Idiot Letters

by Paul Rosa

Look out, public relations; take cover, customer service -- Paul Rosa's letter is in the mail and his inventively imbecilic queries about consumer products have a way of eliciting equally idiotic and even more unlikely answers from some of America's biggest companies.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Comedy, Writing

160 pages

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Bookfairy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this over ten years ago, and someone asked recently "What is the funniest book you ever read?" and while this may not be THE funniest, it is definitely high up on my list. I think humor is highly variable, and I don't know if I would be as amused by it now. At the time I read it, I did laugh out loud, so I hope it stands up for more people. Essentially, the author writes weird letters to companies and tries to get free t-shirts from them. Sometimes his letters seem real and plausible, sometimes he writes rather absurd letters, and the humor is partly in what the company does, or doesn't respond.

[Kathy Ferrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laugh out loud stupidly, brilliantly funny. I used to own this and then, like a fool, I donated it to the library. I'm sorry I did. I still remember the particular exchange between the author and a cat food company. The cat food rep's brilliantly dry wit made it even funnier. Occasionally, corporate America conceals a genuine wag, and it's treat to unearth one, under all the memos and loose paper clips. So, so funny!!

[🐴 🍖]

p dire, sorry to say: much of the humor is on the order of "what's the other 66/100ths% of ivory soap made of?;" also, having done my time in the CX salt mines, complaining to a CEO about lack of response is an evil, evil thing to do, regardless of whether it's for the sake of a bit. a couple responses that play along are a hoot (thinking in partic of the cat litter company & the art school), but you can safely skip & read robin cooper instead

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul Rosa is hilarious. He writes crazy letters to corporations and then publishes their responses. Of course, this was published before email became commonplace. I wrote the author and he sent me some funny bumperstickers.

[Andrew Farr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a series of short letters to major corporations. It is probably one of the funniest things I've ever put my face in.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious - I wish I could locate my copy to read again!

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty amusing. The way some of the companies handle the author's letters is commendable.

[Julie s · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite books ever. I bought Idiot Letters off Amazon in 2005. Back then, Amazon was just a place to buy books and some other random things. So much has changed since I bought Idiot Letters in 2005, but one thing hasn't changed- The book makes me laugh so much. I love it. If I'm feeling sad, I open up Idiot Letters and read one of Paul's ridiculous letters. Paul is a gifted comedy writer.

[Will Fenton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant and hysterical. Don't know if I should be laughing or crying, so I'll choose the latter. A fascinating and idiotic look (equal parts) of what happens when you remove humanity from those that are tasked with responding to consumers.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

These always make me laugh!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly entertaining, thhoughh a little repetitive if you read too many letters in one sitting.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the funniest books I ever read! Twenty four years later, I STILL try to get XL t-shirts!!!

[Cindy Su · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was OK. Some truly idiotic suggestions. Must have been fun to write and get responses though.

[Don Incognito · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think most of these letters are too obnoxious to be funny. The premise is rooted in author Paul Rosa sending a properly sarcastic response to a marketing department's patronizing letter: e.g., they said "you're the kind of customer we'd like to see more often" and he wrote "what kind of customer wouldn't you like to see more often?"

From there, he decided it would be funny to harass other corporations by pretending to be an idiot; and so on these pages he sends dozens of letters asking absurd questions or pretending to need help saving himself from a disaster caused by the company's product. Some of them are funny but others are too degrading to be. The reader must ask whether, as a means of passive-aggressive revenge against corporations, the mission of writing letters more stupid than sarcastic makes that much sense.

[Phil Fox · Rating 1 out of 5]

Total rip off. Read Letters from Nut by Ted L. Nancy (aka Jerry Seinfeld). Letters from a Nut in general is a lot more light-spirited and humorous compared to Idiot Letters

[Mike Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny. This book is what the other "letters"-books strive to be.

[Lucas · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an okay book, amusing at times, kind of boring most of the time.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is just as you would imagine. It is worth the read, however save it until you have nothing else to read.

[Amy D.P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a funny book! Mr. Rosa's sarcastic humor is definitely worthy of a read! The short letters makes this a perfect book to read in small doses.

[Charlene · Rating 2 out of 5]

This guy writes the most ridiculous letters to companies to try and get a response. It is hilarious. Good bathroom material.

[Allie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book got stupider as the reading went on.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I laughed out loud with some of these letters! And there were some pretty snazzy replies!

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://www.bookideas.com/reviews/inde...

[Bob Vickers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has got to be the funniest book I ever read. First read it about 15 years ago and it still hasn't been topped.