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Book Reviews

The Power of Fun: Why fun is the
key to a happy and healthy life

When did you last feel exhilarated and light-
hearted? When were you last engaged,
focused and completely present? When
is the last time you felt fully alive? In other
words, when did you last have fun?
In our always-on, tech-addicted lifestyles,
we frequently think of the pursuit of fun as
an indulgence. When we do find time to relax,
we often turn to activities that are not actually
that enjoyable, let alone fun: bingeing on
television and movies, doom-scrolling the
news, or feeding our FOMO on social media.
But award-winning science journalist,
Catherine Price, has learned the truth: far from
being frivolous, fun is the key to living a more
A Shot to Save the World: The meaningful, fulfilling and happier life. How to Get Over Being Young:
Remarkable Race and Ground- If you make fun a priority, you will be A Rough Guide to Midlife
Breaking Science Behind the healthier and have more energy. You will
Covid-19 Vaccines be more productive, less resentful and less From Charlotte Bauer, another award-
stressed. You will find community and a sense winning journalist, this book is a warm,
This is the definitive account of the global of purpose. You will stop languishing and start witty and wise quest for the meaning of
effort to develop a vaccine for Covid-19, flourishing. And best of all? You’ll enjoy the life after youth and how to navigate the
charting the failure and success of every process. menopausal years.
major vaccine in use. In The Power of Fun, Price argues that fun A deliciously funny and sage guide to
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, many will lead to the happiness we so desperately midlife, it is an unscientific, flaws-and-all
of the world’s biggest drug and vaccine seek, and includes a practical plan for how account of one woman’s adventures and
makers were slow to react or couldn’t muster to incorporate more fun into our daily lives. misadventures through the dark comedy
an effective response. It was up to a small Ground-breaking, eye-opening and packed of the wilderness years.
group of unlikely and untested scientists with useful advice, The Power of Fun won’t just Through her own experiences as a
and executives to save civilization: a French change the way you think about fun. It will fifty-something woman, and those of her
businessman dismissed by many as a bring you back to life. three sisters, her indomitable mum and
fabulist, a Turkish immigrant with little virus Recommended Price R350.00 rebellious auntie, Charlotte tackles the big
experience, a quirky American Midwesterner questions every woman seeks answers to
obsessed with insect cells, a Boston scientist at this time of life, chiefly: How the hell am
employing questionable techniques, and a I going to get over no longer being young
British scientist despised by his peers. They in a world obsessed with youth?
scrambled to turn their life’s work into life- Written with warmth, wisdom and
saving vaccines in a matter of months, each irreverence, this guide to midlife is perfect
gunning to make the big breakthrough – for readers of Nora Ephron, Caitlin Moran
each one wanting to beat the others for the and India Knight.
glory that a vaccine guaranteed. Recommended Price R370.00
Meticulously reported and endlessly
gripping, this is a dazzling, blow-by-blow
chronicle of the most consequential
scientific breakthrough of our time. It’s
a story of courage, genius, heroism, and
optimism. It’s also a tale of heated rivalries,
unbridled ambitions, crippling insecurities
and unexpected drama.
Recommended Price R350.00

24 • Issue 6 2022 • The Villager