# Refuse to Choose by Barbara Sher

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/refuse-to-choose/

3 people recommended Refuse to Choose by Barbara Sher in Hacker News comments and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 12 months, in 3 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend it to readers with many interests who feel pressure to pick just one, because it describes that situation and offers a way to live with it.

Summary written from 3 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Good starting point for multiple interests (1 comment in the sample): "book about living with a multitude of interests can be a good starting point" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47693289))
- Describes the reader's own situation (1 comment in the sample): "First time in 15 years I saw myself described" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48304705))
- Encourages generalists to embrace breadth (1 comment in the sample): "it might encourage generalists who are" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46966064))

## Other self-help books people recommend

- [How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie](https://hackerapproved.com/p/how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people/): 50 recommend, 13 mixed, 23 criticize
- [Atomic Habits by James Clear](https://hackerapproved.com/p/atomic-habits/): 18 recommend, 1 mixed, 2 criticize
- [The Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr](https://hackerapproved.com/p/easy-way-to-stop-smoking/): 8 recommend, 1 mixed, 0 criticize
- [Feeling Good by David Burns](https://hackerapproved.com/p/feeling-good/): 7 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Refuse to Choose by Barbara Sher", https://hackerapproved.com/p/refuse-to-choose/ (3 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 3 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.