November 22, 2021
Joy seekers are encouraged to ditch their devices and rediscover delight in this antidote to modern malaise. Price (How to Break Up with Your Phone) explores the opposite of passive scrolling: active pursuits that create playfulness, connection, and flow. Price terms this mental state “True Fun” and argues that fun, often dismissed as “frivolous or selfish,” is in fact essential to a meaningful life (“We can’t control the fact that we will die. But we can control whether we actually live”). She guides readers in identifying their own “fun magnets” and in implementing life changes conducive to fun; though some recommendations are haltingly obvious (such as building time into your schedule for your passions, hobbies, and interests), others forge ahead with fresh perspective. For instance, advising how to build “playgrounds” (“structures, either metaphorical or literal, that foster fun”) and identifying the perhaps surprising factors, from movement to music to water, that are often present when true fun emerges. With screen time and burnout now fixtures of modern life, this is a timely reminder of the value of reprioritizing. Agent: Jay Mandel, WME.