Tom Hanks is one of the biggest actors on the planet and rightfully so. His movies are iconic and some of my favorites to watch. When he isn’t acting, Hanks is reading a novel and he has read quite a lot. Keep reading to find out Tom Hank’s 11 favorite books.
Actors tend to be busy bodies and that is very true for Tom Hanks. He has many blockbuster movies yet that hasn’t stopped him from reading. If you visit his Goodreads page, you will find 50 book recommendations from him. And they are a diverse range of books. Here are 11 of Tom Hanks’ favorite books.
Tom Hanks’s 11 Favorite Books
- Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- The Martian by Andy Weir
- The Hobbit by J. R .R. Tolkien
- Bossypants by Tina Fey
- A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
- In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
- In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
- The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
- The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
Something for Everyone
There are a bunch of great books on Tom Hanks’ list and I will say that I am impressed. Any list that contains A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles is a great list in my opinion. Besides that novel, there are some great classics on this list like The Catcher in the Rye by Salinger and Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky.
The standout novels on this list are Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Martian by Weir. The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are books that any book lover should read. There is a reason that many people include it in their list.
Andy Weir is an amazing science fiction writer who keeps on getting better with every novel. If you haven’t read any of his novels, then the Martian is a great first book to start with. Even if science fiction isn’t your thing, Weir will draw you in and you won’t be able to put the novel down.
Conclusion
This is a solid list and I like the mix of old classics and modern bestsellers. Which books have you read on Tom Hanks’s 11 Favorite Books list and which ones stood out to you the most?
I’ve read newqaarly all of the same books. I was surprised to see he favors The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. This is book 1 of a 4 book series (book 4 is great). I personally really enjoyed it and recommended it to my Spanish speaking friends to enjoy in the original format.
I am an avid reader, read daily and I am also B & N book club member. I have read nos 3, 5, 7, 8 and 10. It’s impossible to go wrong with Dostoyevsky books. One of my favorite books are Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Kids in Europe used to read the shadow of wind in schools.