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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
Read by Tom Hanks himself. Many of the stories feature or at least mention a typewriter. Others are fantastically futuristic
Boring. Gave an extra star though for the World's Fair story.
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
slow-paced
Hanks has such a Stephen King way of writing. So much so, that I kept expecting the stories to take a much more sinister turn. In most cases they didn't (except one memorable and haunting occasion), but it wasn't disappointing. This book is absolutely filled with nostalgia for America. Family, relationships and beautiful characters abound, and it was all incredibly engaging.
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Yes, THE Tom Hanks. He's a decent writer. This is a book of short stories, with the common theme being each one features a typewriter in some way. He's a collector. I've realised I generally don't love short stories, so if you do love short stories, I'd recommend this book. It's well written, with a good mix of stories and a whole lot of nostalgia. My favourite was the one with a man who kept travelling back in time to 1939 to meet a woman, followed by the one about the girl trying to break into showbiz. A couple really didnt grab me at all and I aborted and skipped to the next story (so proud of myself). I listened to the audiobook for a couple of stories, which are narrated by Tom Hanks, so that was fun. Although someone should have told him how to pronounce "mischievous" (pet peeve!).
A collection of short stories and essays - a few were entertaining or thought provoking. Lovely to listen to Gom Hanks - that earned an extra star in my rating score.
Ive fallen in love with short stories over the past year- mostly thanks to Neil gaiman’s audiobooks... and this was a great reminder why- the variety with subtle themes, the few instances where stories tied together, it wasn’t the most stunning work I’ve read and of course some stories I liked much more than others, but a few passages left me breathless or grinning from ear to ear and hearing Tom Hanks narrate the audiobook version was just delightful.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a reread from college - it was either my parents or my sister who bought me this collection for either the holidays or my birthday while I was in school. I remember reading it while I was working at my campus job, in particular, and enjoyed it a lot.
I enjoyed it again! Truly what can’t Tom Hanks do - I love when he wrote what he knew, such as doing press for a film, a script for a movie, or stories about WWII soldiers in a nod to his exceptional (and of my favorite tv masterpieces) Band of Brothers. He also veered off from what I would assume is his comfort zone, which I found really fun.
The common motif was the use of a typewriter in each story, which was well done. There were also sometimes Easter egg connections between stories, some more obvious than others. I also appreciated that he was intentional about writing a diverse group of characters with very diverse experiences - at the end of the day, though, it all came down to slice of life and human connection.
There were some stories that left me wanting more and more, wishing I could get a full text about them. I also respected his ability to give each character’s narration their own voice and individuality - no story sounded the same as another (unless we were returning to that story’s “universe”). He took us all over, past, present, future - something’s were realistic, others were fully absurd, and it was just fun.
Top 5 Stories:
1. Welcome to Mars
2. The Past Is Important to Us
3. Three Exhausting Weeks
4. A Special Weekend
5. A Month on Greene Street
I enjoyed it again! Truly what can’t Tom Hanks do - I love when he wrote what he knew, such as doing press for a film, a script for a movie, or stories about WWII soldiers in a nod to his exceptional (and of my favorite tv masterpieces) Band of Brothers. He also veered off from what I would assume is his comfort zone, which I found really fun.
The common motif was the use of a typewriter in each story, which was well done. There were also sometimes Easter egg connections between stories, some more obvious than others. I also appreciated that he was intentional about writing a diverse group of characters with very diverse experiences - at the end of the day, though, it all came down to slice of life and human connection.
There were some stories that left me wanting more and more, wishing I could get a full text about them. I also respected his ability to give each character’s narration their own voice and individuality - no story sounded the same as another (unless we were returning to that story’s “universe”). He took us all over, past, present, future - something’s were realistic, others were fully absurd, and it was just fun.
Top 5 Stories:
1. Welcome to Mars
2. The Past Is Important to Us
3. Three Exhausting Weeks
4. A Special Weekend
5. A Month on Greene Street
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Stalking