What a great read! Featuring a collection of the 'bottom right' letters of the times, this was an entertaining read full of wit, laughter, a few sensible tips and witty critiques. It's an easy read, one that -even as a non-times reader- I really enjoyed.

The letters often follow on each other or stand alone with great style, meaning it doesn't matter that they're not current nor are they always about things you might know about.

This would be a great gift for someone who has everything or the people that are tricky to buy for. I thoroughly enjoyed it!!

A treat: witty, erudite, curious. The of Britishness
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

something different to my normal reading material, this is basically a book of letters so great to dip and out of rather than read in one sitting. some are funny, some absurd other are utter nonsense!
readers of The Times will love this

As with the first book in this series, this is a collection of the quippier, more anecdotal kind of letters published in The Times newspaper. So while the Telegraph books have been going for decades, with their collections of letters almost fit to print but not quite, this lot has been in black and white once already. The advantage is that this features many responses to such a letter, too, which of course the Telegraph books can't provide, so dialogues form, and people can bicker or reminisce en masse, whether that's about gun-ho physics teachers, squirrel shooting, coypu culls, stoat decimation – and other, much less huntin' and fishin' based topics.

There's little sense of this being a 2023/2024 book, here, either, for the letters are responding to the more flippant lifestyle and opinion column writing, rather than the cutting edge of the news. Highlights may or may not include hiccup cessation, snippy holiday home reviews, theatrical content warnings, and how to get to eat a lobster with less on your conscience (again with the dead animals…). It's highbrow but it's also responding to articles about roadside litter, online etiquette and pressing concerns with boring road names. It is, still, however, a light jovial thing, and nobody would come to this expecting more than a bottom-of-the-Christmas-stocking kind of time-passer. Think of it as a satsuma then – for all that I liked it and laughed verily, it ain't no peach.

Haha, it puts a smile on your face and sometimes makes you laugh. It exceeded my expectations.
I might purchase this as a Christmas gift to my loved ones.

Such a fun book to dip into, and great escapism to worry about pressing issues such as what wine to take to a dinner party, if you should reweave a carpet and how to cure hiccups, rather than watching the News. I think a number of friends may find a copy under their Christmas tree!
Thank you to netgalley and Collins reference for an advance copy of this book

A great collection of humorous letters.

I love reading books of letters so this was right up my street.

Guaranteed to make you smile. A fun book to dip in and out of. Cover's so many topics and points of view.

My thanks to The Times and NetGalley for a copy of “ The Times Sir” for an honest review.

I loved this book ! Just as last years edition I reviewed.It ,was entertaining, and humorous and an ideal book to just pick up and read a couple of pages at a time…if you CAN put it down .
Well worth a read !

This is an annual treat that I much relish and look forward to and this year’s compendium of the best readers’ letters to The Times is certainly no exception.

Bursting with wit, erudition and sometimes sheer bloody mindedness the letters cover a multitude of subjects, some serious, others flippant and never cease to entertain, annoy and even flummox the reader with many generating a flood of retorts from other readers of the publication.

Superbly edited and put together this is the ultimate dipper into and provides a deep dive into the psyche of the nation.

Highly recommended.

The selection of letters from the Times in 2023 was one of my favourite books of the year and I’m very happy to say it looks as if it will be the same this year. Using the letters that generally appear in the bottom-right of the letters page, this is a wonderful collection covering a huge range of topics. The letters are generally short, informative and often very funny with some subjects running over several days (my personal favourites are the ones which evoke a response from someone correcting the original letter, only to have themselves corrected by a readership even more knowledgeable about the strangest things).

The letters put together give a lovely insight into the lives of others, covering everything from their lorry-spotting games in the car and falling asleep in the theatre to how they’ve coped with grief. It’s a great book to pick up and put down if you only have enough time for a few pages but I must admit to finding it addictive enough to read in one go. It’s one I know I’ll return to, though, and I’ll be very happy to see this become an annual publication, one that also makes an excellent Christmas present.

The editor, Andrew Riley, has a superb eye for which letters to select and how to group them together into a hugely entertaining read. A definite annual favourite!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review.