Uncommon Type cover art

Uncommon Type

Some Stories

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Uncommon Type

By: Tom Hanks
Narrated by: Tom Hanks
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About this listen

Read by two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks.

A collection of 17 wonderful short stories showing that Tom Hanks is as talented a writer as he is an actor.

A gentle Eastern European immigrant arrives in New York City after his family and his life have been torn apart by his country's civil war. A man who loves to bowl rolls a perfect game - and then another and then another and then many more in a row until he winds up ESPN's newest celebrity, and he must decide if the combination of perfection and celebrity has ruined the thing he loves. An eccentric billionaire and his faithful executive assistant venture into America looking for acquisitions and discover a down-and-out motel, romance and a bit of real life.

These are just some of the tales Tom Hanks tells in this first collection of his short stories. They are surprising, intelligent, heart-warming and, for the millions and millions of Tom Hanks fans, an absolute must-have.

©2017 Tom Hanks (P)2017 Random House Audiobooks
Anthologies Anthologies & Short Stories Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Short Stories Heartfelt Celebrity Funny

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All stars
Most relevant  
Have not listened to a book that had others saying anything before it was good and if he does another I will buy that as well it bette than use level than 1 man telling the story

Tom hanks first book

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The stories are well written, however I did not find them interesting with the exception of one. Tom Hanks's performance was very entertaining.

Did not find the stories interesting

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I’ll admit I bought this as I was curious to discover how a guy like Tom Hanks would write. The reviews were mixed so my expectations were middling. Well, I was taken aback by the writing. The empathy, humour, emotion and sheer range of vignettes made me realise that not only is Mr Hanks a great actor but a truly talented writer too. The typewriter motif throughout was a quirky but satisfying link, and for those of us of an age who can dimly still remember a time when those mysterious machines ruled the written word well it tweaked the senses and set the mind agog at where we find ourselves today. His observations of the human condition made me like him even more. The icing on the cake would have been a few minutes interview with him at the conclusion of the presentation to discover how he has arrived at writing and what more we can expect.
I sincerely recommend this as one of those wild card buys that really does reap rewards.

Uncommonly good...

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Just what I needed for a long car journey where my mind tends to wander. The format of short stories worked perfectly and with Tom narrating it was like he was in the car with me. I’m tempted to go out now to buy a typewriter after them being a regular character in the stories. All in all just really pleasant. Will it grip you and keep you up all night unable to stop listening? Probably not. But is it an enjoyable listen rich with different characters and situations? Most definitely

Perfect

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 I have always enjoyed Tom Hanks in his starring roles in the movies. I was doubtful that he would be able to create a series of masterfully written short stories.

Being a lover of the short story format I was entirely delighted by these creations from the mind and typewriter of Hanks.

Some wonderfully absorbing characters and stories. So darn good!

I'll be honest I didn't care much for "Alan Bean Plus Four" and the four stories titled "Our Town Today With Hank Fiset". They were beautifully written however I didn't connect with them.

My favourites were "Christmas Eve 1953", "Welcome to Mars", "A Month on Green Street", These Are The Meditations of My Heart" and "Go See Kostas".

My all-time favourite is "The Past is Important to Us". It has a delicious Ray Bradbury flavour about it.

I sincerely hope Tom Hanks crafts many more enticing short stories. He has a clear mastery of this format.

This is a Gem!

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What a delightful discovery, every story a winner.
Recommended to anyone who loves clever and engaging yarns. Well done Mr. H.

Excellent

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Tom Hanks is a great story teller. I hope this is the first of many to come

a delight from start to finish.

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Tom Hanks turns out to be as authentically genuine a writer as can be. The stories in this book range from the hilarious to the deeply touching.

They move in period, location, and manner, but all demonstrate a joy in writing, a pleasure in communicating an intensely American sense of atmosphere, friendship, life and family that is every bit as smart and engaging as the man himself.

While the stories are witty, it is more so because of the man himself. They may not be Pulitzer material, but it truly is a pleasure to read his book while thinking about this imaginative man.

Listen just for Tom Hanks' mellifluous voice

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This book read by the author made me happy. I loved more stories than others but each one engaged me some of them I wanted there to becmore which I guess is what short stories should do. Clever writing and listening to tom hanks reading something he obviously loves can only bring a happy feeling

Happy and clever

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Before I review this collection of stories, I have a confession to make, I am a huge fan of Tom Hanks. He’s my favourite actor so I was delighted when I heard he’d released a collection of stories.

The audiobook was a different experience than reading the ebook. Tom Hanks narrates the audiobook and it was a pleasure to listen to him.

I loved this collection of stories. The tales cater to different tastes and cover different styles, some long, some very short across different genres. Each story features a typewriter in some form or another. I didn’t realise this until I’d listen to at least have the stories. I thought this was a nice touch.

Several stories including Three Exhausting Weeks and Alan Bean Plus Four feature the same characters. The stories are stand-alone and just have the same characters. These were my favourite stories in the whole collection.

I also liked the three stories featuring the title Our Town Today With Hank Fiset which were a lot of fun to read and listen to.

Some may be dubious of an actor turning his hand to creative writing but Uncommon Type: Some Stories is highly entertaining.

Hugely enjoyable collection

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