Return of the Timewaster Letters

The Timewaster Letters #2

by Robin Cooper

Book by ROBIN COOPER

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Comedy, Audiobook

186 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Robert Popper is a multi-award winning writer, producer and performer, and best-selling author.

Robert produced Peep Show for Channel 4, winning a BAFTA for series 4 and British Comedy Awards for both series 3 and 4. With Peter Serafinowicz, Robert created, starred in and composed the music for the BBC 2 spoof science comedy, Look Around You, winning the Rose D’or for Best Comedy in 2006 plus a BAFTA nomination.

Robert has written on a number of shows, including BBC’s BAFTA-winning Harry & Paul, and The Peter Serafinowicz Show. He has also script-edited some of the country’s most exciting comedy programmes, including the multi award-winning The Inbetweeners, Graham Linehan’s EMMY award-winning IT Crowd, Peep Show series 5, 6 & 7 and Him & Her.

As a Commissioning Editor for comedy at Channel 4, Robert commissioned Bo’ Selecta!, helped develop The IT Crowd, oversaw two series of Black Books, as well as series 2 of Spaced, and ran Comedy Labs.

Under his pseudonym, Robin Cooper, he wrote The Timewaster Letters books, which have so far sold over 300,000 copies.

Robert apperared regularly on Charlie Higson & Paul Whitehouse’s Sony Award-winning Radio 4 series, Down the Line, as well as their BBC2 show, Bellamy’s People. He also appeared in Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright’s movie, Hot Fuzz, saying just three words – “I’m not Janine”, and worked in Los Angeles as a writer on Sacha Baron Cohen’s movie, Bruno.

In December 2008, Robert set up his own production company, Popper Pictures, to make comedy TV shows.

Robert and Peter created the online afterlife comedy, The Other Side (Radio Spiritworld), as well as the online world religion, Tarvuism (www.tarvu.com).

In 2010, Robert wrote on series 14 of South Park in LA. His six part comedy series, Friday Night Dinner – starring Tamsin Greig, Simon Bird, Paul Ritter, Tom Rosenthal and Mark Heap – which Robert wrote and produced – aired on Channel 4 in 2011, winning the Rose D’or for Best Sitcom and a BAFTA nomination.

A pilot of Friday Night Dinner was recently produced in the US for NBC by Greg Daniels, creator of King of The Hill, and US producer of The Office. Robert recently starred alongside Steve Coogan in Sky’s forthcoming ‘Alan Partidge on Open Books’ which goes out in July. The second series of Friday Night Dinner starts on Channel 4 on October 7th, along with a Christmas Special at – well, Christmas.

Reviews

[Libglary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just can't stop laughing, I've read this for just 30 mins at the coffee shop and It awakens my soul. Surely one of the best humor book. Will definitely re-read again if I feel bored. You rock Robin Cooper!

[Richard Tubb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of silly letters written to various organisations, nearly all of whom respond politely (which is half of the fun of this book!).

I laughed out loud reading many of the ridiculous requests the author makes in his letters, especially the one about the depressed pet Wart Hog and the magnets (which should tell you all you need to know about the contents of this book!).

If you enjoy the absurd, then this book will have you laughing!

[JournalsTLY]

Collection of silly letters that were sent to some known organisations (eg Safeway Supermarts) and some organisations that sound just as fatuous as the silly letters eg British Ladder Manufacturers Association, National Federation of Retail Newsagents, British Domesticated Ostrich Association, British Octopus Society ...

Humour that tickles but does not insult others. Good laughs.

[Laura Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as part of Read Harder Challenge 2019: a humour book. I loved the first Time waster letters in the early 00s and loved it. This was good, but not quite as good as the first one. Still quirky and hilarious.

[Kereth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Letters and situations that you would never imagine. A quick easy fun read.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

😊😊😊😊😊(●'◡'●)(❁´◡`❁)

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Moderately entertaining book of fake letters to real people and institutions. Good book to pass and hour or so but occassionally repetitive and never rising above a moderate chuckle.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Popper had me in tears when he was on an Office Hours episode so I had to check out his books!

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

These letters have stood the test of time, a great little nostalgic hit from my childhood.

[Márcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Not as funny as the first one but still very good.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as amusing as the first book however I did laugh out loud a lot.

[Tim Corke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daft yet highly amusing - Cooper's relentless correspondence to a wide range of organisations and institutions and the associated responses show a human element of letter writing that has simply fallen by the wayside. Being a responder to communications myself, I'm torn between condemning Cooper's "humour" and thanking him for providing light relief in the workplace.

Definitely worth a read :)

[Ian Pindar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not as funny as the first in the series. Probably not helped by the fact I read it immediately after reading the first one, my favourite funny book of all time. I think I slightly overdosed. Read the first one first, if you're anything like me the compulsion to read the second one will be too great.

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read some of the other reviews about this book, saying the first Timewaster book was better, and these are just rejects/left out from the first. I haven't read the first one yet I found this sequel absolutely hilarious. If it's made up of rejected letters, I can't wait to read the first one.

[Rashida · Rating 3 out of 5]

(2.5/3 stars)

More of the same as the original book; if you liked that then you'll like this. The recurring motifs and running "plotlines" are my favourite parts. And for some reason, I can't look at a drawing of that bloody ping pong bat without wheezing.

[Wiltshire Hermit · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was nowhere near as funny as the first book, but still had its moments.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite up to the same standard as the first book, but still remarkably funny.

[Andrew Fechner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember laughing more at the first one. I do hope his wife's ankle gets better, though.

[Zzoeeeee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as good as the first, full of injokes of the series as well as new ones. I'm always picking up these books to read again and again

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this! Just wish it was an audio book! I read this while suffering a cold and ended up quite a mess of sniffles, snorts, coughs and happy tears!

[Adam James · Rating 5 out of 5]

The funniest book i've ever read!!

[Jessica Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had some funny moments I mean who the hell has a favourite waste paper bin. I enjoyed the fact that his wife's ankle aliment kept being mentioned

[James Koppert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny but not as good as the first

[Alex Kenjeev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slightly less funny than the original but nevertheless a work of comic genius.

[Amy W · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not convinced there needed to be a second volume of this, but I did still enjoy it. Though I didn't chuckle as much as during the first book, there were still some funny moments.

[Jenny Dawe · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the few books to make me laugh out loud (see also all other books by Robert Popper).

[Ed Holden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty obviously outtakes from the original, but still very enjoyable.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very very funny.

[Sacha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the first one better, possibly because the formula got a bit old after a while.