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Let's Catch Up Soon
6 hrs. 5 min.
Do you dread small talk? Can’t seem to remember names? Does being told to smile more make you seethe? Yet do you long for deeper and more meaningful friendships?
Sarah Cooper’s Let’s Catch Up Soon: How I Won Friends and Influenced People Against My Will shares how to survive our newest life challenge: connecting with people face-to-face again.
In 2020, Cooper caught herself and the world off guard when her TikTok lip-synchs of President Trump’s COVID-19 press conferences went viral. Her video satires spoke volumes.
Now she has produced the perfect guidebook for post-pandemic interactions.
Though she didn’t plan that, either.
When first approached about reimagining Dale Carnegie’s granddaddy of business books, she couldn’t have been more thumbs down. As Cooper recalls, “Written in 1936, at a time when dealing with strangers in the professional world was a relatively new phenomenon, it lays out 30 principles for dealing with people. Principles such as smile, remember names, be genuinely interested, make people feel important, give compliments, don’t complain, and never argue, all in the hopes of getting people to like you. And to me, it all sounded like a bunch of manipulative BS. People pleasers know all these tricks all too well, Dale! So, my plan was to rip this Dale person apart.”
Before long Dale became an annoying voice in her head, propelling her to try things she never normally would, both personally and professionally. Through her lens as a woman, an immigrant, and an aspiring actress turned techie turned actress, Cooper realizes getting people to like you, the real you, will be impossible if you never take the time to figure out who you really are.
Written during the years 2019, 2020, and 2021, Let’s Catch Up Soon is, like the best comedy memoirs, both laugh-out-loud funny and emotionally disarming. Filled with astute commentary on the politics of meetings, the pain of mixers, and the things we wish we could remember but always forget, it’s also the perfect self-help manual for anyone looking to find new friends and build stronger connections in this post-COVID age.
Do you dread small talk? Can’t seem to remember names? Does being told to smile more make you seethe? Yet do you long for deeper and more meaningful friendships?
Sarah Cooper’s Let’s Catch Up Soon: How I Won Friends and Influenced People Against My Will shares how to survive our newest life challenge: connecting with people face-to-face again.
In 2020, Cooper caught herself and the world off guard when her TikTok lip-synchs of President Trump’s COVID-19 press conferences went viral. Her video satires spoke volumes.
Now she has produced the perfect guidebook for post-pandemic interactions.
Though she didn’t plan that, either.
When first approached about reimagining Dale Carnegie’s granddaddy of business books, she couldn’t have been more thumbs down. As Cooper recalls, “Written in 1936, at a time when dealing with strangers in the professional world was a relatively new phenomenon, it lays out 30 principles for dealing with people. Principles such as smile, remember names, be genuinely interested, make people feel important, give compliments, don’t complain, and never argue, all in the hopes of getting people to like you. And to me, it all sounded like a bunch of manipulative BS. People pleasers know all these tricks all too well, Dale! So, my plan was to rip this Dale person apart.”
Before long Dale became an annoying voice in her head, propelling her to try things she never normally would, both personally and professionally. Through her lens as a woman, an immigrant, and an aspiring actress turned techie turned actress, Cooper realizes getting people to like you, the real you, will be impossible if you never take the time to figure out who you really are.
Written during the years 2019, 2020, and 2021, Let’s Catch Up Soon is, like the best comedy memoirs, both laugh-out-loud funny and emotionally disarming. Filled with astute commentary on the politics of meetings, the pain of mixers, and the things we wish we could remember but always forget, it’s also the perfect self-help manual for anyone looking to find new friends and build stronger connections in this post-COVID age.
7 pages, Audible Audio
Published June 23, 2022
2 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Cooper
6 books310 followersSARAH COOPER is a writer and comedian who had a former life in the tech world. Her books include 100 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings (2016), How to Be Successful without Hurting Men's Feelings (2018), and her debut memoir Foolish: Tales of Assimilation, Determination and Humiliation (2023). Cooper went viral in 2020 with her Trump lip-sync videos, leading to Netflix special Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine, and appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The View and the New York Times Best Performers list. Most recently, she appeared in Jerry Seinfeld's directorial debut Unfrosted: The Pop-tart Story (2024). Cooper is married to a Pomeranian named Buddy with whom she shares a home in Brooklyn.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 23, 2022
I’m glad this is an audiobook since her comedic timing is immaculate and I could never recreate her voice if I ever read the book myself. Her hilarious yet sarcastic self talk feels relatable every time “Dale” questions her decisions.
January 20, 2023
This audiobook is *chef's kiss* really beautiful. Sarah's "old man" personification of Dale Carnegie, the addition of her live stand-up sets, her timing and pace... just... muah! I only wish it weren't an Audible exclusive. The world needs this book and audiobook.
Long story short, this is Sarah's remaking of Dale Carnegie's 1936 "How to Win Friends & Influence People." I appreciate how she set out to basically say "this guy sucks" and then turned it around (using "his" interjections) to actually realize he had some good ideas in there. It's also intertwined with Sarah's own biography of why HTWF&IP can't work in her own life or her own social/work situations.
I didn't know much of Sarah's work before this, but don't mind me, I'm going to be over here on YouTube doing some deep dives into stand-up sets...
Long story short, this is Sarah's remaking of Dale Carnegie's 1936 "How to Win Friends & Influence People." I appreciate how she set out to basically say "this guy sucks" and then turned it around (using "his" interjections) to actually realize he had some good ideas in there. It's also intertwined with Sarah's own biography of why HTWF&IP can't work in her own life or her own social/work situations.
I didn't know much of Sarah's work before this, but don't mind me, I'm going to be over here on YouTube doing some deep dives into stand-up sets...
December 19, 2022
I should write a longer review of this, but it's the end of the year, so here we are! I really enjoyed this. While I didn't completely relate to her in every sense of her disconnectedness from other humans (I get the sense that she has historically been a little self-involved) I definitely related to the social anxiety, asking for things you need etc. And her process of coming to better understand the innerworkings of other humans is interesting to track, and leaves her in a more genuine place than she started. Bonus - she's hilarious. This was a quick and enjoyable listen. I'd say it is a 3.5 rounded up to 4.
October 29, 2023
Listened to the audio version so got to hear her tell it. The accents helped give a deeper appreciation for her and she book. It was very well done with a serious message for introverts woven into the humour.
December 6, 2022
Here’s hoping it doesn’t take me until 40 to be a genuine person.
August 13, 2023
4.5 stars
March 3, 2024
Cute.
December 18, 2023
This book is honest, brave, thoughtful and funny! What else does a book need?
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews