a few stories and that posed a barrier in me liking the book.
My favorite among all would be ‘Christmas Eve’ where two friends talk about the effect war had on their lives and how they are dealing with all the trauma they amass while being in service.
Overall, Uncommon Type is a book that you should dive into with an open mind and without expectations. You never know which story will work for you and which will not.

I'll be straightforward, the main reason I read this book is the fact I really appreciate Tom Hanks as an actor. When I put that aside and think only about the book, I need to say my opinion is a bit divided. Usually I don't really like short stories, I prefer longer novels where the action can be a little bit more elaborated, but I find these stories interesting enough. I really can't say I love them, but I kinda like them. There is some nostalgia for the old days in them, something oldschool and traditional, and that's the thing I like in Hanks as an actor. So, thumbs up for this project. I really like it and I'm just a bit disappointed I didn't LOVE them.

I found this quite a difficult book to read and therefore review. I was really looking forward to it but it didn't really click with me at all.

I think that short stories possibly aren't for me, I like to get lost in a book and kept finding myself dragged out of the action when I was just falling in love with characters and place which was frustrating. Also, I thought that the stories were old fashioned in style and tone and a bit *too* clever and knowing..

I love Tom Hanks in his films, I think he's got a brilliant mind. The short stories weren't what I was expecting but they were well written and very different. Each one of them a mini masterpiece; the characters had depth and there was an underlying moral to each of them.

A book you can dip into and spend some time with.

When #NetGalley offered Tom Hanks’ new book Uncommon Type, I just had to read it, to see whether he is as talented behind typewriter as he is on silver screen. And he is, most definitely is.

All these seventeen short stories are written about many different things, in some stories the characters are the same, but the story is different. There is love stories, fantasy stories, dramas, humor, absolutely nonsense stories, and they are all good, really good.

One thing that links them together is a typewriter, old ones, new ones, mechanical and electrical, noisy and quiet ones. Sometimes the story is written on the machine, sometimes it’s just an accessory in the room, sometimes it’s the main character of the story. Another thing that linked these stories for me, were the thoughts that I had, while reading, that this or that story may be gotten it’s idea from this or that Hanks’ movie.

It was I really good read!

Uncommon type was a great book of short stories, I felt the characters were well written and easy to get along with.
I didn't have any pop out at me as ones I will remember for a while but they were definitely enjoyable.

I was curious about this book. Tom Hanks, famous for his acting was now turning his talents towards the written word. It was far out of my comfort zone, being someone who usually reads romance or psychological thrillers. However, I found this book very entertaining - very American of course - but a nice distraction from my usual choice of read.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I tried to get into it a few times, but I just couldn't gel with the authors voice.