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Tom Hanks Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks Biography

Tom Hanks has won Academy Awards for best actor for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. He has starred in, among many other films, Big, Sleepless in Seattle, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, The Green Mile, Cast Away, Catch Me If You Can, Captain Phillips, Bridge of Spies, Sully, Toy Story, The Post, and It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker. He is also the author of a best-selling collection of stories, Uncommon Type.

R. Sikoryak (illustrator of The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece) is a cartoonist and an author based in New York City. His illustrations have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.



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Interview

A conversation with Tom Hanks, author of Uncommon Type

Typewriters are in each of your stories. When did you get your ?rst?

In the summer of 1978 I traded in my worthless 1970s typewriter for a Hermes 2000 made in the 1950s. I adapted my experience into the story "These Are the Meditations of My Heart."

What, for you, is the difference between sitting at a typewriter to write and sitting at a computer to write?

A typewriter is for musing. And letters. A computer is for work. And documents.

When did you first start writing?

I've been writing on the record, meaning for pay, attaching my name to a project, and getting a wealth of criticism around the office, since the screenplay for That Thing You Do! in 1995.

What is one book you wish you had written? Why?

Manchester's The Glory and the Dream, as he captured the spine of our modern history from the Bonus March to Vietnam in all its blemishes, hubris, and humanity.

Is there a line in your own book that you're most proud of having written?

I'm very proud of the idiocy and authenticity of this section from "A Junket in the City of Light":
14:50 – 15:00 – Radio interview with TSR-1
15:05 – 15:15 – Radio interview with RTF-3
15:20 – 15:30 – Radio interview with FRT-2

How...

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Books by this Author

Books by Tom Hanks at BookBrowse
The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece jacket Uncommon Type jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Tom Hanks but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Molly Antopol

    Molly Antopol

    Molly Antopol teaches writing at Stanford University, where she was a recent Wallace Stegner Fellow. A recipient of the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 award, she holds an MFA from Columbia University and lives in ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Uncommon Type

    Try:
    The UnAmericans
    by Molly Antopol

  • Fredrik Backman

    Fredrik Backman

    Fredrik Backman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called OveMy Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's SorryBritt-Marie Was HereBeartownUs Against You, and&#... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Uncommon Type

    Try:
    A Man Called Ove
    by Fredrik Backman

We recommend 6 similar authors

View all 6 Read-Alikes

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Top Picks

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    In this whimsical mystery, a grumpy pony must clear his beloved human's name from a murder accusation.

Who Said...

Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live

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