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A review by maralyons
The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again by Catherine Price
5.0
The Power of Fun is an enlightening and inspiring book about how we can improve our lives by actively pursuing fun and engagement. This book isn’t about self-care or superficial or fake fun, it goes much deeper. Think about an experience you’ve had that you would describe as truly fun. What elements were present? Price describes moments of True Fun as being the confluence of playfulness, connection, and flow. This is only possible when we’re truly engaged and not distracted. This engagement simply isn’t possible when we’re hooked on our phones doomscrolling social media or the news.
Price cites tons of studies related to fun, contentment, happiness, attention, etc. so it’s not really a whimsical read. However, as someone who reads a lot of nonfiction, I really liked it, especially because I tend to be a planner and a list-maker. There are tons of exercises to help us consider experiences and activities that give us contentment in our lives. Though it may seem common-sense to put away our phones or turn off the TV to add value to our lives, it’s incredibly easy not to. As a culture we have slipped into reliance on distraction and filling out time with content that is likely negatively affecting our moods. We’ve slipped into this so easily we haven’t really asked ourselves if using our devices so often is something we should do. It seems like it’s happened without our realizing it and tech companies actively take advantage of the way our brains are wired. This book was eye-opening to me because it explains how we’ve gotten here and concrete reasons for getting out, being open to others and experiences, silliness, and the importance of unstructured play time for our mental health. I will actively be pursuing the lessons contained in this book in 2022!
Thank you Random House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Price cites tons of studies related to fun, contentment, happiness, attention, etc. so it’s not really a whimsical read. However, as someone who reads a lot of nonfiction, I really liked it, especially because I tend to be a planner and a list-maker. There are tons of exercises to help us consider experiences and activities that give us contentment in our lives. Though it may seem common-sense to put away our phones or turn off the TV to add value to our lives, it’s incredibly easy not to. As a culture we have slipped into reliance on distraction and filling out time with content that is likely negatively affecting our moods. We’ve slipped into this so easily we haven’t really asked ourselves if using our devices so often is something we should do. It seems like it’s happened without our realizing it and tech companies actively take advantage of the way our brains are wired. This book was eye-opening to me because it explains how we’ve gotten here and concrete reasons for getting out, being open to others and experiences, silliness, and the importance of unstructured play time for our mental health. I will actively be pursuing the lessons contained in this book in 2022!
Thank you Random House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.