The Fun Habit: How the Disciplined Pursuit of Joy and Wonder Can Change Your Life

“Society has now devalued fun and leisure so much it’s significantly harming us,” suggests psychologist Rucker in this cheerful debut trumpeting the importance of joy. The author provides strategies for “adding novel, pleasurable activities into your daily life” and equips readers with “scientific evidence for the life-sustaining value and importance of fun.” For example, Rucker recommends readers prioritize time over money, citing a study that found doing so made subjects happier, and he discusses the neurology behind emotional contagion to explain why hanging around friends with positive dispositions is likely to be more fun. To cultivate a fun mindset, Rucker advises making time for pleasure; creating a “fun file” of enjoyable activities; joining clubs, communities, and causes; and taking photos to extend “fun’s power beyond the moment it occurs.” The scientific grounding behind the suggestions impresses, and Rucker’s stance that negative emotions are unavoidable and necessary adds nuance and guards against what he calls “toxic positivity.” This is a fittingly entertaining guide. (Jan.)