Refuse to Choose
Refuse to Choose by Barbara Sherby Barbara Sher
Shares rank 12 of 20 self-help books by recommenders
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.
3 people recommended Refuse to Choose by Barbara Sher in Hacker News comments and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 3 comments.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- mixed feelings
- 0
- warn against or regret it
- 0
The record
Recommended in 3 of 12 months
In 3 different threads.
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
- Recommended in 3 threadsNeeds 5 or more, not met.
- The biggest thread supplies 33% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 3 of the 3 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Good starting point for multiple interests
“book about living with a multitude of interests can be a good starting point”
Comment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Ask HN: Any Interesting Niche Hobbies?” Describes the reader's own situation
“First time in 15 years I saw myself described”
Comment from 28 May 2026 on Hacker News Encourages generalists to embrace breadth
“it might encourage generalists who are”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Specialization Is Dead. Long Live the Generalists”
Other self-help books people recommend
The four most recommended other self-help books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| How to Win Friends and Influence Peopleby Dale Carnegie | 50 | 13 | 23 | 68% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Atomic Habitsby James Clear | 18 | 1 | 2 | 90% | 11 | — | Approved |
| The Easy Way to Stop Smokingby Allen Carr | 8 | 1 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Feeling Goodby David Burns | 7 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Refuse to Chooseby Barbara SherThis page | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 3 opinions about it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“First time in 15 years I saw myself described”
“book about living with a multitude of interests can be a good starting point”
“it might encourage generalists who are”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 3 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.