CP Time: Why Some People Are Always Late

by J.L. King

Everyone has a story of being the victim of CP time. It's been responsible for the termination of jobs and relationships, and for delaying weddings and even funerals. CP Time is the first book to examine a behavior that crosses all social economic lines within the black community in a way that will bring smiles and groans of recognition to victims and culprits alike. In brisk, engaging chapters, J.L. King provides humorous examples and personal stories, voicing the opinions of those who view habitual lateness as just part of being black, and those who see it as a more serious problem. Recounting the reasons and excuses offered in CP time's defense, King provides a wry and often hilarious history of how and why the phenomenon began. Light-hearted yet enlightening, CP Time makes a perfect gift for the chronically tardy -- and all those affected by them.

144 pages, Hardcover

First published February 20, 2007

Reviews

[Tamara Evans · Rating 1 out of 5]

The term "CP Time" is a abbreviation for the term "colored people time" which is a term for the common belief that black people are known for not showing up or starting things on time.

In the book "CP Time Why Some People Are Always Late," author J.L. King seeks to address the issue of why black people are habitually late to everything from funerals and work to weddings and social gatherings.


While the book starts out with a great introduction explaining the purpose of the book as well as a brief history of time, which he states dates back to the caladerians and the use of sundials,after this the book falls apart.The major problem with the book is that there is no separation between King's words and the stories of CP time experiences from other people which makes it hard for the read to get through the book at times.If he would make a note as to what are his words and what stories have come from others,this would make the book flow better.

The book is divided into twelve chapters which all seek to examine CP time in its many settings. While the book is somewhat entertaining, I felt like King was constantly repeating himself by saying almost all black people are late at one time or another and since everyone expects black people to be late, they continue the cycle of tardiness.

After reading this book, it appears as though all of King's examining shows that the black people who are on CP time are selfish, lazy and have no regard for anyone but themselves. Although the book may be humorous to some people, for me, the book left a bad taste in my mouth. The only good things about the book was the use of several charts(one listed excuses used by black to explain why they were late) as well as the illustrations used to lead in each chapter.

While many books are out there to lift up the black community and break stereotypes, I can't help but feel that this one is helping to reinforce black stereotypes. What King needs to make clear in the book is that although "CP Time" may apply to some black people, it doesn't apply to all black people.

[Krystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although he gave some good, common sense advice on being on time, the book mostly consisted of stories that he gathered from other people about their experiences with CP Time (Colored People Time). I could give you some experiences myself, but they are all minor in comparison to some of the stories he tells.
I gave it two stars because it was "marketed" as an academic book in the Introduction which dove deep into the issue of being late, how people come to have chronic lateness, and what those individuals can do to be on time. Instead, it was more geared for entertaining. I definitely wasn't the audience for this book. Granted, it was a gift and I didn't pay for it, so I don't feel bad about being disappointed with this book. There were not very many references (if any really) that would back up some of his research. I know he speaks as though it is primary research, but the information isn't gathered, analyzed, and output given in a constructive manner. It is literally just an anthology of stories. Nothing that really gives me evidence-based information and thus (outside common sense) groundbreaking advice that would help with chronic lateness.
However, that itself would warrant 3 stars, noting that it wasn't an academic look on CP Time. What created the 2 stars in this book for me, was the fact that more than a handful of the stories were one time flukes that people encountered that made them late. To me, that's not CP Time. That's just a one time fluke that made you late that one time. The people in the stories even note that they are normally not late, but that one time that they were late, things went horribly wrong. Then there were stories that, although spoken from different people, were technically the exact same story. Why be redundant? Are the target audience that forgetful?
Finally, there were some grammar issues (unrelated to the flow of natural speech and/or slang), repetitive phrases, confusing dialogue (when did the author stop and a story from someone else begin?) and unnecessary text highlights and whatnot, as if trying to make the book longer by making the font 64 point and changing the style of the text every other page. One chapter was only a half of a page. What gives?
I feel like I could've written about this topic much better than this New York Times Bestselling author, and I'm not even officially published yet. I'm sure his other books have done very well, but this one seems like it was rushed, half done, and not fully thought out. It could've been done better.