The noise downstairs

A noise downstairs / Linwood Barclay, read by George Newbern, 356 pgs.

Paul Davis teaches English at a sleepy New England college.  He is fairly happy with his second wife and sees his son on alternating weekends.  All is "easy" until he runs into his mentor with the bodies of two murdered women in his car.  The mentor conks him in the head and now, 8 months later, Paul is suffering from PTSD, physical effects of his injury and is struggling to get back to his old life.  He, in conjunction with his therapist decides to write about his experiences and confront his assailant.  His wife buys him and antique Underwood typewriter and Paul became obsessed that it is the same machine used in the murder crime.  Paul is losing it but is the typewriter really haunted?  George Newbern does a nice job narrating.

Notes from a public typewriter

Notes from a public typewriter / Michael Gustafson and Oliver Uberti, 159 pgs.

A sweet book that collects some of the best things typed on a typewriter in an independent bookstore in Ann Arbor, MI.  Owners Michael and Hilary were warned off opening a bookstore but they did it anyway.  Since 2013 they have overseen Literati Bookstore and from the first day had a typewriter available for anyone to use.  Thinking this might turn into a crowd-sourced hit novel, instead, they have been amazed and touched by some of the little notes they find on the paper.  This book tells a little of their story and features some of the favorite words left behind by visitors to the store. 

Uncommon Type

Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hanks, 405 pages

Oscar-winning actor and noted typewriter aficionado Tom Hanks authored this charming collection of short stories that all include some mention (either pivotal or passing) of a typewriter. The stories themselves were, on the whole, just what you might expect from America's Dad: not too dark or twisty; the funny ones are full of chuckles, and the serious ones are definitely serious, but not depressing. While his Hollywood cred comes out in a few stories (one of which features a character that I kept picturing as Stanley Tucci), my favorites are two series of connected stories — one series focusing on four friends that travel to Antarctica, go bowling, and orbit the moon; and another series of small-town newspaper columns by an old-school news curmudgeon that reminds me of my journalism school professors. All in all, a delightful collection.