It was a very interesting book, with some great stories but there were some that I actually skimmed and didn't really enjoy. Overall, like I said it was interesting and it's certainly something I'd recommend to my mum, for example.

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 can't say they were brilliantly written or dazzling but I can say that they showed a lot of promise and I happily spent time with the characters within the pages. There is a casual feeling about the writing which worked really well and as I said back up there there is a beautifully quirky sense to each and every one.

Yes. *Nods* Let's have a few more.

To start these stories were dull and a little pointless. That all changed after Welcome To Mars and A month on Greene street, which are two of my favourites in the book. The book flits between stories set in the past and stories in the present even the future, it sometimes took my mind a little bit of time to realise what period of time we were in. An all round brilliant first book, normally people struggle with the transition from Actor to Writer, but spot on Mr Hanks! I've already bought this as a gift for someone else.

Tom Hanks writes easily, in a good, easy to read, relaxed style as if he's written all his life. As always, some stories are stronger than others, but this is easy to read, in good sized sections so the reader can complete a whole story in an evening. Enjoyable.

Thank you Netgalley and Alfred Knopf for giving me the opportunity to read this marvellous collection.. I wish I had more time to read all the stories. I only read the first ten stories. They are so much like Tom Hanks, his subtle humour. I could even hear his voice behind the written words. They remind me so much of the 1950's literature in terms of language and style.

I'm not going to lie I thought this was a memoir when I picked it up, but quickly started to enjoy the various fiction short stories. They are well written, with interesting characters and plots. I wouldn't say it was anything else than a good short story book, but perhaps people will be interested because it's Tom Hanks who wrote them.

I came to this one because I was intrigued by the conceit and the way Tom Hanks has spoken with reverence about typewriters. Each of the seventeen stories in some way references or features a specific model of typewriter, a photo of which precedes it.

Hanks’ craftsmanship is undeniably admirable and there are a couple of stories here which stayed with me after reading - and the nice thing is that I expect these will be different for each reader.. The first, ‘Three Exhausting Weeks’, is a very recognisable and amusing chronicling of the time that two best friends decide to start a relationship together – only to find their lifestyle choices are pretty incompatible. The other is a departure from the mundane and even ventures into the sci-fi: ‘The Past Is Important to Us’ I enjoyed this one because it was a nice departure and unexpected. It follows a (married) scientist who is compelled to repeatedly travel back to 1939 because of an infatuation with a woman he meets there – but his travels do not come without repercussions. Although it’s predictable, the story does follow-through satisfyingly.

Many of the stories carry themes of anti-digitisation, the power of the simple things in life, divorce and family and New York itself. Overall the collection is often quirky and humorous, clever and deliberate, but not quite as engaging and layered as I hoped.

I did not know what to expect from Tom Hanks as a writer but he certainly did not disappoint.

This collection of short stories was perfect for picking up when relaxing as each story didn't take too much time to finish. They are all quite different but well written. The style of writing was flowing and easy.

I would recommend this book.

Tom Hanks is one of the most likeable and successful Hollywood actors and known to be an avid reader. He has now tried his hand at writing and has chosen one of the most difficult categories, the short story.
I really looked forward to checking out how he had fared and my verdict after reading the books
is he can most definitely write and tell a story. But let’s put it this way; he did not knock me of my socks, his stories are solid, entertaining and moving. Bestseller author Ann Patchett gave him a flaming review.

All his short stories center on old typewriters and I am not quite sure why he chose to do that as I could not find it adding anything to the stories. The stories vary in
subject and mood. One of my favorites is that of a second rate actor who is plunged into fame all of a sudden which portraits the craziness of the film industry just as you might imagine. I am sure real life experiences flowed into this. A surfer teenager discovering his father’s secret is a sweet, melancholical story as is that of a woman adjusting to her new neighbors after a divorce and move.

All the characters are well observed, his stories are easy, entertaining reading.

It’s a shame really that Tom Hanks is so rich that he immediately garners huge publicity for his book without it needing to be any good. These stories could have been good. There’s a lovely touch of humanity to all of them and a great way of noticing the little details that make up characters.

The ‘atta boy’ from the first story, the effort to not slip in the snow in the second story because Virgil has a prosthetic leg, the light touch of the social influencers in an actor’s interview schedule. The little bits and pieces are there but the narrative arcs fall clumsily right around the middle of each piece.

You can’t fill a story with funny and touching details and assume it will make up for having no purpose. Short stories are tough work and they may take a lot less to construct than a novel but that makes them even more important.

I imagine that fans will love this collection as there are traces of Hanks throughout. He uses the details well and it’s an opportunity to catch a glimpse of his life that isn’t hidden too much. The wealthy man who has nothing to do but is happy with his life, for example, but blended with characters from Saving Private Ryan and every interview schedule in “A Junket in the City of Light”.

They are nice enough stories. They could have been better.

This book was an interesting one. I really enjoyed a number of the short stories that where included but there were some that I didn't like at all. The writing style was good and there were no difficulties. I also liked the layout of the book.
Some of the stories were really funny and some were sad. I liked that there wasn't a particular theme that run through all of the stories . The only common thing they had was the mention of typewriters which was very interesting.

That’s right, this was written by Tom Hanks himself! Uncommon Type is a collection of short stories, all quite different, but all with one common element – a typewriter. In some stories it’s the main theme; in others it’s mentioned in passing.
The stories themselves are okay – I wouldn’t call any of them bad or boring, but I just wasn’t enthralled by them, only a couple really caught my interest. Some stories are tales of relationships, between old friends and new; others are about time travelling, trips to the moon and bowling gone viral. It’s a mixture of everyday and verging on the edge of reality. The more surreal ones gripped me, whereas others were a little lacklustre. It was fun spotting the typewriter in each story though!

I found this book really good. As a fan of Tom I had expectations and I wasn't disappointed. Each story was entertaining and worth a read. Would recommend it to any reader:)

Tom Hanks turns his talented mind to writing that most difficult genre, the short story, and does so with genuine warmth and understanding of human nature.

There are seventeen stories in all, each including the incidental element of the old-fashioned typewriter in its various forms, from children's to antique, to portable; grey metal to two-tone green.

Each story stands alone in its own right, although some characters are revisited again later. Characters are well drawn and diverse, ranging from a group of friends enjoying bowling to a divorced mother and her son, to a Bulgarian, illegal immigrant looking for a better life in New York.

The typewriter is portrayed as more personal than a laptop or tablet, even than the first word processors. The manual machine has a personality almost, it may jam, or the ribbon might stick or the operator may be a novice or a skilled touch typist. In each story, it doesn't take front stage but adds a different dimension to really well-written stories. It needn't actually be there at all, but it contributes to the feel of each narrative.

I really enjoyed most of these stories and they do make excellent bedtime reading.

Pashtpaws

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

An enjoyable diverse collection of stories. Tom's writing has a very easy, laid-back feel to it, and I could almost hear him narrating it in my mind as I read :-) Short stories can be just as tricky, if not harder to write, than full length novels, so hats off to him for coming up wth as many as he has. Started strong, but tailed off by the fourth and fifth, and they started to feel like excerpts from a longer work, rather than complete short stories in their own right.

This collection of short stories are well written with a real mix.
Unfortunately like most collections of short stories there are some good and some not so good in this collection.

Tom Hank’s short story anthology is an interesting read and this uneven but overall a well together collection of tales which all feature a typewriter in some capacity within the narrative.

As with most short story collection, it is a hit and miss affair but overall, it is well thought out collection. Like Hanks, the short stories unfold at their own pace and narrative that make some of the stories a true stand out whilst others left me a little flat. The one feather in his hat is that the tales within are all very well written and it really comes down to taste and what each person finds enjoyable. For instance, I loved the down to earth snapshot in the day of the life of some of the characters and for me, this is where the book shines above all others. The science fiction stores left me feeling a bit flat but this may have to do with that I am not a big reader of this genre so it might be down to preference rather than quality of writing.

As stated above, his work is well accomplished and I am sure the intended audience will devour this book. The book does have something for everyone and like most anthologies, it is best read in one’s own time. He gives a lot of food for thought and I liked that I would read a story, think about it and then proceed with another book. Finish that book and start reading the next short. There is a lot of food for thought found within these pages. It looks like Tom Hanks may have a new career emerging and would be very interested to see where he takes this talent. I would be more than happy to explore his writing further and would be interested to see what he would do with a story in novel length.

First off I would like to say that Tom is a better actor than a writer!

Other than a typewriter linking all the stories, I can't say I particularly enjoyed reading this book/short stories - they were about the right length for a short story but I just failed to be gripped by any of them.

This was quite an unusual choice for me, definitely not my usual genre. In parts the stories were interesting, however I did feel my imagination wandering from time to time. I think I will stick with my favourite genre from now on.

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 by his battle days, a writer pecking at typewriters to choose the best one, a businessman abusing money for multiple time travel expeditions, a sportsperson endangering friendship for his bowling skills. While the premises, in themselves, are not victims of insipidity, their unfurling into coherent prose is. The words are jammed together, one after another, as if they have no other place to go and Hanks tries hard to lid them into one, continuous, relevant bottle of a story. Many of them seem out of place, unfortunately, and I was tempted to dip my hand and remove the verbose chunk. The conversational bits seemed clearly influenced by the author’s cinematic tongue, and when juxtaposed against the book, appeared distorted. I also had a gripe against the depiction of most female characters in this collection; they were either dominating, or manipulative, or plain cold.

But this 400-odd pages’ book isn’t without its flashes of brilliance and compassion. In ‘Christmas Eve’ , two friends reminisce their time in the war, and how, even after the passage of a decade, its shadows loom large on their lives, hanging like an adamant demon refusing to leave guard. One has made friends with it and the other is still struggling to forgive it. A poignant tale. In the ‘These Are The Meditations Of My Heart” , a young girl walks into a shop to get her typewriter repaired only to receive a vintage beauty in return. Peppering the exchange between the young writer and the knowledgeable shopkeeper with genuine awe, tender geniality and polished facts, Hanks establishes the beneficiary-benefactor relationship like an expert.

I shall also be withholding myself unnecessarily if I didn’t give Hanks, brownie points for his closure abilities. Most stories offer a turbulent flight but provide a smooth landing. I wish the journey, too, was memorable commensurately.

Giving a tentative caress to the typewriter donning its gorgeous crimson red cover, I dispatched the book to my shelf; I, also, left a mental note to myself cajoling that like the actor, Hanks – the author, shall become more appealing and indispensable with time. An ardent fan’s closing note, unapologetically.