Charming stories, surprisingly witty and well-written, but leaving me with a strong sense of 'so what?'.

A bit of a mixed bag for me - some stories I liked, some I was puzzled by, some just passsed by in a haze of meh. Interesting reading, but there are better short story collections out there. I'll admit to reading it from curiosity as to what Mr Hanks had to say, so from that point of view, it was about what I expected.

I wanted to love this, but sadly really struggled with it. I found the stories hard to get into, but some I did really enjoy . It’s definitely worth a look though as we’re all different!

17 short story collections written by the big man himself in which his warmth and humour pervades. Tom certainly has a certain flair for writing, perceptively making the ordinary come to life, and characters multidimensional in that all-American kinda way. The core thread amongst all of the stories to a greater or lesser degree is a typewriter, something Tom is known to collect.

It is a bit of a risk writing short stories, as they do not tend to be the most popular style of book to pick up. As is always the case there are some short stories you really enjoy and others that don’t quite hit the spot. And this book though good is no different in that respect. All the stories are very narrative in style. I found I could hear Tom’s voice in all the main male characters even though I am not sure I should???

Irrespective of this there is plenty of variety in the stories, all of which are infused with some light heartedness, regardless the circumstances. It may work well at getting less regular readers to pick up the book and try it as fans of Tom Hanks, albeit I think responses to this book are likely to be mixed. It will be interesting to see if he considers writing something a bit meatier after succeeding in short story telling first.

Review: I was very excited when I saw this come up on NetGalley. I am a fan of Tom Hanks acting and was interested in seeing what his writing was like and its good. He has written a book full of short stories, each with one thing in common a type writer. They are full of his amazing characteristics you see when he is himself on TV, a great read.

Really enjoyed this book. It was a light and refreshing read and I couldn't help but read it to myself in Tom Hank's voice.

I found this book a bit of a mixed bag to be honest. I found the first story poor and I ended up putting the book down (and leaving it down) for 3 months - never a good sign!
The recurring theme throughout the book of typewriters could have been more cleverly done. I did feel like some of the stories had had a typewriter forcibly inserted just to fit the theme, regardless of whether it fit the story.
The better stories were interesting enough although the characters were often quite thin, but the worst stories were quite dull. Overall, forgettable.

Enjoyed the collection, found some easier to read than others and felt the book a little old fashioned. not sure if that's my take on the stories or the fact that I knew they'd been written on a typewriter!! Not his best work and his day job - for which he is amazing - but I would like to see what he comes up with next. I felt an affinity with some of his characters but certainly not all, that somewhat clouded my opinion.

I have always been a fan of Tom Hanks. I have always enjoyed his movies and was really looking forward to his book when I heard it was coming out. I was really lucky to get a copy via Netgalley and when I got it and started reading i was glad because it did not disappoint. Each story was engaging and very entertaining, I loved everything about the book, from the characters themselves to the world and experiences the character engaged in. It was such a pleasure to read and I can't wait for anything else he brings out.

Struggled with this unfortunately. I wanted to love it but the stories were too disjointed for me. I really really liked some of the characters and was enjoying their moments only to turn the page and find anther set of characters. I think there are some fantastic books in amongst the character and one of those as a full book not a short story would be brilliant. Disappointed sadly.

Tom Hanks is a natural storyteller, each gem of a story is engaging with interesting characters that come to life off the page. Stories that dip into the heads of the characters and make you feel for them and follow them until the last sentence.

 I've never been to America but these stories capture the atmosphere of the US so much that I feel as though I have been. There's such a variety of tales: modern, nostalgic stories set in the 50s, stories about: time travel, a trip into space,  a struggling actress, a man named Assam travelling to America with such a story! Even news articles. Not one of these stories are boring and each one features a photo of a typewriter and mentions a different model. There's even a story about a women with a typewriter.

There is something so likeable and charming (just like the author) about these well told stories and I could read them over and over again.

Tom Hanks can write! He can craft characters, set a scene, describe emotions and events. However some of the stories were merely observations or describing a scene or Situation, with nothing actually happening or no plot or story. Some stories set a scene and then finished, and the reader is left thinking what was the point? There were some good stories, such as the time travel one and the typewriter one, for example. Hopefully, he will continue to develop, and I look forward to seeing the next book.

I'm going to have to admit upfront that I just love Tom Hanks - everything he does and he seems like a great guy too. I also love typewriters. So, unbiased review - really!

I did put this book at the top of my TBR pile and then read it in between another book. I don't like reading a whole set of short stories in one go, but I am a little sad now they are all read. BHowever, I've found out that the audio version of the book is read by Tom Hanks - I think I need to get it and hear them now too.

On that note, I did have Tom Hanks voice in my head whilst reading. Specifically his voice from "You've got Mail" (which also featured typewriters briefly) where he does read aloud a lot. This seemed to suit the timbre of the stories which are also very American, with some terms from way back that I have to admit I was not familiar with.

One character does crop up a couple of times, but otherwise each story is about a different person and situation. Some of them I found the typewriter connection to be a little tenuous and one I had to scan re read as I couldn't remember anything about a typewriter.

I have two faves in this set of stories. One is a lady who buys an old typewriter for £5 bucks and her journey to get it fixed. The other combined into the mix another of my fave themes - time travel. I definitely could read this story over and over and it reminded me of Jack Finney's work.

In another story the typewriter takes the character back to recollections at hearing different parts of the typewriter, and as I read it, so did I - it was so spooky. Things I had not thought about for years - another one I would love to re-read. This book has got me hankering after getting an old typewriter - just like one I trained on years and years ago before my career went in another direction. I admit to having had a look online - oh Tom Hanks what have you started.........

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars and my thanks go to netgalley for an advance copy of the book for review.

I'm sorry Tom. I just couldn't get in to this, I got halfway through the first story but just couldn't warm to the characters and couldn't see where it was going nor did it keep me wanting to find out.

I may try again and edit my review but at first view I found it disappointing.

Tom Hanks is apparently such a huge fan of typewriters that he wrote a series of short stories about one. And there’s something oddly charming about that. Uncommon Types is a compilation of 17 short stories about… people. You could open the page at any book and you could never tell what that particular story was going to be about.

There were definitely ups and downs – some stories you couldn’t wait to finish, but some really made the whole thing worth it. My favourite stories in particular were about Anna, MDash and co. A reflection of Hanks’s liberal stance, Uncommon Types successfully intertwines nostalgia with modern day America – and it works wonderfully.

I’ve very rarely lately read a book I would be happy to read again, but this is definitely going to be one of them. It’s light, fun, thoughtful, and, most of all, very heart-warming.

Three Exhausting Weeks
A bland quick tale.
Christmas Eve 1953
This was a lovely little story.
A junket in the City of Light
A quick tale of an up and coming Hollywood film actor. Nice story.
Our Town Today with Hank Fiset 
That to me was a jumbled mess. Might be my formatting though.
Welcome to Mars
Okay can't say much about this without giving the story away but I know how Kirk feels.
A Month on Greene Street 
This one has been my favourite so far. A lovely tale.
Alan Bean plus four
A nice little story.
Our town today with Hank Fiset
Still not a fan of this style of writing in the collection.
Who's Who?
Another good story.
A Special Weekend 
A nice story but went on a bit.
These Are the Meditations of My Heart
I really liked this story.
Our Town Today with Hank Fiset 
...Still hating this section of the book.
The Past is Important to Us
Oh fantastic story. Wish I could say more but I'll give the story away if I did.
Stay with Us
Another good story.
Go See Costas 
Okay a nice story. Really liked the ending of this one.
Our Town Today with Hank Fiset 
Oh again? Not a lover of this way of storytelling.
Nope still don't like it.
Steve Wong is Perfect 
Another good story.

These for me ranged from brilliant to meh and poor. I would be happy to read more from Tom Hanks because of the good stories in this collection. I don't get the fascination of typewriters though.

A wonderful collection of short stories which are perfect for those moments you have a spare 10 mins to escape.

I really wanted to love this title, because of the author and because I love short stories. Unfortunately, although extremely competent, I didn't connect and found the collection a little bland.

Despite my initial skepticism, I have to admit I truly enjoyed this collection. While not all stories were my cup of tea, and some felt rather dull or without a specific point (as it happens with most short story collections), the vast majority were stories that made me smile, brought tears to my eyes and offered me a wonderful experience. Tom Hanks is a truly gifted writer and I didn't expect his prose to feel so natural and adeptly crafted.

The tone and voice of the stories were inherently American and the characters and plots felt like they jumped out of Tom Hanks's most successful '90s films. Although I'm not American, they managed to evoke a feeling of nostalgia for an era well gone and for a certain innocence and naivete of people which is scarcely found today. I also enjoyed the fact that some characters were recurring in later stories, which made them feel even more realistic to the reader, as a different aspect of their lives or perspective was offered in each story they appeared. Overall, a wonderful collection of stories which made me wish there will be more to come.

Fantastic array of stories.

Really loved Welcome to Mars,

Would recommend this book to friends.