Here are 100 books that 45 Master Characters fans have personally recommended if you like 45 Master Characters. Book DNA is a community of 13,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Gap and The Gain: The High Achievers' Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success

Lisa Apolinski Author Of Weathering the Digital Storm

From my list on accelerate your business in a non-traditional way.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was introduced to small business when I was six years old—my parents purchased a drug store to run (that drug store, after being sold forty years ago, is still in business). When I started my agency, there were few books on how to start, grow, and stay in business that didn’t tout traditional thinking. I think outside the triangle. I never thought I would be an author, and I am writing book #6! I write books today that I wish were available when I started my business journey: unique strategies coupled with actionable steps to grow. I hope these books provide inspiration and ideas!

Lisa's book list on accelerate your business in a non-traditional way

Lisa Apolinski Why Lisa loves this book

I had to add a second book that I refer to often to keep my mind focused on what I have accomplished instead of what I still want to do with my business.

I love this book as it helps me to reframe business growth (and setbacks) in a way to keep my energy and focus going. I also like the summaries in the back that I can refer to when I just want a reminder of technique to get back into the gain.

By Dan Sullivan , Benjamin Hardy ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Gap and The Gain as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dan Sullivan shares his simple yet profound teaching that, until now, has only been known to his Strategic Coach clients: unsuccessful people focus on 'The Gap', but successful people focus on 'The Gain'.

Most people, especially highly ambitious people, are unhappy because of how they measure their progress. We all have an 'ideal', a moving target that is always out of reach. When we measure ourselves against that ideal, we're in 'the GAP'. However, when we measure ourselves against our previous selves, we're in 'the GAIN'.

That is where The GAP and The GAIN concept comes in. It was developed…


If you love 45 Master Characters...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Book cover of How to Close a Deal Like Warren Buffett

Lisa Apolinski Author Of Weathering the Digital Storm

From my list on accelerate your business in a non-traditional way.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was introduced to small business when I was six years old—my parents purchased a drug store to run (that drug store, after being sold forty years ago, is still in business). When I started my agency, there were few books on how to start, grow, and stay in business that didn’t tout traditional thinking. I think outside the triangle. I never thought I would be an author, and I am writing book #6! I write books today that I wish were available when I started my business journey: unique strategies coupled with actionable steps to grow. I hope these books provide inspiration and ideas!

Lisa's book list on accelerate your business in a non-traditional way

Lisa Apolinski Why Lisa loves this book

If you are looking to revolutionize how you close deals and to use techniques from one of the best in the business, this is the book for you.

This book helps you use strategies from Warren Buffet to negotiate like a pro and develop deals your mom would be proud of. I loved the use of storytelling in the book and the examples that are laid out for readers.

By Tom Searcy , Henry DeVries ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How to Close a Deal Like Warren Buffett as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Silver Winner--Tops Sales World's Best Sales and Marketing Book

Revealed: the winning blueprint for making deals like The Oracle of Omaha

Warren Buffett didn't become the world's third wealthiest individual on his investing instincts alone. Buffett is a master dealmaker. In fact, one of his greatest single successes came when he closed multiple deals to own 100 percent of the Government Employees Insurance Company--also known as GEICO.

Highly successful dealmakers themselves, Tom Searcy and Henry DeVries have been studying Buffett's unique approach for many years. Now, they reveal the secrets of the Oracle of Omaha. How to Close a Deal…


Book cover of 10x Is Easier Than 2x

Lisa Apolinski Author Of Weathering the Digital Storm

From my list on accelerate your business in a non-traditional way.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was introduced to small business when I was six years old—my parents purchased a drug store to run (that drug store, after being sold forty years ago, is still in business). When I started my agency, there were few books on how to start, grow, and stay in business that didn’t tout traditional thinking. I think outside the triangle. I never thought I would be an author, and I am writing book #6! I write books today that I wish were available when I started my business journey: unique strategies coupled with actionable steps to grow. I hope these books provide inspiration and ideas!

Lisa's book list on accelerate your business in a non-traditional way

Lisa Apolinski Why Lisa loves this book

Sometimes we think too small when it comes to growing our business. This is one of two of Dan’s books that I have on this list, and I love Dan as a writer and storyteller.

I loved how he uses psychology to help business owners like me unlock potential growth and get over the fear of “getting too big”. This book also helped me to think about how I am approaching growth (incremental versus exponential) and how that is holding back my business.

By Dan Sullivan , Benjamin Hardy ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked 10x Is Easier Than 2x as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Expanding upon one of his high-level foundational teachings: Strategic Coach co-founder Dan Sullivan explains why achieving 10X growth is easier than going for 2X growth.

Dan Sullivan, the world's leading coach for highly successful entrepreneurs, wants you to know that achieving 10X growth is exponentially easier than striving for 2X growth. Most find this idea confusing at first because simply imagining 10X growth causes them to think they need to do 10X more work to achieve it. However, being a 10X entrepreneur is nothing like what most people think.

10X is not the outcome; it's a counterintuitive process you can…


If you love Victoria Lynn Schmidt...

Book cover of Glimmer of the Other

Glimmer of the Other by Heather G. Harris,

Delve into this internationally best-selling series, now complete! A fast paced laugh-out-loud mix of Urban Fantasy and Mystery.

I can tell when you’re lying. Every. Single. Time. I’m Jinx, a PI hired to find a missing university student, I hope to find her propped up at a bar–yet my gut…

Book cover of The Most Amazing Marketing Book Ever

Lisa Apolinski Author Of Weathering the Digital Storm

From my list on accelerate your business in a non-traditional way.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was introduced to small business when I was six years old—my parents purchased a drug store to run (that drug store, after being sold forty years ago, is still in business). When I started my agency, there were few books on how to start, grow, and stay in business that didn’t tout traditional thinking. I think outside the triangle. I never thought I would be an author, and I am writing book #6! I write books today that I wish were available when I started my business journey: unique strategies coupled with actionable steps to grow. I hope these books provide inspiration and ideas!

Lisa's book list on accelerate your business in a non-traditional way

Lisa Apolinski Why Lisa loves this book

As the final book on my list, I refer to this book often, and you will, too. I wrote one of the chapters in the book, and the level of expertise in this book still shocks me!

This book helps me to do all things marketing, and provides specific actions that I can take as a business owner today to up my digital marketing game.

By Mark W. Schaefer , Fiona Lucas , Brian Piper

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Most Amazing Marketing Book Ever as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

35 marketing experts joined best-selling author, entrepreneur, and marketing strategist Mark Schaefer to write this practical guide for small business owners.. You’d love to spend less for better marketing results. . The challenge is knowing what will work.. With market conditions, your customer base, and marketing itself evolving, getting the maximum return on your marketing investment is a moving target.. Yet your business’s growth depends on your ability to adapt.. And with so many voices vying for attention, how do you stand out?. This guide answers the questions small business owners are asking to make smarter, more cost-effective marketing decisions..…


Book cover of The Watchers

Erica Damon Author Of The Twisted Dark

From my list on folk horror that will haunt your dreams.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been a horror lover, from being an 8-year-old card-carrying member of the local Goosebumps Fan Club to reading Ray Bradbury and Stephen King when I should have been reading Classics for school. I love horror that bubbles up slowly and makes you feel like someone is watching over your shoulder. I want to wonder if the legends are true and if my local creepy forest holds secrets of its own. It’s so much harder to scare without falling back on jump scares and gore. Creeping dread is hard to do, but when it’s done well, it has me side-eyeing every shadow.

Erica's book list on folk horror that will haunt your dreams

Erica Damon Why Erica loves this book

I’ll admit, I watched the movie first. Gasp.

But slightly disappointed as I was, I ran off to find the book—the book is ALWAYS better. And it was. The creep factor of the set-up was so much better in the book, learning the rules but not fully understanding the situation—building that feeling of dread settling in because you know it’s going to get worse before it gets better. That was this book for me.

I love to be asking questions, and turning pages looking for answers. I loved how the creatures remained so mysterious. I wish I had read the book before seeing the movie.

By A.M. Shine ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Watchers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Soon to be a MAJOR MOTION PICTURE produced by M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN and starring DAKOTA FANNING. You can't see them. But they can see you. This forest isn't charted on any map. Every car breaks down at its treeline. Mina's is no different. Left stranded, she is forced into the dark woodland only to find a woman shouting, urging Mina to run to a concrete bunker. As the door slams behind her, the building is besieged by screams. Mina finds herself in a room with a wall of glass, and an electric light that activates at nightfall, when the Watchers…


Book cover of The Bone Season

Kesia Lupo Author Of We Are Blood and Thunder

From my list on fantasy with female main characters and magic.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m the author of two YA fantasy novels – We Are Blood and Thunder and We Are Bound by Stars. They’re set in a fantasy world, Valorian, governed by a (literally) colorful magic system and a pantheon of gods, and are all about power, fate, and discovering your true self. Both novels are dual narrative and feature a host of female main characters, who I think are complex, flawed, and relatable. As a child, I was obsessed with Lord of the Rings but always wondered why all the real heroes were men, which inspired me to write these books – partly, too, because of the wonderful female-led fantasies which have come out in the interim. 

Kesia's book list on fantasy with female main characters and magic

Kesia Lupo Why Kesia loves this book

Samantha Shannon’s world-building in this series is second to none. We find ourselves in a future alternate version of the world, where the government monitors the population for those people with extraordinary powers: clairvoyants. Paige, our main character, is one of these – and a bit of an antihero to boot (my favourite kind of hero!). You will love and be frustrated by her – and root for the simmering romance plot.

By Samantha Shannon ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Bone Season as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION, FULLY UPDATED WITH NEW MATERIAL

A lavishly reimagined tenth anniversary edition of the first novel in the sensational Bone Season series, by the Sunday Times and New York Times-bestselling author of The Priory of the Orange Tree.

'A fabulous, epic fantasy thriller ... Lavish, ebullient, escapist' The Times

________________________________________________

Welcome to Scion. No safer place.

The year is 2059. For two centuries, the Republic of Scion has led an oppressive campaign against unnaturalness in Europe.

In London, Paige Mahoney holds a high rank in the criminal underworld. The right hand of the ruthless White Binder,…


If you love 45 Master Characters...

Book cover of Tsunami

Tsunami by LeeAnn Pickrell,

On the morning of December 26, 2004, an undersea earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean. The resulting tsunami killed an estimated 230,000 people across fourteen countries, from Indonesia to Sri Lanka to Thailand to the Maldives to India and all the way to East Africa.…

Book cover of Still

Laney Kaye Author Of Malicious Desire

From my list on traveling australian outback from home.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a professional counselor by trade, I’m fascinated by the machinations of the human mind, what drives us, and how our primeval urges can overcome our learned and acceptable behaviors. Accordingly, I enjoy both reading and writing books that expose and explore the dark side of our psyche and the dichotomy of human nature. I particularly appreciate stories that balance evil with redemption, rescue, or retribution. 

Laney's book list on traveling australian outback from home

Laney Kaye Why Laney loves this book

I love a tense, character-driven thriller, and this one was set in a remote town I’ve visited. 

I love that the book is set in 1963, a decade that had particular significance for Australian women, their roles, and the expectations placed upon them.

It’s not fast-moving, but the setting is an almost palpable character in its own right. I found it dark, rife with corruption, violence, oppressive heat, and both the best and the worst of what Australia has to offer.

By Matt Nable ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Still as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE #1 Australian best-selling fiction

'From screen to page, Matt Nable's ability to breathe life into vivid characters shines against the grittiness of the harsh Australian landscape.' - Jane Harper, author of The Dry

'a thrilling, heart-stopping novel that fans of The Dry are going to love' - Weekender

'Nable renders the past both tangible and real and it's riveting' - Sue Turnbull, The Age

'must read' - Who Weekly

Darwin, Summer, 1963.

The humidity sat heavy and thick over the town as Senior Constable Ned Potter looked down at a body that had been dragged from the shallow marshland.…


Book cover of A Line in the Dark

Tash McAdam Author Of No One Left But You

From my list on queer young adult books that will keep you guessing.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m autistic, with a passion for narrative structure and my brain is exceptional at predicting twists, so something genuinely surprising is a rare treat I crave and value. As a queer and trans person, I’m always looking for content in which I can see myself and my loved ones. I’m obsessed with YA thrillers that don’t just keep me guessing but also give me messy, brilliant, unforgettable queer characters to root for. These are the books that stuck with me, made me lose sleep to finish, and gave me new queer icons to love. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Tash's book list on queer young adult books that will keep you guessing

Tash McAdam Why Tash loves this book

I’m an absolute sucker for a ‘what really happened that night’ tale and this is one of my all time favourites due to the unreliable narration and the sense of slowly creeping dread.

The core of this book is the messy tangle of friendship, obsession, and unspoken longing, which I can never get enough of. Throughout my first read of the story, I re-evaluated what I thought I knew, and went back to the start over and over. I had to know who was lying…

By Malinda Lo ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Line in the Dark as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

Jessica Wong is the kind of girl nobody notices. She's also the kind of girl who sees everything. There's no one better at overlooking Jess than her best friend, Angie. Jess can live without Angie knowing her real feelings, just so long as they're best friends. But when Angie meets Margot, Jess recognises that things will never be the same. Worse still, Margot is one of the rare people who sees exactly how Jess feels about Angie. As Angie falls hard for Margot and gets caught up with Margot's wealthy friends, Jess's life begins to fall apart. If she isn't…


Book cover of Forever Is Now

Sydney Langford Author Of The Loudest Silence

From my list on YA with disability and/or mental health rep.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a queer, disabled YA author, I focus on writing stories that reflect the complexities of identity, disability, and mental health. I believe every teen who is disabled and/or struggles with mental illness deserves to see themselves represented, but I’m also passionate about stories that allow able-bodied readers to gain insight into new perspectives. These book recommendations showcase diverse voices and highlight a disabled experience, and I hope books like these will foster a new generation that values inclusivity and representation. Happy reading!

Sydney's book list on YA with disability and/or mental health rep

Sydney Langford Why Sydney loves this book

I was deeply moved by this poetic in-verse novel that compassionately addresses harsh realities like coping with mounting stress and being a Black teen in America.

I felt a strong connection to the characters, who were well-developed and authentic, particularly the protagonist grappling with agoraphobia. The conversations about mental health were a nuanced and vulnerable exploration of expectations imposed on Black people dealing with mental health challenges.

By Mariama J. Lockington ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Forever Is Now as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

I'm safe here.
That's how Sadie feels in her girlfriend's arms on a perfect Summer day. But then her girlfriend suddenly breaks up with Sadie. Moments later, she witnesses a scene of police brutality, which upends what now feels like a mirage of security.

I'm not safe anywhere.
That's how Sadie feels every day after. So she retreats to her house. Her therapist gives her suffocating isolation a name-agoraphobia. Meanwhile, Sadie's best friend Evan updates her on the protests taking place outside. Sadie wants to be a part of it. But she can't. Or can she?

I can build a…


If you love Victoria Lynn Schmidt...

Book cover of In Bad Faith

In Bad Faith by Geoffrey Carter,

Nelson West, a former Chicago homicide detective, is hired by wealthy heir Lionel Bing to discreetly help “fix” scandals and legal problems for his father’s wealthy friends.

Bing, a brilliant but troubled investigator, suffers from PTSD symptoms as a result of being kidnapped and witnessing the murder of his mother…

Book cover of The Trio

Freddie Gillies Author Of Because All Fades

From my list on love and friendship set in Europe.

Why am I passionate about this?

The best fiction explores complex relationships between friends and lovers. I’ve been fascinated by this for as long as I can remember because love and friendship are the cornerstones of human existence. As concepts, they give life meaning yet can also take it away. They bring us together but can also leave us estranged. The sun-soaked cities of Europe have for so long been playgrounds for young lovers and friends, enjoying both the best of life and the most melancholy. I love traveling Europe–the grandeur, the romance, the happy-sad sentiment of it all. It embodies the topic and makes for the most beautiful setting.

Freddie's book list on love and friendship set in Europe

Freddie Gillies Why Freddie loves this book

The Trio captures the essence of friendship and love and the coexisting yet diametrically opposed social anxieties that can accompany them. This is why I love this book–love is presented as complex, challenging, and fraught with more that is unsaid than actually expressed.

I also love this book because it expresses love as a real feeling, something that is experienced but not always easy to explain (or get along with). The characters are relatable, honest, and flawed, yet likable. The book is also set in beautiful locations–Stockholm, Paris, London–which makes it beautiful to read.

By Johanna Hedman , Kira Josefsson (translator) ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Trio as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BERNARD SHAW PRIZE 2023

Elegant, mature and richly atmospheric, a bittersweet love story glimpsed through the veil of memory

'The love child of Normal People and Brideshead Revisited... Sublime and elegiac' Francesca Reece

'[A] heady mix of hope and nostalgia, of desire and regret, of new love and lost love' Sunday Times

Thora, August and Hugo come from different worlds. One is an art school dreamer, one a wealthy scion of the old-world elite, and one an ordinary boy from out of town. But over the course of two sky-blue summers in Stockholm, they are drawn together…


Book cover of The Gap and The Gain: The High Achievers' Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success
Book cover of How to Close a Deal Like Warren Buffett
Book cover of 10x Is Easier Than 2x

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Interested in archetypes, French travel, and London?

Archetypes 37 books
French Travel 42 books
London 916 books