What do you think?
Rate this book
The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again
Journalist and screen/life balance expert Catherine Price argues persuasively that our always-on, tech-addicted lifestyles have led us to obsess over intangible concepts such as happiness while obscuring the fact that real happiness lies in the everyday experience of fun. We often think of fun as indulgent, even immature and selfish. We claim to not have time for it, even as we find hours a day for what Price calls "Fake Fun"--bingeing on television, doom-scrolling the news, or posting photos to social media, all in hopes of filling some of the emptiness we feel inside..
In this follow-up to her hit book, How to Break Up with Your Phone, Price makes the case that True Fun--which she defines as the magical confluence of playfulness, connection, and flow--will give us the fulfillment we so desperately seek. If you use True Fun as your compass, you will be happier and healthier. You will be more productive, less resentful, and less stressed. You will have more energy. You will find community and a sense of purpose. You will stop languishing and start flourishing. And best of all? You'll enjoy the process.
Weaving together scientific research with personal experience, Price reveals the surprising mental, physical, and cognitive benefits of fun, and offers a practical, personalized plan for how we can achieve better screen/life balance and attract more True Fun into our daily lives--without feeling overwhelmed.
In this follow-up to her hit book, How to Break Up with Your Phone, Price makes the case that True Fun--which she defines as the magical confluence of playfulness, connection, and flow--will give us the fulfillment we so desperately seek. If you use True Fun as your compass, you will be happier and healthier. You will be more productive, less resentful, and less stressed. You will have more energy. You will find community and a sense of purpose. You will stop languishing and start flourishing. And best of all? You'll enjoy the process.
Weaving together scientific research with personal experience, Price reveals the surprising mental, physical, and cognitive benefits of fun, and offers a practical, personalized plan for how we can achieve better screen/life balance and attract more True Fun into our daily lives--without feeling overwhelmed.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published December 21, 2021
About the author
Catherine Price
20 books240 followersCatherine Price is passionate about learning and experiencing new things, understanding first principles, and using her background as a science journalist to help people question their assumptions and make positive changes in their lives.
Her journalistic work has appeared in publications including The Best American Science Writing, The New York Times, Popular Science, O, The Oprah Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post Magazine, Parade, Salon, Slate, Men’s Journal, Self, Mother Jones, Health Magazine, and Outside, among others.
Her journalistic work has appeared in publications including The Best American Science Writing, The New York Times, Popular Science, O, The Oprah Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post Magazine, Parade, Salon, Slate, Men’s Journal, Self, Mother Jones, Health Magazine, and Outside, among others.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 981 reviews
January 12, 2022
Reading the Power of Fun was boring, honestly. I felt like I could have just watched a TED talk on the topic and then used the rest of the time to go do something fun. The author missed an opportunity to make reading this book a practice in fun. Instead, it was long chapters quoting books and articles about how to make time for and recognize fun in your life. To sum it up? True fun includes playfulness, connection, and flow. That sentence was repeated dozens of times throughout the book.
I did like the reminder to find delight in every day and to break up routines with new experiences. I also liked her thoughts on “fake fun” and getting away from screens. Still, this book should have been full of tons of ideas to have fun in daily life, rather than wax lengthy on the definition of hobbies, interests, and flow.
I did like the reminder to find delight in every day and to break up routines with new experiences. I also liked her thoughts on “fake fun” and getting away from screens. Still, this book should have been full of tons of ideas to have fun in daily life, rather than wax lengthy on the definition of hobbies, interests, and flow.
November 2, 2021
Of all the documentaries, podcasts, and books I've digested over the years none have been as persuasive as The Power of Fun to wean me from my smartphone screen (and convince others to do the same). But don't be mislead. This is not an authoritarian creed on the evils of smartphones. What this book addresses is the next seemingly obvious question - if you detox from screens, what's the plan for entertaining yourself? You probably don't have a great answer and neither did I. This is one reason kids refuse to leave their screens. This is at the core of why adults are often worse than kids with their screen addictions. People just don't know what to do with their free time.
Consider this quote from the late Dr. Mihalyi Csiksentmihalyi, author of Flow: In their free time people feel that there is generally not much to do and their skills are not being used, and therefore they tend to feel more sad, weak, dull, and dissatisfied.
In general, adults have a hard time having fun. Being silly. Being rebellious. Laughing uproariously without a hint of self-consciousness. Entering into a playful mindset and diving headfirst into activities.
This book is going to change people's lives. It is a manifesto on how to live with more playfulness and exuberance. I really hope this gets into the hands of people I bump into at future bars and parties. I don't just want to inject more fun into my life, I want to be surrounded and infected by other people enjoying themselves.
I do want to add a bonus reason to read this book - you will adore the author. She is $#@! hilarious. The way she experiments on herself. The way she details the intimate connections and arguments with her partner. She is witty. She is intelligent. And she has a masterful way of relying on research but keeping it in the background. Her playful writing style makes this book infinitely readable and relatable. You are going to want to contact her with hopes of being her friend. I have read hundreds of books. The only other author who I wanted to befriend as quickly as Catherine Price is Mary Roach. Kind, hilarious, witty, intellectuals with a desire to improve other people's lives.
Honestly, this is one of my favorite reads and will certainly be on my end of year recommendation list.
Consider this quote from the late Dr. Mihalyi Csiksentmihalyi, author of Flow: In their free time people feel that there is generally not much to do and their skills are not being used, and therefore they tend to feel more sad, weak, dull, and dissatisfied.
In general, adults have a hard time having fun. Being silly. Being rebellious. Laughing uproariously without a hint of self-consciousness. Entering into a playful mindset and diving headfirst into activities.
This book is going to change people's lives. It is a manifesto on how to live with more playfulness and exuberance. I really hope this gets into the hands of people I bump into at future bars and parties. I don't just want to inject more fun into my life, I want to be surrounded and infected by other people enjoying themselves.
I do want to add a bonus reason to read this book - you will adore the author. She is $#@! hilarious. The way she experiments on herself. The way she details the intimate connections and arguments with her partner. She is witty. She is intelligent. And she has a masterful way of relying on research but keeping it in the background. Her playful writing style makes this book infinitely readable and relatable. You are going to want to contact her with hopes of being her friend. I have read hundreds of books. The only other author who I wanted to befriend as quickly as Catherine Price is Mary Roach. Kind, hilarious, witty, intellectuals with a desire to improve other people's lives.
Honestly, this is one of my favorite reads and will certainly be on my end of year recommendation list.
April 9, 2022
This is my first book by this author, and had never heard of her previous book How to Break Up with Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life. The majority of this book is basically about why you should break up with your phone, so I imagine it repeats a lot from the previous one. I found this book interesting enough and enjoyed the author's anecdotes about her own experiences. I didn't enjoy all the how/why of keeping a "fun" journal. To me, that was just filler for the book. Some, though, might find it helpful and practical.
December 24, 2021
I hate to leave a less than great review. This is totally subjective and isn’t meant to take away from the work the author put into this book.
I really enjoyed a lot of the discussion about attention, phone use, and what true fun is and is not. Where things went south for me personally, was with the personal stories that, at times, seemed just about bragging and barely connected to the point of the chapter. (Looking at you, lingerie for lawyers anecdote.)
I also didn’t care for the discussion comparing everything to the evils of “the obesity epidemic” when there is so much recent research and evidence that the whole premise behind that “epidemic” was flawed from the beginning. When people on the upper end actually live longer than people in the lower end of the bmi scale, I just couldn’t connect with that entire section and kept thinking it came across as very fatphobic.
As a mom of four little ones, I just don’t see myself being able to keep journals analyzing the fun in my day… not because I scroll social media or spend pointless hours on my phone either, but because I’m truly that busy with all of my responsibilities. I genuinely think the author does not realize the difference in peoples lives because I’m very privileged and still do not have time for this. I think the target audience is not parents with four young kids, homeschooling, trying to survive a pandemic, and with a ton of responsibilities every day. Maybe this wasn’t the right book at the right time for me.
I really enjoyed a lot of the discussion about attention, phone use, and what true fun is and is not. Where things went south for me personally, was with the personal stories that, at times, seemed just about bragging and barely connected to the point of the chapter. (Looking at you, lingerie for lawyers anecdote.)
I also didn’t care for the discussion comparing everything to the evils of “the obesity epidemic” when there is so much recent research and evidence that the whole premise behind that “epidemic” was flawed from the beginning. When people on the upper end actually live longer than people in the lower end of the bmi scale, I just couldn’t connect with that entire section and kept thinking it came across as very fatphobic.
As a mom of four little ones, I just don’t see myself being able to keep journals analyzing the fun in my day… not because I scroll social media or spend pointless hours on my phone either, but because I’m truly that busy with all of my responsibilities. I genuinely think the author does not realize the difference in peoples lives because I’m very privileged and still do not have time for this. I think the target audience is not parents with four young kids, homeschooling, trying to survive a pandemic, and with a ton of responsibilities every day. Maybe this wasn’t the right book at the right time for me.
December 27, 2021
I loved Catherine Price's book How to Break Up with Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life, but this The Power of Fun just bummed me out. How to Break Up with Your Phone is a plan to improve your life, and it feels prescriptive in an encouraging way. The Power of Fun is strident, dour, and generally unfun. I think it will probably be useful to some people but I found it too depressing to finish reading. I generally want this type of self-help book to feel uplifting and inspiring, and this missed the mark.
If you're looking for a self-help guide to inspire you to find joy in your creative life or hobbies, I suggest Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert, possibly in combination with How to Break Up with Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the ebook.
If you're looking for a self-help guide to inspire you to find joy in your creative life or hobbies, I suggest Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert, possibly in combination with How to Break Up with Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the ebook.
December 20, 2021
As the pandemic shroud descended, I gave up on fun. With two working parents, two little kids, and no childcare, I decided that fun no longer fit my lifestyle. It was one of the personal “luxuries” that I had to do without for a while. As I always had, I continued to pursue fun for my children—but I told myself that a prudent, disciplined adult in my position would focus on other things until the landscape changed to something less foreboding.
Catherine Price’s excellent, eye-opening new book has made me realize my mistake. Fun is not “just for kids.” Fun is not optional. Fun is not something that detracts from more serious pursuits.
Fun is essential and when you turn your back on it, you imperil all of the oh-so-serious facets of your life: your health, your work productivity, and your relationships.
Marshaling the latest social science evidence, Catherine makes a powerful case for the incredible benefits that arise in moments of fun. Devouring an advance copy of the manuscript in a single reading, I found myself nodding along as she explained the nuances of playfulness, connection, and flow. It all made sense, but I hadn’t had the sense to see it.
Catherine is a keen observer, but she’s also a funny writer and I wonder if it was the laughing out loud that produced the lasting impact. Whatever the cause, when I finished, I felt refreshed: I’d made a mistake, but I now knew what I needed to do.
With the new year, I’m committing to finding True Fun.
If you’ve been gritting your teeth, buckling down the hatches, keeping calm and carrying on, through the last two years, I encourage you—indeed, I implore you—to pick up this book.
2022 can be a different year!
Catherine Price’s excellent, eye-opening new book has made me realize my mistake. Fun is not “just for kids.” Fun is not optional. Fun is not something that detracts from more serious pursuits.
Fun is essential and when you turn your back on it, you imperil all of the oh-so-serious facets of your life: your health, your work productivity, and your relationships.
Marshaling the latest social science evidence, Catherine makes a powerful case for the incredible benefits that arise in moments of fun. Devouring an advance copy of the manuscript in a single reading, I found myself nodding along as she explained the nuances of playfulness, connection, and flow. It all made sense, but I hadn’t had the sense to see it.
Catherine is a keen observer, but she’s also a funny writer and I wonder if it was the laughing out loud that produced the lasting impact. Whatever the cause, when I finished, I felt refreshed: I’d made a mistake, but I now knew what I needed to do.
With the new year, I’m committing to finding True Fun.
If you’ve been gritting your teeth, buckling down the hatches, keeping calm and carrying on, through the last two years, I encourage you—indeed, I implore you—to pick up this book.
2022 can be a different year!
January 23, 2022
I started this, returned it to the library, then heard a lot of great things about this and re-requested it. I… was right the first time, at least for my own reading tastes.
There are a few great takeaways here (playfulness + connection + flow will stick with me, and I liked the fun magnet and fun audit lists) but you have to REALLY want to find the meat of what the book is about, because it’s buried — after a solid third of the book, I think — under a mountain of all the reasons this writer truly hates smartphones. And even though she already wrote a whole book about that, she doesn’t seem able to see anything in this ostensibly-different book, NOT through that same filter.
It’s good to know/remember how are devices are designed to draw us in and make us addicts, and distract us from the things we’d rather *intentionally* be doing. But she is SO hung up on it — the details, the mechanics, so many books and articles and statistics — that the book feels more about THAT than actual fun. It made me mostly tired.
But plenty of people love it! So it must be helpful and useful and great for plenty of others.
There are a few great takeaways here (playfulness + connection + flow will stick with me, and I liked the fun magnet and fun audit lists) but you have to REALLY want to find the meat of what the book is about, because it’s buried — after a solid third of the book, I think — under a mountain of all the reasons this writer truly hates smartphones. And even though she already wrote a whole book about that, she doesn’t seem able to see anything in this ostensibly-different book, NOT through that same filter.
It’s good to know/remember how are devices are designed to draw us in and make us addicts, and distract us from the things we’d rather *intentionally* be doing. But she is SO hung up on it — the details, the mechanics, so many books and articles and statistics — that the book feels more about THAT than actual fun. It made me mostly tired.
But plenty of people love it! So it must be helpful and useful and great for plenty of others.
June 14, 2022
Alright, I just complained about How to Be An Antiracist for these same things:
I just picked out a book called The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again.
This is indication that
A) I would like to hear about how to have fun
B) I'm dead inside
So, what I don't really need is a long text that defines fun, explains fun is important, and 40% in, hasn't really gotten to the part of reviving my cold, dead heart.
Also, irony, it wasn't fun to read the book. It was homework.
I buy the premise and key idea of this book from the cover page. I don't know why there was so much extra stuff, I guess some people just like reading extra?
I just picked out a book called The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again.
This is indication that
A) I would like to hear about how to have fun
B) I'm dead inside
So, what I don't really need is a long text that defines fun, explains fun is important, and 40% in, hasn't really gotten to the part of reviving my cold, dead heart.
Also, irony, it wasn't fun to read the book. It was homework.
I buy the premise and key idea of this book from the cover page. I don't know why there was so much extra stuff, I guess some people just like reading extra?
November 27, 2021
I was really looking forward to "The Power of Fun". Who doesn't need more fun in their life?
I only got about halfway through the book.
She had me at the beginning. All the personal anecdotes helped make her points very clear.
The only problem was that she made it into a science (which I don't agree that fun is).
It seems to me that this subject would make a great essay (for the New York Times?)
The bottom line is: she defines fun as playfulness, connection and flow. When you have one of these, you are heading in the right direction. When you have all three, you are having Real Fun (as opposed to Fake Fun, which she also defines).
So, you need to think about situations where you had one or two or all three of the components of Real Fun. And repeat.
I think I've summed the book up nicely.
I only got about halfway through the book.
She had me at the beginning. All the personal anecdotes helped make her points very clear.
The only problem was that she made it into a science (which I don't agree that fun is).
It seems to me that this subject would make a great essay (for the New York Times?)
The bottom line is: she defines fun as playfulness, connection and flow. When you have one of these, you are heading in the right direction. When you have all three, you are having Real Fun (as opposed to Fake Fun, which she also defines).
So, you need to think about situations where you had one or two or all three of the components of Real Fun. And repeat.
I think I've summed the book up nicely.
December 19, 2021
I wish I would have read this book earlier in my life as I am 64 years old now. After reading this book I felt so uplifted and realized it is never to late to enjoy life and have fun. I wake up each morning now feeling happier and looking for something fun to do each day. It might be something small or large but it brings me joy. Thanks Catherine Price. Highly recommend.
November 14, 2021
I felt like this book didn't need to be nearly as long as it was. There wasn't a ton new in the messaging and I didn't learn much, but it's certainly an important message and had a lot of good reminders in it.
January 26, 2022
This book had so much potential, and, to be fair, it gave me some good things to think about. However, a book about fun should be FUN! This book constantly felt so depressingly negative and really felt too much like a sequel to the author’s first book. I agree that we need to have boundaries with our technology usage, but the author hit us over the head constantly with her thoughts on this topic instead of just filling the book with many great ideas of ways to have fun.
2.5 stars rounded up.
2.5 stars rounded up.
January 19, 2024
Wow this did not feel like fun! Read for my Bookclub and felt like a hard slog. I ended up skipping a lot of it. I think it regurgitates a lot of the authors first book, “How to break up with your phone” and it actually ended up annoying me. Too prescriptive, it felt too bossy and I felt bogged down as I read it… 2 stars for the research but not a book I would recommend.
January 30, 2023
This book had been referenced in some other reading I was doing, and luckily my library had it on hand. (I hate buying “self help” books because often I read them in a day or so just finding a few nuggets of interesting information and never re-reading.)
I was also reading The Fun Habit by Mike Rucker this week, and finding it hard to connect to in terms of my own life. Fortunately, Catherine Price’s book is filled with concrete ideas for understanding what makes certain activities fun and determining your own fun factors. She’s done some research, and if you read these kinds of positive psychology books, you’ll know the sources (everyone from Victor Frankl to Martin Seligman) and also won’t be too surprised to read about “dopamine hits” and how screen time wreaks havoc on our connection to life and to others, which ultimately makes us numb, lonely and leading unsatisfying lives. Embracing playfulness, flow and connection are the keys to having more fun. And, no surprise, get off social media and your phone! She says this about a million times but I think it probably can’t be said enough.
The solutions are in a way kind of obvious, but she gives tons of examples for how to increase your “true fun” which is what makes the book 4 stars versus 3.
Some of the discussions and examples were drawn out and a bit wordy at times with very long explanations that (for me anyway) were not always needed once the point was made. I prefer a more bullet style approach to this kind of book and wished she had done little summaries at the end of each section and also a few more nicely formatted and organized worksheets for the process she asks you to go through in terms of finding your true fun. This is what makes the book 4 stars and not 5 for me.
I was also reading The Fun Habit by Mike Rucker this week, and finding it hard to connect to in terms of my own life. Fortunately, Catherine Price’s book is filled with concrete ideas for understanding what makes certain activities fun and determining your own fun factors. She’s done some research, and if you read these kinds of positive psychology books, you’ll know the sources (everyone from Victor Frankl to Martin Seligman) and also won’t be too surprised to read about “dopamine hits” and how screen time wreaks havoc on our connection to life and to others, which ultimately makes us numb, lonely and leading unsatisfying lives. Embracing playfulness, flow and connection are the keys to having more fun. And, no surprise, get off social media and your phone! She says this about a million times but I think it probably can’t be said enough.
The solutions are in a way kind of obvious, but she gives tons of examples for how to increase your “true fun” which is what makes the book 4 stars versus 3.
Some of the discussions and examples were drawn out and a bit wordy at times with very long explanations that (for me anyway) were not always needed once the point was made. I prefer a more bullet style approach to this kind of book and wished she had done little summaries at the end of each section and also a few more nicely formatted and organized worksheets for the process she asks you to go through in terms of finding your true fun. This is what makes the book 4 stars and not 5 for me.
January 1, 2022
I picked up this book with hopes of being a more fun parent for my kids, but walked away with the additional understanding of the personal benefits of making fun a priority. According to Price, true fun is a combination of playfulness, connection, and flow and can result in improved well-being, health, joy, creativity, and stronger relationships. Active fun is an antidote to our culture of passive, distracted consumption of devices. The parts of the book that talked about prioritizing and focus, and gave advice on how to be less distracted (like taking regular technology-free “Sabbaths”) were some of my favorite parts.
Quotes and Notes:
-“I’ve become convinced that our phones and other wireless mobile devices, which are sometimes referred to as WMDs (weapons of mass distraction), are pulling our internal compasses seriously off-track, insinuating themselves into our lives in ways that aren’t just scattering our attention, they are changing the core of who we actually are.”
-“The fact that we can’t split our attention means that whenever we make a decision about what to focus on in any given moment, we are also implicitly making a decision about what we’re not going to focus on.”
-To improve fun in your life: SPARK:-make Space -Pursue passions -Attract fun -Rebel -Keep at it
-Developing a fun mindset: be easy to laugh, give attention, seek delight (our lives are what we pay attention to), and savor positive moments
-Rebel against habit and routine by spontaneously micro dosing on fun and connection (like spontaneous, brief connection phone calls)
-Interests, hobbies, and passions make you more interested and interesting
-Embrace the discomfort of being a beginner
-Prompts for discovering things to try: I’m interesting in learning to…I’m interested in learning about…I’m curious about…I’d like to try…I’d like to get better at…It might sound silly, but I’d love to…When I was a child I enjoyed…Things I used to do with my free-time but don’t anymore…Things I always say I want to do or learn, but supposedly don’t have time for…I feel alive when I…set a timer for a full 15 minutes to reflect and write on these prompts (remember you don’t have to actually do everything you brainstorm, you’re just coming up with your fun possibilities)
-Set limits on the number of times per day you check and respond to email (or whatever distracts you on your phone)
-make a daily list of your not to-dos; preemptively identifying your most time-sucking activities and consciously deciding not to let them hijack your day (Facebook, online shopping, etc…); preserves time and space for spontaneity to occur
-“How to Break up with your phone” – first you want to figure out what you actually want to be doing with your time, otherwise you are going to be trying to resist your impulses using your sheer willpower, which isn’t effective; then you will find yourself with less time to spend on screens, and less of a desire to spend time on them because you’ll have a long list of things you would rather be doing instead; phone will be transformed from a temptation you must resist to an obstacle that’s getting in the way of how you want to live
-Regularly take breaks from devices…digital Sabbath. This disconnection helps create space that can then be used for activities and traditions that leave you nourished and refreshed
-Set rules for screen time like don’t look at your phone for the first and last hour of the day
Quotes and Notes:
-“I’ve become convinced that our phones and other wireless mobile devices, which are sometimes referred to as WMDs (weapons of mass distraction), are pulling our internal compasses seriously off-track, insinuating themselves into our lives in ways that aren’t just scattering our attention, they are changing the core of who we actually are.”
-“The fact that we can’t split our attention means that whenever we make a decision about what to focus on in any given moment, we are also implicitly making a decision about what we’re not going to focus on.”
-To improve fun in your life: SPARK:-make Space -Pursue passions -Attract fun -Rebel -Keep at it
-Developing a fun mindset: be easy to laugh, give attention, seek delight (our lives are what we pay attention to), and savor positive moments
-Rebel against habit and routine by spontaneously micro dosing on fun and connection (like spontaneous, brief connection phone calls)
-Interests, hobbies, and passions make you more interested and interesting
-Embrace the discomfort of being a beginner
-Prompts for discovering things to try: I’m interesting in learning to…I’m interested in learning about…I’m curious about…I’d like to try…I’d like to get better at…It might sound silly, but I’d love to…When I was a child I enjoyed…Things I used to do with my free-time but don’t anymore…Things I always say I want to do or learn, but supposedly don’t have time for…I feel alive when I…set a timer for a full 15 minutes to reflect and write on these prompts (remember you don’t have to actually do everything you brainstorm, you’re just coming up with your fun possibilities)
-Set limits on the number of times per day you check and respond to email (or whatever distracts you on your phone)
-make a daily list of your not to-dos; preemptively identifying your most time-sucking activities and consciously deciding not to let them hijack your day (Facebook, online shopping, etc…); preserves time and space for spontaneity to occur
-“How to Break up with your phone” – first you want to figure out what you actually want to be doing with your time, otherwise you are going to be trying to resist your impulses using your sheer willpower, which isn’t effective; then you will find yourself with less time to spend on screens, and less of a desire to spend time on them because you’ll have a long list of things you would rather be doing instead; phone will be transformed from a temptation you must resist to an obstacle that’s getting in the way of how you want to live
-Regularly take breaks from devices…digital Sabbath. This disconnection helps create space that can then be used for activities and traditions that leave you nourished and refreshed
-Set rules for screen time like don’t look at your phone for the first and last hour of the day
May 8, 2022
I'm wildly uncomfortable with the subtitle of this book (which implies I feel zombified now...which is only true some of the time!), but the content is so helpful, lightly comic yet nonetheless earnest and well-researched. Price insists on the importance of activities, relationships, and experiences that break out of routinized productivity (which is not that productive anyway, as she points out) and intensify our presence in the moment and our access to joy and a sense of self--not to mention connection with others--that exceeds the bounds of obligation. Writing to a presumed audience (I think) of midlife professionals, Price asks her readers to allow themselves to play.
During the first two years of the pandemic, I started taking an art class online, and I had not drawn or painted since I was a child. I didn't do it to be "good" at it but just to enjoy observation and color and full immersion in the experience. Since then, I draw regularly in the online company of a group of women from all around the country, many of whom are retired, and after drawing in silence for a while, we talk and laugh and share insights. I always feel so much happier after those "drawing happy hours." I love being creative, perhaps especially in a medium that I don't hold myself accountable to, and I have so enjoyed getting to know these women through talking about the process of drawing and sharing our tentative sketches. It allows us to talk about life and to connect. This is exactly the kind of thing that Price encourages, both because it enhances day-to-day feelings of satisfaction and energy (hence the title), and also because fun helps to give life meaning, to make each day memorable.
She gives some great pointers about thinking about your own memories of delight and figuring out what circumstances set you up for fun. (This sounds so hokey as I describe it here, but it's very helpful!) In the afterword, she talks about writing this book during pandemic lockdown, which must have been so bizarre because so much of it is about being social in trying a new activity or acting silly on purpose. She asks readers to reflect on fun people they know and what makes them fun. I thought about dear friends of mine who used to throw a pirate party every year and who made the activities (and the costumes) more elaborate every year. People would drive in from out of town because they knew the pirate party would be an incredible, playful, over-the-top weekend.
In any case, I've been keeping Price's pointers in mind recently, as I cherish time spent in the garden and recently booked a kayaking day trip to see dolphins. (I, um, don't kayak. But I do love marine mammals. Fingers crossed it turns out to be fun rather than life endangering!) Price is writing to a privileged audience, and she doesn't go into the capitalist structures that both acculturate us to thinking of our time as currency and also extend working hours and communications into more corners of our lives. That's not really her purpose here, so her advice on how to clear time for fun is fairly limited (fewer screens, delegate or share responsibility where possible), but I love her endorsement of play and creative flow as well as of gratitude. Her citations included William James and Ross Gay, so I'm sold.
During the first two years of the pandemic, I started taking an art class online, and I had not drawn or painted since I was a child. I didn't do it to be "good" at it but just to enjoy observation and color and full immersion in the experience. Since then, I draw regularly in the online company of a group of women from all around the country, many of whom are retired, and after drawing in silence for a while, we talk and laugh and share insights. I always feel so much happier after those "drawing happy hours." I love being creative, perhaps especially in a medium that I don't hold myself accountable to, and I have so enjoyed getting to know these women through talking about the process of drawing and sharing our tentative sketches. It allows us to talk about life and to connect. This is exactly the kind of thing that Price encourages, both because it enhances day-to-day feelings of satisfaction and energy (hence the title), and also because fun helps to give life meaning, to make each day memorable.
She gives some great pointers about thinking about your own memories of delight and figuring out what circumstances set you up for fun. (This sounds so hokey as I describe it here, but it's very helpful!) In the afterword, she talks about writing this book during pandemic lockdown, which must have been so bizarre because so much of it is about being social in trying a new activity or acting silly on purpose. She asks readers to reflect on fun people they know and what makes them fun. I thought about dear friends of mine who used to throw a pirate party every year and who made the activities (and the costumes) more elaborate every year. People would drive in from out of town because they knew the pirate party would be an incredible, playful, over-the-top weekend.
In any case, I've been keeping Price's pointers in mind recently, as I cherish time spent in the garden and recently booked a kayaking day trip to see dolphins. (I, um, don't kayak. But I do love marine mammals. Fingers crossed it turns out to be fun rather than life endangering!) Price is writing to a privileged audience, and she doesn't go into the capitalist structures that both acculturate us to thinking of our time as currency and also extend working hours and communications into more corners of our lives. That's not really her purpose here, so her advice on how to clear time for fun is fairly limited (fewer screens, delegate or share responsibility where possible), but I love her endorsement of play and creative flow as well as of gratitude. Her citations included William James and Ross Gay, so I'm sold.
December 28, 2021
Unscientific and from perspective of privileged upper middle class
Endless extrapolation of anecdotes from her own life to universal truths without a hint of humility. In love with the trope that Life was so much better is the past and Technology has ruined us, despite ample evidence of exactly the opposite.
She may have some fun ideas buried in here, but her arrogance and ignorance made the book unreadable.
Endless extrapolation of anecdotes from her own life to universal truths without a hint of humility. In love with the trope that Life was so much better is the past and Technology has ruined us, despite ample evidence of exactly the opposite.
She may have some fun ideas buried in here, but her arrogance and ignorance made the book unreadable.
January 31, 2024
Okay, this slapped. I know what you’re thinking: why read about fun when I can just go and HAVE fun? My dude, thanks so much for asking. It’s because when you don’t know what specifically creates fun, the search for it can be kind of hit or miss. At least for me, I can do the same activity in different scenarios and sometimes think it’s a blast and sometimes find it kind of dull. Conceptualizing fun as the intersection of playfulness, connection, and flow helped me identify exactly what separates those super fun experiences from the less fun ones. Now I can use that knowledge to prioritize activities that will actually bring fun, instead of doing things “for fun” that don’t actually hit.
I also found a lot of value in identifying that criticism, judgement, and distraction are fun killers AND that even for introverts, big fun happens in connection with others. As someone prone to a lot of phone checking (distraction, the opposite of flow), self criticism (judgement, which stifles playfulness), and sometimes hiding in the corner avoiding eye contact (not exactly connection), it kind of hit home for me where I can make small adjustments and get more fun out of my existing activities/experiences.
Tl;dr, y’all should read about fun.
I also found a lot of value in identifying that criticism, judgement, and distraction are fun killers AND that even for introverts, big fun happens in connection with others. As someone prone to a lot of phone checking (distraction, the opposite of flow), self criticism (judgement, which stifles playfulness), and sometimes hiding in the corner avoiding eye contact (not exactly connection), it kind of hit home for me where I can make small adjustments and get more fun out of my existing activities/experiences.
Tl;dr, y’all should read about fun.
December 21, 2021
Fantastic book! Beautifully written and evidence-based. So relatable and so actionable. And it turns out, True Fun is possible for everyone, not just "fun people." This book is having a real impact on how I see myself and the small+big choices I make. Highly recommend!
September 5, 2023
For a book about fun, I found this book really… dull. I think addressing the issue and need to distance from technology is helpful but I was disappointed to find that was a very significant part of this whole book. If I wanted that, I would have read her other books, but i didn’t feel like this equipped me in any way for more fun.
I was hoping for a bit more on how to make the mundane things more fun - meals, evening routine, friend gatherings etc. but that was very limited and instead, it was just a lengthy list of additional commitments that I don’t want to add. The last half was better and I did like the chapter titled “Attract Fun” but the best parts of this book were references from one of my favorite books - the Art of Gathering, so in the end I think this is one to skip over and just go straight to the Art of Gathering.
I was hoping for a bit more on how to make the mundane things more fun - meals, evening routine, friend gatherings etc. but that was very limited and instead, it was just a lengthy list of additional commitments that I don’t want to add. The last half was better and I did like the chapter titled “Attract Fun” but the best parts of this book were references from one of my favorite books - the Art of Gathering, so in the end I think this is one to skip over and just go straight to the Art of Gathering.
February 16, 2023
[audiobook] I feel like every adult should read this. “Fun” is such a vague and personal concept when you really think about it, and Price did an exquisite job defining the real experience of what she calls “True Fun.”
November 8, 2022
While there are many great suggestions and helps to find fun and happiness in life, I do feel like it was repetitive, and could have been made into a much shorter book.
It was nice to be reminded of what fun actually means and to make sure I am having more of it.
With all that being said,, I would recommend this book to someone who is stuck and unable to find joy in their lives.
It was nice to be reminded of what fun actually means and to make sure I am having more of it.
With all that being said,, I would recommend this book to someone who is stuck and unable to find joy in their lives.
March 12, 2022
This book is life changing. Read it. Have fun.
May 20, 2022
How on earth can a book about fun be so not fun!
August 12, 2023
I loved this book and I loved reading it ahead of a new school year. Catherine Price explores how "true fun" occurs through a "confluence of playfulness, connection, and flow." Price dives into the science behind fun and how it impacts our physical, mental, and emotional wellness. It helps you reflect on how you can live a life with greater intention, notice daily delights, and pursue and savor experiences, interests, and hobbies that truly bring joy into your life. Microdoses of fun are everywhere if you're willing to notice them and embrace it. Price is not arguing for us to skirt all responsibilities and ignore the harsh realities of our world. However, when "true fun" is our guiding star, this pursuit "helps us stay true to our authentic selves, with less time spent on mindless distraction and empty pursuits and more time devoted to people, experiences, and activities that bring us a sense of meaning and joy."
March 13, 2024
Like a lot of non-fiction, this could’ve been an article or a TED talk and gotten the same points across. Definitely interesting and I agree with the points. Maybe I’ll stop trying to like audiobooks and have fun instead.
June 5, 2023
I really enjoyed this and think she had a lot of great ideas that resonated with me. I don’t like the subtitle and feel like the book is best read as an informative piece with ideas to try vs self help. I listened to the audio but think I would recommend a physical copy of the book. I want to reread and take notes.
December 21, 2021
Catherine Price has a keen appreciation for what is lacking in our 21st century, techno-centric lives. First in "How To Break Up with Your Phone" and now with "The Power of Fun" Price takes a deep dive into the empty, mindless and mirthless ways we engage or spend our time today. The author (along with a good number of health care professionals) concludes what is lacking in our existence is the interest in or worse still the ability to have fun.
It is particularly helpful how Price breaks down what constitutes fun (it is not necessarily satisfaction or enjoyment--balancing your checkbook my satisfy your OCD but it ain't fun. Neither is binging on Netflix or rewatching Game of Thrones. Posting on Facebook? Definitely NOT fun. Fun, Price reminds us, must generate playfulness, connection and flow. It does not necessarily need to involve others but it very often does. It always creates connection, absorption and often laughter. Activities that build camaraderie and bonhomie? Those are the Fun jackpot.
There is a good deal of breaking down what constitutes fun. Some of it is more helpful than other categorizations. Unsurprisingly, I didn't find all of the steps to identifying fun as helpful or even necessary. For me, there was some repetitiveness. But surely others would disagree and appreciate a more detailed breakdown. What is incontrovertible is that Catherine Price is right in arguing there is too little fun in our lives and we all need to focus on having more.
Price is careful not to overpromise. Fun is not a cure for mental health issues or depression (though it does relieve anxiety and loneliness). Learning "to play" again will not lead to lives lived Happily Ever After. But they will be lived more happily more often. They will feel enriched by the pursuit of fun and we will be surprised and delighted by the connection we have made to others and the world around us. Because the best thing about fun is there is its ripple effect. What could be more worthwhile than that?
It is particularly helpful how Price breaks down what constitutes fun (it is not necessarily satisfaction or enjoyment--balancing your checkbook my satisfy your OCD but it ain't fun. Neither is binging on Netflix or rewatching Game of Thrones. Posting on Facebook? Definitely NOT fun. Fun, Price reminds us, must generate playfulness, connection and flow. It does not necessarily need to involve others but it very often does. It always creates connection, absorption and often laughter. Activities that build camaraderie and bonhomie? Those are the Fun jackpot.
There is a good deal of breaking down what constitutes fun. Some of it is more helpful than other categorizations. Unsurprisingly, I didn't find all of the steps to identifying fun as helpful or even necessary. For me, there was some repetitiveness. But surely others would disagree and appreciate a more detailed breakdown. What is incontrovertible is that Catherine Price is right in arguing there is too little fun in our lives and we all need to focus on having more.
Price is careful not to overpromise. Fun is not a cure for mental health issues or depression (though it does relieve anxiety and loneliness). Learning "to play" again will not lead to lives lived Happily Ever After. But they will be lived more happily more often. They will feel enriched by the pursuit of fun and we will be surprised and delighted by the connection we have made to others and the world around us. Because the best thing about fun is there is its ripple effect. What could be more worthwhile than that?
July 14, 2022
“If you're not having fun, you're doing something wrong.”
― Groucho Marx
“Everything in life that’s any fun, as somebody wisely observed, is either immoral, illegal or fattening.”
― P.G. Wodehouse
“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.”
― Dale Carnegie
“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.”
― Dr. Seuss
Having fun yet? In our stressed and distracted age, many people have seemingly forgotten how to have fun. Is scrolling on your phone for hours fun? Is binging your latest television show really that much fun? Is playing video games more fun than playing actual games with live participants? We spend a lot of our free time on these three activities, but get very little memorable or rewarding results from them. What was the most fun you had in your life? Why don't you do more of that?
Catherine Price is a science writer and author of the best selling How to Break Up With Your Phone. She references that book repeatedly in her new book, The Power of Fun, and points a finger at cell phones as one of the biggest culprits keeping us from connecting, thinking clearly, and having fun.
Price defines fun as the confluence of three essential ingredients- playfulness, flow, and connection. To have real fun you have to enter into it with a lighthearted and playful spirit, expecting little, but open to anything. You also need to share the experience with other people to get maximum enjoyment, though it is possible to have fun by yourself on occasion. And you have to find that elusive of all mental states- flow- about much has been written and little is understood. Flow occurs when you become totally absorbed in an experience and lose track of time and place. Distractions can pull us out of flow all of the time, which is one reason why email and cell phone notifications, plus our naïve belief that we can multitask effortlessly keep us away from flow for much of our waking lives.
The book refers to something called Fake Fun, which is what a lot of us associate with the word "fun". Fake Fun is rarely satisfying, and it eats up a lot of our spare time with activities that feel like they should be enjoyable but aren't at all memorable or meaningful. Fake fun without connection leads to loneliness. Fake Fun without flow leads to constant distraction and little feeling of accomplishment. And Fake Fun without playfulness makes us feel dead inside, exhausted, and prisoners of the powerful algorithms that control much of our attention. It is to fun like junk food is to nutrition- full of stuff but none of it good for you.
Our brains are wired to seek out novelty, reward and unpredictability, and social media and apps provide those items in spades. FOMO means we are always afraid that we are missing out on the newest, coolest developments, influencers, and products, and it causes us to frantically scan our environment for the next best thing. Rewards are a big reason why we keep on the social media treadmill of likes, followers, and retweets. People now go on vacation not to have fun, but to take hundreds of selfies that they can post and wait for validation from their "friends". And unpredictability is a feature of the firehose of information that spews out of the internet these days. We love to be surprised, even when it's bad news, and we allow ourselves to be immersed in the pool of continuous distraction, even if it makes us angry, stressed, or sick.
Children are great at having fun- it's a shame that phones are robbing them of that ability too. Think about what a child could do with a paint set or box of Play Doh. They are able to enter a playful world of their own creation- painting or sculpting something from their own imagination that is innately enjoyable. Almost any activity, if approached in a playful manner, can bring about True Fun, which is the goal of this book. Playing a game of cards is fun between two people where the rules are loosely enforced and connection is the goal, but playing solitaire against a computer is Fake Fun that gobbles up time while the computer never gives you a high five when you win. Going on a vacation with no deadlines and an openness to new experiences can produce great memories and true fun, while going on a vacation with a strict itinerary and high expectations can feel like more of a chore.
While some activities like art, music and reading can be fun alone, they are more enjoyable when there's some connection there. Our constantly distracted and overwhelmed state has led to a loneliness epidemic, which is odd because most of us are surrounded by people in person and online. The loneliness comes from the constant stream of stuff being dumped on us all day, leaving us little time to open up, ask questions, and truly connect with others around us. When people get together to dance, sing, and connect with each other, a collective effervescence can be created that lifts spirits and produces flow.
The second half of this book is loaded with ideas on how to have more True Fun in your life, and it's all great advice, a lot of which I've heard before in other contexts. Want more real fun and less busywork? Try these:
1- Make space for fun by clearing out mental and physical clutter.
Distraction is not only the enemy of productivity, it's the enemy of fun too. This is Marie Kondo type stuff- clear out the crap in your house that doesn't spark joy. Protect your time as well as your space by setting aside dedicated, uninterrupted time and places to focus on fun activities with other people. It's easy to let life and being busy take over the calendar, but unless you have control over your physical space and screen time, you could remain addicted to Fake Fun and miss out on many opportunities.
2- Pursue your passions. Find hobbies and interests that truly intrigue you. Ideally your job has elements of fun in it, but your leisure time should include plenty of time to do things just for the fun of it. This can be tricky. Exercising can be a habit, or it can be fun. Try playing with how, where, and with whom you do things to find the hidden passions that are buried beneath the activity. And if something bores or drains you, just say no and find something else. Don't be afraid to try something completely new and screw up a few times as a beginner. And it's perfectly okay to try something out alone at first, and then join with others as you gain confidence. Connection supercharges fun.
3- Adopt a fun mindset. This is the toughest part if it's not currently in your nature. Find times and environments where it's okay to be more playful and silly. Seek out humor, absurdity and beauty by paying more attention to them. Focus on your inner child- a neglected part of you that hasn't gotten out to play in decades. Build playgrounds that you can share with others- art studios, playrooms, social activities, or games and be that person people come to for fun. Part of adopting a fun mindset is protecting it from spoilsports. There are people who aren't happy that will try to drag you down- don't let them.
4- Don't be afraid to rebel once in a while. The key to creativity and playfulness is the willingness to turn the world upside down and see what happens. The book has lots of creative if scary options such as:
- Rebel against conventions by dressing differently in public. Show off your most creative side with what you wear and how you look. Change your hair color or style. Get a tattoo or find an outfit that you would have never dared wearing in public before.
- Rebel against traditions by celebrating Thanksgiving on Friday, having a female best man at the wedding, or singing a rock song at church.
- Fight against perfectionism by being okay with admitting your own mistakes in public.
- Battle expectations by doing something totally out of character and blowing your family's mind. Run a marathon. Bake a cake. Stretch our of your comfort zones bit by bit.
- Torpedo adulthood by letting yourself play like a kid- get out the Play Doh, finger paints, or try kickball, hide and seek, or frisbee.
- Screw with people by changing your opinion about something and don't be afraid to rebel against conformity. Star Wars is overrated. Weird Al Yankovic is a genius. Fried chicken is good for you. Discuss.
I read this book and Johann Hari's new book Stolen Focus in the same month, and they both sing the same song- cell phones and social media are sucking our souls dry and we need to fight back and have more fun and more focus. It's hard to argue with the premise, that gets louder and louder as big tech becomes more and more powerful. Price cautions her readers to invest in fun seriously and have a screen/life balance. It need not require a major intervention- small victories can build into bigger ones. We need to find other fun-minded people with whom to share our playfulness, and to try to be open to more opportunities for True Fun. More importantly, we need to be able to distinguish True Fun from Fake Fun, so that we can ask the right questions and make better decisions.
With all the serious stuff piling up in the news- Covid, Crime, Inflation, Climate Change, and much more, it's hard to make fun a priority. But without fun we become lifeless zombies, relying on diversions and drugs to survive another day. We need fun to make life worth living.
I just got back from a trip to the Ozarks where I sat in a creek, went on a float trip, and read more books like this, all without any particular agenda except relaxing and regenerating. At one time in my life I would have preferred going to Disney World and having a full schedule of shows and rides to conquer. But that doesn't seem like so much fun anymore to me. Life is too short to not have True Fun, and if this book helps a few people think about it more, then it's a worthwhile read.
November 12, 2022
Great research and analysis on how to recognize and identify FUN, the lack of it, and how to have more of it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 981 reviews